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Stargazing forecast

Stargazing forecast for Phoenix, Arizona

  • Thu 8 Oct night
  • 33.448° N, 112.074° W
  • 331 m
  • MST · America/Phoenix
Open the live forecast — sky score, seeing, 7 nights

Tonight at a glance

Mostly clear all night; no moonlight (new Moon).

· MET Norway forecast issued 8 Oct, 17:18 UTC

Cloud cover
3%Clear
Dark hours
9 h 40 min7:25 PM–5:06 AM
Moon
2%9 h 40 min moon-free
Wind
4 mphCalm
Low temperature
80°FDuring the dark hours
Dew risk
LowAir comes within 36° of the dew point

Photo: Milky Way over Paranal — ESO/A. Ghizzi Panizza (www.albertoghizzipanizza.com), CC BY 4.0

Hourly forecast

Cloud by layer, hour by hour. Darker blue means clearer sky; each cell shows its percentage. Low cloud blocks the sky outright; thin high cloud only dims it.

Hourly cloud cover (%) and conditions tonight in Phoenix
MSTThu 8Fri 9Sat 10
Hour4p5p6p7p8p9p10p11p12a1a2a3a4a5a6a7a8a9a10a11a12p1p2p3p4p5p6p7p8p9p10p11p12a1a2a3a4a5a6a7a
Sky: Daylight 4p–6p, Civil twilight 6p–7p, Dark 7p–5a, Astronomical twilight 5a–6a, Daylight 6a–6p, Nautical twilight 6p–7p, Dark 7p–5a, Astronomical twilight 5a–6a, Daylight 6a–8a
Total cloud121111111110321844211372016252038706138316717724174637984
Low cloud0000000000000000000000000000000000000000
Mid cloud111111111110321844211372016242038706138316717704148362118
High cloud000000000000000000000031110000000014559477480
Sun & Moon
Temperature °F1021019895939290888685838281808080848994981011011021021021019896959391898786848482818078
Dew point °F43414142434443434242424344454646474747464645434242404142454449444546474747494747
Wind mph5544333444566667781012119654435732232233477
Rain (mm)0000000000000000000000000000000000000000
Cloud cover0–9%10–24%25–44%45–64%65–84%85–100%
SkyDaylightCivil twilightNautical twilightAstronomical twilightDark
Sun altitudeMoon altitude12dew risk (within 2° of the dew point)Scroll sideways for the next 40 hours →

Weather data: MET Norway (CC BY 4.0)

Next 7 nights

Average cloud during each night's dark hours, with the Moon. The first two to three nights use hourly data; later nights use MET Norway's 6-hourly steps and are less certain.

  1. Tonight8 Oct

    3%Clear

    2% · 9 h 40 min moon-free

    7:25 PM–5:06 AM

  2. Fri9 Oct

    43%Partly cloudy

    0% · 9 h 42 min moon-free

    7:24 PM–5:06 AM

  3. Sat10 Oct

    79%Cloudy

    1% · 9 h 44 min moon-free

    7:23 PM–5:07 AM

    6-hourly data

  4. Sun11 Oct

    15%Clear

    3% · 9 h 46 min moon-free

    7:21 PM–5:08 AM

    6-hourly data

  5. Mon12 Oct

    15%Clear

    7% · 9 h 48 min moon-free

    7:20 PM–5:08 AM

    6-hourly data

  6. Tue13 Oct

    9%Clear

    13% · 9 h 40 min moon-free

    7:19 PM–5:09 AM

    6-hourly data

  7. Wed14 Oct

    0%Clear

    20% · 8 h 52 min moon-free

    7:18 PM–5:10 AM

    6-hourly data

Sun & twilight

Twilight ends in three steps. Faint galaxies and the Milky Way need astronomical darkness, when the Sun is more than 18° below the horizon.

Sunset
6:03 PM
Civil dusk (−6°)
6:28 PM
Nautical dusk (−12°)
6:56 PM
Astronomical dusk (−18°)
7:25 PM
Astronomical dawn (−18°)
5:06 AM
Nautical dawn (−12°)
5:34 AM
Civil dawn (−6°)
6:03 AM
Sunrise
6:28 AM

Dark window: 7:25 PM – 5:06 AM MST (9 h 40 min)

The Moon

New Moon

Illuminated
2%
Age
27.6 days
Moonrise
5:30 AM
Moonset
4:55 PM
Moon-free dark time
9 h 40 min

Next phases

  1. New MoonSat 10 Oct8:50 AM
  2. First QuarterSun 18 Oct9:13 AM
  3. Full MoonSun 25 Oct9:12 PM
  4. Last QuarterSun 1 Nov1:28 PM
Next lunar eclipse visible here
Partial · Tue 11 Jan 2028, 9:13 PM · Moon 43° up
Next solar eclipse visible here
Partial · Sun 14 Jan 2029, 9:28 AM · 53% of the Sun covered

Planets tonight

Naked-eye planets that climb more than 10° above the horizon during the astronomically dark hours.

Altitude through the night

0°30°60°90°7:00 PM9:00 PM11:00 PM1:00 AM3:00 AM5:00 AMMarsJupiterSaturn
Planets tonight — Phoenix
PlanetRisesTransits (altitude)SetsBest seen tonightBrightnessIn
JupiterVisible2:07 AM8:49 AM · 72°3:36 PM3:05 AM–5:06 AM, Emag -1.9Leo
SaturnVisible5:54 PM12:01 AM · 58°6:07 AM7:25 PM–5:06 AM, Smag 0.2Cetus
MarsVisible12:55 AM7:52 AM · 76°2:51 PM1:55 AM–5:06 AM, Emag 1.1Cancer
Venus8:22 AM1:29 PM · 35°6:32 PMBelow 10°mag -4.6Virgo
Mercury8:32 AM1:46 PM · 39°7:01 PMBelow 10°mag -0.1Libra

Lower magnitude = brighter. Venus and Jupiter outshine every star.

Sky events — next 90 days

Moon phases, seasons, planet highlights and eclipses, with times for this city.

  1. Oct10Sat

    Moon · 8:50 AM

    New Moon

    Darkest skies of the month for galaxies and the Milky Way.

  2. Oct12Mon

    Planet · 3:06 AM

    Mercury at greatest evening elongation

    25° from the Sun — the best evening view of Mercury, low in the west after sunset.

  3. Oct25Sun

    Moon · 9:12 PM

    Full Moon

    Bright moonlight all night; best for the Moon itself.

  4. Oct28Wed

    Moon · 11:04 AM

    Moon at perigee near full (a “supermoon”)

    Closest to Earth this month: 364,397 km.

  5. Nov9Mon

    Moon · 12:02 AM

    New Moon

    Darkest skies of the month for galaxies and the Milky Way.

  6. Nov24Tue

    Moon · 7:54 AM

    Full Moon

    Bright moonlight all night; best for the Moon itself.

  7. Nov25Wed

    Moon · 2:02 PM

    Moon at perigee near full (a “supermoon”)

    Closest to Earth this month: 359,335 km.

  8. Dec8Tue

    Moon · 5:52 PM

    New Moon

    Darkest skies of the month for galaxies and the Milky Way.

  9. Dec21Mon

    Season · 1:50 PM

    Winter solstice

    The longest night of the year — the most hours of darkness.

  10. Dec23Wed

    Moon · 6:28 PM

    Full Moon

    Bright moonlight all night; best for the Moon itself.

  11. Dec24Thu

    Moon · 1:32 AM

    Moon at perigee near full (a “supermoon”)

    Closest to Earth this month: 356,641 km.

  12. Jan3Sun

    Planet · 10:56 AM

    Venus at greatest morning elongation

    47° from the Sun — the best morning view of Venus, low in the east before sunrise.

Quick answers

Will it be clear for stargazing in Phoenix tonight?
Mostly clear all night; no moonlight (new Moon). That is the hourly total-cloud forecast for Phoenix, United States on the night of 8 October 2026, read inside the darkest hours: under 25% cloud counts as clear and 65% or more as cloudy.
When does it get dark in Phoenix tonight?
In Phoenix, United States on the night of 8 October 2026, astronomical darkness begins at 7:25 PM and lasts until 5:06 AM MST — 9 h 40 min of fully dark sky. The Sun sets at 6:03 PM, and nautical twilight ends at 6:56 PM.
Is the Moon up tonight in Phoenix?
On the night of 8 October 2026 in Phoenix, United States, the Moon is a new moon, 2% illuminated. It sets at 4:55 PM and rises at 5:30 AM, MST. 9 h 40 min of the dark window is moon-free.
Which planets can I see from Phoenix tonight?
From Phoenix, United States on the night of 8 October 2026: Mars (1:55 AM–5:06 AM, highest 51° in the E at 5:06 AM, magnitude 1.1); Jupiter (3:05 AM–5:06 AM, highest 36° in the E at 5:06 AM, magnitude -1.9); Saturn (7:25 PM–5:06 AM, highest 58° in the S at 12:05 AM, magnitude 0.2). Times are MST; all are visible to the naked eye.

Forecast details

Location
33.448° N, 112.074° W
Elevation
331 m
Time zone
America/Phoenix (MST)
Weather model
MET Norway Locationforecast 2.0
Forecast issued
8 Oct, 17:18 UTC
Next update expected
≈ 8 Oct, 18:53 UTC
Page generated
8 Oct, 18:23 UTC
Astronomy
Computed with astronomy-engine for these coordinates

Computed for 33.448° N, 112.074° W, elevation 331 m, time zone America/Phoenix. City centres are light-polluted; the times here apply anywhere within about 50 km, so drive out to darker skies.

Sun, Moon and planet positions are calculated with astronomy-engine. Twilight uses the Sun's geometric centre; sunrise and sunset use the upper limb with standard refraction.

The summary line restates the hourly total-cloud forecast inside the dark window (clear under 25%, cloudy from 65%) and the Moon's times. It is not a score — the Tonight score lives in the app.

Seeing and transparency forecasts are coming to the app first (North America via Environment Canada's model, a worldwide beta elsewhere).

Nearby city forecasts

Get tonight's score on your phone

The Astronight app adds an hourly sky score, the best window, seeing and transparency, and alerts for clear nights.