Will it be clear for stargazing in Edinburgh tonight?

Cloudy for the rest of the night; the Moon (68% lit) is up all night. That is the hourly total-cloud forecast for Edinburgh, United Kingdom on the night of 1 October 2026, read inside the darkest hours: under 25% cloud counts as clear and 65% or more as cloudy. Most of the cloud is low cloud, which blocks the sky outright.

When does it get dark in Edinburgh tonight?

In Edinburgh, United Kingdom on the night of 1 October 2026, astronomical darkness begins at 20:52 and lasts until 05:12 GMT+1 — 8 h 20 min of fully dark sky. The Sun sets at 18:48, and nautical twilight ends at 20:08.

Is the Moon up tonight in Edinburgh?

On the night of 1 October 2026 in Edinburgh, United Kingdom, the Moon is a waning gibbous, 68% illuminated. It sets at 14:26 and rises at 20:03, GMT+1. 0 min of the dark window is moon-free.

Which planets can I see from Edinburgh tonight?

From Edinburgh, United Kingdom on the night of 1 October 2026: Mars (02:02–05:12, highest 37° in the E at 05:12, magnitude 1.1); Jupiter (03:42–05:12, highest 23° in the E at 05:12, magnitude -1.9); Saturn (20:52–05:12, highest 36° in the S at 01:12, magnitude 0.2). Times are GMT+1; all are visible to the naked eye.

Stargazing forecast

Stargazing forecast for Edinburgh, United Kingdom

Thu 1 Oct night
55.952° N, 3.196° W
66 m
GMT+1 · Europe/London

Open the live forecast — sky score, seeing, 7 nights

Tonight at a glance

Cloudy for the rest of the night; the Moon (68% lit) is up all night.

Most of the cloud is low cloud, which blocks the sky outright.

Updated 05:13 GMT+1 (2 Oct, 04:13 UTC) · MET Norway forecast issued 2 Oct, 01:20 UTC

Cloud cover: 82%Cloudy
Dark hours: 8 h 20 min20:52–05:12
Moon: 68%0 min moon-free
Wind: 26 km/hBreezy
Low temperature: 13°CDuring the dark hours
Dew risk: ModerateAir comes within 3° 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 Edinburgh
GMT+1	Fri 2																			Sat 3
Hour	05	06	07	08	09	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	00	01	02	03	04	05	06	07	08	09	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20
Sky: Astronomical twilight 05–06, Nautical twilight 06–07, Daylight 07–19, Nautical twilight 19–20, Astronomical twilight 20–21, Dark 21–05, Astronomical twilight 05–06, Nautical twilight 06–07, Daylight 07–19, Nautical twilight 19–20, Astronomical twilight 20–21
Total cloud	82	73	77	83	84	84	84	88	74	88	92	99	99	99	97	77	45	13	12	20	29	36	12	83	60	81	88	97	98	100	69	59	55	95	72	81	28	16	88	91
Low cloud	59	50	47	73	13	15	62	65	34	28	16	33	46	66	59	67	27	11	10	18	16	13	5	7	8	6	2	0	0	1	6	43	54	95	70	31	13	15	8	3
Mid cloud	30	6	0	0	0	1	3	20	17	40	40	70	68	92	94	36	26	7	5	8	19	29	9	6	2	5	23	94	98	98	66	29	1	2	14	29	14	10	9	6
High cloud	39	45	53	33	82	80	56	56	53	73	86	98	98	81	28	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	81	56	80	84	51	45	91	0	0	0	0	0	66	8	0	87	91
Sun & Moon
Temperature °C	13	13	13	13	14	14	15	16	16	17	16	16	16	15	15	15	14	13	12	11	10	10	9	9	9	9	9	9	10	10	11	13	14	14	14	13	13	12	11	11
Dew point °C; dew risk (within 2° of the dew point): 18, 21, 22, 23, 00, 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07	10	10	11	11	11	11	11	12	12	12	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	11	10	10	9	8	8	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	8	8	9	9	8	8
Wind km/h	26	24	23	22	21	25	26	26	28	28	29	30	32	41	35	32	27	24	24	24	22	21	21	21	21	20	19	17	17	19	20	25	25	24	23	22	19	17	18	19
Rain (mm)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.2	0	0.4	2.1	0.6	0.4	0.3	0.2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

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.

Tonight1 Oct
82%Cloudy
68% · 0 min moon-free
20:52–05:12
Fri2 Oct
39%Partly cloudy
57% · 20 min moon-free
20:50–05:14
Sat3 Oct
95%Cloudy
45% · 1 h 40 min moon-free
20:47–05:16
Sun4 Oct
98%Cloudy
34% · 3 h 20 min moon-free
20:44–05:19
6-hourly data
Mon5 Oct
96%Cloudy
24% · 4 h 50 min moon-free
20:41–05:21
6-hourly data
Tue6 Oct
39%Partly cloudy
15% · 6 h 30 min moon-free
20:39–05:23
6-hourly data
Wed7 Oct
30%Partly cloudy
8% · 8 h moon-free
20:36–05:25
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: 18:48
Civil dusk (−6°): 19:25
Nautical dusk (−12°): 20:08
Astronomical dusk (−18°): 20:52
Astronomical dawn (−18°): 05:12
Nautical dawn (−12°): 05:57
Civil dawn (−6°): 06:40
Sunrise: 07:17

Dark window: 20:52 – 05:12 GMT+1 (8 h 20 min)

The Moon

Waning Gibbous

Illuminated: 68%
Age: 20.6 days
Moonrise: 20:03
Moonset: 14:26
Moon-free dark time: 0 min

Next phases

Last QuarterSat 3 Oct14:25
New MoonSat 10 Oct16:50
First QuarterSun 18 Oct17:13
Full MoonMon 26 Oct04:12

Next lunar eclipse visible here: Partial · Wed 12 Jan 2028, 04:13 · Moon 36° up
Next solar eclipse visible here: Partial · Mon 2 Aug 2027, 10:00 · 27% 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

Planets tonight — Edinburgh
Planet	Rises	Transits (altitude)	Sets	Best seen tonight	Brightness	In
JupiterVisible	02:18	09:58 · 49°	17:41	03:42–05:12, E	mag -1.9	Leo
SaturnVisible	19:01	01:16 · 36°	07:31	20:52–05:12, S	mag 0.2	Cetus
MarsVisible	00:28	08:48 · 55°	17:10	02:02–05:12, E	mag 1.1	Cancer
Venus	10:56	14:45 · 13°	18:31	Below 10°	mag -4.7	Virgo
Mercury	09:49	14:26 · 20°	19:05	Below 10°	mag -0.1	Virgo

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.

Oct4Sun
Planet · 13:12
Saturn at opposition
Saturn is opposite the Sun: up all night, and at its closest and brightest for the year.
Oct10Sat
Moon · 16:50
New Moon
Darkest skies of the month for galaxies and the Milky Way.
Oct12Mon
Planet · 11:06
Mercury at greatest evening elongation
25° from the Sun — the best evening view of Mercury, low in the west after sunset.
Oct26Mon
Moon · 04:12
Full Moon
Bright moonlight all night; best for the Moon itself.
Oct28Wed
Moon · 18:04
Moon at perigee near full (a “supermoon”)
Closest to Earth this month: 364,397 km.
Nov9Mon
Moon · 07:02
New Moon
Darkest skies of the month for galaxies and the Milky Way.
Nov24Tue
Moon · 14:54
Full Moon
Bright moonlight all night; best for the Moon itself.
Nov25Wed
Moon · 21:02
Moon at perigee near full (a “supermoon”)
Closest to Earth this month: 359,335 km.
Dec9Wed
Moon · 00:52
New Moon
Darkest skies of the month for galaxies and the Milky Way.
Dec21Mon
Season · 20:50
Winter solstice
The longest night of the year — the most hours of darkness.
Dec24Thu
Moon · 01:28
Full Moon
Bright moonlight all night; best for the Moon itself.
Dec24Thu
Moon · 08:32
Moon at perigee near full (a “supermoon”)
Closest to Earth this month: 356,641 km.

Quick answers

Will it be clear for stargazing in Edinburgh tonight?: Cloudy for the rest of the night; the Moon (68% lit) is up all night. That is the hourly total-cloud forecast for Edinburgh, United Kingdom on the night of 1 October 2026, read inside the darkest hours: under 25% cloud counts as clear and 65% or more as cloudy. Most of the cloud is low cloud, which blocks the sky outright.
When does it get dark in Edinburgh tonight?: In Edinburgh, United Kingdom on the night of 1 October 2026, astronomical darkness begins at 20:52 and lasts until 05:12 GMT+1 — 8 h 20 min of fully dark sky. The Sun sets at 18:48, and nautical twilight ends at 20:08.
Is the Moon up tonight in Edinburgh?: On the night of 1 October 2026 in Edinburgh, United Kingdom, the Moon is a waning gibbous, 68% illuminated. It sets at 14:26 and rises at 20:03, GMT+1. 0 min of the dark window is moon-free.
Which planets can I see from Edinburgh tonight?: From Edinburgh, United Kingdom on the night of 1 October 2026: Mars (02:02–05:12, highest 37° in the E at 05:12, magnitude 1.1); Jupiter (03:42–05:12, highest 23° in the E at 05:12, magnitude -1.9); Saturn (20:52–05:12, highest 36° in the S at 01:12, magnitude 0.2). Times are GMT+1; all are visible to the naked eye.

Forecast details

Location: 55.952° N, 3.196° W
Elevation: 66 m
Time zone: Europe/London (GMT+1)
Weather model: MET Norway Locationforecast 2.0
Forecast issued: 2 Oct, 01:20 UTC
Next update expected: ≈ 2 Oct, 04:43 UTC
Page generated: 2 Oct, 04:13 UTC
Astronomy: Computed with astronomy-engine for these coordinates

Computed for 55.952° N, 3.196° W, elevation 66 m, time zone Europe/London. 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

All forecasts in United Kingdom Moon phase calendar Telescope FOV calculator

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.

Download on theApp Store Get it onGoogle Play