Skip to content
Astronight
Live forecastGet the app

Stargazing forecast

Stargazing forecast for Minneapolis, Minnesota

  • Thu 1 Oct night
  • 44.980° N, 93.264° W
  • 253 m
  • CDT · America/Chicago
Open the live forecast — sky score, seeing, 7 nights

Tonight at a glance

Clear for the rest of the night; the Moon (65% lit) rises at 9:37 PM.

· MET Norway forecast issued 2 Oct, 01:20 UTC

Cloud cover
0%Clear
Dark hours
9 h 4 min8:30 PM–5:34 AM
Moon
65%1 h 10 min moon-free
Wind
6 mphCalm
Low temperature
46°FDuring the dark hours
Dew risk
ModerateAir comes within 6° 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 Minneapolis
CDTFri 2Sat 3
Hour11p12a1a2a3a4a5a6a7a8a9a10a11a12p1p2p3p4p5p6p7p8p9p10p11p12a1a2a3a4a5a6a7a8a9a10a11a12p1p2p
Sky: Dark 11p–6a, Nautical twilight 6a–7a, Daylight 7a–7p, Nautical twilight 7p–8p, Astronomical twilight 8p–9p, Dark 9p–6a, Nautical twilight 6a–7a, Daylight 7a–3p
Total cloud00000002717000030621751392754969567911008890585154722762483461
Low cloud0000000000000000000000000000000000000000
Mid cloud00000000000000000011392754969562891008487564954722739231329
High cloud00000002717000030621750000002167024403300038332448
Sun & Moon
Temperature °F52515049484746464546495356585960616161595655535353535353535351515152545658606264
Dew point °F42424141404040404041424341393940393939444444444444444443434344444343434445474747
Wind mph766555555544334443321233466788910101191112121313
Rain (mm)000000000000000000000000000000.600000.200.20.200.2
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. Tonight1 Oct

    0%Clear

    65% · 1 h 10 min moon-free

    8:30 PM–5:34 AM

  2. Fri2 Oct

    72%Cloudy

    54% · 2 h 10 min moon-free

    8:28 PM–5:35 AM

  3. Sat3 Oct

    7%Clear

    42% · 3 h 30 min moon-free

    8:27 PM–5:37 AM

  4. Sun4 Oct

    2%Clear

    31% · 4 h 50 min moon-free

    8:25 PM–5:38 AM

    6-hourly data

  5. Mon5 Oct

    3%Clear

    21% · 6 h 10 min moon-free

    8:23 PM–5:39 AM

    6-hourly data

  6. Tue6 Oct

    0%Clear

    13% · 7 h 30 min moon-free

    8:21 PM–5:41 AM

    6-hourly data

  7. Wed7 Oct

    36%Partly cloudy

    7% · 8 h 50 min moon-free

    8:19 PM–5:42 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
6:53 PM
Civil dusk (−6°)
7:22 PM
Nautical dusk (−12°)
7:56 PM
Astronomical dusk (−18°)
8:30 PM
Astronomical dawn (−18°)
5:34 AM
Nautical dawn (−12°)
6:09 AM
Civil dawn (−6°)
6:43 AM
Sunrise
7:12 AM

Dark window: 8:30 PM – 5:34 AM CDT (9 h 4 min)

The Moon

Waning Gibbous

Illuminated
65%
Age
20.6 days
Moonrise
9:37 PM
Moonset
1:27 PM
Moon-free dark time
1 h 10 min

Next phases

  1. Last QuarterSat 3 Oct8:25 AM
  2. New MoonSat 10 Oct10:50 AM
  3. First QuarterSun 18 Oct11:13 AM
  4. Full MoonSun 25 Oct11:12 PM
Next lunar eclipse visible here
Partial · Tue 11 Jan 2028, 10:13 PM · Moon 55° up
Next solar eclipse visible here
Partial · Sun 14 Jan 2029, 11:17 AM · 66% 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 AM7:00 AMMarsJupiterSaturn
Planets tonight — Minneapolis
PlanetRisesTransits (altitude)SetsBest seen tonightBrightnessIn
JupiterVisible2:51 AM9:57 AM · 60°5:07 PM4:00 AM–5:34 AM, Emag -1.9Leo
SaturnVisible7:05 PM1:15 AM · 47°7:25 AM8:30 PM–5:34 AM, Smag 0.2Cetus
MarsVisible1:16 AM8:48 AM · 66°4:21 PM2:30 AM–5:34 AM, Emag 1.1Cancer
Venus10:09 AM2:45 PM · 24°7:17 PMBelow 10°mag -4.7Virgo
Mercury9:22 AM2:26 PM · 31°7:32 PMBelow 10°mag -0.1Virgo

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. Oct4Sun

    Planet · 7:12 AM

    Saturn at opposition

    Saturn is opposite the Sun: up all night, and at its closest and brightest for the year.

  2. Oct10Sat

    Moon · 10:50 AM

    New Moon

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

  3. Oct12Mon

    Planet · 5:06 AM

    Mercury at greatest evening elongation

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

  4. Oct25Sun

    Moon · 11:12 PM

    Full Moon

    Bright moonlight all night; best for the Moon itself.

  5. Oct28Wed

    Moon · 1:04 PM

    Moon at perigee near full (a “supermoon”)

    Closest to Earth this month: 364,397 km.

  6. Nov9Mon

    Moon · 1:02 AM

    New Moon

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

  7. Nov24Tue

    Moon · 8:54 AM

    Full Moon

    Bright moonlight all night; best for the Moon itself.

  8. Nov25Wed

    Moon · 3:02 PM

    Moon at perigee near full (a “supermoon”)

    Closest to Earth this month: 359,335 km.

  9. Dec8Tue

    Moon · 6:52 PM

    New Moon

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

  10. Dec21Mon

    Season · 2:50 PM

    Winter solstice

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

  11. Dec23Wed

    Moon · 7:28 PM

    Full Moon

    Bright moonlight all night; best for the Moon itself.

  12. Dec24Thu

    Moon · 2:32 AM

    Moon at perigee near full (a “supermoon”)

    Closest to Earth this month: 356,641 km.

Quick answers

Will it be clear for stargazing in Minneapolis tonight?
Clear for the rest of the night; the Moon (65% lit) rises at 9:37 PM. That is the hourly total-cloud forecast for Minneapolis, United States on the night of 1 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 Minneapolis tonight?
In Minneapolis, United States on the night of 1 October 2026, astronomical darkness begins at 8:30 PM and lasts until 5:34 AM CDT — 9 h 4 min of fully dark sky. The Sun sets at 6:53 PM, and nautical twilight ends at 7:56 PM.
Is the Moon up tonight in Minneapolis?
On the night of 1 October 2026 in Minneapolis, United States, the Moon is a waning gibbous, 65% illuminated. It sets at 1:27 PM and rises at 9:37 PM, CDT. 1 h 10 min of the dark window is moon-free.
Which planets can I see from Minneapolis tonight?
From Minneapolis, United States on the night of 1 October 2026: Mars (2:30 AM–5:34 AM, highest 43° in the E at 5:34 AM, magnitude 1.1); Jupiter (4:00 AM–5:34 AM, highest 28° in the E at 5:34 AM, magnitude -1.9); Saturn (8:30 PM–5:34 AM, highest 47° in the S at 1:10 AM, magnitude 0.2). Times are CDT; all are visible to the naked eye.

Forecast details

Location
44.980° N, 93.264° W
Elevation
253 m
Time zone
America/Chicago (CDT)
Weather model
MET Norway Locationforecast 2.0
Forecast issued
2 Oct, 01:20 UTC
Next update expected
≈ 2 Oct, 04:44 UTC
Page generated
2 Oct, 04:13 UTC
Astronomy
Computed with astronomy-engine for these coordinates

Computed for 44.980° N, 93.264° W, elevation 253 m, time zone America/Chicago. 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.