Skip to content
Astronight
Live forecastGet the app

Stargazing forecast

Stargazing forecast for New York City, New York

  • Fri 2 Oct night
  • 40.714° N, 74.006° W
  • 10 m
  • EDT · America/New_York
Open the live forecast — sky score, seeing, 7 nights

Tonight at a glance

Mostly cloudy; the Moon (54% lit) rises at 10:40 PM.

· MET Norway forecast issued 2 Oct, 19:17 UTC

Cloud cover
91%Cloudy
Dark hours
9 h 16 min8:07 PM–5:23 AM
Moon
54%2 h 35 min moon-free
Wind
9 mphLight
Low temperature
62°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 New York City
EDTFri 2Sat 3Sun 4
Hour6p7p8p9p10p11p12a1a2a3a4a5a6a7a8a9a10a11a12p1p2p3p4p5p6p7p8p9p10p11p12a1a2a3a4a5a6a7a8a9a
Sky: Daylight 6p–7p, Nautical twilight 7p–8p, Dark 8p–5a, Astronomical twilight 5a–6a, Civil twilight 6a–7a, Daylight 7a–7p, Nautical twilight 7p–8p, Dark 8p–5a, Astronomical twilight 5a–6a, Civil twilight 6a–7a, Daylight 7a–10a
Total cloud80968986100100100100100997161827057130000000294010000000572979989
Low cloud83181997482000000000000000029401000000000000
Mid cloud34874356100100100100100941093300000000000000000000000000
High cloud6768816473827396100987056816957130000000000000000000572979989
Sun & Moon
Temperature °F76757472717069676464636261606162656769707171717067656362616059585857565656565759
Dew point °F; dew risk (within 2° of the dew point): 1a, 2a, 7a69696765636260565555545454555555565554525048474853555555555556555453524950525352
Wind mph97889910111087889998999877688767778888910101010
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. Tonight2 Oct

    91%Cloudy

    54% · 2 h 40 min moon-free

    8:07 PM–5:23 AM

  2. Sat3 Oct

    1%Clear

    43% · 3 h 50 min moon-free

    8:05 PM–5:24 AM

  3. Sun4 Oct

    81%Cloudy

    32% · 5 h 10 min moon-free

    8:03 PM–5:25 AM

  4. Mon5 Oct

    0%Clear

    22% · 6 h 20 min moon-free

    8:02 PM–5:26 AM

    6-hourly data

  5. Tue6 Oct

    0%Clear

    13% · 7 h 40 min moon-free

    8:00 PM–5:27 AM

    6-hourly data

  6. Wed7 Oct

    0%Clear

    7% · 8 h 50 min moon-free

    7:58 PM–5:28 AM

    6-hourly data

  7. Thu8 Oct

    0%Clear

    2% · 9 h 33 min moon-free

    7:57 PM–5:29 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
6:36 PM
Civil dusk (−6°)
7:03 PM
Nautical dusk (−12°)
7:35 PM
Astronomical dusk (−18°)
8:07 PM
Astronomical dawn (−18°)
5:23 AM
Nautical dawn (−12°)
5:55 AM
Civil dawn (−6°)
6:27 AM
Sunrise
6:54 AM

Dark window: 8:07 PM – 5:23 AM EDT (9 h 16 min)

The Moon

Waning Gibbous

Illuminated
54%
Age
21.5 days
Moonrise
10:40 PM
Moonset
1:52 PM
Moon-free dark time
2 h 35 min

Next phases

  1. Last QuarterSat 3 Oct9:25 AM
  2. New MoonSat 10 Oct11:50 AM
  3. First QuarterSun 18 Oct12:13 PM
  4. Full MoonMon 26 Oct12:12 AM
Next lunar eclipse visible here
Partial · Tue 11 Jan 2028, 11:13 PM · Moon 69° up
Next solar eclipse visible here
Partial · Sun 14 Jan 2029, 12:50 PM · 41% 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°8:00 PM10:00 PM12:00 AM2:00 AM4:00 AM6:00 AMMarsJupiterSaturn
Planets tonight — New York City
PlanetRisesTransits (altitude)SetsBest seen tonightBrightnessIn
JupiterVisible2:40 AM9:37 AM · 65°4:37 PM3:47 AM–5:23 AM, Emag -1.9Leo
SaturnVisible6:45 PM12:54 AM · 51°7:03 AM8:07 PM–5:23 AM, Smag 0.2Cetus
MarsVisible1:11 AM8:29 AM · 70°3:49 PM2:17 AM–5:23 AM, Emag 1.1Cancer
Venus9:36 AM2:24 PM · 28°7:09 PMBelow 10°mag -4.7Virgo
Mercury9:00 AM2:10 PM · 35°7:22 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 · 8:12 AM

    Saturn at opposition

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

  2. Oct10Sat

    Moon · 11:50 AM

    New Moon

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

  3. Oct12Mon

    Planet · 6:06 AM

    Mercury at greatest evening elongation

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

  4. Oct26Mon

    Moon · 12:12 AM

    Full Moon

    Bright moonlight all night; best for the Moon itself.

  5. Oct28Wed

    Moon · 2:04 PM

    Moon at perigee near full (a “supermoon”)

    Closest to Earth this month: 364,397 km.

  6. Nov9Mon

    Moon · 2:02 AM

    New Moon

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

  7. Nov24Tue

    Moon · 9:54 AM

    Full Moon

    Bright moonlight all night; best for the Moon itself.

  8. Nov25Wed

    Moon · 4:02 PM

    Moon at perigee near full (a “supermoon”)

    Closest to Earth this month: 359,335 km.

  9. Dec8Tue

    Moon · 7:52 PM

    New Moon

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

  10. Dec21Mon

    Season · 3:50 PM

    Winter solstice

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

  11. Dec23Wed

    Moon · 8:28 PM

    Full Moon

    Bright moonlight all night; best for the Moon itself.

  12. Dec24Thu

    Moon · 3:32 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 New York City tonight?
Mostly cloudy; the Moon (54% lit) rises at 10:40 PM. That is the hourly total-cloud forecast for New York City, United States on the night of 2 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 New York City tonight?
In New York City, United States on the night of 2 October 2026, astronomical darkness begins at 8:07 PM and lasts until 5:23 AM EDT — 9 h 16 min of fully dark sky. The Sun sets at 6:36 PM, and nautical twilight ends at 7:35 PM.
Is the Moon up tonight in New York City?
On the night of 2 October 2026 in New York City, United States, the Moon is a waning gibbous, 54% illuminated. It sets at 1:52 PM and rises at 10:40 PM, EDT. 2 h 35 min of the dark window is moon-free.
Which planets can I see from New York City tonight?
From New York City, United States on the night of 2 October 2026: Mars (2:17 AM–5:23 AM, highest 46° in the E at 5:23 AM, magnitude 1.1); Jupiter (3:47 AM–5:23 AM, highest 30° in the E at 5:23 AM, magnitude -1.9); Saturn (8:07 PM–5:23 AM, highest 51° in the S at 12:57 AM, magnitude 0.2). Times are EDT; all are visible to the naked eye.

Forecast details

Location
40.714° N, 74.006° W
Elevation
10 m
Time zone
America/New_York (EDT)
Weather model
MET Norway Locationforecast 2.0
Forecast issued
2 Oct, 19:17 UTC
Next update expected
≈ 2 Oct, 22:50 UTC
Page generated
2 Oct, 22:54 UTC
Astronomy
Computed with astronomy-engine for these coordinates

Computed for 40.714° N, 74.006° W, elevation 10 m, time zone America/New_York. 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.