Stargazing forecast

Plan your next night outside

Find a clearer stretch of night.

Choose your place to explore cloud cover and darkness. Where U.S. weather data are available, Next Light looks for an upcoming hour with fewer clouds and a dark sky.

How to use the stargazing forecast

Choose a city or select “Use my location.” Open the Stars moment to explore the available forecast times. The displayed times use the chosen place’s local time zone. Move the slider to the hours you can actually spend outside rather than relying only on the first suggested window.

What counts as a clearer night?

The website looks for available forecast cloud cover at or below 35%, the Sun more than 18° below the horizon, and no indicated precipitation or hazardous weather in the available weather data. These are planning thresholds, not a guarantee of a clear or safe outing. A single qualifying hour does not mean the whole night will meet them.

The outlook uses National Weather Service data for supported U.S. locations and extends only as far as the available forecast, up to seven days. Missing readings remain unknown. A forecast of low cloud cover is not an observation from your site.

Make three checks before you go

First, compare the cloud outlook with current local conditions. Second, check whether the Moon will brighten the sky during your session. Third, choose a permitted observing place with an open view and less direct glare. Wind, temperature, smoke, and changing weather can also affect the outing.

Next Light’s clearer-night selection does not include moonlight, light pollution, atmospheric transparency, or astronomical seeing. It does not calculate a Milky Way visibility score. A darker sky and low cloud cover are useful ingredients, but they are not a complete assessment of what you will see.

What if no window appears?

“No clear night window yet” means the available hours have not met the selection criteria. “Cloud forecast unavailable” means the necessary data could not be provided for the selected place or time. Neither message predicts that every part of the night will be unusable.

Try a shorter session, revisit the forecast closer to your outing, or explore the Moon and local light times. For a first outing, a familiar nearby spot makes it easier to compare the forecast with the sky and learn what works for you.