Set your place and time, find the Moon and bright planets, then follow named stars and selected spacecraft across the real sky.
Astronomical twilightBath · Sun, 16 Aug 2026, 22:00Sun 12.7° below horizon0 Moon + planets · 7 named stars above horizon now2 of 18 spacecraft above horizon · checking elements
Sky aboveBathBath, England
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Bath selected
Live local time22:00
Your sky now
Look above Bath.
The sky is nearly dark, though faint background glow remains. Tap an object on the chart, then choose whether to find it or build a short plan.
Current local timeSun, 16 Aug 2026, 22:0021:00 UTC · Europe/London
LightAstronomical twilightSelectedVega77° high · SouthVisible catalogue90 solar · 7 stars · 2 spacecraft
Optional accuracy step
Is anything blocking the sky?
Skip this if you have an open view. Add nearby buildings, trees or hills only when they actually block part of the sky.
Open view assumed
Tonight from hereMy Orbit · guided tour
A visibility-qualified route through the sky
Each stop clears both the 10° observing floor and your recorded local skyline, after civil dusk and bright enough for this small catalogue. Forecast data excludes near-total-cloud hours when available.Only opportunities that clear your local skyline enter this route. Start it to lock the plan; marking a target never advances without your tap.
4 qualified stops · next 12 hoursSelecting a stop locks this route so time changes cannot replace its targets.
Selected tour stop
How to look for Vega
23:00 local
Useful window
22:00–05:15
Meets this tour’s full checks throughout the sampled window
What to use
Naked eye
Selected from the deliberately bright named-star catalogue; binoculars are optional for orientation.
Why it qualified
Geometry only
South-west · 74° high · mag 0.03 · weather unavailable
Naked-eye observing brief
Checking the sky above you
The geometric shortlist is ready while local cloud and surface visibility are being checked.
Cloud
—
Checking
Rain chance
—
Hourly model
Surface visibility
—
Fog and haze signal
Best weather window
—
No forecast window
The tour is conservative rather than exhaustive. Every stop clears both 10° and the locally recorded skyline, is after civil dusk, bright enough for the twilight class and outside any available near-total-cloud, very-high-rain-risk or very-low-surface-visibility hour. A forecast is not a sighting guarantee; unrecorded obstructions, astronomical transparency and light pollution remain outside the model.
Best placed after dark · next 12hClear geometric view, not a weather forecast
The next 12 hours
Tonight from Bath
Twilight, the best-placed Moon and planets, and predicted spacecraft passes in one local-time sequence. Times are geometric calculations, not a weather forecast.
Adding spacecraft passes from the current orbital elements…
Horizon geometry uses the selected location. Buildings, terrain, cloud, light pollution and actual naked-eye brightness are not included.
Orientation layer
Meteor watch and sky patterns
Use familiar bright-star patterns to orient yourself, then place active shower radiants in the same local sky. These are guides, not decorative constellation art.
Orientation patternsBright-star asterisms
Active at selected time2026 IMO calendar
2026 shower outlook
The next activity windows
Bath sky · selected time
Active · peak passedSouthern δ Aquariids
Fainter meteors and a southerly radiant make this less favourable from northern latitudes.
Ideal ZHR
25
Peak Moon
98% Moon at peak
Parent
96P/Machholz?
Active · peak passedPerseids
A strong northern shower; 2026 peak conditions were favoured by a new Moon.
Ideal ZHR
100
Peak Moon
New Moon · excellent peak conditions
Parent
109P/Swift–Tuttle
UpcomingOrionids
Fast meteors from Halley’s Comet; the 2026 peak is compromised by a bright waxing Moon.
Ideal ZHR
20
Peak Moon
80% Moon · short dark window before dawn
Parent
1P/Halley
UpcomingSouthern Taurids
A low-rate, slow shower known for occasional bright fireballs; 2026 is not forecast as a swarm year.
Ideal ZHR
5
Peak Moon
18% Moon at the listed peak
Parent
2P/Encke
UpcomingNorthern Taurids
Another slow Taurid branch with modest rates but a chance of conspicuous fireballs.
Ideal ZHR
5
Peak Moon
7% Moon at peak
Parent
2P/Encke
UpcomingLeonids
Exceptionally fast meteors; 2026 is a normal return rather than a predicted meteor storm.
Ideal ZHR
15
Peak Moon
45% Moon · best hours remain usable
Parent
55P/Tempel–Tuttle
UpcomingGeminids
Usually the strongest and most reliable annual shower, with bright, often coloured meteors.
Ideal ZHR
150
Peak Moon
21% Moon · sets before the radiant climbs high
Parent
3200 Phaethon
UpcomingUrsids
A northern-only shower with modest normal rates and occasional unpredictable enhancements.
Ideal ZHR
10
Peak Moon
94% Moon · only a moonset-to-dawn opportunity
Parent
8P/Tuttle
Landmark close approach · safe flybyNear-Earth asteroid · not a meteor
99942 Apophis
A planetary-scale appointment.
On 13 April 2029, the roughly 340-metre asteroid will pass about 32,000 km above Earth’s surface—inside the altitude of many geosynchronous satellites, with no impact risk.
0Days00Hours00Minutes00Seconds
Closest approach
Visibility
Expected naked-eye opportunity from parts of the Eastern Hemisphere, including western Europe
Encounter distance
≈32,000 km above the surface · 0.1 lunar distances
Live sky firstWhat is above you now
North stays at the top · centre is directly overhead · edge is the horizon
NESWZenith
Selected star · six-hour apparent path Spacecraft near selected time · propagated ±1 hour
Centre = overheadEdge = horizonTop = northAll paths are relative to Bath
✦
Selected on the chartVega
South · 77° above the horizon
Direction
South · 175°
Altitude
77.4°
Constellation
Lyra
Apparent magnitude
0.03
01 · Selected star
Vega
The brightest star in Lyra and one corner of the Summer Triangle.
This is an orientation guide, not a telescope or spacecraft pointing solution. Solar System ephemerides, published star coordinates and refreshed orbital elements are transformed for the selected observer, place and time.
01 · PositionStart with published data
Ephemerides, star coordinates and orbital elements establish where each object should be.
02 · TransformMake it local
The selected place and time turn those records into altitude, direction and apparent paths.
03 · QualifyState the limits
Light, weather and recorded skyline data shape guidance without promising a sighting.
Useful guidance, not a sighting promise. Moon and planet positions are orientation-grade ephemerides; star arcs are apparent motion caused by Earth’s rotation. Spacecraft paths use SGP4 from disclosed elements—not live telemetry. Phone orientation is a local, smoothed direction aid whose accuracy depends on the handset and magnetic environment. The observing brief adds modelled cloud, rain chance and surface visibility, but it still cannot see local buildings, terrain, light pollution or small clear gaps.
03 · Continue
Keep tonight within reach.
Carry the objects and missions you care about into My Orbit, or compare the calculated sky with photographs and field records shared from the ground.