StarsOut

Is tonight good for stargazing in Hamburg?

Might be worth a look
Partial clearing expected. Keep an eye out.
Hamburg
Tonight's score
6.5
out of 10
Sun ↓ 18:23Dark 20:20–05:5259% cloud, 20:20–05:52
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Best 2 hours
9.320:20–22:00
Evening, 21–01
7.221:00–01:00
Best this week
6.3Tue, Oct 20
Parts of the night. The score above covers the whole dark window.
Moon
Waxing Crescent
26% lit
Moon doesn’t interfere — perfect darkness
Moon up: 13:49–19:57
Visible in daylight from 13:49 until sunset
Full moon: Oct 26

Sky quality tonight

Best 2 hours: 20:20–22:00

This week’s nights

Europe/Berlin

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How the score works

60% weight
Cloud cover
Averaged over the whole dark window, layer by layer. Low cloud blocks everything; thin high cirrus still lets bright stars through.
40% weight
Moon darkness
A new moon boosts the score. A bright Moon only costs points while it is actually above the horizon in the dark hours, and more the higher it stands.

Stargazing around Hamburg

Darker skies nearby

What you can realistically see from the city

  • The Moon and the bright planets (Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Mars when it is close) show up even from a light-polluted centre on a clear night.
  • Bright stars and constellations are easy. Through binoculars, the Pleiades and the Orion Nebula (winter) still stand out; faint galaxies do not.
  • The Milky Way is not visible from central Hamburg; you need a dark site outside the city.

Darkness through the year

  • From about 13 May to 29 July the sun never gets 18° below the horizon, so the sky never becomes fully dark, even at 2 a.m.
  • Around the winter solstice you get about 12.2 hours of full darkness.
  • Nights with 9+ hours of full darkness: October – February.
  • The bright core of the Milky Way (in Sagittarius) never climbs more than 7° above the southern horizon from Hamburg, so it hides behind haze and buildings.
  • The summer Milky Way through Cygnus is the one to look for: its brightest star, Deneb, passes 82° high.

Stargazing in Hamburg: questions

When does it get properly dark in Hamburg?

Between about 13 May and 29 July it never gets fully dark. The longest dark nights, around the winter solstice, give about 12.2 hours of full darkness. Months with 9+ hours: October – February.

Can you see the Milky Way from Hamburg?

Not from the city centre. From Hamburg's latitude the Milky Way's core peaks at only 7° above the horizon, so the band to look for is the summer Milky Way through Cygnus, which passes 82° high on dark nights from July to October. The nearest designated dark-sky place is Pellworm Star Island, about 139 km away.

Where is the nearest dark-sky place to Hamburg?

Pellworm Star Island: International Dark Sky Community – Star Island (2021), about 139 km as the crow flies.

What is the best time of year for stargazing in Hamburg?

For long, fully dark nights: October – February. Around the winter solstice there are about 12.2 hours of full darkness. Check the score before you go; clouds decide more than the calendar.

Coming up in the sky

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