🌙 Tonight's Sky in London — 24/25 September 2026

Start with a bang: a bright ISS flyby at 20:07 BST streaks across the city sky — the easiest "satellite" you'll ever catch, no optics needed.

Hour-by-hour conditions

The night plays hide-and-seek with clouds, so timing matters: - 21:00 — 45% cloud, 17.4°C, light breeze (2 m/s). Marginal. - 22:00 — First golden window: clouds drop to 36%, visibility 16 km, wind easing to 1.5 m/s. ✅ - 23:00–00:00 — Clouds roll back in (43–45%), temperatures fall through 15°C → 14.7°C. ❌ - 01:00+ — Second clearing: 34% cloud, 13.6°C, wind nearly dead at 1 m/s. ✅

No rain, no fog all night — just patchy cloud and a steadily cooling, calming atmosphere.

The Moon & planets

A 92% waxing gibbous (rising 18:03) dominates the sky and won't set until the early hours — treat it as an extra layer of light pollution on top of London's Bortle 9. That makes Saturn the true showpiece: magnitude 0.34, transiting at 01:31, perfectly placed for ring detail in the post-midnight clearing. Uranus (mag 5.65, transit 04:57) is technically up, but a real challenge from the city.

What to point at

Go bright and forgiving: - M31 (Andromeda Galaxy) — the big one, still impressive despite the Moon - M45 (Pleiades) — a sparkling open cluster that shrugs off moonlight - M13 & M5 — globular clusters that will still resolve into stars at the eyepiece

Skip M33 — it'll be a ghost tonight.

Bottom line: set up by 22:00 for the first window, or wait for the 01:00+ clearing when Saturn rides highest, the wind dies, and the sky settles. Clear skies — and dress warm! 🔭