Night sky tonight in London

London — Tonight (26/27 June 2026)

Hourly weather evolution:
- 00:00 BST — Good conditions: 33% cloud, 22°C, light breeze (~3 km/h), visibility 16 km, no fog. Perfect start.
- 01:00 BST — Clouds build to 41%, exceeding your 40% limit → session becomes marginal. Temperature still mild (22°C), wind calm.

Your viewing quality is 50 — a mixed night. The first hour is the sweet spot; after that, cloud cover thickens and likely persists.

Moon & sky context:
- Waxing Gibbous (86% illuminated, age 11 days). Moon rises at 18:49 and sets at 01:43 BST. It will be glaringly bright early evening, but it’ll drop below the horizon just after 01:30, leaving the last 10–15 minutes before cloud limit a darker window.
- Bortle 8 (inner city) — light pollution is severe; stick to bright targets.

Planets: None visible tonight — all are either below the horizon or lost in the Moon’s glare.

Recommended targets (all survive city & moonlight):
- M13 (Hercules Globular Cluster, mag 5.8) — high in the south after dusk, resolves into a beautiful “spider” in a 6‑inch+ scope.
- M5 (Globular, mag 5.6) — also well placed, slightly tighter than M13.
- M24 (Sagittarius Star Cloud, mag 4.6) — a huge naked‑eye smudge, shows rich star fields in binoculars.
- M31 (Andromeda Galaxy, mag 3.4) — rising in the northeast later; its core is bright enough to punch through the Moon and city glow.
- M34 & M39 — open clusters, good for quick hits.

ISS pass: A bright flyby at 03:23 BST — but by then clouds may have rolled in (41%+). Worth a peek if the sky clears, as the space station will outshine any haze.

Bottom line: Grab your gear right at midnight for the clearest skies. Focus on globulars and the Moon‑free window after 01:30 (if the clouds cooperate). It’s a short but sweet window — make it count! 🔭