Night sky tonight in Atacama Desert
🌙 26 June 2026
🔭 Tonight’s Sky Over the Atacama Desert — June 26, 2026
Bortle 2 skies, zero clouds, and exceptional transparency await you — but only if you can handle the deep chill! Here’s your hour-by-hour breakdown and top targets.
🌡️ Hour-by-Hour Weather & Observing Conditions
| Time (local) | Temp (°C) | Clouds (%) | Wind (m/s) | Good? | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19:00 | -8.8 | 0% | 1.7 | ✅ Yes | The golden hour! Clear, calm, just within temp range. |
| 20:00 | -10.6 | 0% | 1.2 | ❌ | Temp drops below your -10°C threshold — but skies remain pristine. Bundle up if you push it! |
| 21:00 | -11.4 | 0% | 1.0 | ❌ | Even colder, still crystal clear. |
| 22:00 | -12.2 | 0% | 0.7 | ❌ | Temperature continues to fall; wind nearly calm. |
| 23:00 | -13.1 | 0% | 0.5 | ❌ | Dead calm, zero clouds — but dangerously cold for electronics. |
| 00:00 | -13.2 | 0% | 0.8 | ❌ | Deepest cold. Auroral activity zero (no aurora tonight). |
| 01:00 | -13.4 | 0% | 1.1 | ❌ | Coldest hour. Moon high in the sky, washing out fainter objects. |
Key insight: The sky is perfectly clear all night with exceptional visibility (16 km) and zero fog. Your only limitation is the temperature threshold. If you can extend your session (or adjust your condition preset), you’ll have an extraordinary 7+ hours of photometric-quality darkness — but the Waxing Gibbous Moon (92% illuminated) will be a major factor.
🌙 Moon & Planets
- Moon — Waxing Gibbous, 92% lit, rising at 15:13 and transiting at 22:07. It dominates the sky after sunset, so focus on brighter targets or use a moon filter.
- Venus — Blazing at magnitude –3.97, visible low in the west after sunset (transit at 15:24). Catch it early before it sets.
No other planets are visible tonight — the gas giants are behind the Sun or below the horizon.
⭐ Recommended Targets (Brightest / Best for Tonight)
Given the bright moon, concentrate on globular clusters and open clusters that hold up well against moonlight:
- M44 (Beehive Cluster) — Magnitude 3.7, an easy binocular target in Cancer. Already high at dusk.
- M7 (Ptolemy Cluster) — Magnitude 4.1, a rich open cluster in Scorpius. Beautiful even with the Moon up.
- M22 — Magnitude 5.1 globular near the Galactic Bulge. One of the finest globulars for southern observers.
- M13 (Hercules Cluster) — Magnitude 5.8, but still a showpiece. Best after it transits later in the night.
- M6 (Butterfly Cluster) & M47 / M48 — All open clusters that will tolerate moonlight.
Pro tip: The Moon saturates the sky, so use averted vision and try a moon filter or observing with a hood to block stray light. Your Bortle 2 site will still reveal dozens of stars in these clusters.
🌌 Final Verdict
The Atacama delivers its legendary clarity tonight. The only catch: temperatures plummet below –10°C after 20:00. If you’re prepared with heated clothing, dew heaters, and insulated gear, you can grab one perfect hour at twilight (19:00–20:00) for Venus and the Beehive, then push into the cold for the globulars. The Moon will challenge deep-sky imaging, but visual observers will have a feast.
Clear skies and warm gloves! ❄️🔭
Poor conditions, better wait for another night.
Phase and apparent relative size for visible solar objects
| Name | Map | Calculator | Rising | Transit | Setting | Altitude | Magnitude | RA | Dec | Distance | Size | Elongation | Phase |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Venus | 2026-06-26 09:54:36 | 2026-06-26 15:24:26 | 2026-06-26 20:54:16 | +48° 55' 18.9" | -3.97 | 00h 36m 52.1s | +18° 4' 24.8" | 1.07 AU | 15.76" | 40° 16' 44.7" | 70.65% | ||
| Moon | 2026-06-26 15:18:42 | 2026-06-26 22:06:52 | 2026-06-27 04:55:02 | +87° 38' 39.4" | -11.67 | 01h 03m 46.2s | -25° 22' 31.4" | 0.00 AU | 1789.75" | 146° 59' 40.1" | 91.66% |
List of Messier objects by its transit time
| Messier | Map | Calculator | Type | Constellation | Transit | Altitude | Magnitude | RA | Dec | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M47 | Open Cluster | Puppis | 2026-06-26 13:48:16 | 81° 29' 0.5" | 5.2 mag | 07h 36m 36.0s | -14° 30' 0.0" | 1.6 kly | ||
| M48 | Open Cluster | Hydra | 2026-06-26 14:25:22 | 72° 47' 10.1" | 5.5 mag | 08h 13m 48.0s | -5° 47' 60.0" | 1.5 kly | ||
| M44 | Open Cluster | Cancer | 2026-06-26 14:51:36 | 47° 0' 47.3" | 3.7 mag | 08h 40m 06.0s | +19° 58' 60.0" | 577.0 ly | ||
| M5 | Globular Cluster | Serpens Caput | 2026-06-26 21:29:01 | 64° 54' 19.6" | 5.6 mag | 15h 18m 36.0s | +2° 4' 60.0" | 24.5 kly | ||
| M4 | Globular Cluster | Scorpius | 2026-06-26 22:33:50 | 86° 29' 12.0" | 5.6 mag | 16h 23m 36.0s | -26° 31' 60.0" | 7.2 kly | ||
| M13 | Globular Cluster | Hercules | 2026-06-26 22:51:53 | 30° 32' 32.6" | 5.8 mag | 16h 41m 42.0s | +36° 28' 0.0" | 22.8 kly | ||
| M6 | Open Cluster | Scorpius | 2026-06-26 23:50:08 | 80° 48' 18.0" | 5.3 mag | 17h 40m 06.0s | -32° 13' 0.0" | 2.0 kly | ||
| M7 | Open Cluster | Scorpius | 2026-06-27 00:03:53 | 78° 12' 20.8" | 4.1 mag | 17h 53m 54.0s | -34° 49' 0.0" | 800.0 ly | ||
| M24 | Star Cloud | Sagittarius | 2026-06-27 00:28:19 | 85° 23' 56.3" | 4.6 mag | 18h 18m 24.0s | -18° 25' 0.0" | 10.0 kly | ||
| M22 | Globular Cluster | Sagittarius | 2026-06-27 00:46:16 | 89° 7' 9.2" | 5.1 mag | 18h 36m 24.0s | -23° 53' 60.0" | 10.1 kly |
Waxing Gibbous
Illumination: 86%
No visible ISS passes tonight.