Tonight's sky over Austin, explained

This page answers one question for Austin, United States: is there anything worth going outside for tonight? It computes the sky live in your browser: satellite passes from current orbital elements, aurora chances from NOAA's live forecasts, planet positions, the meteor calendar, moonlight and your local cloud forecast, then ranks the lot from “skip” to “don't miss”.

When can I see the ISS from Austin?

The International Space Station passes over Austin several times a day, but it's only visible when three things line up: it's above the horizon, it's still catching sunlight, and your sky is dark. That usually means a handful of evening and pre-dawn passes per week. This page computes the exact visible pass times for Austin live, from current orbital data.

Can you see the aurora from Austin?

Realistically no. Austin is too close to the equator for aurora except during once-in-decades superstorms. This page will still flag one if it ever happens.

What planets are visible tonight in Austin?

It changes month to month. Venus, Jupiter, Saturn and Mars are the four worth looking for with the naked eye; whichever are up tonight over Austin are listed on this page with the direction to face, how high to look, and the time they're best.

When is the next meteor shower?

Major showers run on a fixed annual calendar: the Quadrantids (January), Perseids (August), Geminids (December) and half a dozen others. Whether one is worth watching from your location tonight depends on whether its radiant rises over your horizon, the moon, and cloud, which is exactly what this page scores.

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