SpaceWeatherTracker Methodology

Your latitude, longitude, and local time determine which planets are visible, where the moon sits in the sky, when the sun rises and sets, how long darkness lasts, and how likely you are to see aurora. Two observers on the same night can see very different skies — location matters more than most people expect.

We compute the current moon phase, its illumination percentage, and moonrise / moonset times from established astronomical models using your date, time, and coordinates. See it in action on the Moon page.

A planet is only visible when several factors line up: its position in orbit, its brightness (apparent magnitude), its altitude above your horizon, your observer location, and the time of night. We fold all of these together into the visibility summaries on Visible Planets.

Aurora visibility is estimated from a combination of factors:

• Planetary Kp index
• Solar wind speed
• Solar wind density
• Interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) conditions, especially Bz
• Your geographic latitude relative to the Kp-driven auroral oval

Aurora forecasts indicate the potential for visibility — they are not guarantees. Storms can develop or fade within minutes.

Our stargazing quality signal considers cloud cover, moon brightness, hours of true darkness, your location, and general atmospheric conditions. Clear skies plus a dark moon plus a dark location beats a Bortle-1 site on a full moon under overcast.

Each Sky Tonight location page combines geographic data, astronomy calculations, current space weather conditions, and local information into a single briefing tailored to that place.

For the underlying data providers, see Data Sources.