Stargazing in Ladysmith tonight

South Africa · -28.56°, 29.78°

Stargazing verdict · tonight

Good

Good — worth heading out if skies are clear.

›A waning crescent (17% lit) only mildly brightens the sky.
›About 9 hours of true darkness to work with.

Your sky map — scrub through time

A live map of the sky above Ladysmith: the Moon, planets, bright stars and constellations, exactly where they are. Drag the sliders to move through the night — or forward and back by days — and watch everything shift.

The sky over Ladysmith

Tue 6 Oct, 22:00 · looking up — N at top, E to the left

Day

Time of night22:00

Drag the sliders to travel through time — watch the Moon, planets and constellations rise, set and shift. Positions are computed live for Ladysmith.

Tonight's sky in Ladysmith

🌘 Moon

Waning Crescent

17% lit

🌑 Darkness

19:24–04:13

9h of dark

🌇 Sun

sets 18:04

rises 05:33

🌙 Moon rise/set

up 03:29

down 14:02

Planets visible tonight

♀ Venus

Best evening · toward the W · 8° up

♂ Mars

Best early hours · toward the NE · 22° up

♃ Jupiter

Best early hours · toward the NE · 14° up

♄ Saturn

Best most of the night · toward the N · 59° up

☿ Mercury

Best evening · toward the W · 7° up

Best nights to stargaze — next two weeks

Ranked by how dark the sky will be (less Moon = better). Pair with a clear-sky forecast on the night.

Tue 6 Oct

6 Oct

16% moon

Wed 7 Oct

7 Oct

8% moon

Thu 8 Oct

8 Oct

3% moon

Fri 9 Oct

9 Oct

1% moon

Sat 10 Oct

10 Oct

0% moon

Sun 11 Oct

11 Oct

2% moon

Mon 12 Oct

12 Oct

5% moon

Tue 13 Oct

13 Oct

11% moon

Wed 14 Oct

14 Oct

17% moon

Thu 15 Oct

15 Oct

25% moon

Fri 16 Oct

16 Oct

34% moon

Sat 17 Oct

17 Oct

43% moon

Sun 18 Oct

18 Oct

52% moon

Mon 19 Oct

19 Oct

62% moon

Upcoming sky events from Ladysmith

14 December

Geminid meteor shower

Widely considered the best shower of the year: slow, bright, often colourful meteors at up to ~150 per hour under dark skies. In 2026 the Moon is only a young crescent at the 13–14 December peak, so conditions are excellent.

21 October · lesser-known

Orionid meteor shower

Fast, faint meteors — debris from Halley's Comet — peaking around 21 October at ~20 per hour. A quieter, connoisseur's shower; moonlight hampers the 2026 peak, so aim for the darkest hours.

17 November · lesser-known

Leonid meteor shower

The Leonids peak around 17 November at ~15 fast meteors an hour. Famous for rare, spectacular storms every ~33 years; 2026 is a normal year, but still a pleasant pre-dawn watch.

23 December

December supermoon

The final and closest supermoon of 2026 on 23 December — a full Moon near its closest approach to Earth, appearing slightly larger and noticeably brighter. Lovely to the eye, especially rising near the horizon.

Moon phase for Ladysmith →All sky events

Stargazing in Ladysmith — FAQ

Is tonight good for stargazing in Ladysmith?

Good — worth heading out if skies are clear. A waning crescent (17% lit) only mildly brightens the sky. Check the live cloud forecast above, which updates through the day.

What planets are visible from Ladysmith tonight?

Tonight you can spot Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Mercury above the horizon from Ladysmith, conditions permitting.

When is the best night to stargaze in Ladysmith soon?

The darkest upcoming night is around Sat 10 Oct, when the Moon is only 0% lit.

Times are local to Ladysmith (Africa/Johannesburg). Astronomical data is computed from established models; the cloud forecast is live from Open-Meteo and refreshes through the day. Always confirm with a live forecast before travelling to a dark-sky site.