WhenToStargaze

Stargazing in Pretoria tonight

South Africa · -25.74°, 28.19°

Stargazing verdict · tonight

Good

Good — worth heading out if skies are clear.

  • ›A waning crescent (18% lit) only mildly brightens the sky.
  • ›About 11 hours of true darkness to work with.

Your sky map — scrub through time

A live map of the sky above Pretoria: 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 Pretoria
Fri 10 Jul, 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 Pretoria.

Tonight's sky in Pretoria

🌘 Moon
Waning Crescent
18% lit
🌑 Darkness
18:52–05:32
11h of dark
🌇 Sun
sets 17:31
rises 06:53
🌙 Moon rise/set
up 03:39
down 13:21

Planets visible tonight

♀ Venus
Best evening · toward the NW · 23° up
♂ Mars
Best early hours · toward the NE · 18° up
♄ Saturn
Best early hours · toward the N · 61° 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.

Fri 10 Jul
10 Jul
17% moon
Sat 11 Jul
11 Jul
9% moon
Sun 12 Jul
12 Jul
3% moon
Mon 13 Jul
13 Jul
0% moon
Tue 14 Jul
14 Jul
0% moon
Wed 15 Jul
15 Jul
3% moon
Thu 16 Jul
16 Jul
9% moon
Fri 17 Jul
17 Jul
16% moon
Sat 18 Jul
18 Jul
25% moon
Sun 19 Jul
19 Jul
35% moon
Mon 20 Jul
20 Jul
45% moon
Tue 21 Jul
21 Jul
55% moon
Wed 22 Jul
22 Jul
64% moon
Thu 23 Jul
23 Jul
73% moon

Upcoming sky events from Pretoria

28 August
Partial lunar eclipse
A partial lunar eclipse on 28 August, with part of the full Moon dimming and reddening as it enters Earth's shadow. Visible from the Americas, Europe, Africa and Asia depending on your local moonrise/moonset.
4 October
Saturn at opposition
Saturn reaches opposition on 4 October — directly opposite the Sun, so it rises at sunset, sets at sunrise and is at its biggest and brightest of the year. The best night to catch the rings through even a small telescope.
26 September · lesser-known
Neptune at opposition
The most distant planet reaches opposition on 26 September — its brightest for the year, though still faint. A rewarding challenge target: Neptune shows as a tiny blue-grey disc through a telescope. One for the keen.
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.
Moon phase for Pretoria →All sky events

Stargazing in Pretoria — FAQ

Is tonight good for stargazing in Pretoria?

Good — worth heading out if skies are clear. A waning crescent (18% lit) only mildly brightens the sky. Check the live cloud forecast above, which updates through the day.

What planets are visible from Pretoria tonight?

Tonight you can spot Venus, Mars, Saturn above the horizon from Pretoria, conditions permitting.

When is the best night to stargaze in Pretoria soon?

The darkest upcoming night is around Tue 14 Jul, when the Moon is only 0% lit.

Times are local to Pretoria (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.