Stargazing in Sōka tonight

Japan · 35.84°, 139.80°

Stargazing verdict · tonight

Good

Good — worth heading out if skies are clear.

›A waning crescent (17% lit) only mildly brightens the sky.
›About 6 hours of true darkness to work with.

Your sky map — scrub through time

A live map of the sky above Sōka: 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 Sōka

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 Sōka.

Tonight's sky in Sōka

🌘 Moon

Waning Crescent

17% lit

🌑 Darkness

20:45–02:46

6h of dark

🌇 Sun

sets 18:59

rises 04:33

🌙 Moon rise/set

up 00:39

down 14:39

Planets visible tonight

♀ Venus

Best evening · toward the W · 6° up

♂ Mars

Best early hours · toward the E · 11° up

♄ Saturn

Best early hours · toward the SE · 42° 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

20% moon

Sat 11 Jul

11 Jul

12% moon

Sun 12 Jul

12 Jul

5% moon

Mon 13 Jul

13 Jul

1% moon

Tue 14 Jul

14 Jul

0% moon

Wed 15 Jul

15 Jul

2% moon

Thu 16 Jul

16 Jul

7% moon

Fri 17 Jul

17 Jul

14% moon

Sat 18 Jul

18 Jul

22% moon

Sun 19 Jul

19 Jul

32% moon

Mon 20 Jul

20 Jul

42% moon

Tue 21 Jul

21 Jul

52% moon

Wed 22 Jul

22 Jul

61% moon

Thu 23 Jul

23 Jul

70% moon

Upcoming sky events from Sōka

12 August

Total solar eclipse

The headline event of 2026 and the first total solar eclipse over continental Europe since 1999. The narrow path of totality crosses eastern Greenland, western Iceland and northern Spain (plus a sliver of Portugal); a partial eclipse is visible across much of Europe, northern Asia, North Africa and parts of North America. Totality lasts up to 2m 18s.

12 August

Perseid meteor shower

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.

Moon phase for Sōka →All sky events

Stargazing in Sōka — FAQ

Is tonight good for stargazing in Sōka?

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 Sōka tonight?

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

When is the best night to stargaze in Sōka soon?

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

Times are local to Sōka (Asia/Tokyo). 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.