WhenToStargaze

Stargazing in Tauranga tonight

New Zealand · -37.69°, 176.17°

Stargazing verdict · tonight

Fair

Fair — stars visible, but not the best conditions.

  • ›A bright full moon (100% lit) will wash out fainter stars.
  • ›About 10 hours of true darkness to work with.

Your sky map — scrub through time

A live map of the sky above Tauranga: 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 Tauranga
Thu 27 Aug, 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 Tauranga.

Tonight's sky in Tauranga

🌕 Moon
Full Moon
100% lit
🌑 Darkness
19:17–05:16
10h of dark
🌇 Sun
sets 17:49
rises 06:43
🌙 Moon rise/set
up 16:47
down 06:34

Planets visible tonight

♀ Venus
Best evening · toward the W · 26° up
♂ Mars
Best early hours · toward the NE · 13° up
♄ Saturn
Best early hours · toward the NW · 37° 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.

Thu 27 Aug
27 Aug
100% moon
Fri 28 Aug
28 Aug
100% moon
Sat 29 Aug
29 Aug
98% moon
Sun 30 Aug
30 Aug
94% moon
Mon 31 Aug
31 Aug
88% moon
Tue 1 Sept
1 Sept
80% moon
Wed 2 Sept
2 Sept
70% moon
Thu 3 Sept
3 Sept
59% moon
Fri 4 Sept
4 Sept
48% moon
Sat 5 Sept
5 Sept
37% moon
Sun 6 Sept
6 Sept
26% moon
Mon 7 Sept
7 Sept
16% moon
Tue 8 Sept
8 Sept
9% moon
Wed 9 Sept
9 Sept
3% moon

Upcoming sky events from Tauranga

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 Tauranga →All sky events

Stargazing in Tauranga — FAQ

Is tonight good for stargazing in Tauranga?

Fair — stars visible, but not the best conditions. A bright full moon (100% lit) will wash out fainter stars. Check the live cloud forecast above, which updates through the day.

What planets are visible from Tauranga tonight?

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

When is the best night to stargaze in Tauranga soon?

The darkest upcoming night is around Wed 9 Sept, when the Moon is only 3% lit.

Times are local to Tauranga (Pacific/Auckland). 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.