What can you see in the night sky tonight? Find out what’s on view in our monthly stargazing guide.

By Pete Lawrence

Published: Thursday, 04 January 2024 at 08:12 AM


What’s in the night sky tonight?

Those of us who enjoy stargazing and observing the night sky can’t always plan when and where we’re going to get the chance to gaze upwards.

Busy schedules, light pollution, the weather: sometimes finding even just 30 minutes to stand and stare up at a clear, dark night sky and take in the planets, stars and constellations can be a feat in itself.

So when you do find the time, you’ll need to know what’s visible in the night sky tonight, and the best things to look out for when stargazing.

Complete newcomer? Read our guides to the best telescopes for beginners and astronomy for beginners.

Milky Way over Namthing Pokhri Lake Basudeb Chakrabarti, West Bengal, India, 13 March 2022 Equipment: Nikon D5200 DSLR, Tokina 11–16mm lens, tripod

Here’s our stargazing guide to what you can see in the night sky tonight.

Our guide is centred around what’s visible from the UK, but all northern hemisphere observers should be able to use it, with the odd adjustment to stated times.

In our guide, we useUniversal Time (UT) and British Summer Time (BST). UT is the standard time used by astronomers around the world. BST is one hour ahead of UT

We also use RA (Right ascension)and dec. (declination).

These coordinates are the night sky’s equivalent of longitude and latitude, describing where an object is on the celestial ‘globe’.

For help with these, read our guide to celestial coordinates.

For more advice, read our guide on how to stargaze or sign up to receive the BBC Sky at Night Magazine e-newsletter for weekly tips delivered directly to your email inbox.

If you’re south of the equator, find out what you can see in the Southern Hemisphere night sky tonight.