Which constellations can you see from Rotterdam tonight?

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This page provides a result prefilled with the place and coordinates. The calculations and phone gyroscope work without an order; the HD poster remains optional. See tonight's constellations over Rotterdam

Overhead, rising and never-setting constellations for October–December 2026, with a live chart for tonight

The table lists the constellations over Rotterdam for each month of October–December 2026; the live chart then shows tonight's sky for the city or your exact location, with the Moon and planets. Both are free.

Why choose Starry Memory

• Computed for the city's sky — The lists are calculated for Rotterdam's latitude and local evening time, month by month, not copied from a generic seasonal chart.
• Overhead, rising and setting — Knowing where a constellation stands helps you find it: overhead ones are the easiest, rising ones climb through the evening, setting ones are best early.
• Never-setting groups — The circumpolar constellations of Rotterdam are listed: they are there on any clear night of the year.
• Live chart for tonight — The chart below recomputes the constellations, the Moon and the planets for tonight and for your exact location.

From Rotterdam, latitude decides how high each familiar pattern can climb above an ideal horizon.

Latitude-screened constellations for Rotterdam

Each entry below gives an approximate maximum altitude at meridian transit and a practical season; an asterisk means circumpolar in this simplified centroid model: Ursa Major: 85.9°, all year *; Perseus: 83.1°, all year *; Cassiopeia: 81.9°, all year *; Auriga: 80.1°, all year *; Cygnus: 78.1°, all year *; Draco: 76.9°, all year *; Cepheus: 71.9°, all year *; Ursa Minor: 64.9°, all year *; Andromeda: 76.1°, autumn; Lyra: 74.1°, summer; Boötes: 68.1°, spring; Gemini: 60.1°, winter; Taurus: 56.1°, winter; Leo: 53.1°, spring. This is a planning guide, not a promise that every star will be visible from a bright street. Date, hour, local obstructions and light pollution still matter. The live sky tool performs the date-specific projection that a static latitude table cannot.

Rotterdam's verifiable local record

92250 · longitude 4.47917 · north hemisphere · timezone Europe/Amsterdam · celestial-pole altitude 51.9°. Seasonal signature: longest night in December, 16 h 27 · shortest night in June, 7 h 33 · range 8.90 hours. Meridian star markers: Ursa Major 85.9° * · Perseus 83.1° * · Cassiopeia 81.9° * · Auriga 80.1° * · Cygnus 78.1° * · Draco 76.9° *. Nearby catalogue cities: The Hague 21 km · Breda 43 km · Utrecht 48 km. First regional eclipse shortlist: 2027-02-20 Penumbral lunar eclipse 23:14 UTC · 2027-08-02 Total solar eclipse 10:07 UTC · 2028-01-12 Partial lunar eclipse 04:14 UTC. Together these values form the local evidence record for the “constellations” page; they change with place and remain separate from real weather.

Rotterdam compared with nearby catalogue cities

1. Rotterdam → The Hague: 21.1 km · Δlat +0.154° · Δlon -0.181° · Δpole +0.2° · timezone Europe/Amsterdam = Europe/Amsterdam · longest night December 16 h 29 | 2. Rotterdam → Breda: 42.6 km · Δlat -0.336° · Δlon +0.297° · Δpole -0.3° · timezone Europe/Amsterdam = Europe/Amsterdam · longest night December 16 h 23 | 3. Rotterdam → Utrecht: 47.8 km · Δlat +0.168° · Δlon +0.643° · Δpole +0.2° · timezone Europe/Amsterdam = Europe/Amsterdam · longest night December 16 h 29. Monthly night comparison with the nearest catalogue reference — January: Rotterdam 15 h 58 / The Hague 15 h 59 / Δ -0.02 h · February: Rotterdam 14 h 20 / The Hague 14 h 21 / Δ -0.01 h · March: Rotterdam 12 h 29 / The Hague 12 h 29 / Δ +0.00 h · April: Rotterdam 10 h 22 / The Hague 10 h 22 / Δ +0.01 h · May: Rotterdam 8 h 34 / The Hague 8 h 33 / Δ +0.02 h · June: Rotterdam 7 h 33 / The Hague 7 h 31 / Δ +0.03 h · July: Rotterdam 7 h 58 / The Hague 7 h 57 / Δ +0.02 h · August: Rotterdam 9 h 34 / The Hague 9 h 33 / Δ +0.02 h · September: Rotterdam 11 h 37 / The Hague 11 h 37 / Δ +0.00 h · October: Rotterdam 13 h 40 / The Hague 13 h 40 / Δ -0.01 h · November: Rotterdam 15 h 31 / The Hague 15 h 32 / Δ -0.02 h · December: Rotterdam 16 h 27 / The Hague 16 h 29 / Δ -0.03 h. For constellation screening, latitude difference becomes a meridian-altitude difference; a small change is reported as small rather than exaggerated for local copy.

The astronomical fingerprint of Rotterdam

Rotterdam is represented by 51.9225° N, 4.4792° E, in South Holland, using the IANA zone Europe/Amsterdam. This is a high-latitude viewpoint: the relevant celestial pole stands about 51.9° above its horizon. No source elevation is used, so a flat horizon remains the transparent default.

Twelve monthly light estimates for Rotterdam

The following pairs are approximate daylight / night duration around the 15th of each month: January: 8 h 02 / 15 h 58; February: 9 h 40 / 14 h 20; March: 11 h 31 / 12 h 29; April: 13 h 38 / 10 h 22; May: 15 h 26 / 8 h 34; June: 16 h 27 / 7 h 33; July: 16 h 02 / 7 h 58; August: 14 h 26 / 9 h 34; September: 12 h 23 / 11 h 37; October: 10 h 20 / 13 h 40; November: 8 h 29 / 15 h 31; December: 7 h 33 / 16 h 27. The longest estimated night in this model is December at 16 h 27; the shortest is June at 7 h 33. “Night” here is the complement of daylight on a flat horizon. Civil, nautical and astronomical twilight are not interchangeable, and weather is not predicted by this table.

What the calculation does — and does not claim

Coordinates, date and local time feed the same astronomical workflow used by the poster. The HYG catalogue provides star entries, while Astronomy Engine calculates moving bodies. The page does not claim that city-centre coordinates equal a hospital, venue or home: selecting an autocomplete suggestion replaces the shortcut with that location. It also separates astronomical geometry from weather and light pollution, so a correct map never becomes a claim that the ground-level sky was cloudless.

Free gyroscope first, optional poster second

On a compatible phone, the gyroscope turns the calculated sky into a movable window: tilt and rotate to explore, with star names shown beside key points. That experience is free. If a date deserves a keepsake, the same place can continue into the editor. The protected preview remains watermarked before payment; the €3.99 purchase unlocks the 4960 × 7016 px, 300 DPI file. Physical formats appear only when availability, delivery supplement and timing can be checked for the destination. The HD file is charged once at €3.99.

Frequently asked questions

What constellations can I see tonight from Rotterdam?

In mid-October around 9:00 pm: Cygnus, Cepheus, Lyra, Draco, Cassiopeia, Pegasus and Ursa Minor overhead, Pisces, Perseus, Aries and Auriga rising in the east. In mid-November: Cassiopeia, Andromeda, Cepheus, Perseus, Cygnus and Pegasus overhead, Auriga, Taurus and Gemini rising.

Which constellations never set from Rotterdam?

Ursa Major, Ursa Minor, Cassiopeia, Perseus, Cepheus and Draco stay above the horizon all night, all year, from Rotterdam's latitude (51.9° N).

Can I see the Southern Cross from Rotterdam?

No. From Rotterdam, the Southern Cross never rises above the horizon.

When is the best time to look?

After full darkness (8:40 pm in mid-October, 6:49 pm in mid-November, 6:36 pm in mid-December) and away from the full Moon (October 26, November 24, December 24). The new Moons of October 10, November 9, December 9 give the darkest skies.

How do I find constellations from a city?

Start from the brightest stars, let your eyes adapt for 15 to 20 minutes, and look for the main outline rather than every star. Light pollution hides faint stars, so patterns such as Cassiopeia's W or Orion's belt are the easiest first targets.

Why does the sky change during the year?

The stars rise about four minutes earlier each night, so the evening sky shifts by about two hours a month as the Earth orbits the Sun. From Rotterdam, Cygnus and Cepheus are overhead in mid-October; by mid-December, Andromeda and Perseus have taken over and Gemini is rising in the east. Latitude matters too: it decides which groups never rise and which never set.

See tonight's constellations over Rotterdam

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See also

• A personalised star map gift for Rotterdam
• What's in the night sky tonight over Rotterdam?
• Night length and darkness calendar for Rotterdam
• Eclipse calendar for Rotterdam
• Which constellations can you see from The Hague tonight?
• Which constellations can you see from Breda tonight?
• Which constellations can you see from Utrecht tonight?
• Personalised star map gifts across Netherlands
• Local astronomy calendars for 407 cities
• What's in the night sky tonight, from where you are?

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