Which constellations can you see from Sunshine Coast tonight?
Stars and constellations over Sunshine Coast tonight: October–December 2026
| Month | High overhead | Rising in the east | Setting in the west |
|---|---|---|---|
| mid-October · 9:00 pm | Piscis Austrinus, Aquarius, Grus and Phoenix | Eridanus and Aries | Scorpius |
| mid-November · 9:00 pm | Cetus, Phoenix, Eridanus, Aquarius, Pisces, Piscis Austrinus and Grus | Taurus, Orion, Canis Major and Puppis | Sagittarius |
| mid-December · 9:00 pm | Eridanus, Cetus and Phoenix | Canis Major, Puppis, Carina and Canis Minor | Pegasus, Aquarius and Piscis Austrinus |
From Sunshine Coast on mid-October evenings (around 9:00 pm), look straight up for Piscis Austrinus, Aquarius, Grus and Phoenix. Rising in the east: Eridanus and Aries. Sinking in the west: Scorpius. From Sunshine Coast's low latitude, no major constellation stays up all night. Bright stars to start from: Achernar, Altair and Fomalhaut. By mid-December, Canis Major, Puppis, Carina and Canis Minor join the evening sky.
Use the live chart below for tonight's exact view.
- Make tonight's sky a gift. Preview the free star map of a night in Sunshine Coast
- Or name a star in Piscis Austrinus, high over Sunshine Coast on October evenings: a symbolic dedication with a PDF certificate. Choose a star in Piscis Austrinus
Use the free local tool
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 Sunshine Coast
Overhead, rising and never-setting constellations for October–December 2026, with a live chart for tonight
The table lists the constellations over Sunshine Coast 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 Sunshine Coast'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 Sunshine Coast 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 Sunshine Coast, latitude decides how high each familiar pattern can climb above an ideal horizon.
Latitude-screened constellations for Sunshine Coast
Each entry below gives an approximate maximum altitude at meridian transit and a practical season; an asterisk means circumpolar in this simplified centroid model: Pavo: 51.7°, all year *; Hydrus: 46.7°, all year *; Octans: 34.7°, all year *; Scorpius: 89.3°, winter; Sagittarius: 88.3°, winter; Canis Major: 83.3°, summer; Centaurus: 69.7°, autumn; Phoenix: 68.7°, spring; Virgo: 67.3°, autumn; Aquila: 63.3°, winter; Orion: 58.3°, summer; Crux: 56.7°, autumn; Carina: 56.7°, summer; Leo: 48.3°, autumn. 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.
Sunshine Coast's verifiable local record
65682 · longitude 153.07955 · south hemisphere · timezone Australia/Brisbane · celestial-pole altitude 26.7°. Seasonal signature: longest night in June, 13 h 40 · shortest night in December, 10 h 20 · range 3.34 hours. Meridian star markers: Pavo 51.7° * · Hydrus 46.7° * · Octans 34.7° * · Scorpius 89.3° · Sagittarius 88.3° · Canis Major 83.3°. Nearby catalogue cities: Brisbane 90 km · Logan City 109 km · Toowoomba 150 km. First regional eclipse shortlist: 2027-07-18 Penumbral lunar eclipse 16:04 UTC · 2027-08-17 Penumbral lunar eclipse 07:14 UTC · 2028-07-06 Partial lunar eclipse 18:20 UTC. Together these values form the local evidence record for the “constellations” page; they change with place and remain separate from real weather.
Sunshine Coast compared with nearby catalogue cities
1. Sunshine Coast → Brisbane: 90.3 km · Δlat -0.811° · Δlon -0.051° · Δpole +0.8° · timezone Australia/Brisbane = Australia/Brisbane · longest night June 13 h 44 | 2. Sunshine Coast → Logan City: 109.3 km · Δlat -0.982° · Δlon +0.030° · Δpole +0.9° · timezone Australia/Brisbane = Australia/Brisbane · longest night June 13 h 44 | 3. Sunshine Coast → Toowoomba: 150.0 km · Δlat -0.904° · Δlon -1.126° · Δpole +0.9° · timezone Australia/Brisbane = Australia/Brisbane · longest night June 13 h 44. Monthly night comparison with the nearest catalogue reference — January: Sunshine Coast 10 h 30 / Brisbane 10 h 26 / Δ +0.06 h · February: Sunshine Coast 11 h 05 / Brisbane 11 h 04 / Δ +0.03 h · March: Sunshine Coast 11 h 49 / Brisbane 11 h 48 / Δ +0.01 h · April: Sunshine Coast 12 h 38 / Brisbane 12 h 40 / Δ -0.02 h · May: Sunshine Coast 13 h 19 / Brisbane 13 h 22 / Δ -0.05 h · June: Sunshine Coast 13 h 40 / Brisbane 13 h 44 / Δ -0.06 h · July: Sunshine Coast 13 h 31 / Brisbane 13 h 35 / Δ -0.06 h · August: Sunshine Coast 12 h 56 / Brisbane 12 h 59 / Δ -0.04 h · September: Sunshine Coast 12 h 09 / Brisbane 12 h 09 / Δ +0.00 h · October: Sunshine Coast 11 h 21 / Brisbane 11 h 20 / Δ +0.02 h · November: Sunshine Coast 10 h 40 / Brisbane 10 h 37 / Δ +0.05 h · December: Sunshine Coast 10 h 20 / Brisbane 10 h 16 / Δ +0.06 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 Sunshine Coast
Sunshine Coast is represented by 26.6568° S, 153.0796° E, in Queensland, using the IANA zone Australia/Brisbane. This is a tropical viewpoint: the relevant celestial pole stands about 26.7° above its horizon. No source elevation is used, so a flat horizon remains the transparent default.
Twelve monthly light estimates for Sunshine Coast
The following pairs are approximate daylight / night duration around the 15th of each month: January: 13 h 30 / 10 h 30; February: 12 h 55 / 11 h 05; March: 12 h 11 / 11 h 49; April: 11 h 22 / 12 h 38; May: 10 h 41 / 13 h 19; June: 10 h 20 / 13 h 40; July: 10 h 29 / 13 h 31; August: 11 h 04 / 12 h 56; September: 11 h 51 / 12 h 09; October: 12 h 39 / 11 h 21; November: 13 h 20 / 10 h 40; December: 13 h 40 / 10 h 20. The longest estimated night in this model is June at 13 h 40; the shortest is December at 10 h 20. “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. Checkout is in euros; the card issuer shows the current conversion to Australian dollars (AUD).
Frequently asked questions
What constellations can I see tonight from Sunshine Coast?
In mid-October around 9:00 pm: Piscis Austrinus, Aquarius, Grus and Phoenix overhead, Eridanus and Aries rising in the east. In mid-November: Cetus, Phoenix, Eridanus, Aquarius, Pisces, Piscis Austrinus and Grus overhead, Taurus, Orion, Canis Major and Puppis rising.
Which constellations never set from Sunshine Coast?
None of the major constellations: close to the equator, every group rises and sets.
Can I see the Big Dipper from Sunshine Coast?
Only low in the north: the Big Dipper reaches at most 7° from Sunshine Coast, on autumn evenings.
When is the best time to look?
After full darkness (7:14 pm in mid-October, 7:41 pm in mid-November, 8:08 pm in mid-December) and away from the full Moon (October 26, November 25, December 24). The new Moons of October 11, 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 Sunshine Coast, Piscis Austrinus and Aquarius are overhead in mid-October; by mid-December, Eridanus and Cetus have taken over and Canis Major is rising in the east. Latitude matters too: it decides which groups never rise and which never set.
See tonight's constellations over Sunshine Coast
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See also
- A personalised star map gift for Sunshine Coast
- What's in the night sky tonight over Sunshine Coast?
- Night length and darkness calendar for Sunshine Coast
- Eclipse calendar for Sunshine Coast
- Which constellations can you see from Brisbane tonight?
- Which constellations can you see from Toowoomba tonight?
- Personalised star map gifts across Australia
- Local astronomy calendars for 407 cities
- What's in the night sky tonight, from where you are?