Which constellations can you see from Wellington tonight?
Stars and constellations over Wellington tonight: October–December 2026
| Month | High overhead | Rising in the east | Setting in the west |
|---|---|---|---|
| mid-October · 9:00 pm | Grus, Piscis Austrinus, Pavo, Sagittarius, Aquarius and Phoenix | Cetus, Pisces and Eridanus | Serpens, Libra and Centaurus |
| mid-November · 9:30 pm | Phoenix, Grus, Piscis Austrinus, Aquarius and Cetus | Aries | Aquila |
| mid-December · 10:15 pm | Eridanus, Phoenix and Cetus | Orion, Carina, Puppis and Canis Major | Aquarius |
From Wellington on mid-October evenings (around 9:00 pm), look straight up for Grus, Piscis Austrinus, Pavo, Sagittarius, Aquarius and Phoenix. Rising in the east: Cetus, Pisces and Eridanus. Sinking in the west: Serpens, Libra and Centaurus. Crux, Carina and Pavo never set from Wellington. Bright stars to start from: Rigil Kentaurus, Achernar and Hadar. By mid-December, Orion, Carina, Puppis and Canis Major join the evening sky.
Always above the horizon from Wellington: Crux, Carina and Pavo. 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 Wellington
- Or name a star in Grus, high over Wellington on October evenings: a symbolic dedication with a PDF certificate. Choose a star in Grus
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 Wellington
Overhead, rising and never-setting constellations for October–December 2026, with a live chart for tonight
The table lists the constellations over Wellington 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 Wellington'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 Wellington 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 Wellington, latitude decides how high each familiar pattern can climb above an ideal horizon.
Latitude-screened constellations for Wellington
Each entry below gives an approximate maximum altitude at meridian transit and a practical season; an asterisk means circumpolar in this simplified centroid model: Crux: 71.3°, all year *; Carina: 71.3°, all year *; Pavo: 66.3°, all year *; Hydrus: 61.3°, all year *; Octans: 49.3°, all year *; Centaurus: 84.3°, autumn; Phoenix: 83.3°, spring; Scorpius: 74.7°, winter; Sagittarius: 73.7°, winter; Canis Major: 68.7°, summer; Virgo: 52.7°, autumn; Aquila: 48.7°, winter; Orion: 43.7°, summer; Leo: 33.7°, 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.
Wellington's verifiable local record
28664 · longitude 174.77557 · south hemisphere · timezone Pacific/Auckland · celestial-pole altitude 41.3°. Seasonal signature: longest night in June, 14 h 58 · shortest night in December, 9 h 02 · range 5.93 hours. Meridian star markers: Crux 71.3° * · Carina 71.3° * · Pavo 66.3° * · Hydrus 61.3° * · Octans 49.3° * · Centaurus 84.3°. Nearby catalogue cities: Christchurch 305 km · Hamilton 392 km · Tauranga 418 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.
Wellington compared with nearby catalogue cities
1. Wellington → Christchurch: 305.5 km · Δlat -2.247° · Δlon -2.142° · Δpole +2.2° · timezone Pacific/Auckland = Pacific/Auckland · longest night June 15 h 13 | 2. Wellington → Hamilton: 392.0 km · Δlat +3.503° · Δlon +0.508° · Δpole -3.5° · timezone Pacific/Auckland = Pacific/Auckland · longest night June 14 h 36 | 3. Wellington → Tauranga: 417.8 km · Δlat +3.601° · Δlon +1.391° · Δpole -3.6° · timezone Pacific/Auckland = Pacific/Auckland · longest night June 14 h 35. Monthly night comparison with the nearest catalogue reference — January: Wellington 9 h 20 / Christchurch 9 h 07 / Δ +0.23 h · February: Wellington 10 h 24 / Christchurch 10 h 16 / Δ +0.13 h · March: Wellington 11 h 40 / Christchurch 11 h 38 / Δ +0.03 h · April: Wellington 13 h 07 / Christchurch 13 h 13 / Δ -0.09 h · May: Wellington 14 h 19 / Christchurch 14 h 31 / Δ -0.19 h · June: Wellington 14 h 58 / Christchurch 15 h 13 / Δ -0.26 h · July: Wellington 14 h 42 / Christchurch 14 h 56 / Δ -0.23 h · August: Wellington 13 h 40 / Christchurch 13 h 48 / Δ -0.14 h · September: Wellington 12 h 16 / Christchurch 12 h 17 / Δ -0.02 h · October: Wellington 10 h 52 / Christchurch 10 h 46 / Δ +0.09 h · November: Wellington 9 h 38 / Christchurch 9 h 26 / Δ +0.20 h · December: Wellington 9 h 02 / Christchurch 8 h 47 / Δ +0.25 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 Wellington
Wellington is represented by 41.2866° S, 174.7756° E, in Wellington Region, using the IANA zone Pacific/Auckland. This is a mid-latitude viewpoint: the relevant celestial pole stands about 41.3° above its horizon. No source elevation is used, so a flat horizon remains the transparent default.
Twelve monthly light estimates for Wellington
The following pairs are approximate daylight / night duration around the 15th of each month: January: 14 h 40 / 9 h 20; February: 13 h 36 / 10 h 24; March: 12 h 20 / 11 h 40; April: 10 h 53 / 13 h 07; May: 9 h 41 / 14 h 19; June: 9 h 02 / 14 h 58; July: 9 h 18 / 14 h 42; August: 10 h 20 / 13 h 40; September: 11 h 44 / 12 h 16; October: 13 h 08 / 10 h 52; November: 14 h 22 / 9 h 38; December: 14 h 58 / 9 h 02. The longest estimated night in this model is June at 14 h 58; the shortest is December at 9 h 02. “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 New Zealand dollars (NZD).
Frequently asked questions
What constellations can I see tonight from Wellington?
In mid-October around 9:00 pm: Grus, Piscis Austrinus, Pavo, Sagittarius, Aquarius and Phoenix overhead, Cetus, Pisces and Eridanus rising in the east. In mid-November: Phoenix, Grus, Piscis Austrinus, Aquarius and Cetus overhead, Aries rising.
Which constellations never set from Wellington?
Crux, Carina and Pavo stay above the horizon all night, all year, from Wellington's latitude (41.3° S).
Can I see the Big Dipper from Wellington?
No. From Wellington, the Big Dipper stays below the horizon.
When is the best time to look?
After full darkness (9:19 pm in mid-October, 10:12 pm in mid-November, 10:58 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 Wellington, Grus and Piscis Austrinus are overhead in mid-October; by mid-December, Eridanus and Cetus have taken over and Orion is rising in the east. Latitude matters too: it decides which groups never rise and which never set.
See tonight's constellations over Wellington
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See also
- A personalised star map gift for Wellington
- What's in the night sky tonight over Wellington?
- Night length and darkness calendar for Wellington
- Eclipse calendar for Wellington
- Which constellations can you see from Christchurch tonight?
- Which constellations can you see from Hamilton, New Zealand tonight?
- Which constellations can you see from Tauranga tonight?
- Personalised star map gifts across New Zealand
- Local astronomy calendars for 407 cities
- What's in the night sky tonight, from where you are?