What's in the night sky tonight over Oxford?
Oxford sky tonight: October–December 2026
| Month | Evening planets | Before dawn | Brightest after dark | Fully dark |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| mid-October · 9:00 pm | Saturn (SE) | Mars (rises 12:31 am), Jupiter (rises 1:43 am) | Vega (W), Capella (NE), Saturn (SE, planet) | 8:02 pm |
| mid-November · 9:00 pm | Saturn (S) | Mercury (rises 5:34 am), Venus (rises 4:35 am), Mars (rises 10:57 pm), Jupiter (rises 11:02 pm) | Vega (NW), Capella (E), Saturn (S, planet) | 6:12 pm |
| mid-December · 9:00 pm | Saturn (SW) | Venus (rises 3:52 am), Mars (rises 10:00 pm), Jupiter (rises 9:11 pm) | Vega (NW), Capella (E), Rigel (SE) | 5:59 pm |
From Oxford in mid-October: Saturn is in the southeast at 9:00 pm, 26° up (about 3 fists above the horizon). It sets around 6:20 am. Later, Mars rises around 12:31 am and Jupiter rises around 1:43 am. Venus joins the dawn sky in November. Brightest after dark: Vega, Capella and Saturn. Fully dark from 8:02 pm. Full Moons: October 26, November 24 and December 24.
Full Moon: October 26 (4:12 am), November 24 (2:54 pm), December 24 (1:28 am). New Moon (darkest skies): October 10, November 9, December 9. For tonight to the minute, use the live chart just below.
- Make tonight's sky a gift. Preview the free star map of a night in Oxford
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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 sky over Oxford
The planets, bright stars and dark hours of October–December 2026, plus a live chart for tonight
The season table answers for October–December 2026 in Oxford's own clock time; the live chart recomputes tonight's Moon, planets and constellations for the city or for your exact location. Both are free and need no sign-up.
Why choose Starry Memory
- Answer first, computed for the city — The season table is calculated for Oxford's own sky and clock, month by month, rather than copied from a national guide.
- Live for tonight — The chart below recomputes the Moon, planets and constellations for tonight and for your exact location if you allow it.
- Planets and bright stars named — Each month lists which planets are up in the evening, which rise before dawn, and the brightest points you are likely to notice.
- Honest limits — Weather, light pollution and a low horizon are stated, not hidden: a planet above the horizon can still be lost behind cloud or buildings.
Tonight in Oxford is neither yesterday's sky nor another latitude's view: the calculation restarts from local place and time.
The astronomical fingerprint of Oxford
Oxford is represented by 51.7522° N, 1.2560° W, in England, using the IANA zone Europe/London. This is a high-latitude viewpoint: the relevant celestial pole stands about 51.8° above its horizon. No source elevation is used, so a flat horizon remains the transparent default. 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: 85.8°, all year *; Perseus: 83.2°, all year *; Cassiopeia: 81.8°, all year *; Auriga: 80.2°, all year *; Cygnus: 78.2°, all year *; Draco: 76.8°, all year *; Cepheus: 71.8°, all year *; Ursa Minor: 64.8°, all year *; Andromeda: 76.2°, autumn; Lyra: 74.2°, summer; Boötes: 68.2°, spring; Gemini: 60.2°, winter; Taurus: 56.2°, winter; Leo: 53.2°, 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.
Oxford's verifiable local record
75222 · longitude -1.25596 · north hemisphere · timezone Europe/London · celestial-pole altitude 51.8°. Seasonal signature: longest night in December, 16 h 25 · shortest night in June, 7 h 35 · range 8.84 hours. Meridian star markers: Ursa Major 85.8° * · Perseus 83.2° * · Cassiopeia 81.8° * · Auriga 80.2° * · Cygnus 78.2° * · Draco 76.8° *. Nearby catalogue cities: Reading 38 km · Coventry 75 km · London 83 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 “tonight” page; they change with place and remain separate from real weather.
Oxford compared with nearby catalogue cities
1. Oxford → Reading: 38.3 km · Δlat -0.296° · Δlon +0.285° · Δpole -0.3° · timezone Europe/London = Europe/London · longest night December 16 h 22 | 2. Oxford → Coventry: 74.8 km · Δlat +0.654° · Δlon -0.256° · Δpole +0.6° · timezone Europe/London = Europe/London · longest night December 16 h 32 | 3. Oxford → London: 82.6 km · Δlat -0.244° · Δlon +1.130° · Δpole -0.3° · timezone Europe/London = Europe/London · longest night December 16 h 23. Monthly night comparison with the nearest catalogue reference — January: Oxford 15 h 56 / Reading 15 h 54 / Δ +0.04 h · February: Oxford 14 h 19 / Reading 14 h 18 / Δ +0.02 h · March: Oxford 12 h 29 / Reading 12 h 28 / Δ +0.01 h · April: Oxford 10 h 23 / Reading 10 h 24 / Δ -0.02 h · May: Oxford 8 h 35 / Reading 8 h 38 / Δ -0.04 h · June: Oxford 7 h 35 / Reading 7 h 38 / Δ -0.06 h · July: Oxford 8 h 00 / Reading 8 h 03 / Δ -0.05 h · August: Oxford 9 h 35 / Reading 9 h 37 / Δ -0.03 h · September: Oxford 11 h 37 / Reading 11 h 38 / Δ -0.01 h · October: Oxford 13 h 39 / Reading 13 h 38 / Δ +0.02 h · November: Oxford 15 h 29 / Reading 15 h 26 / Δ +0.04 h · December: Oxford 16 h 25 / Reading 16 h 22 / Δ +0.05 h. For tonight's sky, longitude changes local rotation while latitude changes altitude; the tool therefore starts from Oxford and then accepts a more exact address.
Twelve monthly light estimates for Oxford
The following pairs are approximate daylight / night duration around the 15th of each month: January: 8 h 04 / 15 h 56; February: 9 h 41 / 14 h 19; March: 11 h 31 / 12 h 29; April: 13 h 37 / 10 h 23; May: 15 h 25 / 8 h 35; June: 16 h 25 / 7 h 35; July: 16 h 00 / 8 h 00; August: 14 h 25 / 9 h 35; September: 12 h 23 / 11 h 37; October: 10 h 21 / 13 h 39; November: 8 h 31 / 15 h 29; December: 7 h 35 / 16 h 25. The longest estimated night in this model is December at 16 h 25; the shortest is June at 7 h 35. “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.
Eclipse dates connected to the wider United Kingdom region
20 February 2027: Penumbral lunar eclipse, 23:14 UTC; 2 August 2027: Total solar eclipse, 10:07 UTC; 12 January 2028: Partial lunar eclipse, 04:14 UTC; 26 January 2028: Annular solar eclipse, 15:08 UTC; 6 July 2028: Partial lunar eclipse, 18:20 UTC; 31 December 2028: Total lunar eclipse, 16:53 UTC. This is deliberately a regional shortlist. Solar-eclipse paths are narrow, lunar eclipses require the Moon to be above the local horizon, and both can be lost to cloud. Open the NASA source attached to each event before planning travel or observation; never look at the Sun without certified eclipse viewers.
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 pounds sterling (GBP).
Frequently asked questions
What is the bright star in the sky tonight in Oxford?
In mid-October at 9:00 pm, the brightest points above Oxford are Vega (west, 57° up), Capella (northeast, 22° up), Saturn (southeast, 26° up, a planet), Altair (southwest, 43° up). A bright point that barely twinkles is usually a planet: Saturn is the likeliest bright "star" of the evening. For tonight's exact positions, use the live chart on this page.
Which planets can I see tonight from Oxford?
In mid-October: Mars rises around 12:31 am and stands 51° high in the southeast an hour before sunrise; Jupiter rises around 1:43 am and stands 42° high in the southeast an hour before sunrise; Saturn is 26° up in the southeast at 9:00 pm and sets around 6:20 am. Mercury and Venus are not visible. In mid-November: Mercury rises around 5:34 am and stands 7° high in the southeast an hour before sunrise; Venus rises around 4:35 am and stands 15° high in the southeast an hour before sunrise; Mars rises around 10:57 pm and stands 53° high in the south an hour before sunrise; Jupiter rises around 11:02 pm and stands 52° high in the south an hour before sunrise; Saturn is 39° up in the south at 9:00 pm and sets around 3:07 am.
When is it fully dark in Oxford tonight?
Full darkness (the end of astronomical twilight) begins around 8:02 pm in mid-October, 6:12 pm in mid-November, 5:59 pm in mid-December. Bright planets and stars appear earlier, about half an hour after sunset.
When is the next full moon in Oxford?
In Oxford time, the full Moons of the season fall on October 26 (4:12 am), November 24 (2:54 pm), December 24 (1:28 am). The darkest skies, best for faint stars and the Milky Way, are around the new Moons of October 10, November 9, December 9.
Do I need a telescope?
No. Planets and the brightest stars are easy to see with the naked eye once your eyes adapt for 15 to 20 minutes away from direct lights. Binoculars show Jupiter's moons; a small telescope shows Saturn's rings.
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 Oxford, Cygnus and Cepheus are overhead in mid-October; by mid-December, Perseus and Aries have taken over and Gemini is rising in the east. The planets also move against the stars from week to week.
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See also
- October 2026 planets in Oxford
- October 2026 moonless nights in Oxford
- A personalised star map gift for Oxford
- Night length and darkness calendar for Oxford
- Which constellations can you see from Oxford tonight?
- Eclipse calendar for Oxford
- What's in the night sky tonight over Reading?
- What's in the night sky tonight over Coventry?
- What's in the night sky tonight over London, United Kingdom?
- Personalised star map gifts across United Kingdom
- The sky tonight, calculated for 374 cities
- What's in the night sky tonight, from where you are?