Stargazing forecast for San Francisco
Sun, Jul 26 – Mon, Aug 24 · PDT · 37.77°N, 122.42°W · Calculated July 26, 2026
Over the next 30 nights San Francisco gets an average of 6.9 h of astronomical darkness per night, and 103.1 h of moon-free darkness in total. The darkest stretch runs around Sat, Aug 15.
The five best nights ahead
- Sat, Aug 15 — 7.2 h moon-free darkness · Waxing crescent 16%
- Fri, Aug 14 — 7.1 h moon-free darkness · Waxing crescent 9%
- Thu, Aug 13 — 7.1 h moon-free darkness · Waxing crescent 3%
- Wed, Aug 12 — 7.0 h moon-free darkness · New moon 1%
- Tue, Aug 11 — 7.0 h moon-free darkness · New moon 0%
Moon phases in this window
- Full moon — Wed, Jul 29 07:35
- Last quarter — Wed, Aug 5 19:21
- New moon — Wed, Aug 12 10:36
- First quarter — Wed, Aug 19 19:46
Night-by-night
| Date | Sunset | Dark sky starts | Dark sky ends | Astronomical darkness | Moon-free darkness | Illumination | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun, Jul 26 | 20:23 | 22:08 | 04:23 (+1) | 6.3 h | 0.3 h | 95% | Poor |
| Mon, Jul 27 | 20:22 | 22:07 | 04:25 (+1) | 6.3 h | None | 98% | Poor |
| Tue, Jul 28 | 20:21 | 22:06 | 04:26 (+1) | 6.3 h | None | 100% | Poor |
| Wed, Jul 29 | 20:20 | 22:04 | 04:27 (+1) | 6.4 h | None | 99% | Poor |
| Thu, Jul 30 | 20:20 | 22:03 | 04:29 (+1) | 6.4 h | None | 97% | Poor |
| Fri, Jul 31 | 20:19 | 22:02 | 04:30 (+1) | 6.5 h | None | 93% | Poor |
| Sat, Aug 1 | 20:18 | 22:00 | 04:31 (+1) | 6.5 h | None | 86% | Poor |
| Sun, Aug 2 | 20:17 | 21:59 | 04:32 (+1) | 6.6 h | 0.4 h | 78% | Poor |
| Mon, Aug 3 | 20:16 | 21:57 | 04:34 (+1) | 6.6 h | 0.8 h | 69% | Poor |
| Tue, Aug 4 | 20:15 | 21:56 | 04:35 (+1) | 6.6 h | 1.3 h | 59% | Poor |
| Wed, Aug 5 | 20:13 | 21:54 | 04:36 (+1) | 6.7 h | 1.9 h | 47% | Poor |
| Thu, Aug 6 | 20:12 | 21:53 | 04:37 (+1) | 6.7 h | 2.6 h | 36% | Fair |
| Fri, Aug 7 | 20:11 | 21:51 | 04:39 (+1) | 6.8 h | 3.5 h | 25% | Fair |
| Sat, Aug 8 | 20:10 | 21:50 | 04:40 (+1) | 6.8 h | 4.6 h | 16% | Fair |
| Sun, Aug 9 | 20:09 | 21:48 | 04:41 (+1) | 6.9 h | 5.8 h | 8% | Good |
| Mon, Aug 10 | 20:08 | 21:47 | 04:43 (+1) | 6.9 h | 6.9 h | 3% | Good |
| Tue, Aug 11 | 20:07 | 21:45 | 04:44 (+1) | 7.0 h | 7.0 h | 0% | Good |
| Wed, Aug 12 | 20:05 | 21:44 | 04:45 (+1) | 7.0 h | 7.0 h | 1% | Good |
| Thu, Aug 13 | 20:04 | 21:42 | 04:46 (+1) | 7.1 h | 7.1 h | 3% | Good |
| Fri, Aug 14 | 20:03 | 21:40 | 04:48 (+1) | 7.1 h | 7.1 h | 9% | Good |
| Sat, Aug 15 | 20:02 | 21:39 | 04:49 (+1) | 7.2 h | 7.2 h | 16% | Good |
| Sun, Aug 16 | 20:00 | 21:37 | 04:50 (+1) | 7.2 h | 6.8 h | 24% | Good |
| Mon, Aug 17 | 19:59 | 21:35 | 04:51 (+1) | 7.3 h | 6.4 h | 33% | Good |
| Tue, Aug 18 | 19:58 | 21:34 | 04:52 (+1) | 7.3 h | 5.9 h | 43% | Good |
| Wed, Aug 19 | 19:57 | 21:32 | 04:54 (+1) | 7.4 h | 5.4 h | 52% | Good |
| Thu, Aug 20 | 19:55 | 21:30 | 04:55 (+1) | 7.4 h | 4.7 h | 62% | Fair |
| Fri, Aug 21 | 19:54 | 21:29 | 04:56 (+1) | 7.5 h | 3.9 h | 71% | Fair |
| Sat, Aug 22 | 19:52 | 21:27 | 04:57 (+1) | 7.5 h | 3.1 h | 79% | Fair |
| Sun, Aug 23 | 19:51 | 21:25 | 04:58 (+1) | 7.6 h | 2.1 h | 86% | Poor |
| Mon, Aug 24 | 19:50 | 21:24 | 05:00 (+1) | 7.6 h | 1.1 h | 92% | Poor |
See tonight’s conditions in San Francisco
How to read this table
Each row is one night, labelled by the evening it starts. Astronomical darkness is the time the sun spends more than 18° below the horizon. Moon-free darkness subtracts any part of that window where the moon is above the horizon, which is the figure that actually limits what you can see. Ratings are computed from moon-free hours relative to the season’s maximum at this latitude, so a rating of “Good” in June in San Francisco does not mean the same number of hours as “Good” in December.
Weather is not included. These figures assume a clear sky.
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