Sunset at the rock, then night-sky planning from Yulara outside the park — check park closing times.
Calculated for Yulara (outside the park) (-25.240, 130.989)Local time GMT+9:30 (UTC+9:30)
Stargazing at Yulara (outside the park)Forecast
Wait for 02:30–04:31 for general stargazing: less cloud (≈91% earlier → ≈10% in the window); fewer hours with forecast rain.
Plan a short look for bright stars; this is not a Milky Way, planet or meteor timing recommendation. Check the latest weather before travelling.
The Tonight engine selects this window because the sky holds clear, Moonlight doesn't affect the best viewing window. Compared with earlier remaining scored hours: less cloud (≈91% earlier → ≈10% in the window); fewer hours with forecast rain. Earlier observing is not ruled out.
Window cloud ≈10%; whole-night mean 67%. Moon altitude in the scored hours: -22°–2°. Cloud, darkness, Moon altitude and rain affect the timing; a full Moon can remain up throughout.
Go means conditions are usable; Wait is shown only when remaining earlier scored hours support a timing improvement; Later window means there is no demonstrated reason to delay. Neither label ranks places. The window is selected by hourly cloud, darkness, Moon altitude and rain, with whole-night context in the verdict. It is not a guarantee or proof that earlier hours are unusable. Artificial light, terrain, access and personal safety are not scored. The former confidence percentage was an uncalibrated internal heuristic using forecast coverage, cloud variation, rain and score margin — not the probability of clear weather or a successful outing. It is no longer shown here.
Sunset
19:05
100% cloud forecast
Full darkness
20:28
Sun 18° below horizon
Best stargazing window
02:30–04:31
Inside astronomical darkness · Tonight engine
Night cloud
67%
Live forecast in use
Moon
5% lit
Waning Crescent · up ≈0% of dark hours
Milky Way core
20:28–21:35
peaks 24° high
Each place has its own forecast and calculation. Go and Wait describe timing, not a ranking of places. Compare the chosen window, not only the whole-night cloud average. Artificial light and access rules are not scored; a place marked “Sky conditions only” is not a visit recommendation.
| Place | Stargazing | Night cloud | Darkness |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yulara (outside the park)The accommodation town outside the national park. This is an outside-park planning reference, not a verified public observing site; choose a permitted location away from lights. | WaitSelected window 02:30–04:31. The Tonight engine selects this window because the sky holds clear, Moonlight doesn't affect the best viewing window. Compared with earlier remaining scored hours: less cloud (≈91% earlier → ≈10% in the window); fewer hours with forecast rain. Earlier observing is not ruled out.Scored conditionsWindow cloud ≈10%; whole-night mean 67%. Moon altitude in the scored hours: -22°–2°. Cloud, darkness, Moon altitude and rain affect the timing; a full Moon can remain up throughout. Live forecast in use. Calculated Sat 7 Nov, 12:35. | 67%Window ≈10% | Full dark from 20:28 |
| Uluṟu car sunset viewing areaEvening viewpoint inside the park — leave by closing time. | WaitSelected window 02:30–04:31. The Tonight engine selects this window because the sky holds clear, Moonlight doesn't affect the best viewing window. Compared with earlier remaining scored hours: less cloud (≈88% earlier → ≈10% in the window); fewer hours with forecast rain. Earlier observing is not ruled out.Scored conditionsWindow cloud ≈10%; whole-night mean 64%. Moon altitude in the scored hours: -22°–2°. Cloud, darkness, Moon altitude and rain affect the timing; a full Moon can remain up throughout. Live forecast in use. Calculated Sat 7 Nov, 12:35. | 64%Window ≈10% | Full dark from 20:28 |
Evening of Sat 7 NovAstronomy
19:05
Sunset
19:30
Civil twilight ends
19:58
Nautical twilight ends
20:28
Astronomical darkness
Astronomical darkness begins at 20:28. Faint-star and Milky Way visibility also depends on cloud, Moon, artificial light and the local horizon. Morning: darkness ends 04:31, sunrise 05:54.
Times in Australia/Darwin (GMT+9:30, UTC+9:30). No daylight saving time in this zone.
Sat 7 NovAstronomy
The Moon is below the horizon in the sampled dark hours; cloud and local lighting still affect the sky.
Galactic centre in SagittariusAstronomy
The window needs astronomical darkness and the core at least 10° up. Core positions include refraction and are sampled each minute; these are timing estimates, not guaranteed visibility. Hills, trees and town glow near the horizon can still hide it.
Above the horizon vs. easy to seeAstronomy
"Favourable geometry" means at least 10° up while the Sun is 12° or more below the horizon. Cloud, Moon and local obstructions are not included; positions are sampled every 15 minutes.
Tonight · OrionidsForecast
Skip tonight
Rates are approximate modelled estimates, not measured or guaranteed counts. Observing windows use 30-minute samples: any start or end is approximate and may differ by almost 30 minutes from a continuous crossing. Radiants use fixed peak positions; daily radiant drift is not modelled. The model assumes a fixed, moderately dark sky; town light can cut what you see well below these figures.
Coming upAstronomy
Year-specific IMO predictions, not guaranteed or observed peaks. Date-only maxima are not assigned an invented local hour. The rate model above still uses typical annual peak dates and fixed radiant positions; it does not model the published peak ranges or daily radiant drift.
Lowest-cloud evening (weather only): Sun 8 Nov (lowest mean night cloud). The overall recommendation at the top also weighs moonlight and darkness, so it can name a different night. Cloud is shown only where the forecast covers the night. Values come from an eight-day forecast — the later evenings are less certain than the first, so check again close to the date.
| Evening | Sunset | Full dark | Moon | Night cloudForecast |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat 7 Nov | 19:05 | 20:28 | 3% · down | 68% |
| Sun 8 NovLowest cloud | 19:06 | 20:29 | 1% · down | 30% |
| Mon 9 Nov | 19:07 | 20:30 | 0% · down | 55% |
| Tue 10 Nov | 19:07 | 20:31 | 2% · down | Beyond forecast |
| Wed 11 Nov | 19:08 | 20:32 | 5% · up ≈9% | Beyond forecast |
| Thu 12 Nov | 19:09 | 20:33 | 10% · up ≈19% | Beyond forecast |
| Fri 13 Nov | 19:10 | 20:34 | 17% · up ≈28% | Beyond forecast |
| Sat 14 Nov | 19:10 | 20:35 | 24% · up ≈38% | Beyond forecast |
Astronomy only. No weather is given for this selected date. Moon-up percentages are approximate 15-minute samples across astronomical darkness; Milky Way positions include refraction and one-minute sampling, not visibility guarantees.
Astronomy on the 15th of each month — not a weather or climate forecast. Each core window uses astronomical darkness and its stated altitude threshold (10°, or a lower 5°/2° threshold when the core stays low). Low-altitude windows are marginal geometry, not equivalent to a 10° window or a visibility recommendation.Astronomy
| Month | Full darkness | Milky Way core in darkness |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 7.6 h | — |
| Feb | 8.4 h | 2.5 h above 10° · up to 42° |
| Mar | 9.2 h | 4.7 h above 10° · up to 70° |
| Apr | 10.0 h | 6.9 h above 10° · up to 86° |
| May | 10.5 h | 9.1 h above 10° · up to 86° |
| Jun | 10.7 h | 10.7 h above 10° · up to 86° |
| Jul | 10.6 h | 9.6 h above 10° · up to 86° |
| Aug | 10.2 h | 7.3 h above 10° · up to 86° |
| Sept | 9.5 h | 5.1 h above 10° · up to 76° |
| Oct | 8.7 h | 2.9 h above 10° · up to 47° |
| Nov | 7.8 h | 0.5 h above 10° · up to 16° |
| Dec | 7.3 h | — |
Sources are linked below. Tourism descriptions do not confirm current access, closures or safety. Sky calculations use an ideal horizon, not local mountain or building profiles.
Parks Australia says ordinary visitors must leave the national park by closing time — 19:30 from May to September and 21:00 in December to February, with intermediate times in other months. These hours do not establish permissions for a particular organised tour; confirm any operator-specific access directly.
Source: Parks Australia — Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National ParkThe car sunset viewing area is a documented evening viewpoint. Visit around full Moon and you are likely to see the Moon rising next to Uluṟu around sunset.
Source: Parks Australia — Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National ParkThat viewing area is for cars only and has no water or toilets; it is roughly a 15–20 minute drive from Yulara.
Source: Parks Australia — Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National ParkParks Australia recommends May to September, with little rain and daytime highs of 20–30°C — but warns that winter nights can be very cold.
Source: Parks Australia — Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National ParkParks Australia lists the Milky Way among the area's photographic subjects, but visitors must stay on marked tracks and in authorised areas, and photographing culturally sensitive sites is prohibited. Check permit requirements for commercial or public photography and filming; park closing times still apply.
Source: Parks Australia — Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National ParkThe township of Yulara lies outside the national park, about ten minutes' drive from the entry station.
Source: Parks Australia — Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National ParkWhy this calculation point: The accommodation town outside the national park. This is an outside-park planning reference, not a verified public observing site; choose a permitted location away from lights.
Forecast fetched Sat 7 Nov, 12:36 local time · weather: Live forecast in use. Astronomy: astronomy-engine, twilight on the geometric Sun (USNO convention), times rounded to the nearest minute.
