What's in the sky tonight in Chicago
Chicago, United States · 41.88° N, 87.63° W
Tonight's sky at a glance
Computed 2026-10-24 20:57 UTC for the night of Saturday, 24 October 2026; times are Chicago's clock (America/Chicago, GMT-5). The live card below updates.
- Sun
- sets 17:55, rises 07:14 (dark enough for the bright stars 18:25 to 06:50)
- Moon
- Full Moon, 98% lit · rises 16:53, sets 06:39
- Planets
- Jupiter: halfway up in the SE before dawn, from about 02:15
- Mars: high up in the SSE before dawn, from about 01:35
- Saturn: up 18:25 to 04:35, highest in the S around 23:15 (50°)
- Space station
- next visible pass Sun 05:47: look NW, it climbs to 16° and sets in the NE · 4 min · low; look for a steady moving light
- Sky darkness
- Bortle class 9 (inner-city sky): about 17.2 mag/arcsec² overhead on a clear, moonless night; artificial light 82× the natural sky
- For binoculars
- M 45 (Pleiades), open cluster, magnitude 1.2: best around 02:25, 72° up in the S
- NGC 1980 (Lower Sword), cluster with nebula, magnitude 2.5: best around 04:10, 42° up in the S
- M 44 (Beehive), open cluster, magnitude 3.1: best around 06:50, 67° up in the SSE
Live: tonight's sky over Chicago
Times in the live card follow your device's clock.