Live Sky Report
What Can I See in the Sky Tonight in Butiama, Mara, Tanzania?
New Moon moon at 0%, Venus shines at magnitude -4.4. Calculated for -1.77°, 33.97° (Africa/Dar_es_Salaam).
Visible planets tonight
Venus, Jupiter, Mercury, Saturn, Mars — brightest: Venus at mag -4.4 in Virgo
🔭 Tonight's Sky Report
📍 Butiama, Mara, Tanzania — Thursday, August 13
Tonight's sky above Butiama, Mara, Tanzania
Whether tonight is a good night for stargazing from Butiama, Mara, Tanzania comes down to four real things: the Moon phase, cloud cover, which planets are up, and the current Kp index.
Above Butiama, Mara, Tanzania tonight (-1.77°, 33.97°), expect a new moon moon at 0% illumination. The night gives 9.6 hours of true astronomical darkness. At 1.8°, aurora needs a strong storm — roughly Kp 9 or higher — to reach Butiama, Mara, Tanzania.
Local sky character in Butiama
Tropical / equatorial latitudes · southern hemisphere · 1500 m elevation
- The south celestial pole stands 1.8° above the horizon, so stars within 2° of it never set from here.
- About 51.5% of the whole sky rises above the horizon at some point in the year from this latitude.
- The Milky Way's core in Sagittarius culminates about 62.8° up, clearing the horizon haze comfortably.
- The Large Magellanic Cloud only reaches about 22.1° altitude, so it is a low, seasonal target rather than a year-round one.
- At 1500 m elevation, roughly 16% of the atmosphere's mass is already below you, which measurably reduces extinction near the horizon.
Butiama is small enough that local light domes are limited — on a clear, moonless night the Milky Way is realistically within reach.
Best nights this month in Butiama
Calculated for these coordinates and today's date — not a fixed list.
- 2026-08-13 — Darkest night of the coming month
The Moon is only 0% illuminated, giving the least lunar interference in the next 30 nights — the best window for the Milky Way and faint deep-sky targets from Butiama, Mara, Tanzania.
- 2026-08-28 — Full Moon
A 100%-lit Moon washes out faint objects, but lunar terrain along the limb is at its most striking — plan bright targets and planets instead of deep sky.
Butiama, Mara, Tanzania stargazing questions
- What can I see in the sky tonight from Butiama, Mara, Tanzania?
- Tonight from Butiama, Mara, Tanzania expect a new moon Moon at 0% illumination, with these naked-eye planets above the horizon after dark: Venus, Jupiter, Mercury, Saturn, Mars. The night offers about 9.6 hours of true astronomical darkness.
- Does Butiama, Mara, Tanzania's elevation help stargazing?
- At 1500 m you are above a meaningful fraction of the atmosphere, which reduces extinction and scintillation — the reason major observatories are sited high.
- What should I plan for observing near Butiama, Mara, Tanzania?
- High sites reward targets that suffer most from atmosphere: planets at high altitude, faint nebulae, and the Milky Way, which culminates around 62.8° here. Cold and thinner air are the practical constraints, not the sky.
- How dark does it actually get in Butiama, Mara, Tanzania tonight?
- About 9.6 hours of astronomical darkness (Sun more than 18° below the horizon). That is the real observing window for faint objects; brighter targets are workable from dusk onward.
Nearby cities
Real great-circle distance from Butiama, Mara, Tanzania.
More in Mara
Other sky reports in the same region.
Sky tonight across Tanzania
Other cities in Tanzania with live sky reports.
Popular astronomy destinations
Aurora hubs, dark-sky sites, and observatory towns.