Satellite viewing from Adelaide on the night of 23 August 2026 is rated FAIR NIGHT: 2 visible ISS, Tiangong or Hubble passes, the best reaching 29° above the horizon.The best window for satellite spotting over Adelaide on 23 August 2026 is 04:49–06:12 and 18:09–19:59 ACST, when most satellites are still catching sunlight. Between those windows the sky is dark but the majority sit inside Earth’s shadow. Individual satellites in lower orbits can be visible a little outside these times.The best pass of the night is picked from live orbital data — the one that climbs highest and stays visible longest.
Planets at 9pm
At 9pm local on 23 August 2026, no naked-eye planets are above the horizon from Adelaide. Planets rise and set like the stars, so the picture changes through the night and across the year.
34.93°SLatitude
138.60°ELongitude
CSTTimezone
Adelaide (34.9°S) — the ISS can climb high overhead here, giving bright, well-placed passes.
Adelaide at 34.9°S gets the best of the two brightest targets and misses the third. The ISS and Tiangong both reach the zenith here, so the good passes come straight overhead rather than low across the sky. Hubble is the exception: its 28.5-degree orbit never carries it further south than that, so from Adelaide it tops out around 33° and stays in the northern sky. The city also sits between a sea horizon and a range — Gulf St Vincent to the west, the Mount Lofty Ranges rising to about 700 m immediately east — which gives you a clean setting horizon one way and real elevation fifteen minutes the other.
Observing notes
Evening twilight 30 minutes after sunset. Best months: March–May and September–November, when the nights are lengthening or still long and the Mediterranean climate delivers settled, clear air between frontal systems. Avoid June–August, the wet months, when the fronts come through in sequence and cloud is persistent.
ISS and Tiangong overhead — but Hubble stays low in the north
90°Max Elevation
NW→NERises · Sets
5 minPass Length
SATELLITE SPOTTING FROM ADELAIDE
When can I see the ISS from Adelaide?
The ISS is visible from Adelaide during twilight — roughly 30 minutes after sunset or before sunrise. At 34.9°S it can pass directly overhead at 90°, so the best passes are genuinely overhead rather than low across the sky. Note that South Australia observes daylight saving: clocks run on ACST (UTC+9:30) from April to October and ACDT (UTC+10:30) from October to April, so pass times shift by an hour twice a year.
What satellites are visible from Adelaide?
The ISS at magnitude −4, reaching 90° overhead, and Tiangong which also reaches the zenith from this latitude. The AST BlueBirds are well placed and are among the largest commercial satellites flying. Starlink trains cross regularly in the days after a launch. Hubble is the one that disappoints: at 34.9°S it reaches only about 33° and stays in the northern sky, because its 28.5-degree orbit never carries it this far south.
Where is the best place to watch satellites in Adelaide?
Montefiore Hill works within the city, with an open aspect over the Park Lands. Mount Lofty Summit, twenty minutes east, puts you at about 700 m with a panoramic view and the city glow below rather than around you. Mount Crawford Forest, 45 minutes northeast, reaches Bortle 4. For genuinely dark sky, the Murray Mallee east of Swan Reach is about 90 minutes out and reaches Bortle 3 — flat, dry and unlit. The western beaches, Semaphore through Glenelg, are worth knowing for a different reason: they give a clean sea horizon for passes setting over Gulf St Vincent.
Can I see satellites from Adelaide city centre?
Yes, for the bright ones. The ISS at magnitude −4 cuts straight through city lighting, and because it reaches 90° here it passes high enough to clear the buildings from most of the CBD and the Park Lands. Tiangong usually shows too. The fainter satellites and Starlink trains need you out of the centre — the Hills or the Mallee.
Does Adelaide’s latitude make it good for satellite spotting?
For the bright targets, yes. At 34.9°S both the ISS and Tiangong reach 90°, so the strongest passes come directly overhead where nothing obstructs them. The limitation is Hubble, which caps at about 33° and stays north — Brisbane at 27.5°S gets all three overhead, Adelaide gets two. The city geography helps: a sea horizon west and 700 m of range fifteen minutes east.
What is the best season for satellite spotting in Adelaide?
March to May and September to November. Autumn brings lengthening nights with settled air after the summer heat, and spring gives the same before the heat returns — both deliver the clear spells between frontal systems that a Mediterranean climate produces. June to August is the wet season, when fronts arrive in sequence and cloud can hold for days. Midsummer nights are clear but short.
SPACE MIRROR WATCH
Adelaide is in the coverage zone for EARENDIL-1, the first commercial space mirror from Reflect Orbital. When operational, the steerable mirror could illuminate Adelaide during targeted passes. OrbitalSolar.ai tracks the mirror city by city →
WHAT'S VISIBLE FROM HERE
From Adelaide (34.9°S) you have access to a wide range of satellites:
ISS →Reaches 90° — directly overhead. Magnitude −4, the brightest thing in the sky after the Moon.
Tiangong →Also reaches 90°. Bright, and a straightforward second target.
Hubble →About 33° at best, always to the north — its orbit stops short of this latitude.
BlueBirds →Well placed. The AST BlueBirds are among the largest and brightest commercial satellites.
Amazon Kuiper →Faint (mag 5). Needs the Hills or further east, away from the city glow.
BEST DARK-SKY SPOTS
Montefiore Hill
City option. Open aspect over the Park Lands and the CBD.
Mount Lofty Summit
20 min east. About 700 m, panoramic, above the worst of the glow.
Mount Crawford Forest
45 min northeast. Bortle 4. Dark enough for the fainter passes.
Murray Mallee, near Swan Reach
90 min east. Bortle 3. Open, dry and genuinely dark.
★ BEST: March – May, September – November
Autumn and spring give lengthening or still-long nights with the settled, clear air a Mediterranean climate produces between fronts.
✗ AVOID: June – August
Winter is the wet season here — frontal cloud arrives in sequence and can hold for days at a time.
VISIBILITY FROM THIS CITY: Hubble reaches only about 33° from Adelaide (34.9°S) and stays in the northern sky — its 28.5-degree orbit never comes further south.
Figures on this page are computed from current orbital elements and released under CC BY 4.0 — quote, republish or build on them freely with credit to OrbitalNodes.ai.
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