Satellites Visible from Perth
Tonight
Satellite viewing from Perth on the night of 9 August 2026 is rated FAIR NIGHT: 2 visible ISS, Tiangong or Hubble passes, the best reaching 42° above the horizon. The best window for satellite spotting over Perth on 9 August 2026 is 05:02–06:23 and 18:02–19:31 AWST, 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 ISS pass from Perth on 9 August 2026 starts at 19:28 AWST, rises in the WNW, peaks 42° above the horizon and sets in the SW, lasting about 3 minutes.
At 9pm local on 10 August 2026, no naked-eye planets are above the horizon from Perth. Planets rise and set like the stars, so the picture changes through the night and across the year.
Perth (32.0°S) — the ISS can climb high overhead here, giving bright, well-placed passes.
Perth at 32°S is Australia's most isolated major city — the nearest comparable city is Adelaide, 2,100km east across the Nullarbor Plain. This extreme isolation means Perth's eastern sky quadrant is one of the darkest accessible from any major city in Australia. The ISS passes at up to 90° elevation from the Western Australian coast, and the Indian Ocean to the west gives unobstructed western horizon access for setting passes. AWST (UTC+8) is maintained year-round — no daylight saving in Western Australia.
Observing notesEvening twilight 30 minutes after sunset. Best months: April–September — Perth's dry Mediterranean winter. Avoid November–February summer when heat haze and occasional bushfire smoke degrade sky transparency.
🛰 SEE SATELLITES OVER PERTH NOWSATELLITE SPOTTING FROM PERTH
When can I see the ISS from Perth?
The ISS is visible from Perth during twilight — roughly 30 minutes after sunset or before sunrise. At 32°S Perth gets ISS passes up to 90° elevation, similar to Melbourne and Sydney. From Kings Park's elevated plateau you can watch the ISS rise over the Indian Ocean horizon to the northwest and arc high across the Perth sky toward the northeast. The Swan River basin below creates a dark zone that makes Kings Park one of the best city satellite-watching locations in Australia.
What satellites are visible from Perth?
Perth can see the ISS (magnitude −4), Tiangong, Hubble Space Telescope, and AST BlueBirds. At 32°S Hubble is well-visible, reaching approximately 50° elevation from Perth's latitude. Starlink trains from both Cape Canaveral and Vandenberg are excellent from Perth's longitude — the 115°E position means Perth is often ideally positioned for trains from mid-inclination Vandenberg launches. The Gingin Observatory (80km north, the Gravity Discovery Centre) runs public observing nights and is the closest professionally-equipped dark-sky facility to Perth.
Where is the best place to watch satellites in Perth?
Kings Park at 50m elevation above the CBD offers Perth's best city satellite-watching location — the open plateau looks westward over the Indian Ocean and eastward toward the Darling Ranges, with minimal light interference from the Swan River valley. For dark skies, Gingin Observatory (80km north, Bortle 4) is Perth's premier accessible dark-sky facility. Wellington National Park (150km south, Bortle 3) offers some of the darkest skies within a few hours' drive. Beyond the Darling Ranges, the remote Wheatbelt region drops to Bortle 2–3 within 150km of the city.
Can I see satellites from Perth city centre?
Yes — the ISS at magnitude −4 is clearly visible from Elizabeth Quay or Langley Park along the Swan River. At 90° elevation it passes high enough to clear most CBD buildings from open riverside areas. The light dome from the Perth CBD is relatively compact compared to east-coast cities — Perth's population of 2 million creates less light pollution than Sydney or Melbourne. From Scarborough Beach or Cottesloe on the Indian Ocean coast the western sky is particularly dark, making Perth's beachfront some of the best city satellite-watching real estate in Australia.
Does Perth's latitude make it good for satellite spotting?
At 32°S Perth gets solid ISS coverage at 90° elevation — similar to Melbourne (37.8°S at 60°) and slightly better than Adelaide (34.9°S at 63°). What distinguishes Perth is its extreme geographic isolation: with no major city within 2,100km to the east, Perth's eastern sky horizon is exceptionally dark. The Nullarbor Plain beyond the Darling Ranges has virtually no artificial lighting for hundreds of kilometres. This means Perth suburban observing conditions are markedly better than for comparable latitudes on the east coast, where Brisbane, Sydney, and Melbourne create overlapping light domes along the coast.
What is the best season for satellite spotting in Perth?
April through September — Perth's Mediterranean dry winter. Unlike eastern Australia (best April–September for similar reasons), Perth's winter is especially reliable: the anticyclonic high-pressure belt sits directly over Western Australia from May to August, delivering week after week of cloud-free nights. June–August are peak months, with nights long enough for multiple satellite passes and sky transparency excellent across the Darling Ranges. November through February brings Perth's dry summer — temperatures exceed 40°C regularly, but the skies are actually quite clear. The limitation in summer is heat haze and occasional smoke from bushfires in the Darling Ranges that can persist for days.
Perth is in the coverage zone for EARENDIL-1, the first commercial space mirror from Reflect Orbital. When operational, the steerable mirror could illuminate Perth during targeted passes. OrbitalSolar.ai has full pass predictions for Perth →
WHAT'S VISIBLE FROM HERE
From Perth (32°S) you have access to a wide range of satellites: