Satellites Visible from Phoenix
Tonight
Satellite viewing from Phoenix on the night of 23 August 2026 is rated GOOD NIGHT: 2 visible ISS, Tiangong or Hubble passes, the best reaching 49° above the horizon. The best window for satellite spotting over Phoenix on 23 August 2026 is 19:23–20:52 and 03:54–05:24 MST, 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.
At 9pm local on 23 August 2026, no naked-eye planets are above the horizon from Phoenix. Planets rise and set like the stars, so the picture changes through the night and across the year.
Phoenix (33.4°N) — the ISS can climb high overhead here, giving bright, well-placed passes.
Phoenix at 33.4°N gets the ISS and Tiangong directly overhead at 90° elevation, with Hubble reaching about 38°. Two things make it unusual among US cities. The Sonoran desert gives it more cloud-free nights than any other large American metro, so the limiting factor here is the city’s own light rather than the weather. And Arizona does not observe daylight saving — pass times stay on Mountain Standard Time all year and never jump an hour in spring or autumn, which no other major US city can say.
Observing notesEvening twilight 30 minutes after sunset. Best months: October–May, when the desert air is dry and stable and cloud cover is minimal. Avoid July–August, the North American monsoon, when afternoon moisture surges bring dust, cloud and the year’s only reliably poor viewing.
🛰 SEE SATELLITES OVER PHOENIX NOWSATELLITE SPOTTING FROM PHOENIX
When can I see the ISS from Phoenix?
The ISS is visible from Phoenix during twilight — roughly 25–35 minutes after sunset or before sunrise. At 33.4°N passes reach 90° elevation, so the station can cross straight through the zenith. The useful quirk here is the clock: Arizona does not observe daylight saving, so Phoenix stays on Mountain Standard Time all year and pass times never shift by an hour the way they do in every other major US city.
What satellites are visible from Phoenix?
Phoenix can see the ISS (magnitude −4, easily visible from the city), Tiangong, the Hubble Space Telescope and the AST BlueBirds. Both crewed stations reach 90° here. Hubble is lower at about 38°, but the dry desert air makes it an easier catch than the same elevation would be in a humid climate — transparency near the horizon is far better here. Starlink trains are visible for a night or two after each launch, and Vandenberg launches often put them on a north-south track.
Where is the best place to watch satellites in Phoenix?
South Mountain Park, 25 minutes south, is the city option worth the drive — the ridge puts the valley light dome below you rather than around you. Lost Dutchman State Park an hour east sits under the Superstition Mountains at Bortle 4. Sunset Point an hour north is high desert at Bortle 3, clear of the valley entirely. Flagstaff, 2.5 hours north, was the world’s first International Dark Sky City and has held a lighting ordinance since long before the designation existed.
Can I see satellites from Phoenix city centre?
Yes — the ISS at magnitude −4 is far brighter than the downtown light dome, and at 90° elevation it clears the low Phoenix skyline easily. Papago Park and the South Mountain foothills both give open sightlines within reach of the city. The valley is broad and flat, so the horizon is unusually complete for a metro this size; the limiting factor is street lighting rather than terrain.
Does Phoenix’s latitude make it good for satellite spotting?
Yes, but the climate matters more. At 33.4°N Phoenix sits inside the orbital bands of both crewed stations, so the ISS and Tiangong each reach 90° — a zenith pass, the brightest and longest kind. Hubble stays lower at about 38°. The real advantage is that the Sonoran desert gives Phoenix more cloud-free nights than any other large US metro, so a far higher share of predicted passes are actually observable.
What is the best season for satellite spotting in Phoenix?
October through May — eight months of dry, stable desert air with very little cloud, which is why Phoenix loses fewer nights to weather than any comparable US city. July and August are the exception: the North American monsoon brings afternoon moisture surges, dust and towering cloud, and they are the only months that reliably spoil viewing. June is hot but usually clear.
Phoenix is in the coverage zone for EARENDIL-1, the first commercial space mirror from Reflect Orbital. When operational, the steerable mirror could illuminate Phoenix during targeted passes. OrbitalSolar.ai has full pass predictions for Phoenix →
WHAT'S VISIBLE FROM HERE
From Phoenix (33.4°N) you have access to a wide range of satellites: