Satellites Visible from Auckland
Tonight
Satellite viewing from Auckland on the night of 24 August 2026 is rated FAIR NIGHT: 2 visible ISS, Tiangong or Hubble passes, the best reaching 20° above the horizon. The best window for satellite spotting over Auckland on 24 August 2026 is 04:52–06:17 and 18:13–19:48 NZST, 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 Auckland on 24 August 2026 starts at 19:48 NZST, rises in the SSW, peaks 13° above the horizon and sets in the SSW, lasting about 1 minute.
At 9pm local on 24 August 2026, no naked-eye planets are above the horizon from Auckland. Planets rise and set like the stars, so the picture changes through the night and across the year.
Auckland (36.8°S) — a mid-latitude position that gets frequent, favourably-angled passes year-round.
Auckland, New Zealand sits at 36.9°S — giving solid ISS coverage, with passes that can reach 90° at their best. As the most isolated major city from the main landmasses of the Southern Hemisphere, Auckland's Waitemata Harbour and the offshore islands of the Hauraki Gulf offer remarkably clear eastern horizons for rising satellite passes.
Observing notesEvening twilight begins 30 minutes after sunset, morning 40 minutes before sunrise. Best viewing from the outer suburbs or Hunua Ranges. Best months: April–September — New Zealand's dry autumn and winter deliver excellent sky transparency.
🛰 SEE SATELLITES OVER AUCKLAND NOWSATELLITE SPOTTING FROM AUCKLAND
When can I see the ISS from Auckland?
The ISS is visible from Auckland during twilight — typically 30–60 minutes after sunset or before sunrise. At 36.9°S Auckland gets ISS passes reaching around 90° elevation, which means the station clears well above the horizon for easily trackable passes. The Sky Tower makes a useful reference point: a 90° pass will appear roughly twice as high as the tower looks from 2km away. Several passes per week are visible during favourable geometry.
What satellites are visible from Auckland?
From Auckland you can see the ISS (magnitude −4, city-visible), Tiangong, and the AST BlueBird satellites. Starlink trains from SpaceX launches at Vandenberg are excellent from Auckland's latitude. Hubble Space Telescope at 28.5° inclination is technically visible from Auckland at 36.9°S — it will appear low in the north, reaching perhaps 10–15° maximum elevation, so you need a clear northern horizon such as the Takapuna beachfront or Rangitoto Island viewpoint.
Where is the best place to watch satellites in Auckland?
Within the city, Mt Eden summit and One Tree Hill provide elevated, open views with reduced local light interference. The Tamaki Estuary shoreline offers clear eastern horizons for rising passes. For genuinely dark skies, Duder Regional Park on the Pohutukawa Coast (45 min southeast) gives Bortle 4–5 conditions. The Hunua Ranges (1 hour southeast) are the best option within easy driving distance. For world-class dark skies, the Aoraki Mackenzie International Dark Sky Reserve on the South Island (7 hours by road or 1 hour by air) is rated Bortle 1 — one of the finest dark-sky sites on Earth.
Can I see satellites from Auckland city centre?
Yes — the ISS at magnitude −4 is easily visible from the Auckland CBD despite the city's light dome. From Viaduct Harbour or the waterfront you can track it across the Waitemata Harbour sky without any equipment. Tiangong is also city-visible. For BlueBirds (magnitude 3) you need a local park away from direct streetlighting — Cornwall Park or the Domain are good options. The light dome from the CBD toward the south dims the southern sky, so arrive early for evening passes which are often in the north-to-northeast arc.
Does Auckland's latitude make it good for satellite spotting?
At 36.9°S Auckland sits slightly further south than Sydney (33.9°S) and Melbourne (37.8°S) — giving similar ISS coverage to those cities, with passes that can reach 90° at their best — the ISS can pass directly overhead, just as it does from Sydney, and a 90° pass takes the ISS well clear of the horizon and gives a clean 4–5 minute crossing arc. Uniquely for a Southern Hemisphere city, Auckland's extreme geographic isolation means its southern sky horizon is remarkably dark compared to Australian east-coast cities, with very little regional light pollution from the South Island.
What is the best season for satellite spotting in Auckland?
Auckland's climate is subtropical-temperate with moderate rainfall distributed year-round, but the winter months bring more stable anticyclonic conditions and drier nights. The Hunua Ranges are at their best in July and August when nights are longest and transparency is highest. Avoid November through February when Auckland's summer brings more cloud and shorter twilight windows. The shoulder months of March–April and October–November can also offer good conditions during stable high-pressure systems sitting over the Tasman Sea.
Auckland is in the coverage zone for EARENDIL-1, the first commercial space mirror from Reflect Orbital. When operational, the steerable mirror could illuminate Auckland during targeted passes. OrbitalSolar.ai has full pass predictions for Auckland →
WHAT'S VISIBLE FROM HERE
From Auckland (36.9°S) you have access to a wide range of satellites: