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Night sky tonight in California

Tonight's score out of 10 and the best hours for each California city we cover, worked out for its own position and time zone. Open a city for the full forecast: the Moon, planets, meteor showers, northern lights, ISS passes and clouds.

Cities in California

CityTonightBest timeHighlightsNorthern lights need
Los Angeles……Kp 9
San Diego……Extreme storm
San Jose……Kp 8.4
San Francisco……Kp 8.4
Fresno……Kp 8.5
Sacramento……Kp 8.2
Long Beach……Kp 9
Oakland……Kp 8.3
Bakersfield……Kp 8.7
Anaheim……Kp 9
Stockton……Kp 8.3
Riverside……Kp 9
Santa Clarita……Kp 8.9
Modesto……Kp 8.3
Oxnard……Kp 9
Santa Rosa……Kp 8.2
Oceanside……Extreme storm
Lancaster……Kp 8.8
Salinas……Kp 8.5
Visalia……Kp 8.5
Victorville……Kp 8.9
Vallejo……Kp 8.3
Thousand Oaks……Kp 9
Antioch……Kp 8.3
Menifee……Kp 9
Santa Maria……Kp 8.8
Chico……Kp 7.9
El Monte……Kp 9
Vacaville……Kp 8.2
Tracy……Kp 8.3
Merced……Kp 8.4
Indio……Kp 9
Redding……Kp 7.8
Folsom……Kp 8.1
Santa Barbara……Kp 8.9
Upland……Kp 8.9
Pleasanton……Kp 8.3
Yuba City……Kp 8.1
Madera……Kp 8.4
Palo Alto……Kp 8.4
Laguna Niguel……Extreme storm
Porterville……Kp 8.6
Santa Cruz……Kp 8.5
Gilroy……Kp 8.5
Yucaipa……Kp 8.9
Delano……Kp 8.7
San Luis Obispo……Kp 8.8
El Centro……Extreme storm
Ridgecrest……Kp 8.6
Eureka……Kp 7.8

Scores before clouds; each city page adds the National Weather Service cloud forecast. Northern lights: see tonight's aurora outlook for California.

Darkness across California

How early it gets dark in midwinter and how short the summer nights get, city by city, and how far each city is from the nearest certified dark-sky place.

CitySunset Dec 15Full darkness Dec 15Sunset Jun 15Full darkness Jun 15Nearest dark-sky place
Los Angeles4:46 PM11.1 h8:07 PM6.1 hJulian, California, 123 mi SE
San Diego4:44 PM11.1 h7:58 PM6.3 hJulian, California, 35 mi NE
San Jose4:51 PM11.3 h8:29 PM5.5 hDeath Valley National Park, 286 mi E
San Francisco4:55 PM11.3 h8:36 PM5.4 hOregon Caves National Monument and Preserve, 303 mi N
Fresno4:44 PM11.3 h8:20 PM5.6 hDeath Valley National Park, 169 mi E
Sacramento4:46 PM11.3 h8:32 PM5.2 hMassacre Rim Wilderness Study Area, 234 mi NE
Long Beach4:46 PM11.1 h8:05 PM6.1 hJulian, California, 102 mi SE
Oakland4:51 PM11.3 h8:32 PM5.4 hMassacre Rim Wilderness Study Area, 301 mi NE
Bakersfield4:45 PM11.2 h8:13 PM5.9 hDeath Valley National Park, 138 mi NE
Anaheim4:44 PM11.1 h8:03 PM6.1 hJulian, California, 86 mi SE
Stockton4:47 PM11.3 h8:29 PM5.4 hMassacre Rim Wilderness Study Area, 270 mi N
Riverside4:42 PM11.1 h8:02 PM6.1 hJulian, California, 75 mi SE
Santa Clarita4:45 PM11.1 h8:08 PM6 hJulian, California, 143 mi SE
Modesto4:47 PM11.3 h8:27 PM5.4 hDeath Valley National Park, 250 mi E
Oxnard4:49 PM11.1 h8:10 PM6.1 hJulian, California, 169 mi SE
Santa Rosa4:51 PM11.3 h8:36 PM5.3 hOregon Caves National Monument and Preserve, 256 mi N
Oceanside4:44 PM11.1 h8:00 PM6.2 hJulian, California, 42 mi E
Lancaster4:43 PM11.2 h8:07 PM6 hDeath Valley National Park, 131 mi NE
Salinas4:52 PM11.3 h8:27 PM5.6 hDeath Valley National Park, 269 mi E
Visalia4:44 PM11.2 h8:17 PM5.7 hDeath Valley National Park, 139 mi E
Victorville4:40 PM11.1 h8:04 PM6 hJoshua Tree National Park, 100 mi SE
Vallejo4:50 PM11.3 h8:34 PM5.3 hMassacre Rim Wilderness Study Area, 282 mi NE
Thousand Oaks4:47 PM11.1 h8:09 PM6.1 hJulian, California, 152 mi SE
Antioch4:49 PM11.3 h8:31 PM5.4 hMassacre Rim Wilderness Study Area, 279 mi NE
Menifee4:42 PM11.1 h8:01 PM6.2 hJulian, California, 54 mi SE
Santa Maria4:52 PM11.2 h8:17 PM5.9 hDeath Valley National Park, 222 mi NE
Chico4:44 PM11.4 h8:37 PM5 hMassacre Rim Wilderness Study Area, 173 mi NE
El Monte4:44 PM11.1 h8:05 PM6.1 hJulian, California, 107 mi SE
Vacaville4:48 PM11.3 h8:33 PM5.3 hMassacre Rim Wilderness Study Area, 259 mi NE
Tracy4:48 PM11.3 h8:29 PM5.4 hDeath Valley National Park, 275 mi E
Merced4:45 PM11.3 h8:24 PM5.5 hDeath Valley National Park, 215 mi E
Indio4:38 PM11.1 h7:57 PM6.2 hJoshua Tree National Park, 27 mi E
Redding4:43 PM11.4 h8:42 PM4.8 hOregon Caves National Monument and Preserve, 119 mi NW
Folsom4:44 PM11.3 h8:31 PM5.2 hMassacre Rim Wilderness Study Area, 222 mi N
Santa Barbara4:50 PM11.1 h8:13 PM6 hJulian, California, 201 mi SE
Upland4:43 PM11.1 h8:04 PM6.1 hJulian, California, 94 mi SE
Pleasanton4:50 PM11.3 h8:31 PM5.4 hDeath Valley National Park, 296 mi E
Yuba City4:45 PM11.4 h8:34 PM5.1 hMassacre Rim Wilderness Study Area, 203 mi NE
Madera4:45 PM11.3 h8:22 PM5.6 hDeath Valley National Park, 188 mi E
Palo Alto4:52 PM11.3 h8:31 PM5.5 hDeath Valley National Park, 305 mi E
Laguna Niguel4:44 PM11.1 h8:02 PM6.2 hJulian, California, 71 mi SE
Porterville4:43 PM11.2 h8:15 PM5.7 hDeath Valley National Park, 124 mi E
Santa Cruz4:53 PM11.3 h8:29 PM5.6 hDeath Valley National Park, 293 mi E
Gilroy4:51 PM11.3 h8:28 PM5.6 hDeath Valley National Park, 269 mi E
Yucaipa4:40 PM11.1 h8:01 PM6.1 hBorrego Springs, California, 67 mi SE
Delano4:45 PM11.2 h8:15 PM5.8 hDeath Valley National Park, 140 mi E
San Luis Obispo4:52 PM11.2 h8:19 PM5.9 hDeath Valley National Park, 226 mi E
El Centro4:38 PM11.1 h7:52 PM6.3 hAnza-Borrego Desert State Park, 48 mi NW
Ridgecrest4:39 PM11.2 h8:08 PM5.8 hDeath Valley National Park, 63 mi NE
Eureka4:50 PM11.5 h8:50 PM4.7 hOregon Caves National Monument and Preserve, 99 mi NE

Moon-free nights in California, month by month

The runs of nights when the Moon is down for most of full darkness, worked out for Los Angeles; across the state the dates shift by a night at most.

  • November 2026: Nov 2–15
  • December 2026: Dec 2–14, Dec 31
  • January 2027: Jan 1–13, Jan 29–31
  • February 2027: Feb 1–11, Feb 27–28
  • March 2027: Mar 1–12, Mar 28–31
  • April 2027: Apr 1–10, Apr 27–30
  • May 2027: May 1–9, May 28–31
  • June 2027: Jun 1–8, Jun 28–30
  • July 2027: Jul 1–9, Jul 29–31
  • August 2027: Aug 1–9, Aug 27–31
  • September 2027: Sep 1–7, Sep 25–30
  • October 2027: Oct 1–6, Oct 23–30
  • November 2027: Nov 1–4, Nov 21–30
  • December 2027: Dec 1–3, Dec 20–31

Dark-sky places in California

Descriptions and moon-free weekends

Eclipses visible in California

All states