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Tonight · Sat, 10 October 2026

Defiance stargazing forecast tonight

Hourly clear-sky conditions for observing: cloud by layer, transparency, estimated seeing, moonlight and true astronomical darkness.

41.285°N 84.356°W ·206 m ·Ohio, United States

NearbyFort WayneAnn ArborYpsilantiGoshenMore nearby
50
/100
Fair conditions
at peak

Marginal, but there is a 1 hour gap from 00:00.

Site darkness · peer measure
Brightened skyNot multiplied into the conditions score
20.1–20.7 mag/arcsec²

The score describes tonight’s conditions. Site darkness helps you choose what to observe.

See target outlook ↓Planet observing times →
Best months at Defiance, Ohio →Moonless nights →
Tonight in context · local sky & season

October historically: 7.4 qualifying nights/month on average (2005–2024). Regional cloud and darkness history, not tonight’s probability or a comparison with the conditions score.

A qualifying historical night has at least 3 hours of astronomical darkness and mean nighttime cloud ≤30%. This does not measure steady air or target visibility. Seasonal history →

Saturn: about 8.7h above 20° during this observing night’s darkness. Longest sampled dark-time opportunity among our four planet targets; not a weather ranking. Planet times →

Position calculations use roughly 20-minute samples. Clouds, skyglow and local obstructions still matter. Milky Way timing →

Best window
00:00 – 01:00
Window quality
50 / 100 avg
Astronomical dark
21:00 – 07:00
Moon
New moon, 1%
Transparency at peak
0.54
Seeing at peak (est.)
0.77
Visual limit (modelled)
4.5–6.0 mag
Tonight's limiting factor
Transparency

Transparency 0.54 — haze and water vapour will cost you the faintest targets. What this means →

The night, hour by hour

Colour = score · Luminance = everything else
Sky state
Shaded = daylight and twilight  ·  unshaded = astronomical dark
2
4
8
8
50
8
Score
BEST WINDOW · 2 H
Low cloud
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
1%
100%
100%
95%
100%
100%
100%
100%
Mid cloud
95%
100%
100%
100%
100%
39%
99%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
17%
100%
High cloud
100%
100%
87%
0%
0%
0%
2%
38%
95%
91%
29%
3%
54%
2%
Transparency
0.63
0.63
0.59
0.52
0.50
0.54
0.51
0.49
0.39
0.10
0.10
0.10
0.10
0.10
Seeing
0.84
0.83
0.83
0.86
0.80
0.77
0.73
0.71
0.74
0.76
0.82
0.81
0.83
0.85
Moon clear
down
down
down
down
down
down
down
down
down
down
down
down
down
down
19
20
21
22
23
00
01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08
Inspect

Cloud tracks show clear sky — a longer bar is better. The figure inside each track is the raw measurement.

Score inspectorWhy this hour scored what it did Open peakClose
00 Fair · 50/100
Starting from
100
Cloud
−35
Transparency
−12
Seeing
−3
Moonlight
−0
Darkness
−0
Score
50
CLOUD 39% LOW 0% MID 39% HIGH 0% SUN -50.7° MOON -53.7° / 1% WIND 4 TEMP 17°
Excellent 75+ Good 55+ Fair 35+ Poor 15+ Not worth it Seeing is estimated from surface wind — see how we score.

What can you actually do tonight?

This is GoodSeeing’s decision layer: the same forecast is weighted for your target and site darkness. Planetary work barely cares about moonlight; long exposures can fail on high cloud a visual observer would barely notice. Your choice is remembered on this device and becomes the default for new alert rules.

NO USABLE WINDOW FOR THIS TARGET TONIGHT

Darkness and moonlight dominate. Faint fuzzies need a genuinely dark sky more than they need steady air.

19212301030507
SITE GLOW LIMITS THIS TARGET
SET UP 23:30 · OBSERVE 00:00–01:00 · 1H · MEAN 52

Seeing is everything and moonlight is irrelevant. Bright targets punch through twilight, so darkness barely counts.

19212301030507
CLOUD BREAKS 00:00CLOUD RETURNS 01:00MOONLIGHT IGNORED FOR THIS TARGET
NO USABLE WINDOW FOR THIS TARGET TONIGHT

Tolerates soft seeing, but high cloud wrecks a wide frame and moonlight raises the background everywhere.

19212301030507
SITE GLOW LIMITS THIS TARGET
NO USABLE WINDOW FOR THIS TARGET TONIGHT

Needs conditions to hold still for hours. Sustained transparency matters more than any single good hour.

19212301030507
CONDITIONS STAY BELOW THE USABLE THRESHOLD
NO USABLE WINDOW FOR THIS TARGET TONIGHT

Naked eye, whole sky. Total cloud and moonlight are the only things that count.

19212301030507
SITE GLOW LIMITS THIS TARGET

Deep-sky visual is your current default.

A darker option

Headlands International Dark Sky Park

501 km away · Threatened dark sky · 21.3–21.6 mag/arcsec²

72conditions tonight
See the trade-off →

The next week of nights

Tonight · 10 Oct
50
Fair
MOON 1%
00:00–01:00
Tomorrow · 11 Oct
64
Good
MOON 3%
23:00–07:00
Monday · 12 Oct
75
Excellent
MOON 7%
21:00–06:00
Tuesday · 13 Oct
58
Good
MOON 13%
02:00–03:00
Wednesday · 14 Oct
31
Poor

Cloud or fog is the strongest score limit at the best sampled time.

MOON 21%
Thursday · 15 Oct
29
Poor

Cloud or fog is the strongest score limit at the best sampled time.

MOON 29%
Friday · 16 Oct
71
Good
MOON 37%
02:00–03:00

Open a night for its forecast times. Later forecasts may have wider time steps; missing hours are not interpolated.

Tonight · 10 Oct · forecast times
Sky state
Shaded = daylight and twilight  ·  unshaded = astronomical dark
2
4
8
8
50
8
Score
Low cloud
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
1%
100%
100%
95%
100%
100%
100%
100%
Mid cloud
95%
100%
100%
100%
100%
39%
99%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
17%
100%
High cloud
100%
100%
87%
0%
0%
0%
2%
38%
95%
91%
29%
3%
54%
2%
Transparency
0.63
0.63
0.59
0.52
0.50
0.54
0.51
0.49
0.39
0.10
0.10
0.10
0.10
0.10
Seeing
0.84
0.83
0.83
0.86
0.80
0.77
0.73
0.71
0.74
0.76
0.82
0.81
0.83
0.85
Moon clear
down
down
down
down
down
down
down
down
down
down
down
down
down
down
19
20
21
22
23
00
01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08

Cloud tracks show clear sky — a longer bar is better. The figure inside each track is the raw measurement.

Tomorrow · 11 Oct · forecast times
Sky state
Shaded = daylight and twilight  ·  unshaded = astronomical dark
55
63
63
64
64
62
61
55
9
Score
Low cloud
100%
100%
100%
100%
19%
2%
1%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
Mid cloud
2%
6%
2%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
High cloud
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
2%
9%
23%
89%
96%
Transparency
0.41
0.36
0.32
0.28
0.20
0.10
0.10
0.10
0.10
0.10
0.10
0.10
0.10
0.10
Seeing
0.91
0.96
1.00
1.00
1.00
1.00
1.00
1.00
0.98
0.95
0.98
0.96
0.99
0.99
Moon clear
2%
down
down
down
down
down
down
down
down
down
down
down
down
down
19
20
21
22
23
00
01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08

Cloud tracks show clear sky — a longer bar is better. The figure inside each track is the raw measurement.

Monday · 12 Oct · forecast times
Sky state
Shaded = daylight and twilight  ·  unshaded = astronomical dark
17
75
68
68
65
68
65
66
58
39
34
18
Score
Low cloud
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
1%
0%
0%
Mid cloud
0%
2%
3%
7%
9%
12%
6%
7%
6%
4%
24%
38%
0%
0%
High cloud
52%
99%
5%
5%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
1%
34%
25%
0%
0%
Transparency
0.67
0.65
0.61
0.54
0.51
0.47
0.42
0.35
0.32
0.10
0.10
0.10
0.11
0.20
Seeing
0.84
0.80
0.73
0.67
0.67
0.67
0.70
0.77
0.78
0.75
0.83
0.74
0.70
0.66
Moon clear
6%
down
down
down
down
down
down
down
down
down
down
down
down
down
19
20
21
22
23
00
01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08

Cloud tracks show clear sky — a longer bar is better. The figure inside each track is the raw measurement.

Tuesday · 13 Oct · forecast times
Sky state
Shaded = daylight and twilight  ·  unshaded = astronomical dark
33
58
Score
Low cloud
0%
2%
0%
100%
Mid cloud
0%
0%
0%
98%
High cloud
0%
0%
16%
54%
Transparency
0.91
0.28
0.10
0.10
Seeing
0.51
0.81
1.00
0.97
Moon clear
10%
12%
down
down
14
20
02
08

Cloud tracks show clear sky — a longer bar is better. The figure inside each track is the raw measurement.

Wednesday · 14 Oct · forecast times
Sky state
Shaded = daylight and twilight  ·  unshaded = astronomical dark
2
31
Score
Low cloud
100%
90%
0%
16%
Mid cloud
46%
0%
0%
0%
High cloud
41%
94%
98%
2%
Transparency
0.54
0.51
0.36
0.35
Seeing
0.95
0.82
0.69
0.80
Moon clear
17%
19%
down
down
14
20
02
08

Cloud tracks show clear sky — a longer bar is better. The figure inside each track is the raw measurement.

Thursday · 15 Oct · forecast times
Sky state
Shaded = daylight and twilight  ·  unshaded = astronomical dark
20
29
Score
Low cloud
60%
1%
0%
0%
Mid cloud
0%
0%
16%
0%
High cloud
63%
100%
100%
100%
Transparency
0.77
0.63
0.35
0.17
Seeing
0.77
0.85
1.00
1.00
Moon clear
24%
27%
down
down
14
20
02
08

Cloud tracks show clear sky — a longer bar is better. The figure inside each track is the raw measurement.

Friday · 16 Oct · forecast times
Sky state
Shaded = daylight and twilight  ·  unshaded = astronomical dark
39
71
Score
Low cloud
4%
9%
8%
1%
Mid cloud
0%
0%
0%
0%
High cloud
99%
0%
0%
0%
Transparency
0.77
0.63
0.59
0.39
Seeing
0.74
0.60
0.69
0.83
Moon clear
33%
35%
down
down
14
20
02
08

Cloud tracks show clear sky — a longer bar is better. The figure inside each track is the raw measurement.

Planning a trip?

Compare the next eight weekends → · Best months to visit → · Moonless nights →

More nearby locations 8 options · openclose

About this forecast

Exact-coordinate weather, sky geometry and site context.

Full method →20-year baseline →
Sources and scoring details openclose

Conditions for Defiance, Ohio, United States are computed from the MET Norway forecast model for these exact coordinates, combined with sun and moon positions we calculate directly. The score weighs cloud cover by layer, atmospheric transparency, estimated seeing, moonlight and astronomical twilight. Site darkness is shown separately, then used only where artificial skyglow physically changes moon contrast, haze scattering, visual limits and target suitability.