Why some nights there is no Starlink to see
Over 11,140 Starlink satellites are in orbit, yet many nights a city page says "No". That is not a bug. Four reasons:
1. The satellite has to be in sunlight while you are in darkness
Satellites do not shine; they reflect sunlight. After sunset you are in darkness, but a satellite a few hundred kilometres up still catches the Sun for a while. As the night goes on, Earth's shadow rises and swallows it. So passes cluster in the hour or two after dusk and before dawn. In midsummer at high latitudes the shadow stays low and satellites can be lit all night; in midwinter the windows are short.
2. Only new satellites are bright
Satellites at their working altitude (about 480–550 km), angled to cut reflections, are around magnitude 6–7: not visible from towns. The easy ones are from launches in the last few weeks, still low and in a brighter attitude. We list only these. Between launches that pass over your area, there may be nothing worth going out for.
3. The orbit has to reach your latitude
Each launch goes into one orbital tilt: 43°, 53°, 70° or 97.6°, and some recent launches near 30°. A satellite never passes over latitudes higher than its tilt (it can still be seen low on the horizon from a few degrees further). A 43° batch, for example, is out of reach for most of the UK, Canada and New Zealand's far south.
4. Timing
A batch passes over a given city in its dark-and-sunlit window only on some nights; the orbit drifts relative to the Sun and the passes move earlier or later each day.
Each city page gives tonight's answer and the next good chance in the coming week. When there is truly nothing, it says so.
Questions
Why can't I see Starlink tonight?
Usually because no recently launched satellites pass over you while they are sunlit and your sky is dark. Working Starlink satellites are too faint to see easily.
Why are there no Starlink passes in the middle of the night?
Around midnight, satellites at a few hundred kilometres are inside Earth's shadow. Near the summer solstice at high latitudes, some can stay sunlit all night.
When will Starlink be visible again?
After the next launch whose orbit crosses your latitude, typically within days. City pages show the next good chance in the coming week.