Satellites Tonight

Can I see Starlink tonight in Pietermaritzburg?

No visible passes tonight.

Next good chance: Wednesday 14 Oct at 4:37 am, looking north-northwest.

Updated Times in local time (SAST)-29.62°, 30.39°
Next pass · Wednesday 14 Oct
Appears
4:37 am
north-northwest, 12°
Highest
4:55 am
31° north-northeast
Fades
4:57 am
east-northeast, 10°
NESW
≈ mag 4 · moderateTrain · 14 satellitesLaunch 2026-225 · 28 September 2026

The next 8 nights at a glance

8 visible passes
dark skytraineasy (mag ≤ 3.5)moderate (≤ 4)faint (≤ 5)

Pass times, night by night

start · path · brightness

Tonight · Wednesday 7 Oct

dark 6:28 pm – 5:04 am
No visible passes tonight.

Thursday 8 Oct – Sunday 11 Oct

no visible passes

Monday 12 Oct

dark 6:31 pm – 4:58 am
4:25 amto 4:51 am · 25 min
N → NE, highest 18° NNEappears north at 10°, low at the top
≈ mag 5 · faintTrain · 22
4:56 amto 4:58 am · 3 min
NNW → NE, highest 19° NNEappears north-northwest at 12°, low at the top
≈ mag 4.5 · faintTrain · 2

Tuesday 13 Oct

dark 6:31 pm – 4:57 am
4:15 amto 4:18 am · 3 min
N → ENE, highest 18° NNEappears north at 16°, low at the top
≈ mag 5 · faintTrain · 1
4:30 amto 4:34 am · 4 min
NNW → ENE, highest 22° NNEappears north-northwest at 14°, low at the top
≈ mag 4.5 · faintTrain · 1
4:37 amto 4:57 am · 20 min
NNW → ENE, highest 31° NNEappears north-northwest at 12°, halfway up at the top
≈ mag 4 · moderateTrain · 14

Wednesday 14 Oct

dark 6:32 pm – 4:56 am
3:37 amto 4:00 am · 24 min
NE → ENE, highest 22° NNEappears northeast at 13°, low at the top
≈ mag 4.5 · faintTrain · 12
4:32 amto 4:36 am · 4 min
NW → E, highest 37° NNEappears northwest at 19°, halfway up at the top
≈ mag 3.5 · easyTrain · 1
4:47 amto 4:56 am · 9 min
WNW → E, highest 49° Nappears west-northwest at 13°, halfway up at the top
≈ mag 3 · easyTrain · 7

Magnitude is an estimate (lower = brighter; 3 is easy, 5 needs a dark sky). Predictions for satellites that are still raising their orbits can shift by a few minutes from one update to the next; check again before you go out. How we compute this.

Seeing Starlink from Pietermaritzburg

Pietermaritzburg is at 29.6°S. Tonight the sky is dark enough from 6:28 pm until 5:04 am. A Starlink satellite only shows when it is still in sunlight while you are in darkness, so the passes bunch up in the first hours after dusk and the last hours before dawn, not around midnight. Over the next 8 nights we found 8 visible passes (0 in the evening, 8 before dawn); 3 of them should be easy to spot (estimated magnitude 4 or brighter).

The best one is on Thursday 15 Oct at 4:47 am: it appears in the west-northwest, climbs to 49° in the north and fades in the east at about magnitude 3.

The passes come from these launches:

Satellites from launch 2026-219 (20 September 2026) are also low and bright, but they do not pass over Pietermaritzburg while it is dark and they are sunlit in this period.

Questions

Can I see Starlink tonight in Pietermaritzburg?

No visible passes tonight. Next good chance: Wednesday 14 Oct at 4:37 am, looking north-northwest.

When is the next Starlink train over Pietermaritzburg?

Tuesday 13 Oct at 4:25 am: 22 satellites from launch 2026-225, appearing in the north and reaching 18°.

Which direction should I look for Starlink from Pietermaritzburg?

This week most passes appear in the north-northwest or north. Each pass above lists where it appears, how high it climbs and where it fades.

Nearby cities

All of South Africa →
Durban 67 kmRichards Bay 185 kmNewcastle 212 kmBotshabelo 357 kmWelkom 400 kmVereeniging 407 km

Also tonight: the ISS

ISS pass times for Pietermaritzburg →

Yes — best chance 3:45 am, looking east-northeast. Visible from 3:45 am to 3:47 am, halfway up in the sky (37°) at its highest; about magnitude -2, brighter than any star. The space station is far brighter than Starlink satellites, so it is often the easier thing to spot.

Before you go out

ISS tonight in PietermaritzburgHow to spot StarlinkWhat the Starlink train isWhy some nights have nothing