Satellites Tonight

Can I see Starlink tonight in Richards Bay?

No visible passes tonight.

Next good chance: Wednesday 14 Oct at 4:30 am, looking northwest.

Updated Times in local time (SAST)-28.78°, 32.04°
Next pass · Wednesday 14 Oct
Appears
4:30 am
northwest, 14°
Highest
4:32 am
29° north-northeast
Fades
4:35 am
east, 12°
NESW
≈ mag 4 · moderateTrain · 1 satellitesLaunch 2026-225 · 28 September 2026

The next 8 nights at a glance

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

Pass times, night by night

start · path · brightness

Tonight · Wednesday 7 Oct

dark 6:20 pm – 4:58 am
No visible passes tonight.

Thursday 8 Oct – Sunday 11 Oct

no visible passes

Monday 12 Oct

dark 6:23 pm – 4:53 am
4:25 amto 4:51 am · 26 min
N → ENE, highest 23° NNEappears north at 11°, low at the top
≈ mag 4.5 · faintTrain · 22

Tuesday 13 Oct

dark 6:24 pm – 4:52 am
4:15 amto 4:18 am · 4 min
NNW → ENE, highest 23° NNEappears north-northwest at 18°, low at the top
≈ mag 4.5 · faintTrain · 1
4:30 amto 4:35 am · 5 min
NW → E, highest 29° NNEappears northwest at 14°, halfway up at the top
≈ mag 4 · moderateTrain · 1
4:37 amto 4:52 am · 14 min
NW → E, highest 36° NNEappears northwest at 11°, halfway up at the top
≈ mag 3.5 · easyTrain · 12

Wednesday 14 Oct

dark 6:25 pm – 4:50 am
3:36 amto 4:01 am · 24 min
ENE → ENE, highest 27° NNEappears east-northeast at 14°, halfway up at the top
≈ mag 4 · moderateTrain · 14
4:32 amto 4:37 am · 5 min
NW → E, highest 49° NNEappears northwest at 18°, halfway up at the top
≈ mag 3 · easyTrain · 1
4:47 amto 4:50 am · 3 min
WNW → NE, highest 61° Nappears west-northwest at 11°, high at the top
≈ mag 3 · easyTrain · 2

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 Richards Bay

Richards Bay is at 28.8°S. Tonight the sky is dark enough from 6:20 pm until 4:58 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 7 visible passes (0 in the evening, 7 before dawn); 5 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 61° in the north and fades in the northeast 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 Richards Bay while it is dark and they are sunlit in this period.

Questions

Can I see Starlink tonight in Richards Bay?

No visible passes tonight. Next good chance: Wednesday 14 Oct at 4:30 am, looking northwest.

When is the next Starlink train over Richards Bay?

Tuesday 13 Oct at 4:25 am: 22 satellites from launch 2026-225, appearing in the north and reaching 23°.

Which direction should I look for Starlink from Richards Bay?

This week most passes appear in the 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 154 kmPietermaritzburg 185 kmNewcastle 236 kmEmalahleni 426 kmBrakpan 459 kmBenoni 466 km

Also tonight: the ISS

ISS pass times for Richards Bay →

Yes — best chance 3:45 am, looking northeast. Visible from 3:45 am to 3:47 am, high in the sky (50°) at its highest; about magnitude -3, 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 Richards BayHow to spot StarlinkWhat the Starlink train isWhy some nights have nothing