Revealed: The real reason you can’t see stars outside the window on a plane

By JADA BAS

Published: 09:41 BST, 31 March 2025 | Updated: 09:48 BST, 31 March 2025

The real reason you can’t see stars outside the window on a plane has been revealed by an expert.

The biggest culprit behind this mystery is the artificial lights of the cabin which can tarnish your view of the twinkling night sky, says theoretical astrophysicist and science writer Ethan Siegel.

The scientist says flyers are missing out on some of the ‘best skies available to humans’ because of those pesky plane lights.

The harsh aircraft lights can create a glare on the window, making it almost impossible to see the starry night below.

He compares the phenomenon to how you can’t see what’s going on outside your house if the lights are on because it needs to be darker inside.

In a post on Medium, Ethan says: ‘As a general rule, it needs to be darker at the place where you’re looking from than the place you’re looking to, or you won’t be able to see much of anything.

‘If it weren’t for the lights of the plane itself, you would, in fact, be able to have some of the best skies available to humans.

‘You can understand this pretty easily if you think about being in your own house at night. If you have the lights on inside but it’s dark outside, who can see what?

The real reason you can’t see stars outside the window on a plane has been revealed by an expert and it’s the artificial dim lights of the cabin which can tarnish your view 

‘From outside the house, someone looking in can see everything you’re up to. But if you want to see what’s going on outside, you need to turn off the lights inside and turn out the lights outside, don’t you?’

However factors like light pollution from towns and cities, even thousands of feet below, can impact the visibility of the stars.

The moon also acts as a natural barrier as it’s glow can outshine the stars and dim their shine.

If travelers want to up their chances of star-gazing on a flight, they should choose a window seat away from the wing opposite to the moon and turn off the cabin lights if possible.

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Revealed: The real reason you can’t see stars outside the window on a plane

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