SUNSET
…The day makes room for the night.
A SKY COMPANION FOR LIFE ON THE ROAD
A new stop.
The same sky.
Park somewhere. Let the day settle.
There’s a whole evening above you.
Choose an observing location. Your own selection stays in this browser.
++·
OUR EVENING COMPANIONThe MoonCalculating the sky…
FIG. 01 / A LITTLE PERSPECTIVEYOUR EVENING, AT A GLANCE
Tonight at our stop.
Times are local to your selected stop.
FULL DARKNESS
…When astronomical twilight ends.
MOONRISE
…From noon today to noon tomorrow.
MOON ILLUMINATION
…The sunlit part of the lunar disk.
A little map of the night
CALCULATINGDaylightCivil twilightNauticalAstronomicalNight
A clear horizon is assumed. Clouds, terrain, and light pollution aren’t included.
GET YOUR BEARINGS
The sky above you
NoonNext noon
Look up with north at the top. East is on your left.
The edge is the horizon; the center is directly overhead.
SOMETHING TO LOOK FOR
A few familiar travelers
KEEP THE SMALL MOMENTS
Your observing notebook.
A bright planet. A quiet campsite. Something you want to remember.
Only on this device, in this browser. Notes, photos, and selected locations are never uploaded. Export a backup before clearing browser data or changing devices. Backup files include any locations and photos you saved.
ONE SMALL IDEA, A LITTLE CLOSER
Same Moon. A different light.
First quarter
NewFullNew
The Moon doesn’t change.
Our view of it does.
The Sun lights half of the Moon. As the Moon travels around Earth, we see different amounts of that sunlit half. That changing view makes the phases.
Move the slider and watch the light cross the disk. This is a schematic view, with lunar north up. Its angle in your actual sky will vary.
Explore Moon phases with NASA ↗Different roads.
Always something to look up for.