Sun's Position Over Earth
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Fourmilab Switzerland
Day & Night on Earth
View Earth's Night Half
Sunrise & Sunset on Earth
Six Current Views of Earth
Current Global Cloud-Cover
Earth's 12-Month Heartbeat
Our Earth Weather page
Current Planet Locations
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UPCOMING
Comets:
Visible in N Hemisphere
Visible in S Hemisphere
Eclipses:
NASA:
Solar: 2015 Mar 20
GIF Map only
Animation only
Lunar: 2015 Apr 4
5 Millenia of Eclipses
HMNAO:
Solar: 2015 Mar 20
Lunar: 2015 Apr 4
600 Years of Eclipses
Meteor Showers:
IMO 2014 Calendar
AMS 2014 Calendar
Satellite Launches:
SKY VIEWING
SOLAR SYSTEM
THE SUN
MERCURY
VENUS
EARTH
THE MOON
MARS
JUPITER
SATURN
URANUS
NEPTUNE
SMALLER WORLDS
STELLAR OBJECTS
EXOPLANETS
DEEP-SKY OBJECTS
SCALE OF THE COSMOS
———————
SKY-FUN / SKY-GAMES
USEFUL ASTRONOMY WEBTOOLS
Astronomical Lexicons:
NASA / JPL:
Basics of Space Flight
DAWN Dictionary
HubbleSite Ref. Desk
Imagine the Universe!
NED (quite extensive)
ESA:
Science Glossary
Space Science
List of Constellations (with pronunciations):
EXCITING NEW SCRIPTS COMING SOON!
Moon-Pak 1 and Planet-Pak 1 will soon bring the Moon and the planets to CELESTIA users in ways they've never seen before! And the Paks are "awesome"! Keep an eye out for them!
LUNAR APOGEES & PERIGEES
Lunar apogees & perigees show just how irregular the lunar orbit is. From 1500 to 2500 CE, the Moon's apogee averages about 405,400 km, varying from about 404,050 km to its extreme maximum of about 406,720 km. The lunar perigee is much more variable however, averaging close to 363,400 km while varying from about 370,350 km to its extreme minimum of about 356,370 km!
Extreme lunar apogees and perigees are caused mostly by the Sun's gravitational pull on the Moon, and they tend to happen in the winter months of the Northern Hemisphere. This is when Earth is near perihelion, i.e. closest (yes, closest!) to the Sun. Extreme apogees tend to happen when the Moon is New, since the Sun pulls it "away from" Earth. Extreme perigees in contrast tend to occur when the Moon is Full, as the Sun pulls it "toward" Earth. Forecasting these extremes can be important due to the Moon's influence on Earth's tides.
UTC: CELESTIA'S DISPLAY OF TIME
CELESTIA's clock displays Coordinated Universal Time, UTC. Click here for a brief explanation.
EARTH AT PERIHELION
When is Earth at perihelion, the point in its orbit closest to the Sun? Contrary to popular belief, this happens in the Northern Hemisphere's winter NOT summer! The winter season is not caused by Earth being farthest from the Sun, but rather by Earth's changing tilt in its orbit relative to the Sun!
In contemporary times Earth generally passes through perihelion between January 1 and January 6. In 2014, it occured on January 4 at 12 hour UT (Universal Time).
HIGHLIGHTS OF SOME
PAST SKY EVENTS
Perseid Meteor Shower 2013 Aug
Geminid Meteor Shower 2012 Dec
Geminid Meteor Shower 2010 Dec
Perseid Meteor Shower 2010 Aug
Partial Lunar Eclipse 2010 Jun
Comet ISON 2013-2014:
ISON's Location among the Constellations
ISON's Journey in 3-D! (Requ. WebGL browser)
NASA: ISON Location & Path in 3-D (Requ. JAVA)
Download a Paper Model of ISON's Orbit
SOME OLD-FORMAT MONTHLY NEWS PAGES
Though they feature events over a year old, here are our old-format monthly NEWS pages that you might enjoy.
2010:
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
2011:
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Sky Events 2013 page.
Sky Events 2014 page.
Sky Events 2015 page.
SKY EVENTS 2014
You may want to start with Tonight's Sky Maps, as well as today's Sunrise, Sunset, Moonrise, Moonset!
To view a video of the Moon for the entire year of 2014, (showing its changing phases, path, distance, apparent size, libration, orbital nodes and eclipses,) click on the image directly below or click here.
2014's Eclipse "Seasons":
mid thru late Apr; early thru mid Oct
(Look for listings in appropriate months.)
2014 JANUARY
01 11:14 New Moon Very high tides!
01 21hr Moon at perigee (356,920 km)
03 13hr Quadrantid Meteor Sh. est. peak: 30/hr
04 12hr Earth at perihelion (147,104,740 km)
08 03:39 1st Qtr Moon
16 01hr Moon at apogee (406,540 km)
16 04:52 Full Moon
24 05:20 Last Qtr Moon
25 13:59 Moon occults Saturn: S. Pacific, S. America
30 10hr Moon at perigee (357,080 km)
30 21:38 New Moon Very high tides!
31 10hr Mercury: Gr. East Elong. (18.37°)
2014 FEBRUARY
06 19:22 1st Qtr Moon
12 05hr Moon at apogee (406,230 km)
14 23:53 Full Moon
21 22:19 Moon occults Saturn: Indian Oc, Australia
22 17:15 Last Qtr Moon
26 05:25 Moon occults Venus: Africa, Indian Oc, Asia
27 19hr Moon at perigee (360,440 km)
2014 MARCH
01 08:00 New Moon
08 13:27 1st Qtr Moon
11 19hr Moon at apogee (405,370 km)
14 09hr Mercury: Gr. West Elong. (27.55°)
16 17:08 Full Moon
20 16:57 March (Vernal) Equinox (also see)
21 03:20 Moon occults Saturn: S Amer, Africa, S Atlan.
22 17hr Venus: Gr. West Elong. (46.56°)
24 01:46 Last Qtr Moon
27 18hr Moon at perigee (365,710 km)
30 18:45 New Moon
2014 APRIL
07 08:31 1st Qtr Moon
08 14hr Moon at apogee (404,500 km)
15 07:42 Full Moon
15 07:45 Total Lunar Eclipse: West. Hemis.
22 07:52 Last Qtr Moon
23 00hr Moon at perigee (369,760 km)
29 06:03 Annular Solar Eclipse: Antarctica
29 06:14 New Moon
2014 MAY
06 10hr Moon at apogee (404,320 km)
07 03:15 1st Qtr Moon
14 12:18 Moon occults Saturn: Australia, S Pacific
14 19:16 Full Moon
18 12hr Moon at perigee (367,100 km)
21 12:59 Last Qtr Moon
25 07hr Mercury: Gr. East Elong. (22.68°)
28 18:40 New Moon
2014 JUNE
03 04hr Moon at apogee (404,960 km)
05 20:39 1st Qtr Moon
13 04:11 Full Moon
15 04hr Moon at perigee (362,060 km)
19 18:39 Last Qtr Moon
21 10:51 June (Summer) Solstice
27 08:08 New Moon
30 19hr Moon at apogee (405,930 km)
2014 JULY
04 00hr Earth at aphelion (152,093,450 km)
05 11:59 1st Qtr Moon
12 11:25 Full Moon
12 18hr Mercury: Gr. East Elong. (20.92°)
13 08hr Moon at perigee (358,260 km)
19 02:08 Last Qtr Moon
26 22:42 New Moon
28 03hr Moon at apogee (406,570 km)
2014 AUGUST
04 00:50 1st Qtr Moon
04 10:31 Moon occults Saturn: Ind O, Austr, S Pacif
10 17hr Moon at perigee (356,900 km)
10 18:09 Full Moon Very high tides!
14 16:59 Moon occults Uranus: Arctic, Russia
17 12:26 Last Qtr Moon
24 06hr Moon at apogee (406,520 km)
25 14:13 New Moon
31 18:58 Moon occults Saturn: Equ S Amer, Atl, Africa
2014 SEPTEMBER
02 11:11 1st Qtr Moon
08 03hr Moon at perigee (358,390 km)
09 01:38 Full Moon
11 01:40 Moon occults Uranus: Canada, Arctic
16 02:05 Last Qtr Moon
20 14hr Moon at apogee (405,850 km)
21 17hr Mercury: Gr. East Elong. (26.40°)
23 02:29 September (Autumnal) Equinox
24 06:14 New Moon
28 04:24 Moon occults Saturn: Pacific, E Asia, Alaska
2014 OCTOBER
01 19:32 1st Qtr Moon
06 09hr Moon at perigee (362,480 km)
08 10:37 Moon occults Uranus: Arctic, E Asia
08 10:51 Full Moon
08 10:54 Total Lunar Eclipse: mid-Pacific basin
15 19:12 Last Qtr Moon
18 06hr Moon at apogee (404,900 km)
23 21:44 Partial Solar Eclipse: West. N Amer., E Russia
23 21:57 New Moon
25 15:43 Moon occults Saturn: Eur., Green., Canada
31 02:48 1st Qtr Moon
NOTES:
THIS MONTH'S SKY MARVELS
Every month, HubbleSite and the Space Telescope Science Institute's Office of Public Outreach release an excellent video that highlights "sky happenings" for that month. Here is the link to the site where you may view and/or download the video for the current month.
Detailed NASA / JPL SPACE CALENDAR 2014
This includes a lot of info on the major planets, dwarf planets, asteroids, KBO's, comets, eclipses, the Moon's occultations and more.
THE MOON
Moon's Current Distance, Apparent Size and Phase
Moon's Current Location in its Phase Cycle
View the Moon's Features that are visible from Earth with binoculars or a low-power telescope.
To help you with you lunar observations, download these classic maps of the Moon:
USAF Lunar Earthside Hemisphere Map:
Download (hi-res JP2) View Now (smaller version)
NASA Apollo-Era Lunar Chart:
Download (hi-res JP2) View Now (smaller version)
Moon Phase Calendar
Here is a great calendar of the Year's Moon Phases (and more) courtesy of Newcastle Observatory.
Previous Full-Year Moon Phase Calendars: 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008
Old Format Previous Months' Phases:
2013:
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
2014:
Jan
CURRENT AURORA FORCASTS
OVATION Forecast:
Northern Lights: Aurora Borealis
Southern Lights: Aurora Australis
Image credit: NOAA / NWS Space Weather Prediction Center
EARTH'S CURRENT TILT
RELATIVE TO THE SUN
Though its two principal views display Earth rotating at different speeds, this interesting Flash animation lets you Easily Find Earth's Current Tilt Relative to the Sun. Moreover you can change just a few Settings to view how Earth's varying tilt throughout the year causes the seasons and affects the lengths of our days and nights. Changing the month is most instructive. (Note: in this animation the Vernal Equinox is essentially toward the bottom of your screen in its Northern Hemisphere view and outward toward you in its Oblique view.)
EQUINOXES & SOLSTICES THROUGH MARCH 2014
WHERE IS THE SUN TODAY
ALONG THE ZODIAC?
Here's a nice interactive Flash demo showing the Sun's Location Along the Zodiac at Various Times of Year. Drag its red pointer right and left over the names of the months. You can also drag the Zodiac itself.
HOW FAR NORTH OR SOUTH WILL
THE SUN RISE AND SET TODAY?
Here's a nice interactive Flash demo showing the How Far North and South the Sun Rises and Sets at Various Times of Year.
LATEST MAJOR SOLAR ACTIVITY
VISIBLE FROM EARTH
Sunspots Prominences, Flares, etc.
W A R N I N G ! It is never safe to look directly at the real Sun with the naked eye! Moreover, looking at it through a telescope or binoculars without adequate safeguards—even for an instant—can cause permanent blindness! NEVER DO IT! To learn how to safely "observe" the real Sun, consult the professionals at your local planetarium or observatory.
GET THE LATEST AWESOME SATELLITE
VIEWS OF THE SUN WITH "HELIOVIEWER"
HelioViewer might just be the best free solar astronomy tool on the web, giving you access to countless actual photos of the Sun from multiple satellites! "Time-step" through photos, and save and even make movies of what you find! This free web-tool is not to be missed.
Here's an example movie that SkyMarvels made using HelioViewer. It shows some incredible solar prominence activity on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day!
And to help get you started, here's the direct link to the HelioViewer User Guide.
W A R N I N G ! It is never safe to look directly at the real Sun with the naked eye! Moreover, looking at it through a telescope or binoculars without adequate safeguards—even for an instant—can cause permanent blindness! NEVER DO IT! To learn how to safely "observe" the real Sun, consult the professionals at your local planetarium or observatory.
CURRENT SUN AND MAJOR PLANET
VIEWS AND CONDITIONS FROM EARTH
Distances, Apparent Sizes, Phases, Moon Locations
Sun
Mercury
Venus
Mars
Jupiter
Saturn
Uranus
Neptune
Locations Among the Constellations (w/ Geo-Coords)
Sun
Mercury
Venus
Mars
Jupiter
Saturn
Uranus
Neptune
SOLAR SYSTEM VISUALIZATIONS
Note that the next three visualizations are oriented differently from each other. So the Vernal Equinox is in a different direction in each.
Current Locations of the Planets in their Orbits This SkyMarvels™ visualization shows the Vernal Equinox to the right, i.e. in the 3 o'clock direction.
The Solar System in 3-D This third-party visualization "opens" with the Vernal Equinox "obliquely upward", i.e. essentially in the 12 o'clock midnight direction.
Solar System Orrery This third-party visualization shows the Vernal Equinox to the left, i.e. in the 9 o'clock direction.
MERCURY'S & VENUS'S SKY PATHS 2013–2014
What's Happening On . . .
MARS TODAY
image credit: NASA Ames Research Center
Mars Global Circulation Model Group
To view the above image in a larger size, with notes on each view, click here.
MARS SPIRIT and OPPORTUNITY Locations
CLIMATIC VS. ASTRONOMICAL SEASONS
Most school children know that the climatic seasons of the two hemispheres are the reverse of each other's. For example, when it is Summer in the Northern Hemisphere, climatically-speaking it is Winter in the Southern Hemisphere.
Nonetheless the "astronomical" seasons, as well as their respective equinoxes and solstices, have always traditionally been named for the "climatic" seasons of the Northern Hemisphere—no doubt because roughly 90% of the human population lives north of Earth's equator! So the Summer Solstice, for instance, is the solstice in June at the beginning of the Northern Hemisphere's summer, etc.
Unfortunately, this traditional naming convention does create a potential ambiguity. For example, for Southern Hemisphere astronomers the "traditional" Summer Solstice occurs at the start of their climatic Winter!
This is why we often now see the less traditional (though slightly less recognizable) terms: March Equinox, June Solstice, September Equinox and December Solstice. Because these terms are more precise, they are increasingly becoming accepted as the best ways to refer to the equinoxes and solstices.
HOW LONG IS EACH SEASON?
Since their beginnings and ends are explicitly defined by the Sun's arrival at the equinoxes and the solstices in our sky, Earth's astronomical seasons have precise durations. Moreover, though the equinoxes and solstices are equally spaced at 90-degree intervals around the Celestial Sphere, the astronomical seasons are not of equal length! This is because Earth's changing velocity in its elliptical orbit makes the Sun appear to arrive a little early at parts of the Celestial Sphere, and a little late at others. The lengths of the astronomical seasons are very close to the following:
Spring: 92 3/4 days
Summer: 93 2/3 days
Autumn: 89 5/6 days
Winter: 89 days.
HALF OF EARTH IN SUNLIGHT & DARKNESS
During your voyages in CELESTIA, would you like to be able to position yourself directly over the center of the half of Earth in sunlight or the half in darkness at any time this month? On our Tips page, you'll find that it's quite easy to do so! If you're any kind of sky watcher at all, you probably know just how helpful this can be!
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Moon's Position Over Earth
(to update, reload page)
Courtesy: Fourmilab Switzerland
CURRENT MOON PHASE
Courtesy: USNO
(India)
ALL THE LATEST
USGS's LATEST
NASA's LATEST
DEEP IMPACT's & ISON's Locations (Requires JAVA)
EARTH Satellites' Locations (Requ. WebGL browser)
EARTH Satellites' Visibility (Requires JAVA)
Exoplanet Counts:
HUBBLE Space Telescope:
Observations This Week
Daily Report
News Release Archive
ISS (Int'l Space Station):
ISS Live!
iSat (requ. WebGL)
Spot the Station
MARS SPIRIT and OPPORTUNITY Locations
W A R N I N G !
Never look directly at the real Sun with the naked eye! It isn't safe! Moreover, looking at the Sun through a telescope or binoculars without proper safeguards, even for an instant, may cause permanent blindness! NEVER DO IT! To learn how to safely "observe" the real Sun, consult the trained professionals at your local planetarium or observatory.
SDO (SOLAR DYNAMICS OBSERVATORY)
Solar Activity Videos:
Sunspot Activity
Prominences, Flares
AIA 171 (gold)
AIA 193 (bronze)
AIA 1700 (pink)
Interactive Tool
VOYAGER 1 & 2:
ESA's LATEST
USNO's LATEST
MISC LATEST
(requires WebGL)
OBSERVATORIES' LATEST
For the latest info from our favorite observatories, go to the Observatories Listing on our Links page.
LATEST TIDE DATA
Data from NOAA's National Ocean Service (NOS).
For more Climate Info, check out this nice interactive tool: NASA's Eyes on the Earth. (Requires: JAVA.)
Current and Recent News Stories Related to Astronomy and Space
2014 Apr 3: Ocean Found Inside Enceladus
2014 Mar 26: NASA Searches for Seeds of Black Holes
2014 Mar 7: WISE Finds No "Planet X"
2014 Feb 26: KEPLER Mission Announces a Planet Bonanza
2014 Feb 11: 360-Degree View of Saturn's Auroras
2014 Jan 29: Solving Mystery of Burned-Out Galaxies
2014 Jan 2: First 2014 Asteroid Discovered Slams into Earth
2013 Dec 12: Chemical Surprise Found in Crab Nebula
2013 Dec 12: Hubble Sees Evidence of Water Vapor at Jupiter Moon
2013 Dec 11: Clay-Like Minerals Found on Icy Crust of Europa
2013 Dec 10: Mars Orbiter Reveals a More Dynamic Red Planet
2013 Dec 4: CASSINI Obtains Best Views of Saturn Hexagon
2013 Dec 3: Massive Black Hole Duo: Possible Sighting by WISE
2013 Nov 26: Do Black Holes Come in Size Medium?
2013 Nov 21: Infant Galaxies Merge Near 'Cosmic Dawn'
2013 Nov 11: SPITZER and ALMA Reveal a Star's Bubbly Birth
2013 Oct 17: Rover Confirms Martian Meteorite Origins
2013 Sep 30: CASSINI Says Saturn's Satellite Sports Space Plastic!
2013 Sep 10: SPITZER Exposes Asteroid's Secret!
2013 Sep 10: CURIOSITY Reports from Panorama Point
2013 Sep 5: NuSTAR "Nabs" Its First 10 Supermassive Black Holes!
2013 Aug 28: SDO Surveys Circulation Inside Sun
2013 Aug 23: 2013 Sea-Ice Retreat Unlikely to Break Record
2013 Aug 19: Australia Had Role in Sea Level Drop
2013 Aug 15: CURIOSITY's Movie of Passing Martian Moons
2013 Aug 15: Asteroid's Radar Images
2013 Aug 12: JUNO Halfway to Jupiter!
2013 Aug 1: Does Age Quell Appetites of Gargantuan Galaxies?
2013 Jul 17: CURIOSITY: One Kilometer and Counting!
2013 Jul 16: Comet ISON's Potentially Perilous Solar Encounter
2013 Jul 15: HUBBLE Finds 14th Neptunian Moon
2013 Jul 8: Radio Bursts Discovered From Beyond our Galaxy
2013 Jun 24: 10,000th NEO Discovered, Oh My!
2013 Jun 11: HERSCHEL Goggles Gobs of Galactic Gas
2013 Jun 11: NUSTAR Should Spill Slumbering Structure's Secrets
2013 Jun 6: Small Asteroid Slips Safely Between Earth and Moon
2013 May 30: GRAIL Unmasks Moon's Mascon Mysteries
2013 May 29: WISE Looks for Lost Lineages of Asteroids
2013 May 23: Galaxy Feeding Frenzy: Frigid Fuel Found to Follow Filaments
2013 May 15: HERSCHEL Mission Monitors Massive Mega-Merger
2013 May 15: Cameras Count Crater-Causing Concussions that Scar Mars
2013 May 7: HERSCHEL Hones In on Hungry Black Hole
2013 Apr 3: Stellar Confetti in the SMC?
2013 Mar 28: HERSCHEL Hunts Hulking Stars
2013 Mar 19: Some of the Youngest Stars Ever Seen Spotted by HERSCHEL
2013 Mar 18: CHANDRA Views Supernova Remnants Discovered by Johannes Kepler in 1604
2013 Mar 17: March 15 CME Spurs Solar Storm
2013 Mar 11: WISE Discovers Closest Stars Found in a Century!
2013 Mar 05: Europa's "Moon-wrapping" Ocean Revealing Its Secrets