https://sky.omc.center/ Moon phase and rise times, sunrise and sunset, eclipses and meteor showers — computed from published ephemeris for where you actually stand. en-us Tue, 03 Nov 2026 17:05:12 GMT Astro Meridian · sky.omc.center https://sky.omc.center/green-flash https://sky.omc.center/green-flash Tue, 03 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMT Refraction splits the setting Sun into coloured images stacked vertically. For a moment only the green one is above the horizon. Observing Meridian Editorial https://sky.omc.center/why-planets-dont-twinkle https://sky.omc.center/why-planets-dont-twinkle Mon, 02 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMT Scintillation is an angular-size effect. A star is a point of light, so the atmosphere can knock it about; a planet is a small disc, so it averages out. Observing Meridian Editorial https://sky.omc.center/light-pollution-bortle-scale https://sky.omc.center/light-pollution-bortle-scale Sun, 01 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMT A one-to-nine judgment of how dark your sky is, anchored to things you can actually see — the Milky Way, zodiacal light, the limiting magnitude. Observing Meridian Editorial https://sky.omc.center/circumpolar-stars https://sky.omc.center/circumpolar-stars Sat, 31 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT Declination decides whether a star ever sets. Above 90° minus your latitude it circles the pole forever; below the negative of it, it never rises. Constellations Meridian Editorial https://sky.omc.center/ophiuchus https://sky.omc.center/ophiuchus Fri, 30 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT The Sun spends about 18 days a year in Ophiuchus, more than in Scorpius. It is missing from the signs because the signs are calendar slots. Constellations Meridian Editorial https://sky.omc.center/precession-and-zodiac https://sky.omc.center/precession-and-zodiac Thu, 29 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT Precession has moved the equinox 28° since the zodiac was fixed, so the Sun is about a month behind the sign — and the signs are not constellations. Constellations Meridian Editorial https://sky.omc.center/lunar-standstill https://sky.omc.center/lunar-standstill Wed, 28 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT The Moon's declination range swings between ±18.5° and ±28.7° over 18.6 years. Here is the cycle, computed year by year, and why it is not a solstice. Moon Meridian Editorial https://sky.omc.center/meteor-showers https://sky.omc.center/meteor-showers Tue, 27 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT A shower's published rate assumes a perfect sky and the radiant overhead. Here is what the figures mean and how to pick a night that is worth staying up for. Meteor Showers Meridian Editorial https://sky.omc.center/harvest-moon https://sky.omc.center/harvest-moon Mon, 26 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT For several evenings around the September full moon, moonrise barely moves on the clock. At 45°N this year the delay is 18 to 23 minutes, not 50. Moon Meridian Editorial https://sky.omc.center/eclipse-seasons https://sky.omc.center/eclipse-seasons Sun, 25 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT The Moon's orbital nodes drift backwards once every 18.6 years, which puts new and full moons near the Sun–Earth line twice a year — and not otherwise. Eclipses Meridian Editorial https://sky.omc.center/moon-drifting-away https://sky.omc.center/moon-drifting-away Sat, 24 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT Tidal friction is transferring Earth's spin to the Moon's orbit. Laser reflectors left by Apollo measure the drift, and the day is getting longer. Moon Meridian Editorial https://sky.omc.center/twilight https://sky.omc.center/twilight Fri, 23 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT The Sun 6°, 12° and 18° below the horizon mark three different kinds of darkness — and the time between them ranges from 20 minutes to none at all. Sun and Seasons Meridian Editorial https://sky.omc.center/moon-in-daylight https://sky.omc.center/moon-in-daylight Thu, 22 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT The Moon is up during the day for roughly half of every month. Which half, and at what hour, follows from phase and elongation, and it is predictable. Moon Meridian Editorial https://sky.omc.center/equation-of-time https://sky.omc.center/equation-of-time Wed, 21 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT The Sun's clock runs fast in November and slow in February, by up to 16 minutes. The two causes are obliquity and orbital eccentricity. Sun and Seasons Meridian Editorial https://sky.omc.center/moon-illusion https://sky.omc.center/moon-illusion Tue, 20 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT The horizon Moon measures the same half a degree as the one overhead — slightly less, in fact. What changes is your brain's estimate of distance. Moon Meridian Editorial https://sky.omc.center/solstice-and-equinox https://sky.omc.center/solstice-and-equinox Mon, 19 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT One is a turning point in declination, the other a crossing. The difference explains why the seasons lag, and why the Sun is closest in January. Sun and Seasons Meridian Editorial https://sky.omc.center/supermoon-and-micromoon https://sky.omc.center/supermoon-and-micromoon Sun, 18 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT A full moon near perigee is about 14% wider than one near apogee. Here are the 2026 dates, the definition behind the word, and what it does to tides. Moon Meridian Editorial https://sky.omc.center/earliest-sunset-shortest-day https://sky.omc.center/earliest-sunset-shortest-day Fri, 16 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT At 40°N the Sun sets earliest around December 7 but the shortest day is December 22. Two separate effects pull sunrise and sunset apart. Sun and Seasons Meridian Editorial https://sky.omc.center/blue-moon https://sky.omc.center/blue-moon Thu, 15 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT A blue moon is either the second full moon in a month or the third in a season of four. Both are in use, they disagree, and neither involves color. Moon Meridian Editorial https://sky.omc.center/waxing-or-waning https://sky.omc.center/waxing-or-waning Tue, 13 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT The lit side tells you which way the Moon is going — west means growing, east means shrinking — and the rule inverts south of the equator. Moon Meridian Editorial https://sky.omc.center/solar-vs-lunar-eclipse https://sky.omc.center/solar-vs-lunar-eclipse Mon, 12 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT One is visible from half a planet for an hour, the other from a strip 200 km wide for minutes. The sizes of the two shadows explain everything. Eclipses Meridian Editorial https://sky.omc.center/moon-rises-later https://sky.omc.center/moon-rises-later Sun, 11 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT The Moon gains roughly 50 minutes on the Sun every day — but the range is 20 minutes to over an hour, and the reason decides when a harvest moon happens. Moon Meridian Editorial https://sky.omc.center/equinox-day-length https://sky.omc.center/equinox-day-length Sat, 10 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT Refraction lifts the Sun above the horizon and its disc has width, so the day runs long everywhere — by about seven minutes at the equator. Sun and Seasons Meridian Editorial https://sky.omc.center/moon-phases-explained https://sky.omc.center/moon-phases-explained Thu, 08 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT Half the Moon is lit at all times. What changes is the angle we see it from — and how eight names get attached to one continuous 29.53-day cycle. Moon Meridian Editorial