Astronomical Journal
The Journal aggregates every significant astronomical event occurring on the selected day into a single chronological table — sunrise, sunset, moonrise, moonset, twilight transitions, planet rise and set times, solstices, equinoxes, and lunar phase events. It gives a complete picture of the day's sky at a glance without switching between tabs.
Table Order
Events are listed in descending time order — events closest to midnight appear at the top, and events in the early morning appear at the bottom. This places the most recent and upcoming events near the centre of the table, making the current moment easy to locate.
Now Row
A green-highlighted row labelled Now is inserted at the current time and moves automatically each minute as the day progresses, keeping your position in the day visible at a glance.
Sun Events
Sunrise and sunset — the daily moments when the upper edge of the Sun crosses the horizon. These anchor the day and separate it into daylight, twilight, and night.
Twilight Events
Six twilight transitions per day: morning and evening for each of the three stages — Civil (Sun 0°–6° below horizon), Nautical (6°–12°), and Astronomical (12°–18°). They mark the gradual brightening before sunrise and darkening after sunset.
Moon Events
Moonrise and moonset for the selected day. Unlike the Sun, the Moon rises approximately 50 minutes later each day and may rise or set multiple times, or not at all, depending on latitude and phase.
Planet Events
Rise and set times for each of the seven classical planets — Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. Planet visibility changes slowly over weeks, but the Journal shows each planet's horizon crossing times for the selected day so you know exactly when to look.
Moon Phase Events
If a primary lunar phase — New Moon, First Quarter, Full Moon, or Last Quarter — occurs on the selected day, it appears in the Journal with its exact time. These events are relatively rare on any given day, occurring roughly once every 7–8 days.
Season Events
If a solstice or equinox falls on the selected day, it appears as a Season event with its precise time. The four seasonal markers — Spring Equinox, Summer Solstice, Autumn Equinox, and Winter Solstice — occur approximately once per quarter and represent the astronomical beginning of each season.
RSS Feed
The Journal publishes an RSS feed of the 7 most recent past events for your current city. Click the rss button at the top of the tab to copy the feed URL to your clipboard, then paste it into any RSS reader app. Each feed item links to a detail page for that event. The feed URL is unique to your city — change your city and copy a new URL to subscribe to a different location.
Astronomical twilight begins at 10:51 pm
Nautical twilight begins at 09:55 pm
Civil twilight begins at 09:14 pm
The day begins at 05:22 am
The night begins at 12:19 am