The night sky right now

See what's visible above Moscow right now — the Sun, Moon and 7 planets in their actual places, the Milky Way band across the zenith, twinkling constellations and rare meteors. All positions are computed server-side using Schlyter and Meeus astronomical formulas to ~1° precision and refresh themselves. Open the page and leave it — the sky will drift on its own over the hour.

How it works

1
Wait for it to load

The sky lazy-loads when the page scrolls into view.

2
Hover a planet

See its rotation axis at the correct tilt (Uranus 98° on its side, Venus 177° upside down) and a quick fact.

3
Click a planet

Smooth zoom-in to inspect surface details, Saturn's rings, Venus or Mercury phase.

4
Mouse-wheel to zoom

Wheel for zoom, drag for panning around the dome.

5
Read the legend

Below the sky — what's currently visible, what's below the horizon, and countdowns to upcoming events (equinoxes, meteor showers).

The actual sky over Moscow this very second — no install, no signup

Features

Real geocentric alt/az positions for 9 celestial bodies, computed for Moscow Apparent angular sizes proportional to reality — Sun and Moon as the same disc Milky Way as a tilted 28° band with Gaussian density distribution Real Moon phase via terminator-clipPath, plus Venus and Mercury crescents Comets every 30–90 seconds, meteors every 30–60 (5–8× more during Perseid/Geminid peaks) Constellation drift through the night — Big Dipper rises and sets like the real sky Eclipses, equinoxes, Mars oppositions — with countdown timers in the legend Satellites pass every 18–40 minutes — points of light like ISS in the evening

FAQ

Why don't I see all 9 bodies?

Some planets are currently below the horizon for Moscow — invisible from the surface. The legend lists both above- and below-horizon bodies. After a few hours Earth will rotate and the configuration will change.

Where is Earth?

You're standing ON Earth. It doesn't appear in the sky — you see it from below as the horizon. All positions are geocentric (computed from Earth's viewpoint).

How precise are the positions?

About 1° for all bodies. We use simplified Kepler with first-order corrections (Meeus / Schlyter). Plenty for a 900-pixel sky. For scientific work you'd need full VSOP87 or JPL ephemerides.

Do positions update?

Yes. Every 5 minutes the sky refetches. When the tab returns from background, an immediate update fires. Over an hour the Sun shifts ~15°.

Where do constellations come from?

IAU's standard 88-constellation catalogue. We render the six most prominent for northern observers: Big Dipper, Orion, Cassiopeia, Cygnus, Leo, Lyra. Their J2000 RA/Dec centres are converted to live alt/az for Moscow.

Can I share this?

Yes — just copy the URL. The recipient's sky will reflect their current time but the structure and calculations stay the same. Pure client-server, no signup.

Can I pick a different observer location?

Currently the sky is computed for Moscow (55.75° N, 37.62° E). City-picker may come later — most of the code is already parameterised for any Earth observer.

What's the deal with Saturn's ring tilt?

Saturn's rings appear from Earth at an angle that varies between 0° (edge-on, "invisible") and ±26.7° (max open). The cycle is 29.5 years. Now they're nearly closed; max open in 2017, edge-on again in 2025. We animate this by date.

💡 Want us to improve this tool just for you?

We can — and it's free! Just send us a quick message with your idea. If you'd like to discuss it in detail, leave your email and we'll get back to you. You can stay anonymous.

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