Big Sur, California, USA

Tuesday, October 15, 2024

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Big Sur, California, USA

Rocket launch

Falcon 9 Block 5 | Starlink Group 9-7

Launched - marginal from here

Lifted off 1:21 AM

Very LowExcellent
Look
SSE
Heading away from you
When
1:21 AM
Highest around 1:24 AM
Distance
132 mi
Climbs to
13°
Lighting
Dark sky
Launch site
Space Launch Complex 4E
Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA
Landing
Sea - Of Course I Still Love You
Too far downrange to see

A bright climbing star and a flame. The vehicle is in shadow itself, so there is no lit plume behind it.

That morning

Sunrise

7:15 AM

7:15 AM

Clears the mountains at 8:20 AM, 65 min after sunrise

6:49 AM Blue hour
7:15 AM Sunrise
7:49 AM Golden hour ends

Sunset

6:30 PM

6:30 PM

Behind the mountains at 5:27 PM, 63 min before sunset

Too far ahead for a weather forecast. These are the sun's own times - they will not change.

5:55 PM Golden hour
6:30 PM Sunset
6:56 PM Blue hour ends

Meteor shower

Orionids

Best around 5:00 AM

Very LowExcellent
8:00 PM Dark enough
5:00 AM Best
5:45 AM Too light
Estimate
A few/hour
from a dark spot here, off its peak night
Radiant climbs to
68°
Under a perfect sky
20/hour
Moonlight
30% lost
Speed
66 km/s

Where they come from: Halley's Comet (1P/Halley)

Dust shed by Halley's Comet, the same stream as May's Eta Aquariids. The comet itself last came round in 1986 and returns in 2061; its dust arrives every October.

The estimate is how many you might really see from a dark spot here, allowing for how high the shower climbs and for moonlight. "Under a perfect sky" is the best case. The bar also counts the forecast cloud at the best time, so a clouded-out night sits at the bottom, as does rain on the radar now.

Also from Halley's Comet. Fast meteors that often leave glowing trails.

Moon

Waxing gibbous

96% lit

5:35 PM – 6:15 AM

E W
5:35 PM Moonrise
5:55 PM 4°
11:52 PM Highest, 56°
5:55 AM 4°
6:15 AM Moonset

Between the two 4° marks the Moon is clear of haze and most of what stands on the horizon.

Timetable

  • Moonset 5:01 AM
  • Morning blue hour 6:49 AM–7:15 AM
  • Sunrise 7:15 AM
  • Morning golden hour 7:15 AM–7:49 AM
  • Morning best color 7:17 AM
  • Moonrise 5:36 PM
  • Evening golden hour 5:55 PM–6:30 PM
  • Sunset 6:30 PM
  • Evening blue hour 6:30 PM–6:56 PM
  • Fully dark 7:56 PM–5:50 AM
  • Dark, no Moon Not tonight - the Moon is up

Upcoming celestial events for Big Sur, California, USA

Día de Muertos Día de Muertos in Big Sur - sunset at 5:10 PM
Mon 2 Nov 2026 5:10 PM Tiangong space station Bright pass, WNW to E, 40 deg up
Mon 2 Nov 2026 5:39 PM Southern Taurids Still active, a few an hour
Mon 2 Nov 2026 6:39 PM Northern Taurids Still active, a few an hour
Mon 2 Nov 2026 6:39 PM Falcon 9 Block 5 | USSF-432 Marginal, space jellyfish SSE
Tue 3 Nov 2026 5:28 PM Southern Taurids A few an hour
Wed 4 Nov 2026 6:37 PM Partial lunar eclipse 6% of the Moon in shadow
Tue 11 Jan 2028 8:13 PM Partial solar eclipse 54.1% of the Sun covered
Sun 14 Jan 2029 8:21 AM Total lunar eclipse 48% of it above your horizon
Mon 25 Jun 2029 8:22 PM Partial solar eclipse 0.9% of the Sun covered
Fri 14 Nov 2031 1:27 PM Partial solar eclipse 34.5% of the Sun covered
Wed 30 Mar 2033 10:20 AM Total lunar eclipse Totality lasts 78 minutes
Fri 7 Oct 2033 3:55 AM Partial solar eclipse 3.5% of the Sun covered
Sun 2 Sep 2035 7:33 PM Total lunar eclipse 45% of it above your horizon
Wed 6 Aug 2036 7:51 PM Partial solar eclipse 7.2% of the Sun covered
Thu 9 Apr 2043 11:41 AM Partial solar eclipse 81.6% of the Sun covered
Tue 23 Aug 2044 7:05 PM Partial solar eclipse 88.4% of the Sun covered
Sat 12 Aug 2045 9:17 AM

Every celestial event, and where else to see it