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Constellation and Night Sky Map
An interactive sky map: pick a city and a moment, and it draws the constellations, the Sun, the Moon and the planets exactly where they stand above that horizon.
What the map shows
Constellation lines and names sit over the bright stars, with fainter background stars and the Milky Way filling the space between them. The Moon appears in the phase it actually has on the date you chose, drawn from a real photograph, and the planets are photographed too, so they read differently from the dotted stars. Two hundred forty-five deep sky objects share the same sky, along with satellite tracks. The horizon and the cardinal directions frame the view, so a position on screen translates straight into a direction to face outdoors.
Moving around the sky
Drag to swing your view around the horizon; the wheel or a pinch widens or narrows the field. Changing the date or the clock redraws the whole sky for that instant, and a day/night switch lets you see where the stars sit even while the Sun is up. Label density and deep sky density are separate controls, so you can keep the view clean or pull more names onto it. On a phone the compass aligns the map with the direction the device is pointing, and there is a battery saving mode as well as a cinematic tour that pans across the sky on its own.
Where the positions come from
Sun, Moon and planet positions are approximations computed from J2000 mean orbital elements. Satellite tracks use recent orbital elements. Solar and lunar eclipses can be jumped to and replayed at the hour they happen, so you watch the progression rather than read a table. The map is built for learning and reference; if you are planning an observation that depends on second-level accuracy, check an official prediction from NASA or a similar source alongside it.
Good ways to use it
Check which direction tonight's bright objects sit in before you step outside and they become much easier to pick out by eye. You can also load a city you are about to travel to, or wind the clock back to a date that matters to you and see that sky again. Replaying an upcoming eclipse shows how high above your horizon it climbs and how long it lasts where you live. Anything you spot here has a longer write-up in the object encyclopedia on this site, and related events are covered in the sky news section.
Look it up here
- I want sunrise and sunset times for my city, month by month Each city page has a month-by-month table of sunrise, sunset, noon altitude, day length and the bearing the Sun rises and sets on — plus the solstices and each full moon with moonrise and moonset. Show it here →
- What time does the Sun rise and set today? Select the Sun and its 24-hour track appears, with sunrise and sunset marked in local time where it crosses the horizon. Show it here →
- When does the Moon rise and set tonight, and what phase is it? Select the Moon to see moonrise and moonset on its track, with the phase drawn every six hours — bright limb facing the real Sun direction. Show it here →
- How high is the Sun right now? Select the Sun and its altitude in degrees shows under the label; the peak of the track is local noon. Show it here →
- Where is the North Star in the sky? Polaris sits due north all night, and its altitude equals your latitude — about 37 degrees in Seoul. Show it here →
- Where is the Moon tonight and what phase is it in? The Moon runs through its phases every 29.5 days, and the map marks where it stands tonight. Show it here →
- Which direction is Jupiter tonight? Jupiter orbits 5.2 AU out on a twelve-year circuit, and the map gives its compass direction and altitude tonight. Show it here →
- Where is Saturn in the sky right now? Saturn circles at 9.6 AU and takes about 29 years per orbit; the map pins where it stands tonight. Show it here →
- Where can I find the Big Dipper? The Big Dipper is part of Ursa Major in the northern sky, and its pointer stars lead straight to Polaris. Show it here →
- Where does Orion appear in the night sky? Orion stands in the southern sky on winter evenings, and the three stars of its belt are the easiest markers. Show it here →
- Which way is the center of the Milky Way? The galactic center, Sagittarius A*, lies toward the constellation Sagittarius, about 26,000 light-years away. Show it here →
- Where is the Orion Nebula located? M42 sits in the sword below the belt of Orion, about 1,340 light-years from Earth. Show it here →
- Can you see the Andromeda Galaxy with the naked eye? Yes — M31 lies about 2.5 million light-years away and is the most distant object the naked eye reaches. Show it here →
- How long will the 2027 total solar eclipse last? The total eclipse of 2 August 2027 runs up to 6 minutes 23 seconds, longest near Luxor in Egypt. Show it here →
Things to try
At light speed, by rocket, by car — journeys computed from real positions and speeds. Every item below is a custom-journey link.
- Tonight's highlightsMoon, Jupiter, Saturn, Sirius, the Orion Nebula and the Pleiades in turn — only those up right now.
- The Summer TriangleVega, Deneb and Altair, with Cygnus — the Milky Way runs between them.
- The Winter HexagonFrom Sirius around Procyon, Pollux, Capella, Aldebaran and Rigel, ending on Betelgeuse in the middle.
- Finding PolarisFollow the Dipper's pointer stars (Merak → Dubhe) five times over to Polaris; Cassiopeia sits opposite.
- Superman's star hopSuperman flies across the night sky from Vega to Altair to Arcturus; the camera follows and pauses at each star.
- Rocket tour of the Sun, Moon and planetsSun → Moon → Venus → Mars → Jupiter → Saturn; moving targets are tracked live, those below the horizon are skipped.
- Tonight's planetsAims at each planet from Mercury to Saturn that is above the horizon now.
Make your own: the custom-journey grammar (cj=) puts a name, up to 10 stops, a speed per leg and arrival captions into one link — see llms.txt. In the 3D map the ✈ button opens a visual editor that turns selected bodies into stops (Pro plan).
FAQ
How do I find which constellations are visible tonight?
Set your city and move the clock to tonight, and the map draws that sky directly. Constellations low near the horizon are often hidden by buildings or hills, so start with the ones higher up. On a phone, the compass lines the map up with the direction you are facing.
Does it show the phase of the Moon?
Yes. Move to any date and the Moon is drawn in the phase it has then, using a real photograph. Around full Moon the sky is bright enough to wash out faint targets, so for the Milky Way or a nebula, pick a date when the Moon is out of the way.
Can I see satellites and deep sky objects?
Satellite tracks built from recent orbital elements are drawn on the map, together with 245 deep sky objects. The deep sky control sets how faint an object has to be before it appears, so lower it when the view feels crowded and raise it when you want to hunt for something dim.