Winter
August 2027
Times are computed for Coonabarabran / Siding Spring Observatory (SSO), latitude 31.27 south, longitude 149.06 east. Timezone Australia/Sydney. Early night means sunset until four hours after sunset. That is the window most guided night tours actually use.
Moon
Full Moon 17 August.
New Moon 2 August.
Dark nights 22 July to 5 August, then 20 August to 4 September.
- 22 July to 5 August
- 20 August to 4 September
Mid Month Sky Snapshot
Sunset, twilight and the Moon on the 15th, from Siding Spring Observatory (SSO).
- Sunset
- 5:37 pm
- Civil twilight
- 6:02 pm
- Astronomical twilight
- 6:59 pm
- Moon on the 15th
- Full Moon, 96% lit
- Moonrise
- 3:44 pm
- Moonset
- 5:17 am
Early night planets
Only planets that stand at least about 10 degrees above the horizon at some point between sunset and four hours after sunset. Morning-only planets are not listed.
Mars. North-west after sunset, west later in the evening.
Jupiter. Low in the west after sunset.
Worth looking at
Short list for the same early-night window. Objects operators actually point at, not a catalogue dump.
1. Milky Way / Celestial Emu
East through the early night.
Naked eye. Best on Dark Nights.
2. Southern Cross and Pointers
South-west through the early night.
Naked eye.
3. Omega Centauri
South-west through the early night.
A glow to the naked eye. Binoculars help.
4. Carina and Eta Carinae
South-west through the early night.
Naked eye. Binoculars help with the nebula.
5. Jewel Box
South-west through the early night.
Binoculars or a small telescope help.
6. Lagoon and Trifid
East through the early night.
Binoculars or a small telescope help.
This page is a sky clock. Pick your time to visit. We wish you clear skies. No guarantees with the weather.
Figures are for the 15th of the month.