Lompoc, California, USA

Wednesday, July 19, 2023

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Lompoc, California, USA

That morning

Sunrise

6:02 AM

6:02 AM

Clears the hills at 6:11 AM, 9 min after sunrise

5:34 AM Blue hour
6:02 AM Sunrise
6:39 AM Golden hour ends

Sunset

8:13 PM

8:13 PM

Too far ahead for a weather forecast. These are the sunrise and sunset times - they will not change.

7:37 PM Golden hour, best color
8:13 PM Sunset
8:41 PM Blue hour ends

Best color is when the sky has actually looked its best, learned from 53 camera photos of past sunsets at Big Sur, California, USA, 219 km away.

Rocket launch

Falcon 9 Block 5 | Starlink Group 6-15

Launched - good from here

Lifted off 9:09 PM

Very LowExcellent
Look
W
Heading your way
When
9:09 PM
Highest around 9:11 PM
Distance
9 mi
Climbs to
72°
Lighting
Twilight window
Launch site
Space Launch Complex 4E
Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA
Landing
Sea - Of Course I Still Love You
Too far downrange to see

The sun is far enough down that the ground is dark and still high enough to light the plume: exhaust expanding into near-vacuum turns into a glowing bell visible for hundreds of miles.

Meteor shower

Southern Delta Aquariids

Best around 3:28 AM

Very LowExcellent
9:43 PM Dark enough
3:28 AM Best
4:33 AM Too light
Estimate
A few/hour
from a dark spot here, off its peak night
Radiant climbs to
37°
Under a perfect sky
25/hour
Moonlight
No interference
Speed
41 km/s

Where they come from: Comet 96P/Machholz

Thought to come from Comet 96P/Machholz and the family of sungrazing comets broken from it. Its meteors are mostly faint, and it is best seen from the southern half of the world.

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.

Stays near its best for several nights, not just one.

Milky Way

Milky Way

Poor viewing

Visible from 9:54 PM

Very LowExcellent
Visible, no moon
9:54 PM to 2:34 AM
Where to look
Southern horizon, up to 26° above it
Highest at
10:54 PM
Sky fully dark
9:54 PM to 4:22 AM
Sky darkness
Limited
Cloud
Not forecast yet

The bright center of the Milky Way: when it is above the horizon with the sky fully dark and the Moon set, brought down for how dark the sky is here (estimated from the towns around by Walker's law) and for cloud where the forecast reaches.

Moon

Waxing crescent

4% lit

7:38 AM – 9:53 PM

ENE WNW
7:38 AM Moonrise
7:59 AM 4°
2:48 PM Highest, 75°
9:32 PM 4°
9:53 PM Moonset

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

Timetable

  • Morning blue hour 5:34 AM–6:02 AM
  • Sunrise 6:02 AM
  • Morning golden hour 6:02 AM–6:39 AM
  • Morning best color 6:03 AM
  • Moonrise 7:38 AM
  • Evening golden hour 7:37 PM–8:13 PM
  • Evening best color 7:38 PM
  • Sunset 8:13 PM
  • Evening blue hour 8:13 PM–8:41 PM
  • Moonset 9:53 PM
  • Fully dark 9:54 PM–4:22 AM
  • Dark, no Moon 9:54 PM–4:22 AM

Upcoming celestial events for Lompoc, California, USA

International Space Station Modest pass, WNW to N, 17 deg up
Sat 14 Nov 2026 6:04 PM Northern Taurids Still active, a few an hour
Sat 14 Nov 2026 6:27 PM Southern Taurids Still active, a few an hour
Sat 14 Nov 2026 6:27 PM Northern Taurids Still active, a few an hour
Mon 16 Nov 2026 6:26 PM Southern Taurids Still active, a few an hour
Mon 16 Nov 2026 6:26 PM Leonids Around 11 an hour
Mon 16 Nov 2026 6:26 PM Partial lunar eclipse 6% of the Moon in shadow
Tue 11 Jan 2028 8:13 PM Partial solar eclipse 51.8% of the Sun covered
Sun 14 Jan 2029 8:20 AM Total lunar eclipse 52% of it above your horizon
Mon 25 Jun 2029 8:22 PM Partial solar eclipse 2% of the Sun covered
Fri 14 Nov 2031 1:32 PM Partial solar eclipse 29.6% of the Sun covered
Wed 30 Mar 2033 10:19 AM Total lunar eclipse Totality lasts 78 minutes
Fri 7 Oct 2033 3:55 AM Partial solar eclipse 0.6% of the Sun covered
Sun 2 Sep 2035 7:26 PM Total lunar eclipse 49% of it above your horizon
Wed 6 Aug 2036 7:51 PM Partial solar eclipse 3.8% of the Sun covered
Thu 9 Apr 2043 11:39 AM Partial solar eclipse 79.6% of the Sun covered
Tue 23 Aug 2044 7:08 PM Partial solar eclipse 81.5% of the Sun covered
Sat 12 Aug 2045 9:18 AM

Every celestial event, and where else to see it