Kourou, French Guiana

Sunday, October 8, 2023

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Kourou, French Guiana

That morning

Sunrise

6:16 AM

6:16 AM

Clears the hills at 6:19 AM, 3 min after sunrise

5:56 AM Blue hour
6:16 AM Sunrise
6:44 AM Golden hour ends

Sunset

6:19 PM

6:19 PM

Behind the hills at 6:14 PM, 5 min before sunset

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

5:51 PM Golden hour
6:19 PM Sunset
6:40 PM Blue hour ends

Rocket launch

Vega | THEOS-2, TRITON & others

Launched - good from here

Lifted off 10:36 PM

Very LowExcellent
Look
WNW
Crossing your sky
When
10:36 PM
Highest around 10:38 PM
Distance
10 mi
Climbs to
55°
Lighting
Dark sky
Launch site
Ariane Launch Area 1 (ELV)
Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana

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

Meteor shower

Draconids

Best around 7:49 PM

Very LowExcellent
7:49 PM Dark enough
2:28 AM Moonrise
4:46 AM Too light
Estimate
A few/hour
from a dark spot here
Radiant climbs to
29°
Under a perfect sky
10/hour
Moonlight
No interference
Speed
20 km/s

Where they come from: Comet Giacobini-Zinner (21P)

Dust from Comet Giacobini-Zinner, which returns every six and a half years. Most years it is quiet, but when Earth meets a fresh trail, as in 1933 and 1946, it has given storms of thousands an hour.

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.

Best in the early evening, unlike most showers, which are best before dawn. Usually quiet, but it has produced storms of thousands an hour, in 1933 and 1946. Comes from comet Giacobini-Zinner.

Milky Way

Milky Way

Poor viewing

Visible from 7:28 PM

Very LowExcellent
Visible, no moon
7:28 PM to 10:18 PM
Where to look
Southwestern horizon, up to 42° above it
Highest at
7:28 PM
Sky fully dark
7:28 PM to 5:07 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

Waning crescent

31% lit

1:40 AM – 2:21 PM

ENE WNW
1:40 AM Moonrise
1:57 AM 4°
8:01 AM Highest, 71°
2:04 PM 4°
2:21 PM Moonset

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

Timetable

  • Moonrise 1:40 AM
  • Morning blue hour 5:56 AM–6:16 AM
  • Sunrise 6:16 AM
  • Morning golden hour 6:16 AM–6:44 AM
  • Morning best color 6:28 AM
  • Moonset 2:21 PM
  • Evening golden hour 5:51 PM–6:19 PM
  • Evening best color 6:01 PM
  • Sunset 6:19 PM
  • Evening blue hour 6:19 PM–6:40 PM
  • Fully dark 7:28 PM–5:07 AM
  • Dark, no Moon 7:28 PM–2:28 AM

Upcoming celestial events for Kourou, French Guiana

Northern Taurids Still active, a few an hour
Sat 14 Nov 2026 7:41 PM Southern Taurids Still active, a few an hour
Sat 14 Nov 2026 7:41 PM Tiangong space station Modest pass, S to ENE, 29 deg up
Sun 15 Nov 2026 4:56 AM Northern Taurids Still active, a few an hour
Mon 16 Nov 2026 7:41 PM Southern Taurids Still active, a few an hour
Mon 16 Nov 2026 7:41 PM Leonids Around 7 an hour
Mon 16 Nov 2026 7:41 PM Partial solar eclipse 7.9% of the Sun covered
Sat 6 Feb 2027 2:19 PM Partial lunar eclipse 6% of the Moon in shadow
Tue 11 Jan 2028 1:13 AM Partial solar eclipse 83.4% of the Sun covered
Wed 26 Jan 2028 12:10 PM Total lunar eclipse Totality lasts 101 minutes
Mon 25 Jun 2029 12:22 AM Total lunar eclipse 88% of it above your horizon
Thu 20 Dec 2029 7:42 PM Partial solar eclipse 1.6% of the Sun covered
Mon 20 Mar 2034 6:33 AM Partial solar eclipse 1.6% of the Sun covered
Tue 12 Sep 2034 1:33 PM Partial lunar eclipse 1% of the Moon in shadow
Wed 27 Sep 2034 11:46 PM Partial lunar eclipse 10% of the Moon in shadow
Sat 18 Aug 2035 10:11 PM Total lunar eclipse 66% of it above your horizon
Mon 11 Feb 2036 7:12 PM Total lunar eclipse Totality lasts 95 minutes
Wed 6 Aug 2036 11:51 PM Partial solar eclipse 97.2% of the Sun covered
Sat 12 Aug 2045 3:55 PM Partial solar eclipse 0.7% of the Sun covered
Thu 2 Aug 2046 6:25 AM

Every celestial event, and where else to see it