Big Sur, California, USA

Tuesday, January 2, 2024

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Big Sur, California, USA

That morning

Sunrise

7:18 AM

7:18 AM

Clears the mountains at 8:05 AM, 47 min after sunrise

6:50 AM Blue hour
7:18 AM Sunrise
7:58 AM Golden hour ends

Sunset

5:03 PM

5:03 PM

Behind the mountains at 3:19 PM, 104 min before sunset

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

4:24 PM Golden hour, best color
5:03 PM Sunset
5:32 PM Blue hour ends

Best color is when the sky has actually looked its best, learned from 52 camera photos of past sunsets here.

Rocket launch

Falcon 9 Block 5 | Starlink Group 7-9

Launched - marginal from here

Lifted off 7:44 PM

Very LowExcellent
Look
SSE
Heading away from you
When
7:44 PM
Highest around 7:47 PM
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.

Meteor shower

Quadrantids

Best around 5:03 AM

Very LowExcellent
6:33 PM Dark enough
11:32 PM Moonrise
5:03 AM Best
5:48 AM Too light
Estimate
A few/hour
from a dark spot here
Radiant climbs to
50°
Under a perfect sky
110/hour
Moonlight
45% lost
Speed
41 km/s

Where they come from: Asteroid 2003 EH1

Dust from 2003 EH1, a small asteroid that is probably a burnt-out comet. Earth crosses its thin, young stream at a steep angle, which is why the peak lasts only hours.

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.

Its peak is short: only a few hours either side of it are worth watching.

Moon

Last quarter

62% lit

11:32 PM – 11:42 AM

E W
11:32 PM Moonrise
11:52 PM 4°
5:39 AM Highest, 52°
11:23 AM 4°
11:42 AM Moonset

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

Timetable

  • Morning blue hour 6:50 AM–7:18 AM
  • Sunrise 7:18 AM
  • Morning golden hour 7:18 AM–7:58 AM
  • Morning best color 7:19 AM
  • Moonset 11:21 AM
  • Evening golden hour 4:24 PM–5:03 PM
  • Sunset 5:03 PM
  • Evening blue hour 5:03 PM–5:32 PM
  • Fully dark 6:35 PM–5:47 AM
  • Dark, no Moon 6:35 PM–11:35 PM
  • Moonrise 11:33 PM

Upcoming celestial events for Big Sur, California, USA

Northern Taurids Still active, a few an hour
Thu 12 Nov 2026 6:31 PM Southern Taurids Still active, a few an hour
Thu 12 Nov 2026 6:31 PM International Space Station Modest pass, WNW to NNW, 16 deg up
Fri 13 Nov 2026 6:52 PM Leonids Around 11 an hour
Mon 16 Nov 2026 6:28 PM Falcon 9 Block 5 | USSF-317 Marginal, look SSE
Tue 17 Nov 2026 7:14 PM Falcon 9 Block 5 | USSF-266 Long shot, look SSE
Wed 18 Nov 2026 8:49 AM 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