Gisborne, New Zealand

Thursday, October 31, 2024

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Gisborne, New Zealand

That morning

Sunrise

6:00 AM

6:00 AM

Clears the hills at 6:12 AM, 12 min after sunrise

5:32 AM Blue hour
6:00 AM Sunrise
6:36 AM Golden hour ends

Sunset

7:42 PM

7:42 PM

Behind the hills at 7:34 PM, 8 min before sunset

Too far ahead for a weather forecast. These are the sun's own times - they will not change.

7:06 PM Golden hour
7:42 PM Sunset
8:11 PM Blue hour ends

Meteor shower

Southern Taurids

Best around 1:42 AM

Very LowExcellent
9:12 PM Dark enough
1:42 AM Best
4:29 AM Too light
Estimate
A few/hour
from a dark spot here, off its peak night
Radiant climbs to
37°
Under a perfect sky
5/hour
Moonlight
No interference
Speed
27 km/s

Where they come from: Comet Encke (2P/Encke)

Dust from Comet Encke, which goes round the Sun every 3.3 years, the shortest of any bright comet. Its stream is old and spread wide, so the Taurids last for weeks and carry larger pieces than most: the 'Halloween fireballs'.

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.

Not many meteors, but known for bright fireballs.

Meteor shower

Northern Taurids

Best around 1:42 AM

Very LowExcellent
9:12 PM Dark enough
1:42 AM Best
4:29 AM Too light
Estimate
A few/hour
from a dark spot here, off its peak night
Radiant climbs to
31°
Under a perfect sky
5/hour
Moonlight
No interference
Speed
29 km/s

Where they come from: Comet Encke (2P/Encke)

The other half of Comet Encke's wide, old stream: the same dust as the Southern Taurids, met a little later and from a little further north. Known, with them, for slow, bright fireballs.

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.

The second half of the Taurids, peaking about a week after the Southern Taurids.

Milky Way

Milky Way

Poor viewing

Visible from 9:21 PM

Very LowExcellent
Visible, no moon
9:21 PM to 11:11 PM
Where to look
West-southwestern horizon, up to 28° above it
Highest at
9:21 PM
Sky fully dark
9:21 PM to 4:19 AM
Sky darkness
Poor
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.

Event

Halloween

NZ holiday

Halloween night in Gisborne - new moon

Evening from 6:00 PM

Trick-or-treat sky: not known yet

Sunset
7:41 PM
Moon
2% lit
Up from the start
Cloud at 7 PM
Not known yet
Rain chance
Not known yet
6 to 9 PM
Where the Moon is
W, 17° up
at 5:00 PM

Halloween is the evening before All Saints' Day on November 1 - All Hallows' Eve. It draws on Samhain, the Gaelic festival at the end of the harvest that marked the start of winter, when the boundary with the world of the dead was thought to be thin.

The first jack-o'-lanterns in Ireland and Scotland were carved from turnips. In North America the pumpkin took their place.

Event

Diwali

NZ holiday

Diwali in Gisborne - lamps and fireworks from sunset at 7:41 PM

Fireworks from 8:26 PM

Fireworks sky: not known yet

Sunset
7:41 PM
Cloud at 8 PM
Not known yet
Rain chance
Not known yet
This evening
Moon
1% lit
Rises 5:31 AM (after midnight)
Where the Sun is
WSW, 5° up
at 7:11 PM

Diwali, the festival of lights, falls on the new moon of Ashvin (Kartika in northern calendars) - the darkest night of the month, lit with rows of oil lamps, diyas, candles and fireworks. It celebrates Lord Rama's return to Ayodhya and the victory of light over darkness: families clean and decorate their homes, worship Lakshmi, goddess of wealth, and share sweets. Sikhs mark Bandi Chhor Divas and Jains the nirvana of Mahavira on the same day.

Moon

Waning crescent

2% lit

5:08 AM – 6:28 PM

E W
5:08 AM Moonrise
5:28 AM 4°
11:45 AM Highest, 61°
6:07 PM 4°
6:28 PM Moonset

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

Timetable

  • Fully dark 9:21 PM–4:19 AM
  • Dark, no Moon 9:21 PM–4:19 AM
  • Moonrise 5:08 AM
  • Morning blue hour 5:32 AM–6:00 AM
  • Sunrise 6:00 AM
  • Morning golden hour 6:00 AM–6:36 AM
  • Morning best color 6:11 AM
  • Moonset 6:29 PM
  • Evening golden hour 7:06 PM–7:42 PM
  • Evening best color 7:24 PM
  • Sunset 7:42 PM
  • Evening blue hour 7:42 PM–8:11 PM

Upcoming celestial events for Gisborne, New Zealand

Electron | BlackSky Gen-3 6 No date yet - NET Q4 2026 Tue 1 Dec 2026 Southern Taurids Still active, a few an hour
Wed 11 Nov 2026 9:24 PM Northern Taurids Still active, a few an hour
Wed 11 Nov 2026 9:24 PM Tiangong space station Bright pass, WNW to NE, 35 deg up
Wed 11 Nov 2026 4:38 AM Electron | The Mountain God Rises Marginal, look S
Sat 14 Nov 2026 6:30 PM Full Beaver Moon Rises 7:55 PM in the ENE Tue 24 Nov 2026 7:55 PM Partial lunar eclipse 38% of the Moon in shadow
Thu 6 Jul 2028 6:20 AM Partial solar eclipse 68.1% of the Sun covered
Sat 22 Jul 2028 4:24 PM Partial lunar eclipse 90% of it above your horizon
Sat 15 Jun 2030 6:33 AM Total lunar eclipse Totality lasts 66 minutes
Sun 25 Apr 2032 3:13 AM Partial solar eclipse 93.4% of the Sun covered
Fri 9 Mar 2035 10:59 AM Partial solar eclipse 17.4% of the Sun covered
Wed 27 Feb 2036 6:56 PM Partial solar eclipse 98.5% of the Sun covered
Mon 13 Jul 2037 3:51 PM Partial solar eclipse 96% of the Sun covered
Sun 26 Dec 2038 2:29 PM

Every celestial event, and where else to see it