Big Sur, California, USA

Sunday, May 3, 2026

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Big Sur, California, USA

Rocket launch

Falcon 9 Block 5 | CAS500-2 & Others

Launched - fair from here

Lifted off 12:00 AM

Very LowExcellent
Look
SSE
Heading away from you
When
12:00 AM
Highest around 12:09 AM
Distance
132 mi
Climbs to
43°
Lighting
Dark sky
Launch site
Space Launch Complex 4E
Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA
Landing
12:07 AM
Land - Landing Zone 4, back toward SSE

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

That morning

Sunrise

6:11 AM

6:11 AM

5:43 AM Blue hour
6:11 AM Sunrise
6:47 AM Golden hour ends

Sunset

7:56 PM

7:56 PM

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

7:20 PM Golden hour
7:56 PM Sunset
8:24 PM Blue hour ends

Meteor shower

Eta Aquariids

Best around 4:26 AM

Very LowExcellent
9:26 PM Dark enough
10:24 PM Moonrise
4:40 AM Best 4:26 AM, then too light
Estimate
~7/hour
from a dark spot here, off its peak night
Radiant climbs to
19°
Under a perfect sky
50/hour
Moonlight
45% lost
Speed
66 km/s

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.

Comes from Halley's Comet. Best from the Southern Hemisphere, in the hours before dawn.

Moon

Waning gibbous

96% lit

10:24 PM – 7:42 AM

SE SW
10:24 PM Moonrise
10:49 PM 4°
3:03 AM Highest, 26°
7:17 AM 4°
7:42 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 5:43 AM–6:11 AM
  • Morning best color 6:00 AM
  • Sunrise 6:11 AM
  • Morning golden hour 6:11 AM–6:47 AM
  • Moonset 7:00 AM
  • Evening golden hour 7:20 PM–7:56 PM
  • Sunset 7:56 PM
  • Evening blue hour 7:56 PM–8:24 PM
  • Fully dark 9:33 PM–4:33 AM
  • Dark, no Moon 9:33 PM–10:23 PM
  • Moonrise 10:24 PM

Upcoming celestial events for Big Sur, California, USA

Tiangong space station Modest pass, W to W, 17 deg up
Fri 23 Oct 2026 8:32 PM Orionids Active, around 7 an hour
Fri 23 Oct 2026 7:51 PM Full Hunter's Moon Rises 5:49 PM in the ENE Sun 25 Oct 2026 5:49 PM Falcon 9 Block 5 | Starlink Group 15-16 Marginal, look SSE
Mon 26 Oct 2026 9:45 PM Falcon 9 Block 5 | Starlink Group 15-18 Marginal, look SSE
Thu 29 Oct 2026 9:02 PM 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