Sky Map
This page shows where various celestial bodies are tonight and right now, from the perspective of an observer in Cambridge, MA (42.39, -71.14 at an elevation of 12 meters).
This page shows where various celestial bodies are, from the perspective of an observer in Cambridge, MA (42.39, -71.14 at an elevation of 12 meters). To change the location, scroll down to the world map.
Sky
Positions
Calculated on 2026-10-27 at 10:07:23 (ET).
| Rises | Sets | Azimuth | Altitude | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun | 07:11 | 17:45 | SE141º | 26º |
| Moon | 17:41 | 10:27 | NW312º | -8º |
| Mercury | 08:43 | 18:12 | SE132º | 12º |
| Venus | 06:58 | 16:58 | SSE150º | 26º |
| Mars | 00:28 | 14:47 | WSW243º | 50º |
| Jupiter | 01:09 | 15:02 | SW232º | 52º |
| Saturn | 16:54 | 05:05 | NNW341º | -44º |
| Pleiades | 18:30 | 09:47 | NW307º | -2º |
| Andromeda | 13:25 | 08:44 | N349º | -5º |
Location
Background
Have you ever seen Saturn or Jupiter through a telescope? They almost look fake, as if some kid made paper cutouts and stuck them on the far end of the lens. It's awe inspiring to peer out at them as they float in space.
You can see them with the naked eye too—they look like stars, but over the course of days and weeks they move through the sky. I like to know where they are (Mars too) and made this as a tool to help me find them. It also helps me realize when they're not visible (for example, if a planet is only above the horizon during the day).
A couple definitions:
- Azimuth is the compass direction along the horizon
- Altitude is the angle above the horizon
I've often used the iOS App Sky Guide to locate objects in the sky, but I want to get better at finding them using azimuth and altitude.
Credits
This page uses the Astronomy Engine package to calculate celestial positions. Thank you to the author for writing such a powerful and easy to use tool! It's wonderful and impressive that we can use open source software to predict the location of celestial objects. The world map uses coastlines from Natural Earth.
Privacy and Technical Details
The page is calculated ahead of time for Cambridge and refreshed every hour, so it's lightweight and works without Javascript. When Javascript is available, a small bundle takes over in place so you can pick a date, time, and location; those calculations run in your browser.
When you set a location, date, or time, it's stored in the URL's query parameters so you can share or bookmark the view. The calculations happen in your browser, and the site is static, so there's no application that receives or logs these settings. Like any website host, Cloudflare, which serves the pages, sees the addresses requested. “Use my location” is never put in the address at all.