This page provides a result prefilled with the place and coordinates. The calculations and phone gyroscope work without an order; the HD poster remains optional. See the Belfast constellation table
A latitude-based guide with transit altitude, season and circumpolar status
Not every constellation rises from every latitude. This guide compares the representative declination of well-known constellations with the latitude of Belfast. It shows which patterns can clear a practical horizon, how high they culminate and which northern or southern groups stay circumpolar.
From Belfast, latitude decides how high each familiar pattern can climb above an ideal horizon. Its verifiable starting point is GeoNames 2655984, 54.5968° N, 5.9254° W, in timezone Europe/London.
Each entry below gives an approximate maximum altitude at meridian transit and a practical season; an asterisk means circumpolar in this simplified centroid model: Ursa Major: 88.6°, all year *; Cassiopeia: 84.6°, all year *; Perseus: 80.4°, all year *; Draco: 79.6°, all year *; Auriga: 77.4°, all year *; Cygnus: 75.4°, all year *; Cepheus: 74.6°, all year *; Andromeda: 73.4°, all year *; Lyra: 71.4°, all year *; Ursa Minor: 67.6°, all year *; Boötes: 65.4°, spring; Gemini: 57.4°, winter; Taurus: 53.4°, winter; Leo: 50.4°, spring. This is a planning guide, not a promise that every star will be visible from a bright street. Date, hour, local obstructions and light pollution still matter. The live sky tool performs the date-specific projection that a static latitude table cannot.
Calculation identity: GeoNames 2655984 · city Belfast · region Northern Ireland · country United Kingdom · national selection rank 13 · reference population 348,005 · source elevation —. Spatial fingerprint: latitude 54.59682 · longitude -5.92541 · north hemisphere · timezone Europe/London · celestial-pole altitude 54.6°. Seasonal signature: longest night in December, 16 h 59 · shortest night in June, 7 h 02 · range 9.95 hours. Meridian star markers: Ursa Major 88.6° * · Cassiopeia 84.6° * · Perseus 80.4° * · Draco 79.6° * · Auriga 77.4° * · Cygnus 75.4° *. Nearby catalogue cities: Glasgow 176 km · Preston 229 km · Edinburgh 229 km. First regional eclipse shortlist: 2027-02-20 Penumbral lunar eclipse 23:14 UTC · 2027-08-02 Total solar eclipse 10:07 UTC · 2028-01-12 Partial lunar eclipse 04:14 UTC. Together these values form the local evidence record for the “constellations” page; they change with place and remain separate from real weather.
1. Belfast → Glasgow: 176.3 km · Δlat +1.268° · Δlon +1.668° · Δpole +1.3° · timezone Europe/London = Europe/London · longest night December 17 h 16 | 2. Belfast → Preston: 229.2 km · Δlat -0.834° · Δlon +3.221° · Δpole -0.8° · timezone Europe/London = Europe/London · longest night December 16 h 49 | 3. Belfast → Edinburgh: 229.3 km · Δlat +1.355° · Δlon +2.729° · Δpole +1.4° · timezone Europe/London = Europe/London · longest night December 17 h 17. Monthly night comparison with the nearest catalogue reference — January: Belfast 16 h 26 / Glasgow 16 h 40 / Δ -0.24 h · February: Belfast 14 h 35 / Glasgow 14 h 43 / Δ -0.13 h · March: Belfast 12 h 32 / Glasgow 12 h 34 / Δ -0.03 h · April: Belfast 10 h 12 / Glasgow 10 h 07 / Δ +0.09 h · May: Belfast 8 h 11 / Glasgow 7 h 59 / Δ +0.20 h · June: Belfast 7 h 02 / Glasgow 6 h 44 / Δ +0.29 h · July: Belfast 7 h 31 / Glasgow 7 h 16 / Δ +0.25 h · August: Belfast 9 h 19 / Glasgow 9 h 10 / Δ +0.14 h · September: Belfast 11 h 35 / Glasgow 11 h 34 / Δ +0.02 h · October: Belfast 13 h 50 / Glasgow 13 h 56 / Δ -0.10 h · November: Belfast 15 h 54 / Glasgow 16 h 07 / Δ -0.21 h · December: Belfast 16 h 59 / Glasgow 17 h 16 / Δ -0.29 h. For constellation screening, latitude difference becomes a meridian-altitude difference; a small change is reported as small rather than exaggerated for local copy.
Belfast is represented by 54.5968° N, 5.9254° W, in Northern Ireland, using the IANA zone Europe/London. This is a high-latitude viewpoint: the relevant celestial pole stands about 54.6° above its horizon. GeoNames record 2655984 supplies the geographic reference; its population field is 348,005 and is used for catalogue selection, not presented as a live census. No source elevation is used, so a flat horizon remains the transparent default.
The following pairs are approximate daylight / night duration around the 15th of each month: January: 7 h 34 / 16 h 26; February: 9 h 25 / 14 h 35; March: 11 h 28 / 12 h 32; April: 13 h 48 / 10 h 12; May: 15 h 49 / 8 h 11; June: 16 h 58 / 7 h 02; July: 16 h 29 / 7 h 31; August: 14 h 41 / 9 h 19; September: 12 h 25 / 11 h 35; October: 10 h 10 / 13 h 50; November: 8 h 06 / 15 h 54; December: 7 h 01 / 16 h 59. The longest estimated night in this model is December at 16 h 59; the shortest is June at 7 h 02. “Night” here is the complement of daylight on a flat horizon. Civil, nautical and astronomical twilight are not interchangeable, and weather is not predicted by this table.
Coordinates, date and local time feed the same astronomical workflow used by the poster. The HYG catalogue provides star entries, while Astronomy Engine calculates moving bodies. The page does not claim that city-centre coordinates equal a hospital, venue or home: selecting an autocomplete suggestion replaces the shortcut with that location. It also separates astronomical geometry from weather and light pollution, so a correct map never becomes a claim that the ground-level sky was cloudless.
On a compatible phone, the gyroscope turns the calculated sky into a movable window: tilt and rotate to explore, with star names shown beside key points. That experience is free. If a date deserves a keepsake, the same place can continue into the editor. The protected preview remains watermarked before payment; the €3.99 purchase unlocks the 4960 × 7016 px, 300 DPI file. Physical formats appear only when availability, delivery supplement and timing can be checked for the destination. Checkout is in euros; the card issuer shows the current conversion to pounds sterling (GBP).
It removes patterns that only graze an ideal horizon. 18 catalogue groups pass that screen here, but local hills and buildings can require a higher threshold.
Yes. Choose the intended autocomplete suggestion; its coordinates replace the city shortcut. Unselected free text is never silently sent to a default city.
Yes. The local calculation, tables and gyroscope exploration can be used without payment. Only the unlocked HD poster is paid.
No. The calculations describe geometry. Cloud, terrain, buildings and light pollution can change what a person sees from the ground.
No. The tool stands on its own. If wanted, the watermark-free 4960 × 7016 px, 300 DPI file costs €3.99. Checkout is in euros; the card issuer shows the current conversion to pounds sterling (GBP).
See the Belfast constellation table
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