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. Calculate the sky over Reading now
A free local guide to the Moon, planets and constellations visible tonight
The night sky changes with both time and place. This page calculates tonight above Reading from its coordinates and local timezone, then lets you refine the location. The live tool identifies the Moon, bright planets and recognisable constellations around 22:00 local time without requiring a purchase.
Tonight in Reading is neither yesterday's sky nor another latitude's view: the calculation restarts from local place and time. Its verifiable starting point is GeoNames 2639577, 51.4562° N, 0.9711° W, in timezone Europe/London.
Reading is represented by 51.4562° N, 0.9711° W, in England, using the IANA zone Europe/London. This is a high-latitude viewpoint: the relevant celestial pole stands about 51.5° above its horizon. GeoNames record 2639577 supplies the geographic reference; its population field is 318,014 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. 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: 85.5°, all year *; Perseus: 83.5°, all year *; Cassiopeia: 81.5°, all year *; Auriga: 80.5°, all year *; Cygnus: 78.5°, all year *; Draco: 76.5°, all year *; Cepheus: 71.5°, all year *; Ursa Minor: 64.5°, all year *; Andromeda: 76.5°, autumn; Lyra: 74.5°, summer; Boötes: 68.5°, spring; Gemini: 60.5°, winter; Taurus: 56.5°, winter; Leo: 53.5°, 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 2639577 · city Reading · region England · country United Kingdom · national selection rank 17 · reference population 318,014 · source elevation —. Spatial fingerprint: latitude 51.45625 · longitude -0.97113 · north hemisphere · timezone Europe/London · celestial-pole altitude 51.5°. Seasonal signature: longest night in December, 16 h 22 · shortest night in June, 7 h 38 · range 8.73 hours. Meridian star markers: Ursa Major 85.5° * · Perseus 83.5° * · Cassiopeia 81.5° * · Auriga 80.5° * · Cygnus 78.5° * · Draco 76.5° *. Nearby catalogue cities: Oxford 38 km · London 59 km · Brighton 91 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 “tonight” page; they change with place and remain separate from real weather.
1. Reading → Oxford: 38.3 km · Δlat +0.296° · Δlon -0.285° · Δpole +0.3° · timezone Europe/London = Europe/London · longest night December 16 h 25 | 2. Reading → London: 58.8 km · Δlat +0.052° · Δlon +0.845° · Δpole +0.0° · timezone Europe/London = Europe/London · longest night December 16 h 23 | 3. Reading → Brighton: 90.8 km · Δlat -0.628° · Δlon +0.832° · Δpole -0.7° · timezone Europe/London = Europe/London · longest night December 16 h 16. Monthly night comparison with the nearest catalogue reference — January: Reading 15 h 54 / Oxford 15 h 56 / Δ -0.04 h · February: Reading 14 h 18 / Oxford 14 h 19 / Δ -0.02 h · March: Reading 12 h 28 / Oxford 12 h 29 / Δ -0.01 h · April: Reading 10 h 24 / Oxford 10 h 23 / Δ +0.02 h · May: Reading 8 h 38 / Oxford 8 h 35 / Δ +0.04 h · June: Reading 7 h 38 / Oxford 7 h 35 / Δ +0.06 h · July: Reading 8 h 03 / Oxford 8 h 00 / Δ +0.05 h · August: Reading 9 h 37 / Oxford 9 h 35 / Δ +0.03 h · September: Reading 11 h 38 / Oxford 11 h 37 / Δ +0.01 h · October: Reading 13 h 38 / Oxford 13 h 39 / Δ -0.02 h · November: Reading 15 h 26 / Oxford 15 h 29 / Δ -0.04 h · December: Reading 16 h 22 / Oxford 16 h 25 / Δ -0.05 h. For tonight's sky, longitude changes local rotation while latitude changes altitude; the tool therefore starts from Reading and then accepts a more exact address.
The following pairs are approximate daylight / night duration around the 15th of each month: January: 8 h 06 / 15 h 54; February: 9 h 42 / 14 h 18; March: 11 h 32 / 12 h 28; April: 13 h 36 / 10 h 24; May: 15 h 22 / 8 h 38; June: 16 h 22 / 7 h 38; July: 15 h 57 / 8 h 03; August: 14 h 23 / 9 h 37; September: 12 h 22 / 11 h 38; October: 10 h 22 / 13 h 38; November: 8 h 34 / 15 h 26; December: 7 h 38 / 16 h 22. The longest estimated night in this model is December at 16 h 22; the shortest is June at 7 h 38. “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.
20 February 2027: Penumbral lunar eclipse, 23:14 UTC; 2 August 2027: Total solar eclipse, 10:07 UTC; 12 January 2028: Partial lunar eclipse, 04:14 UTC; 26 January 2028: Annular solar eclipse, 15:08 UTC; 6 July 2028: Partial lunar eclipse, 18:20 UTC; 31 December 2028: Total lunar eclipse, 16:53 UTC. This is deliberately a regional shortlist. Solar-eclipse paths are narrow, lunar eclipses require the Moon to be above the local horizon, and both can be lost to cloud. Open the NASA source attached to each event before planning travel or observation; never look at the Sun without certified eclipse viewers.
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).
The current summary targets about 22:00 local time in Europe/London. Recalculate after changing place; planetary altitude and constellation visibility move through the night.
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).
Calculate the sky over Reading now
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