Sun + Moon Path Planner
Solar & Lunar Positions
Date & Time
Direction Compass
Face north, then look in the direction shown
-0°
civil
-12°
Waning Crescent
Location
📍 Your position determines azimuth and elevation angles.
Celestial Coordinates
Sun
Moon
Best Dark Sky Nights
Next 14 days ranked by darkness for astrophotography
Next Best Night
5 hours
Thu, Dec 18
Thu, Dec 18
New moon, perfect darkness
100%
dark
Fri, Dec 19
New moon, perfect darkness
100%
dark
Sat, Dec 20
New moon, perfect darkness
99%
dark
Sun, Dec 21
New moon, perfect darkness
98%
dark
Mon, Dec 22
New moon, perfect darkness
95%
dark
📸 Photography Tips
Golden Hour: 1 hr after sunrise / before sunset.
Blue Hour: 20-40 min before sunrise / after sunset.
Moon Shots: Best during civil twilight.
✓ Blue hour - great for cityscapes!
How It Works
☀️ Solar Position
Uses NOAA/Meeus algorithms: mean anomaly → true anomaly → apparent longitude → equatorial coordinates via obliquity.
🌙 Lunar Position
Simplified ELP terms for ecliptic lon/lat, converted through mean obliquity, projected via local sidereal time.
📅 Moon Phase Data
Uses IAU astronomical constants (Meeus algorithms). Pure math - no API needed. Accurate for any date.
alt = arcsin(sinφ·sinδ + cosφ·cosδ·cosHA)
az = arctan2(sinHA, cosHA·sinφ - tanδ·cosφ)