The southern sky

How it plays

The sky keeps the time: one beat is one sidereal minute. Stars play as they cross the lines. 31 named ones ring as bells and change the chord; the rest play the hi-hat and soft notes.

The melody comes from the stars at the start of each section and repeats. The Moon picks the scale, and the Milky Way brightens the bass.

The Moon today

Phase

Waning crescent

Illuminated

31%

Age

24.0 days

Next new Moon

10 October, 15:51 UTC

Next full Moon

26 October, 04:12 UTC

Tonight from Brasília

Sun

sets 18:08, rises 05:50, Brasília time

Stars above the horizon

2,252 of 4,145

Named stars up

Sirius, Canopus, Rigel, Achernar, Betelgeuse, Altair, Aldebaran, Fomalhaut, Adhara, Bellatrix, Elnath, Miaplacidus, Alnilam, Alnair, Alnitak

Next to cross the meridian

Achernar, in 14 min

As of 5 October 2026, 03:40 UTC.