Galaxy OriginsA moment, made infinite. Find your galaxy

Questions

What did the sky look like on a specific date?

You can see the sky for any date, time and place with free planetarium software such as Stellarium, which calculates the positions of the stars, planets and Moon for that moment. You need the date, the local time and the location, because the sky changes with all three.

Updated October 25, 2026.

What you need

  • The date. It decides where the Sun, Moon and planets were.
  • The local time. The sky turns about one degree every four minutes, so an hour moves it by fifteen degrees.
  • The place. Latitude decides which part of the sky you can see at all; someone in Sydney and someone in New York see different stars on the same night.

Free ways to see it

Stellarium (desktop, free) lets you set any date and place and shows the sky as it was. Phone apps such as Stellarium Mobile or SkySafari do the same. For a printable version, a star map shows the stars above the horizon at that moment.

Weather is a different question

These tools show where things were, not whether it was cloudy. For the weather on a past date, historical weather records from national weather services are the source.

A photograph instead of a chart

A star map draws dots. Galaxy Origins takes the same moment and place, finds the real galaxy closest to the point directly overhead, and frames its telescope photograph with your words.

Find the galaxy above your moment

Related questions

Does NASA show the sky on a specific date?

NASA publishes many tools, but the simplest way to see the night sky for a date and place is free planetarium software such as Stellarium.

Do I need the exact time?

For a star map or the galaxy overhead, yes, roughly: the sky moves one degree every four minutes. A best guess still gives the real sky for that guess.

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