Tonight from Melbourne

Tonight in Melbourne, Australia, the sun sets at 17:20 local time and astronomical darkness — when even the faintest stars become visible — arrives at 18:51. The moon is in waning crescent phase, 11% illuminated. 6 major planets are above the horizon as night falls. Sunrise comes at 07:13.

At mid-latitudes, night length varies substantially with season; summer offers shorter darkness, winter the longest. From the southern hemisphere, the Southern Cross dominates the sky and the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds — two satellite galaxies of the Milky Way visible only south of the equator — sit overhead in the winter months.