Tonight from Rio de Janeiro

Tonight in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the sun sets at 17:20 local time and astronomical darkness — when even the faintest stars become visible — arrives at 18:40. The moon is in last quarter phase, 66% illuminated. 4 major planets are above the horizon as night falls. Sunrise comes at 06:34.

At low latitude near the equator, night length is roughly constant year-round — about twelve hours regardless of season. 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.