Tonight from Rio de Janeiro

Tonight in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the sun sets at 17:49 local time and astronomical darkness — when even the faintest stars become visible — arrives at 19:03. The moon is in waxing gibbous phase, 86% illuminated. 2 major planets are above the horizon as night falls. Sunrise comes at 05:40.

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.