Astronomical Twilight (Patreon)

I celebrated return of Astronomical Twilight on the 21 of July this year by placing this lovely stained glass comet in my window. It will hang there until spring next year when Astronomical Twilight will leave again.

Astronomical Twilight happens when the sun is between 12 and 18 degrees below the horizon and it takes its name from the fact that astronomers might not be able to observe fainter stars when sun is less than 18 degrees below the horizon.

In my location for few weeks around Summer Solstice it doesn't get any darker than Nautical Twilight. I often find difficult to fall asleep during this time and although I do enjoy the long days I miss the dark. From this year onwards I decided to add return of Astronomical Twilight to my Wheel of the Year celebrations.

To check Astronomical Twilight times in your location  visit timeanddate.com and put your town or city in the search bar. You can play around with a sun graph for each day to find out when Astronomical twilight leaves and returns.