The night sky over Houston when Apollo 11 walked on the Moon
On the evening of July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong climbed down the ladder of the lunar module Eagle and stepped onto the Moon. In Houston, it was 9:56 pm. Mission Control, at what is now the Johnson Space Center, followed every word.
Eagle had landed in the Sea of Tranquility that afternoon. Buzz Aldrin joined Armstrong on the surface about 20 minutes later, while Michael Collins stayed in orbit in the command module Columbia. Hundreds of millions of people watched the grainy live pictures on television.
The sky above Houston, Texas on July 20, 1969
The sky was fully dark. There was a waxing crescent Moon in the sky, 36% lit. It stood 23° above the horizon in the southwest, in the constellation Virgo. Mars and Jupiter were above the horizon and could be seen without a telescope.
- Local time
- 9:56 PM
- Time in UTC
- July 21, 1969 at 2:56 AM UTC
- Sun
- Night
- Sun position
- 19° below the horizon
- Moon phase
- waxing crescent Moon
- Moon lit
- 36%
- Moon position
- 23° above the horizon in the southwest
| Planet | Visible | Direction | Altitude |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | No | northwest | -18° |
| Venus | No | north | -39° |
| Mars | Yes | south | 36° |
| Jupiter | Yes | west | 21° |
| Saturn | No | northeast | -39° |
| Uranus | With a telescope | west | 20° |
| Neptune | With a telescope | south | 41° |
| Star | Constellation | Direction | Altitude |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arcturus | Boötes | west | 58° |
| Vega | Lyra | northeast | 63° |
| Altair | Aquila | east | 39° |
| Spica | Virgo | southwest | 29° |
| Antares | Scorpius | south | 34° |
| Deneb | Cygnus | northeast | 39° |
| Shaula | Scorpius | south | 22° |
| Alioth | Ursa Major | northwest | 44° |
| Kaus Australis | Sagittarius | southeast | 21° |
| Dubhe | Ursa Major | northwest | 29° |
40 constellations are above the horizon. Highest in the sky: Hercules, Corona Borealis, Serpens, Boötes, Lyra, Ophiuchus, Draco, Vulpecula, Sagitta, Scutum, Canes Venatici, and Cygnus.
What happened that night
The first step came at 02:56 UTC on July 21. In Houston, the clocks still showed July 20. Armstrong said: "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."
The two astronauts spent about two and a half hours outside. They set up experiments, collected rock samples and planted a US flag. Then they climbed back into Eagle to rest before the launch back to Columbia.
Why people remember it
Apollo 11 was the first time people walked on another world. Many families still remember where they sat when the pictures came through.
A star map of this night shows the sky above Mission Control at the minute of the first step. It suits people who work in space and science, and anyone born on or near that date.
Questions about this night
It shows 9:56 pm Central Daylight Time on July 20, 1969, in Houston. That is the minute Neil Armstrong first stepped onto the Moon, 02:56 UTC on July 21.
Our maps show the sky from a place on Earth. Houston was home to Mission Control, so it is the place most linked to the people who guided the landing.
The lunar module Eagle landed at 20:17 UTC on July 20, 1969, which was 3:17 pm in Houston. The first step came about six and a half hours later.
Yes. Open the map in the editor and change the place, date or time. You could choose the town where you or your parents watched the landing.