All buttons display a tooltip with more information on mouse hover.
Location Input
Enter a zip code, city, state, country, or latitude and longitude individually or in combination. The site will look up the closest matching point and set the pin on the map. All displayed data is calculated for the location shown. The dropdown list keeps a history of previous locations; each can be kept for future selection or deleted.
Top Row Controls
The top row buttons turn green when clicked to show they are selected.
The eye button restricts solar eclipses, lunar eclipses, and moon phases to be location-specific, only showing eclipses visible from and moon phases when the moon is above the horizon at the selected location.
Eclipse Navigation
The left-side half-shaded sun and moon buttons jump to the previous solar or lunar eclipse; the right-side buttons jump to the next. If both buttons on one side are clicked quickly, they combine and will advance through both types of eclipses chronologically.
Moon Phase Navigation
The left-side moon phase button shows and jumps to the previous moon phase; the right-side button shows and jumps to the next. Clicking will jump to that exact date and time with all correct data displayed.
Time Adjustment
Each - or + time period button jumps that amount of time backward or forward.
Play Mode
The play button starts auto-advancing by whichever button is selected and green. If none is selected, it will wait until one is pressed, then start advancing by that amount or event type.
If one or combined eclipses are selected, play will jump to the start (or end, depending on direction), then move to peak, then to end (or start), then jump to the next or previous eclipse.
If a moon phase is selected, play will continuously jump to the previous or next phase in the chosen direction.
Clock and Live Mode
The clock shows the current time at the set location. Clicking the clock resets the date and time to now and clears any selection.
The live button enables live updates as long as the page is active. When you return to the tab, it immediately refreshes. The title bar shows "LIVE" in green with an ECG heartbeat icon.
Date/Time Display (Green Box)
The green current display box shows either the current time (if the clock was clicked) or the date and time you've navigated to. If the date and time are current, they appear shaded and bordered. Clicking the date or time opens a calendar or clock for manual adjustment.
Solstice Comparison Boxes
The three boxes (orange for summer solstice, green for current, and blue for winter solstice) share the same functions. The terminator lines of matching colors on the map show daylight and nighttime boundaries. Summer and winter are fixed to show the extremes.
The horizontal lines at the location show the differences in daylight length between solstices and current. The outer lines show the difference between current and the maximum/minimum.
Sunrise, Noon, and Sunset
The rise, noon, and set buttons show when these occur at the location. Clicking jumps the map to that time. Note: noon represents solar noon (when the sun is directly overhead) which may not be 12:00 on the clock.
Day and Night Length
The info boxes show the duration of day and night at the location for that date.
Standard Time and Daylight Saving Time
Only one of ST or DST can be checked at a time. This controls whether displayed times use standard or daylight saving time. The date and arrow indicate when the switch occurs based on location. Solstice arrows are fixed; the current date arrow initially matches the default but can be manually changed. Adjusting these allows comparison of year-round ST or DST scenarios.
If both ST and DST are unchecked, Solar time is shown. Unchecking Solar time as well removes that color from the map for simplicity.
Map Interaction
Clicking on the map changes all displayed data to the closest location found, or shows latitude and longitude if no location matches.
The sun and moon markers on the map show their real-time positions overhead on Earth. The moon displays its current phase emoji. During active eclipses, the map shows eclipse shadows: an elliptical shadow for solar eclipses and a reddish tint on the moon for lunar eclipses.
Map Controls
Pan controls and zoom in/out buttons are provided. The center button resets both pan and zoom to default. Horizontal and vertical scales show approximate distance in miles. The mouse wheel can also zoom in and out.
