The night sky on the night of Apollo 13's "Houston, we've had a problem" — 13 April 1970

On the evening of 13 April 1970, nearly 56 hours into the flight of Apollo 13, an oxygen tank exploded in the service module. Jack Swigert radioed 'Okay, Houston, we've had a problem here', and the Moon landing was abandoned. Using the lunar module as a lifeboat, Jim Lovell, Fred Haise and Swigert swung around the Moon and splashed down safely on 17 April.

The sky over Mission Control, Houston, Texas, USA

This is the real sky above Mission Control, Houston, Texas, USA (29.56°N, 95.09°W) on 13 April 1970 at 21:07 CST (UTC−6) — the moment of the oxygen tank explosion (1970-04-14 03:07 UTC). The Sun was 29° below the horizon: it was full night. The Moon (first quarter, 55% lit) was 61° up in the west. Planets above the horizon: Jupiter (22° in the south-east) and Mars (3° in the west). Brightest named stars up: Sirius, Arcturus, Capella, Rigel and Procyon.

Star map of the sky over Mission Control, Houston, Texas, USA on 13 April 1970 at 21:07 JupiterMarsMoon SiriusArcturusCapellaRigelProcyonBetelgeuseAldebaranSpica NSEW
819 stars brighter than magnitude 5 above the horizon, with the constellation figures. Look up: north at the top, east on the left.

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