The night sky on the night of the Battle of Waterloo — 18 June 1815
On 18 June 1815, near Waterloo in present-day Belgium, the Duke of Wellington's Anglo-allied army and Gebhard von Blücher's Prussians defeated Napoleon. By evening the French army was in retreat, and Wellington and Blücher met near the inn of La Belle Alliance. Napoleon abdicated four days later, ending his rule for good.
The sky over Waterloo battlefield, Belgium
This is the real sky above Waterloo battlefield, Belgium (50.68°N, 4.41°E) on 18 June 1815 at 21:00 local mean time (UTC+0:18) that night (1815-06-18 20:42 UTC). The Sun had just set (6° below the horizon), so only the brightest stars and planets showed in the twilight. The Moon (waxing gibbous, 92% lit) was 24° up in the south. Planets above the horizon: Venus (16° in the west), Jupiter (30° in the south-west) and Mercury (8° in the north-west). Brightest named stars up: Arcturus, Vega, Capella, Altair and Spica.
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