The night sky on the night of the coronation of Elizabeth II — 2 June 1953
On 2 June 1953 Elizabeth II was crowned in Westminster Abbey. It was the first British coronation shown on television, and millions of people crowded around TV sets to watch. The same morning the news broke that Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay had reached the summit of Everest.
The sky over Westminster Abbey, London, England
This is the real sky above Westminster Abbey, London, England (51.50°N, 0.13°W) on 2 June 1953 at 22:00 BST (UTC+1) that night (1953-06-02 21:00 UTC). The Sun was 7° below the horizon: twilight was fading and the stars were coming out. The Moon (waning gibbous, 71% lit) was below the horizon. Planets above the horizon: Mercury (1° in the north-west), Saturn (32° in the south) and Mars (0° in the north-west). Brightest named stars up: Arcturus, Vega, Capella, Altair and Spica.
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