The night sky on the night of the fall of the Berlin Wall — 9 November 1989
On the evening of 9 November 1989 East German spokesman Günter Schabowski told a press conference that citizens could cross the border 'immediately'. Crowds gathered at the checkpoints, and around 23:30 the guards at Bornholmer Straße opened the gate. Within hours thousands of East Berliners had crossed into the West, and people began chipping pieces off the Wall.
The sky over Bornholmer Straße checkpoint, Berlin, Germany
This is the real sky above Bornholmer Straße checkpoint, Berlin, Germany (52.55°N, 13.40°E) on 9 November 1989 at 23:30 CET (UTC+1) — about when the gate at Bornholmer Straße opened (1989-11-09 22:30 UTC). The Sun was 54° below the horizon: it was full night. The Moon (waxing gibbous, 84% lit) was 31° up in the south-west. Planets above the horizon: Jupiter (35° in the east). Brightest named stars up: Vega, Capella, Rigel, Procyon and Betelgeuse.
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