The night sky on the night of the Miracle on Ice — 22 February 1980

On 22 February 1980, at the Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York, a US ice hockey team of college players beat the heavily favoured Soviet Union 4–3. Commentator Al Michaels' call — 'Do you believe in miracles? Yes!' — gave the game its name. Two days later the Americans beat Finland to win gold.

The sky over Olympic Center, Lake Placid, New York, USA

This is the real sky above Olympic Center, Lake Placid, New York, USA (44.28°N, 73.99°W) on 22 February 1980 at 22:00 EST (UTC−5) that night (1980-02-23 03:00 UTC). The Sun was 46° below the horizon: it was full night. The Moon (first quarter, 51% lit) was 33° up in the west. Planets above the horizon: Jupiter (45° in the south-east), Mars (46° in the south-east) and Saturn (28° in the south-east). Brightest named stars up: Sirius, Arcturus, Capella, Rigel and Procyon.

Star map of the sky over Olympic Center, Lake Placid, New York, USA on 22 February 1980 at 22:00 JupiterMarsSaturnMoon SiriusArcturusCapellaRigelProcyonBetelgeuseAldebaranPollux NSEW
808 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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