The night sky on the night of Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Mountaintop" speech — 3 April 1968

On the stormy night of 3 April 1968 Martin Luther King Jr. spoke at Mason Temple in Memphis, where he had come to support striking sanitation workers. He ended: 'I've been to the mountaintop… I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land.' He was assassinated the next evening at the Lorraine Motel.

The sky over Mason Temple, Memphis, Tennessee, USA

This is the real sky above Mason Temple, Memphis, Tennessee, USA (35.13°N, 90.05°W) on 3 April 1968 at 22:00 CST (UTC−6) that night (1968-04-04 04:00 UTC). The Sun was 40° below the horizon: it was full night. The Moon (waxing crescent, 31% lit) was 22° up in the west. Planets above the horizon: Jupiter (66° in the south-west). Brightest named stars up: Sirius, Arcturus, Capella, Procyon and Betelgeuse.

Star map of the sky over Mason Temple, Memphis, Tennessee, USA on 3 April 1968 at 22:00 JupiterMoon SiriusArcturusCapellaProcyonBetelgeuseAldebaranSpicaPollux NSEW
798 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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