The night sky on the night of the Sydney 2000 Olympic opening ceremony — 15 September 2000
On 15 September 2000 the Sydney Olympics opened at Stadium Australia before a crowd of about 110,000. The ceremony celebrated the land, the sea and Aboriginal culture, and runner Cathy Freeman lit the Olympic cauldron standing in a pool of water. Ten days later she won the 400 metres gold.
The sky over Stadium Australia, Sydney, Australia
This is the real sky above Stadium Australia, Sydney, Australia (33.85°S, 151.06°E) on 15 September 2000 at 19:00 AEDT (UTC+11) — the start of the ceremony (2000-09-15 08:00 UTC). The Sun had just set (3° below the horizon), so only the brightest stars and planets showed in the twilight. The Moon (waning gibbous, 97% lit) was below the horizon. Planets above the horizon: Venus (22° in the west) and Mercury (15° in the west). Brightest named stars up: Arcturus, Rigil Kentaurus, Vega, Achernar and Hadar.
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