Astronomy

The sky in the Sea of Thieves is filled with many wondrous sights and anomalies for stargazing.

Although the Sea of Thieves is set in our earthly world, the stars and night sky appear to change as you sail through the Devil's Shroud into the Sea of Thieves. This is noted by both Ramsey, the Pirate Lord in the Athena's Fortune novel and by Captain Flameheart Junior in his journal, Tales from the Sea of Thieves.

"New stars" Rathbone said simply, and he was quite correct. Not one among them could spot familiar constellations or point towards Orion's belt. Even the North Star, brightest of all those distant lights, seemed to have different neighbours.

— Athena's Fortune novel

I look up and see, much to my disconcertion, a strange and shifting constellation of unknown stars.

— Captain Flameheart Junior - Tales from the Sea of Thieves

Stars

During the night, the sky in the Sea of Thieves is littered with a huge number of twinkling stars. The brightest stars will start to appear at around 21:45 but the number visible will increase as the sky darkens. The final stars will disappear at 06:00 just as the sun rises.

There are stars of a variety of different colours. In order from most to least common colour: white, blue, green, yellow, and orange.

There is a difference in the number of stars visible from each region. In order from highest to lowest number of stars visible:  The Ancient Isles,  The Shores of Plenty,  The Wilds,  The Devil's Roar.

Unlike the Sun and Moon, the stars do not rotate with the day-night cycle and are always in the same location each night.

North Star

The North Star is the largest and brightest star in the sky and can be identified by the inward moving streaks surrounding it. The North Star will always be to the north of the Sea of Thieves.

It is also noted in the Athena's Fortune novel that the North Star, unlike the other stars in the sky, did not appear to shift locations while traversing The Devil's Shroud into the Sea of Thieves.

Constellations

The Sea of Thieves has a total of 16 unique constellations in the night sky. They can be seen with the naked eye but the stars will become connected and have a pattern drawn over them when looking through Sudds' Ancient Spyglass acquired during the Stars of a Thief Tall Tale. Stars included in constellations are brighter and more prominent than their surrounding stars.

Many of the constellations were named by the Ancients after old stories or certain beasts they had encountered within the Sea of Thieves. Many, they had interactions with themselves and memorialised them within the stars.

CLICK the constellation name to expand and see more about its history:

• Great Kraken (N)

• • The Old Mother is the mother of all Krakens. Cave paints can be on Devil's Ridge and Cannon Cove depicting the Ancients' struggles with Old Mother as they tried to make offerings to her, as a god of such. This was unsuccessful and so, with the help of the Merfolk, they managed to chain her down with chains of unbreakable properties.

• Sea Queen (NNE)

• • The Sea Queen, a monarch of the Merfolk, was a lover to the Great Warrior. The Sea Queen had a link with Old Mother, but she failed to keep a promise, angering Old Mother and resulting in her feasting on the Merfolk.

• Old Boar (NE)

• • The Ancients used Devil's Ridge as a shrine of such to the Old Boar. They carved the peak of the island to resemble the snout of a boar, and shrines and rock paintings can be found around the island, depicting the Ancients' relationship with this creature. This creature was likely very important to their civilization as some tribes may have relied on it for their food.

• Glimmer Fish (ENE)

• • One of Sudds' journals tells of a Glimmer Fish who was sent on a mission where it met its unfortunate end to a great predator of the sea.

• Great Warrior (E)

• • The Great Warrior of the Ancients had an all-consuming love with the Sea Queen and each was willing to do anything for their love. The Ancients feared for the balance of the Sea of Thieves and sent the High Priest, known as the Singing Snake by the Ancients, to lure the Warrior with the cry of the Sea Queen, to attempt to kill him with the shot of a poison arrow. The Warrior, however, was too powerful and flung the High Priest off a cliff.
    Despite the sacred rules of their civilization, the Sea Queen used a Mermaid Gem to transform the Great Warrior into a Merfolk. This was successful but resulted in a devastating curse being unleashed, known as the Whispering Plague. The curse robbed the Merfolk of their sacred song, warping them in the Siren.

• Courting Crab (ESE)

• • The Courting Crab loved the Sea Queen and defended her beaches covetously.

• Iron Scarab (SE)

• • Depictions of scarab beetles can be found in cave and rock paintings around Crook's Hollow.

• Golden Feather (SSE)

• • To pierce the heart of the hostile Old Mother, the Great Warrior required eight Golden Feathers from Proud Eagle to craft his Obsidian Arrows. Eagle refused and tore at Warrior with his sharp talons, but it was no use. Warrior fled with his golden prizes.

• One-Eye Shark (S)

• • For the Ancients, Shark Bait Cove was used as a tribute to the One-Eye Shark. Depictions of the creature can be found around the island as well as a stone shark carving in the centre.

• Sleeping Bear (SSW)

• • Sleeping Bear: wise old judge, all respect her.

• Obsidian Arrow (SW)

• • The Warrior used eight Golden Feathers from Proud Eagle to craft the Obsidian Arrow. The arrow was used to pierce the heart of Old Mother, assisting in her ultimate chaining.

• Unending Flame (WSW)

• • The Unending Flame was likely the Ancients' analogy for the sun. Without scientific explanation, this was what the sun meant to them.

• Tar-Pitch Boat (W)

• • The Tar-Pitch Boat would have been an important part of Ancient civalistion, crucial in travelling between settlements on different islands around the Sea of Thieves.

• Singing Snake (WNW)

• • The Singing Snake is used in many instances to reference the High Priest of the Ancients. This is likely due to the poison arrow he used as an attempt to take down the Great Warrior. The Warrior, however, was too strong and flung the High Priest off a cliff to his certain doom.
    Rock paints around Snake Island depict Ancient people extracting the venom from snakes. There is also a shrine to their serpent god atop the island, likely a tribute to their past High Priest.

• Proud Eagle (NW)

• • The Proud Eagle never lands. The Great Warrior once required eight Golden Feathers from Proud Eagle to craft his Obsidian Arrows to pierce the heart of the Great Kraken, Old Mother. Eagle refused and tore at Warrior with his unbreakable talons, but it was no use. Warrior fled with his golden prizes.

• Patient Turtle (NNW)

• • The Patient Turtle is said to be the oldest creature in the land, with a back that can raise islands from the deep.

Astronomical bodies

Sun

The Sun always rises in the east at 05:00 and sets in the west at 22:12, leaving 17 hours 12 minutes of sunlight to 6 hours 48 minutes of darkness per day. These times however, are different from the hours for night fishing and Buried Treasures Commendations.

The sky is lit with a warm yellow dawn on the lead up and passing of sunrise. In the evening as the Sun sets, the sky is filled with a striking light as wisps of pink run into a deep orange covering the land and sea. As soon as it drops below the horizon, the world will fall into darkness for the night.

Moon

Full Moon

First Quarter

Waxing Crescent

The Moon rises and sets at the same time every day and can be in the sky at night with partial overlap into daylight hours, hence the chance of a solar eclipse. It is the primary light source at night-time and can be clearly seen reflecting bright white streaks of light on the ocean.

The Moon has many phases from Full Moon to New Moon, of which it changes by the night.

Phenomena

Arora

The arora is a show of natural lights over the night sky which is most prominent between around 00:00 and 03:00 every night and will have fully faded out by 03:45.

It runs in bright, colourful streaks across the sky from the south west to the north east. The change in colours runs perpendicular to the length of the anomaly with a blue and purple mix on the south east, fading into a bright green to the north west edge.

The arora can only be seen from The Shores of Plenty and The Ancient Isles.

Solar eclipse

Roughly every 28 in-game days, a solar eclipse will occur in which the moon partially covers the sun. This is on a rotation and the event always occurs at the same time on every server.

Astronomy and Astronomers in the Sea of Thieves

Sudds

Sudds is the Sea of Thieves' astronomer, stationed at The North Star Seapost. He is obsessed with constellations and the ancient legends behind them, as he claims the stars are his friends. He had previously been a crewmate of Briggsy where he used enchanted spyglasses to observe the stars. Players can now use Sudds' Ancient Spyglass during the Stars of a Thief Tall Tale to better see constellations at both day and night.

Uncharted Island (N-13)

Under the waves at the Uncharted Island (N-13), an underwater archway can be found leading into a water filled tunnel. This tunnel eventually surfaces in an air filled chamber under the island. Here, all 16 constellations are painted onto the stone rock face in a circumference around the room, with the location of each one lining up with their position in the night sky. This area is also used during the Stars of a Thief Tall Tale to slot two Star Jewels into a stone statue.

Observation posts

5 locations set up for stargazing can be found around the Sea of Thieves. These small set-ups include a telescope for stargazing, a bundle of scrolls, a star chart, and a book and ink for jotting down discoveries and findings. They were likely set up by Sudds for his astronomical research as, if the Stars of a Thief Tall Tale is active, one of Sudds' journals can be found at each of these locations.

These locations can be found on the following islands: Rum Runner Isle, Plunder Valley, Snake Island, Devil's Ridge, Crescent Isle.