How to use the online alarm clock
Pausing your meteor-shower watch at 2:02 am can be harder than expected when another bright streak may appear at any moment. Set the alarm for the point when you need to leave the heath, pack your flask and binoculars, or start walking back. With 3:00 am still ahead, the chosen time gives you a clear boundary without repeatedly checking your phone beneath the dark sky.
While you continue watching the meteor shower, check whether your phone is in silent mode and raise the media volume enough for the alarm to be heard outdoors. A quick sound test before putting the phone in a pocket can prevent confusion between muted audio and a missed alert. The alarm cannot interrupt your meteor-shower session if its browser has been closed or the phone has gone to sleep, so keep the page active and the handset awake until 2:02 am.
Leaving a heath in the middle of the night often involves an unlit track before the main road, and that first section may take longer than it did in daylight. Allow extra walking time, keep a torch within reach, and check the route before reception becomes patchy. At this hour, roads may be quiet but rural bends, gates and livestock can still slow the journey, so base your departure on the actual trip back rather than daytime timing.
Common questions
What happens if my laptop goes to sleep before 2:02 am?
The tab sleeps along with it and the alarm will not sound on time, if at all. If you are relying on it, change the power settings so the machine stays awake, or keep a phone alarm running as well.
Do I need an account or an app?
Neither. Choose a time and a sound, press Start, and it runs in this browser tab. Nothing is downloaded, nothing is registered, and closing the page leaves nothing behind on the device.
Can I change the sound?
Yes, there is a short list of tones to pick from before you press Start. Softer sounds are easy to sleep through, so a firmer bell tends to be the safer choice for anything early in the morning.
Will it still be right when the clocks change?
Yes. It reads your device's local clock, so the move between GMT and BST at the end of March and October is picked up automatically, as long as the computer's date, time and time zone are set correctly.
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