How to use the online alarm clock
Keep watching the clock as you wait to observe the meteor shower above the heathland at 4:34 am. The alarm marks the moment you have chosen, so you can look away from the time and let your eyes adjust to the dark sky. If cloud interrupts the view, 5:00 am provides a natural point to reassess the conditions without repeatedly checking your phone.
Your vigil depends on the alarm page remaining active after it has been set. Closing its tab or browser stops the alarm, so it cannot alert you when the meteor shower reaches the moment you planned to watch; a phone or laptop that goes to sleep may also silence it. Keep the page open, leave the sound audible and prevent the screen from sleeping. A brief sound check beforehand confirms that the volume is sufficient outdoors.
Waiting on exposed heathland before dawn can feel unexpectedly warm after a walk, while a car’s air conditioning may make the return indoors sharply cool. At 4:34 am, use a light layer that can be removed during the wait and put back on before entering an air-conditioned vehicle. Keep vents directed away from your face and hands, especially after standing still in the night air.
Common questions
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.
Can I use this on a phone?
It works in a mobile browser, but phones lock the screen and suspend background tabs far more readily than a laptop does, which can stop the alarm sounding. For anything important, a desktop or a plugged-in laptop is the steadier option.
Does the alarm still work if I close the tab?
No. Everything runs inside this page, so closing the tab — or quitting the browser altogether — ends the countdown there and then. Leaving it open in the background is all it asks, and switching to another tab makes no difference.
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