Extract the claim before interpreting it
Write down the date, local clock time, named place, facility, address, and wording exactly as the source gives them. Keep transcription separate from normalization.
Resolve time and place independently
A historical place name may need geospatial research; a historical clock time may need civil-time research. Do not let certainty in one dimension hide uncertainty in the other.
Sources: IANA — Theory and pragmatics of the tz database · U.S. Geological Survey — Historical Topographic Map Collection
Use dated maps to stabilize vanished locations
Sanborn maps, USGS historical maps, property records, and institutional plans can connect an old address or facility name to a present-day coordinate system.
Sources: Library of Congress — Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps · U.S. Geological Survey — topoView
Then calculate the sky
Once the instant and observer point are defensible, astronomical tools can generate observer-centered positions for the requested bodies.
Sources: NASA/JPL — Horizons System Manual · U.S. Naval Observatory — Computing Altitude and Azimuth