The sky on August 16, 1945 — as it really was
That day the Sun stood in Leo — sign and constellation agree here.
Bodies on the ecliptic (noon UTC)
- ☉︎ Sun — 143.2° · sign Leo · constellation Leo
- ☽︎ Moon — 238.5° · sign Scorpio · constellation Libra
- ☿︎ Mercury — 150.7° · sign Virgo · constellation Leo
- ♀︎ Venus — 103.7° · sign Cancer · constellation Gemini
- ♂︎ Mars — 76.1° · sign Gemini · constellation Taurus
- ♃︎ Jupiter — 178.3° · sign Virgo · constellation Virgo
- ♄︎ Saturn — 109.5° · sign Cancer · constellation Gemini
- ☽︎ Moon 55% illuminated
astronomy-engine ephemerides (VSOP87/ELP), IAU 1930 constellation boundaries. Positions accurate to a fraction of a degree.
The day’s dossier, from real data
Checkable facts with a tag and a source; the classical reading is in the chart.
- The Moon that day [EXACT]
first quarter, 55% lit; the Moon was 401,437 km away.
astronomy-engine - How far Earth has travelled since [EXACT]
81.1 orbits of the Sun — 76,252 million km, that is 99,183 return trips to the Moon; 29,636 rotations of Earth; with the Sun — 588.9 billion km around the Galactic centre, 22.7 light-days.
29.78 km/s along the orbit; 230 km/s around the Galactic centre - Mars then and now [EXACT]
On that day Mars was 224 million km away; today it is 244 million km (farther by 1.1×).
astronomy-engine; checked against JPL Horizons for 2026-09-14 - When the sky repeats [EXACT]
Mars returns to that day’s point of its orbit on May 19, 2028; Jupiter — in 2028; a full moon exactly on this date — August 16, 2065
sidereal periods: Mars 686.98 d, Jupiter 11.862 yr - How far the sky has drifted since [EXACT]
The vernal point has shifted 4,068″ since that day; the real constellations now sit 23.1° away from the astrologers’ “signs”.
precession 50.29″/yr
Other dates
Computed from the date only; nothing about you is stored.