The sky on August 21, 1971 — as it really was
That day the Sun stood in Leo — sign and constellation agree here.
Bodies on the ecliptic (noon UTC)
- ☉︎ Sun — 147.8° · sign Leo · constellation Leo
- ☽︎ Moon — 153.9° · sign Virgo · constellation Leo
- ☿︎ Mercury — 157.1° · sign Virgo · constellation Sextans
- ♀︎ Venus — 146.1° · sign Leo · constellation Leo
- ♂︎ Mars — 314.2° · sign Aquarius · constellation Capricornus
- ♃︎ Jupiter — 237.7° · sign Scorpio · constellation Libra
- ♄︎ Saturn — 65.8° · sign Gemini · constellation Taurus
- ☽︎ Moon 0% 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]
new moon, 0% lit; the Moon was 401,361 km away.
astronomy-engine - How far Earth has travelled since [EXACT]
55.1 orbits of the Sun — 51,802 million km, that is 67,380 return trips to the Moon; 20,133 rotations of Earth; with the Sun — 400.1 billion km around the Galactic centre, 15.4 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 57 million km away; today it is 246 million km (farther by 4.3×).
astronomy-engine; checked against JPL Horizons for 2026-09-14 - Solar cycle [ESTIMATE]
That day fell in solar cycle 20, on the decline (60% through the cycle).
SILSO smoothed minima - When the sky repeats [EXACT]
Mars returns to that day’s point of its orbit on January 23, 2028; Jupiter — in 2030; a full moon exactly on this date — August 21, 2032
sidereal periods: Mars 686.98 d, Jupiter 11.862 yr - How far the sky has drifted since [EXACT]
The vernal point has shifted 2,772″ since that day; the real constellations now sit 23.5° away from the astrologers’ “signs”.
precession 50.29″/yr
Other dates
Computed from the date only; nothing about you is stored.