The sky on July 21, 1973 — as it really was
That day the Sun stood in Cancer — sign and constellation agree here.
Bodies on the ecliptic (noon UTC)
- ☉︎ Sun — 118.6° · sign Cancer · constellation Cancer
- ☽︎ Moon — 7.8° · sign Aries · constellation Pisces
- ☿︎ Mercury — 116.5° · sign Cancer · constellation Gemini
- ♀︎ Venus — 145.7° · sign Leo · constellation Leo
- ♂︎ Mars — 18.9° · sign Aries · constellation Pisces
- ♃︎ Jupiter — 308.4° · sign Aquarius · constellation Capricornus
- ♄︎ Saturn — 88.7° · sign Gemini · constellation Orion
- ☽︎ Moon 68% 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]
last quarter, 68% lit; the Moon was 384,255 km away.
astronomy-engine - How far Earth has travelled since [EXACT]
53.2 orbits of the Sun — 50,001 million km, that is 65,038 return trips to the Moon; 19,433 rotations of Earth; with the Sun — 386.2 billion km around the Galactic centre, 14.9 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 117 million km away; today it is 246 million km (farther by 2.1×).
astronomy-engine; checked against JPL Horizons for 2026-09-14 - Solar cycle [ESTIMATE]
That day fell in solar cycle 20, on the decline (77% through the cycle).
SILSO smoothed minima - When the sky repeats [EXACT]
Mars returns to that day’s point of its orbit on February 5, 2028; Jupiter — in 2032.
sidereal periods: Mars 686.98 d, Jupiter 11.862 yr - How far the sky has drifted since [EXACT]
The vernal point has shifted 2,664″ 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.