Sky on December 31, 1973: where the Sun, Moon and planets really were

The real sky on December 31, 1973: Sun in Sagittarius (horoscope says "Capricorn"), Moon 37% lit, planet positions from ephemerides.

The sky on December 31, 1973 — as it really was

That day the Sun stood in Sagittarius, while the horoscope says "Capricorn". The gap is 23.5° of precession.

astronomy-engine ephemerides (VSOP87/ELP), IAU 1930 constellation boundaries. Positions accurate to a fraction of a degree.

Checkable facts with a tag and a source; the classical reading is in the chart.

The Moon that day [EXACT]
first quarter, 37% lit; the Moon was 393,707 km away.
astronomy-engine
How far Earth has travelled since [EXACT]
52.8 orbits of the Sun — 49,585 million km, that is 64,497 return trips to the Moon; 19,271 rotations of Earth; with the Sun — 383 billion km around the Galactic centre, 14.8 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 126 million km away; today it is 244 million km (farther by 1.9×).
astronomy-engine; checked against JPL Horizons for 2026-09-14
Solar cycle [ESTIMATE]
That day fell in solar cycle 20, on the decline (81% through the cycle).
SILSO smoothed minima
When the sky repeats [EXACT]
Mars returns to that day’s point of its orbit on July 17, 2028; Jupiter — in 2032; a full moon exactly on this date — December 30, 2039
sidereal periods: Mars 686.98 d, Jupiter 11.862 yr
How far the sky has drifted since [EXACT]
The vernal point has shifted 2,628″ since that day; the real constellations now sit 23.5° away from the astrologers’ “signs”.
precession 50.29″/yr

Computed from the date only; nothing about you is stored.