The sky on January 29, 1998 — as it really was
That day the Sun stood in Capricornus, while the horoscope says "Aquarius". The gap is 23.8° of precession.
Bodies on the ecliptic (noon UTC)
- ☉︎ Sun — 309.4° · sign Aquarius · constellation Capricornus
- ☽︎ Moon — 326.3° · sign Aquarius · constellation Capricornus
- ☿︎ Mercury — 293.6° · sign Capricorn · constellation Sagittarius
- ♀︎ Venus — 289.6° · sign Capricorn · constellation Sagittarius
- ♂︎ Mars — 333.2° · sign Pisces · constellation Aquarius
- ♃︎ Jupiter — 328.6° · sign Aquarius · constellation Aquarius
- ♄︎ Saturn — 15.2° · sign Aries · constellation Pisces
- ☽︎ Moon 2% 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, 2% lit; the Moon was 364,629 km away.
astronomy-engine - How far Earth has travelled since [EXACT]
28.7 orbits of the Sun — 26,953 million km, that is 35,059 return trips to the Moon; 10,475 rotations of Earth; with the Sun — 208.2 billion km around the Galactic centre, 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 333 million km away; today it is 245 million km (closer by 1.4×).
astronomy-engine; checked against JPL Horizons for 2026-09-14 - Solar cycle [ESTIMATE]
That day fell in solar cycle 23, right at the minimum (12% through the cycle).
SILSO smoothed minima - When the sky repeats [EXACT]
Mars returns to that day’s point of its orbit on March 4, 2028; Jupiter — in 2034; a full moon exactly on this date — January 29, 2040
sidereal periods: Mars 686.98 d, Jupiter 11.862 yr - How far the sky has drifted since [EXACT]
The vernal point has shifted 1,440″ since that day; the real constellations now sit 23.8° away from the astrologers’ “signs”.
precession 50.29″/yr - Picture of the day [EXACT]
NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day for this date: apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap980129.html
NASA APOD
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