Sky on July 31, 2016: where the Sun, Moon and planets really were

The real sky on July 31, 2016: Sun in Cancer (horoscope says "Leo"), Moon 7% lit, planet positions from ephemerides.

The sky on July 31, 2016 — as it really was

That day the Sun stood in Cancer, while the horoscope says "Leo". The gap is 24.1° 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]
waning crescent, 7% lit; the Moon was 374,481 km away.
astronomy-engine
How far Earth has travelled since [EXACT]
10.2 orbits of the Sun — 9,564 million km, that is 12,440 return trips to the Moon; 3,717 rotations of Earth; with the Sun — 73.9 billion km around the Galactic centre, 2.9 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 108 million km away; today it is 245 million km (farther by 2.3×).
astronomy-engine; checked against JPL Horizons for 2026-09-14
Solar cycle [ESTIMATE]
That day fell in solar cycle 24, on the decline (70% through the cycle).
SILSO smoothed minima
When the sky repeats [EXACT]
Mars returns to that day’s point of its orbit on November 13, 2027; Jupiter — in 2028; a full moon exactly on this date — July 31, 2034
sidereal periods: Mars 686.98 d, Jupiter 11.862 yr
How far the sky has drifted since [EXACT]
The vernal point has shifted 504″ since that day; the real constellations now sit 24.1° 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/ap160731.html
NASA APOD

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