The changing sky
The sky on 17 December 1981
Planetary positions in the tropical zodiac. These are shared sky conditions; a personal transit also depends on your birth chart.
Positions at · Daily reference at noon UTC
Sun
Sagittarius
25°28′
The Sun placement provides the seasonal zodiac reference.
Moon
Virgo
16°43′
The Moon placement changes through the day. The time shown belongs to this snapshot.
The full snapshot
Where the planets are
| Body | Sign | Degree | Motion |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sun | Sagittarius | 25°28′ | Direct |
| Moon | Virgo | 16°43′ | Direct |
| Mercury | Sagittarius | 29°19′ | Direct |
| Venus | Aquarius | 5°07′ | Direct |
| Mars | Libra | 0°41′ | Direct |
| Jupiter | Scorpio | 3°46′ | Direct |
| Saturn | Libra | 20°32′ | Direct |
| Uranus | Sagittarius | 1°53′ | Direct |
| Neptune | Sagittarius | 24°36′ | Direct |
| Pluto | Libra | 26°23′ | Direct |
See Moon phases and the lunar calendar
What retrograde describes
A retrograde label means the planet's zodiac longitude is decreasing from Earth's viewpoint. It describes apparent motion, not a prediction about your day.
Make the comparison personal
Your birth chart provides the natal placements used for a personal transit comparison. A sky snapshot alone cannot establish which contacts apply to you.
Calculation details
apparent geocentric ecliptic of date · tropical zodiac
Ephemeris: astronomy-engine 2.1.19. Computed 2026-11-05T14:59:45.905Z.
Positions use UTC. Your local calendar date can differ near midnight. An archived page uses noon UTC as a shared reference.