The changing sky
The sky on 16 September 1996
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
Virgo
23°53′
The Sun placement provides the seasonal zodiac reference.
Moon
Scorpio
4°37′
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 | Virgo | 23°53′ | Direct |
| Moon | Scorpio | 4°37′ | Direct |
| Mercury | Virgo | 26°00′ | Retrograde |
| Venus | Leo | 10°03′ | Direct |
| Mars | Leo | 4°09′ | Direct |
| Jupiter | Capricorn | 8°05′ | Direct |
| Saturn | Aries | 4°45′ | Retrograde |
| Uranus | Aquarius | 0°51′ | Retrograde |
| Neptune | Capricorn | 25°05′ | Retrograde |
| Pluto | Sagittarius | 0°42′ | 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 2026-11-04T05:55:25.814Z.
Positions use UTC. Your local calendar date can differ near midnight. An archived page uses noon UTC as a shared reference.