The Sky on a Date

Where Were the Planets on December 31, 1978?

Quick Answer

On December 31, 1978, the Sun was in Capricorn (9°27' at noon UTC), the Moon moved from Capricorn into Aquarius, and the Moon phase was Waxing Crescent (4% illuminated). Jupiter and Saturn were retrograde.

Mercury met Neptune in Sagittarius. Intuition is strong and facts are slippery. Good for poetry, bad for paperwork. Mercury sextiled Pluto.

Planetary Positions at Noon UTC

Signs and degrees at 12:00 UTC on December 31, 1978. The Moon moves about 13 degrees a day, from 25°39' Capricorn at midnight UTC to 10°44' Aquarius at the end of the day.

Planetary positions on December 31, 1978
Body	Position	Motion	In Sign Since	Next Sign Change
Sun	9°27'20" Capricorn	Direct	Dec 22, 1978	Jan 20, 1979 into Aquarius
Moon	3°13'29" Aquarius	Direct	Dec 31, 1978	Jan 2, 1979 into Pisces
Mercury	18°28'28" Sagittarius	Direct	Nov 3, 1978	Jan 8, 1979 into Capricorn
Venus	23°58'31" Scorpio	Direct	Sep 7, 1978	Jan 7, 1979 into Sagittarius
Mars	14°19'11" Capricorn	Direct	Dec 12, 1978	Jan 20, 1979 into Aquarius
Jupiter	7°02'50" Leo	Retrograde	Sep 5, 1978	Feb 28, 1979 into Cancer
Saturn	13°53'51" Virgo	Retrograde	Jul 26, 1978	Sep 21, 1980 into Libra
Uranus	19°40'27" Scorpio	Direct	Sep 8, 1975	Feb 17, 1981 into Sagittarius
Neptune	18°48'38" Sagittarius	Direct	Nov 6, 1970	Jan 19, 1984 into Capricorn
Pluto	19°05'22" Libra	Direct	Jul 30, 1972	Nov 5, 1983 into Scorpio
North Node	21°15'11" Virgo	Direct	Jul 19, 1978	Feb 5, 1980 into Leo

Sky Events on December 31, 1978

The Moon phase is Waxing Crescent, 4% illuminated at noon UTC.

Date	Event	Detail
Dec 31, 06:52 UTC	The Moon enters Aquarius	Leaves Capricorn
Dec 31, 18:28 UTC	Mercury conjunct Neptune	Intuition is strong and facts are slippery. Good for poetry, bad for paperwork.
Dec 31, 23:35 UTC	Mercury sextile Pluto	Penetrating focus. Good for investigation and frank talks.

Born on December 31, 1978?

Mercury and Neptune sat less than a degree apart in Sagittarius, a close conjunction shared by every chart from that day.

Planet signs are only part of the picture. Your rising sign changes about every two hours and the Moon moves half a degree an hour, so your exact birth time and place decide your houses, angles and Moon degree.

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