The Sky on a Date

Where Were the Planets on December 31, 2016?

Quick Answer

On December 31, 2016, the Sun was in Capricorn (10°14' at noon UTC), the Moon moved from Capricorn into Aquarius, and the Moon phase was Waxing Crescent (5% illuminated). Mercury was retrograde.

A quiet day in the sky: no planet changed sign or direction, and no exact planetary aspects formed.

Planetary Positions at Noon UTC

Signs and degrees at 12:00 UTC on December 31, 2016. The Moon moves about 13 degrees a day, from 29°13' Capricorn at midnight UTC to 11°50' Aquarius at the end of the day.

Planetary positions on December 31, 2016
Body	Position	Motion	In Sign Since	Next Sign Change
Sun	10°14'44" Capricorn	Direct	Dec 21, 2016	Jan 19, 2017 into Aquarius
Moon	5°30'52" Aquarius	Direct	Dec 31, 2016	Jan 2, 2017 into Pisces
Mercury	3°52'43" Capricorn	Retrograde	Dec 2, 2016	Jan 4, 2017 into Sagittarius
Venus	26°56'55" Aquarius	Direct	Dec 7, 2016	Jan 3, 2017 into Pisces
Mars	9°08'46" Pisces	Direct	Dec 19, 2016	Jan 28, 2017 into Aries
Jupiter	21°05'38" Libra	Direct	Sep 9, 2016	Oct 10, 2017 into Scorpio
Saturn	21°18'49" Sagittarius	Direct	Sep 18, 2015	Dec 20, 2017 into Capricorn
Uranus	20°33'36" Aries	Direct	Mar 12, 2011	May 15, 2018 into Taurus
Neptune	9°43'38" Pisces	Direct	Feb 3, 2012	Mar 30, 2025 into Aries
Pluto	16°55'31" Capricorn	Direct	Nov 27, 2008	Mar 23, 2023 into Aquarius
North Node	6°15'17" Virgo	Direct	Oct 10, 2015	Apr 28, 2017 into Leo

Sky Events on December 31, 2016

The Moon phase is Waxing Crescent, 5% illuminated at noon UTC.

Date	Event	Detail
Dec 31, 01:28 UTC	The Moon enters Aquarius	Leaves Capricorn

Born on December 31, 2016?

The Sun, Mercury and Pluto were all in Capricorn, so everyone born that day is a Capricorn several times over. Mars and Neptune sat less than a degree apart in Pisces, 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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