PlanetaryPositionsToday

The Moon moves through its complete cycle roughly every 29.5 days, shifting through eight distinct phases as the geometry between Sun, Earth, and Moon changes. What we call a 'phase' is really just how much of the Moon's sunlit side faces us at any given moment. The positions shown here are calculated in real time from NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory ephemeris data, giving you the Moon's current phase, its ecliptic longitude, and exactly when the next major phase transitions occur. Whether you're tracking transits, planning a shoot around moonlight conditions, or timing your garden planting, this is the live data you need.

Each planet's position is shown here as geocentric ecliptic longitude, which is a fancy way of saying 'where it appears in the zodiac as seen from Earth.' The sign and degree tell you the planet's current placement in the tropical zodiac, while daily motion shows you how fast it's moving. When daily motion goes negative, the planet is in retrograde. Stations Retrograde gives you the next date each planet will appear to reverse course. All positions are computed live from NASA JPL ephemeris data, so what you see here is what's actually happening in the sky right now, not a lookup table from last week.

This strip shows you where every planet sits along the ecliptic right now, laid out across all twelve signs of the tropical zodiac. It's the view from Earth, flattened into a single line so you can see at a glance which signs are crowded with planets and which are empty. When several planets cluster in the same region, astrologers call that a stellium and sky-watchers call it a good night to grab binoculars. Either way, this is where to look.

A planet is retrograde when it appears to move backward through the zodiac from Earth's perspective. It's an optical illusion created by orbital mechanics, but it's one that astrologers have tracked for thousands of years. Mercury retrogrades get the most attention, but every planet except the Sun and Moon stations retrograde on a regular cycle. The left column shows you what's retrograde right now. The right column shows you when each planet next changes direction. Currently, Saturn, Neptune and Pluto are retrograde. Mercury's next retrograde begins October 24, so you've got a couple of months to sign your contracts and buy your laptops.