On April 12, 1981, the Sun was in Pisces, Mars was 361 million km from Earth in Pisces, Jupiter was in Virgo, and the Moon was 55% lit.
Time machine
April 12, 1981: The first Space Shuttle launch
Enter any date since 1900, such as your birthday, to see where every planet was, what the Moon looked like, and what happened in space that day.
Planetary positions · 12:00 UTC
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Rewinding the solar systemTap to skip
Looking down on the solar system. True angles; ring spacing compressed so all eight planets fit.
The sky that day
Moon
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Artemis Accords that day
Planet data
Distances are true 3D values
Planet
From the Sun
From Earth
Light time
Constellation
Visibility
Computed from NASA JPL orbital elements. Constellations follow the official IAU boundaries along the ecliptic, including Ophiuchus. This is astronomy, not astrology.
On this exact date
Orbital launches that day
This day in space history
NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day
NASA has published a space image every day since June 1995.