How AstroNow Calculates Astrology Data

This page explains exactly what AstroNow computes, how, and where the limits are. We built it so you can check our data rather than take it on faith.

The zodiac system

AstroNow uses the Western tropical zodiac. That means the zodiac circle is fixed to the seasons — 0° Aries is defined by the moment of the March equinox — rather than to the visible constellations. Each of the twelve signs spans exactly 30° of the ecliptic. For every body, we compute its apparent geocentric ecliptic longitude — its direction as seen from the center of the Earth — and place it within that 30° band.

Bodies AstroNow tracks

The site shows the positions of ten classical and modern bodies: the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. We deliberately do not show asteroids, the lunar nodes, Chiron, or an Ascendant, Midheaven, or house system — all of those require an exact birth time and place, and AstroNow shows the shared present-moment sky, the same for every visitor, rather than a personal chart.

How Moon phases are displayed

The Moon phase is computed continuously from the angle between the Sun, Earth, and Moon, then classified into eight named phases across the roughly 29.5-day cycle — new moon, waxing crescent, first quarter, waxing gibbous, full moon, waning gibbous, last quarter, and waning crescent. The Moon phase page always shows the phase that matches the current instant and the nearest upcoming change.

How sign changes (ingresses) are displayed

When a planet’s longitude crosses a 30° sign boundary, it “enters” the next sign — an ingress. AstroNow finds the exact moment of that crossing by progressively narrowing the search window, accurate to the minute. Upcoming ingresses appear on the planet signs page and in the astrology calendar.

How planetary aspects are shown

AstroNow calculates the five classic major aspects — conjunction, sextile, square, trine, and opposition — plus one minor aspect, the quincunx. Each aspect type allows a small deviation from its exact angle (the orb); as long as two planets’ angle falls within that orb, the aspect counts as active. The precise moment an angle becomes exact is found the same way, by narrowing the search window. See the what are planetary aspects guide for what each type traditionally represents.

Retrograde motion and the void-of-course Moon

Retrograde motion is when a planet, seen from Earth, temporarily appears to move backward through the zodiac. AstroNow determines this by comparing a body’s longitude a few hours before and after a given moment: if it has decreased, the motion is flagged retrograde. It is a visual effect of relative orbital speeds, not an actual reversal of the planet’s orbit. The void-of-course Moon is a separate, strictly technical period between the Moon’s last exact major aspect in its current sign and its entry into the next sign.

Timezones

The interactive calendar automatically detects your browser’s timezone and lets you pick a different one manually. Before that detection completes, and on static content pages like this one, times are shown in UTC as a neutral starting point.

Update frequency

Nothing here is published on a schedule or written as a “forecast for the day.” Every page load recalculates planetary positions for the exact moment of your request. Some intermediate results are cached briefly purely for performance, but that never freezes the data — a different moment in time always triggers a fresh calculation.

Limitations

• Tropical zodiac only — no sidereal (Vedic) positions.
• No personal birth charts, Ascendant, or houses — those need a birth date, time, and place, which AstroNow does not collect.
• Positions are geocentric (from Earth’s center), not topocentric or heliocentric.
• Aspect orbs are fixed by us and are not user-adjustable today.
• The interface and content are available only in English and Ukrainian.

Why “for reflection and entertainment”

The astronomical side — planetary positions, Moon phases, event timing — is verifiable calculation. The astrological interpretation placed on those positions — what a given sign, phase, or aspect “means” — is a matter of tradition, not science. Astrology is not scientifically proven, and AstroNow presents all of its astrological content strictly for reflection, entertainment, and informational purposes, with no medical, financial, legal, or psychological claims and no guaranteed outcomes.