The night sky on your birthday: July 16
July 16 is day 198 of the year. Here is what the sky holds for everyone born on it — and a way to get the real sky above the exact place and hour you were born.
The Sun's constellation on July 16
On your birthday the Sun stands in front of Gemini, even though horoscopes call July 16 Cancer: the zodiac signs were fixed about 2,000 years ago and the sky has drifted since (precession of the equinoxes). Because the Sun is in Gemini, that constellation is hidden in daylight on your birthday: you see it best around six months later.
Overhead at midnight on July 16
- Northern hemisphere (40°N — New York, Madrid, Beijing): Cygnus, Lyra, Vulpecula and Hercules; brightest stars high up: Vega (79°), Deneb (77°) and Altair (59°).
- Southern hemisphere (40°S — Melbourne, Buenos Aires region, Wellington): Sagittarius, Corona Australis, Indus and Telescopium; brightest stars high up: Antares (49°), Fomalhaut (48°) and Rigil Kentaurus (42°).
Meteor showers around July 16
No major annual meteor shower is active on this date — the sky is all stars and planets.
The Moon on your next birthday
On the evening of July 16, 2027 the Moon will be waxing gibbous (97% lit): bright moonlight will wash out the faint stars.
The exact sky of the night you were born
These are averages for a latitude. Your own sky depends on the city, the year and the hour: Firmament draws the real stars, constellations, Moon and planets above your birthplace at your birth time, as a print-ready A3 poster — $4.99, delivered instantly as a PDF.
Make the sky of the night you were born — $4.99
Set your year and city on the next page; the day and month are already filled in.