The night sky on the night of Nixon's resignation speech — 8 August 1974

At 9 p.m. on 8 August 1974 Richard Nixon told the nation, in a televised address from the Oval Office, that he would resign the presidency, facing near-certain impeachment over the Watergate scandal. His resignation took effect at noon the next day, and Gerald Ford was sworn in as president.

The sky over the White House, Washington, D.C., USA

This is the real sky above the White House, Washington, D.C., USA (38.90°N, 77.04°W) on 8 August 1974 at 21:00 EDT (UTC−4) — the start of the address (1974-08-09 01:00 UTC). The Sun was 9° below the horizon: twilight was fading and the stars were coming out. The Moon (waning gibbous, 71% lit) was below the horizon. Planets above the horizon: Mars (2° in the west). Brightest named stars up: Arcturus, Vega, Altair, Spica and Antares.

Star map of the sky over the White House, Washington, D.C., USA on 8 August 1974 at 21:00 Mars ArcturusVegaAltairSpicaAntaresDenebShaulaAlioth NSEW
797 stars brighter than magnitude 5 above the horizon, with the constellation figures. Look up: north at the top, east on the left.

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