Too long;
didn’t read.
The internet has too many blogs, too many reviews, too many opinions. otldr publishes structured facts instead. One focused site per topic. Measured, not reviewed.
Today’s sky
Full sky map →Computed with Astronomy Engine for August 28, 2026 at 08:49 UTC. Refreshes hourly. Positions, not predictions.
100% illuminated · in Pisces ♓
5° of Virgo
3 of 8 planets apparently moving backward
- Sun♍ Virgo
- Moon♓ Pisces
- Mercury♍ Virgo
- Venus♎ Libra
- Mars♋ Cancer
- Jupiter♌ Leo
- Saturn♈ Aries℞
- Uranus♊ Gemini
- Neptune♈ Aries℞
- Pluto♒ Aquarius℞
Live verticals
Reference
All references →The tl;dr of a topic - a short summary, the facts in a table, the sources, the date we checked them. Measured, not reviewed.
- The 12 zodiac signs at a glance
Twelve signs split the tropical zodiac into 30° each, anchored to the seasons, not the constellations.
- The planets at a glance
Astrology uses ten bodies: the Sun and Moon (the luminaries) plus Mercury through Pluto.
- The Moon phase cycle, explained
Phases come from the changing angle between Sun, Earth and Moon - not from Earth's shadow.
- Mercury retrograde in 2026
Mercury appears to reverse direction three times in 2026: late Feb–Mar, late Jun–Jul, and Oct–Nov.
- Full and new moons in 2026
2026 has 13 full moons and 12 new moons - January gets two full moons, so it includes a 'blue moon'.
- Astrology vs astronomy: the difference
Astronomy is a natural science; astrology is a cultural and symbolic system. They share history, not method.
The premise
One topic per site. No mixed-domain blogs. Astronomy and astrology reference live on astro.otldr.com, the next vertical on its own subdomain. The URL tells you what you’re going to read before you click.
Measured, not reviewed. Public, sourced facts. No five-star opinions, no ranked top-tens, no affiliate recommendations dressed as advice.
One publisher. Same brand, same contact, same policies across every subdomain. The humans behind astro.otldr.com are the same ones behind every vertical we add.