The New York Times, March 30, 1981. Web. September 30, 2015.) Until April 7, 1981, the planets and the Sun continued to move closer in alignment. According to Tom Lisser, "the closest we came to an exact syzygy was when everyone was within 2 degrees of arc of a perfect straight line." With this being the first major syzygy in 179 years, no one knew what might happen or what to expect. Many people were worried and needed their questions