Learn · The sky this year

Retrograde planets 2026

Every planet but the Sun and the Moon seems to turn back for part of the year. In 2026 that is Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto, each below to the minute in your own time.

Mercury

Thursday February 26 to Friday March 20
Turns back Thursday February 26, 6:48 a.m. UTC, at 22° Pisces; turns forward Friday March 20, 7:33 p.m. UTC, at 8° Pisces.
Monday June 29 to Thursday July 23
Turns back Monday June 29, 5:36 p.m. UTC, at 26° Cancer; turns forward Thursday July 23, 10:58 p.m. UTC, at 16° Cancer.
Saturday October 24 to Friday November 13
Turns back Saturday October 24, 7:13 a.m. UTC, at 20° Scorpio; turns forward Friday November 13, 3:54 p.m. UTC, at 5° Scorpio.

Venus

Saturday October 3 to Saturday November 14
Turns back Saturday October 3, 7:16 a.m. UTC, at 8° Scorpio; turns forward Saturday November 14, 12:27 a.m. UTC, at 22° Libra.

Jupiter

Tuesday November 11, 2025 to Wednesday March 11, 2026
Turns back Tuesday November 11, 2025, 4:41 p.m. UTC, at 25° Cancer; turns forward Wednesday March 11, 2026, 3:30 a.m. UTC, at 15° Cancer.
Sunday December 13, 2026 to Tuesday April 13, 2027
Turns back Sunday December 13, 2026, 12:57 a.m. UTC, at 27° Leo; turns forward Tuesday April 13, 2027, 2:11 a.m. UTC, at 16° Leo.

Saturn

Sunday July 26 to Thursday December 10
Turns back Sunday July 26, 7:56 p.m. UTC, at 14° Aries; turns forward Thursday December 10, 11:31 p.m. UTC, at 7° Aries.

Uranus

Saturday September 6, 2025 to Wednesday February 4, 2026
Turns back Saturday September 6, 2025, 4:51 a.m. UTC, at 1° Gemini; turns forward Wednesday February 4, 2026, 2:33 a.m. UTC, at 27° Taurus.
Thursday September 10, 2026 to Monday February 8, 2027
Turns back Thursday September 10, 2026, 6:27 p.m. UTC, at 5° Gemini; turns forward Monday February 8, 2027, 12:30 p.m. UTC, at 1° Gemini.

Neptune

Tuesday July 7 to Saturday December 12
Turns back Tuesday July 7, 10:55 a.m. UTC, at 4° Aries; turns forward Saturday December 12, 10:18 p.m. UTC, at 1° Aries.

Pluto

Wednesday May 6 to Friday October 16
Turns back Wednesday May 6, 3:34 p.m. UTC, at 5° Aquarius; turns forward Friday October 16, 2:40 a.m. UTC, at 3° Aquarius.

Times are shown in your own time zone once the page has loaded, and in Universal Time before. Every moment is measured from NASA JPL’s ephemeris.

Add to your calendar

New and full Moons, eclipses, retrograde turns and the Sun’s new signs, each at its minute in your own time.

Membership

The days that matter, in your own chart

Every Sunday, the week ahead read against your chart, with the day each contact is exact. Before each month, a longer look.

See the membership

Questions

Which planets are retrograde in 2026?

Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. The outer planets, Jupiter to Pluto, are retrograde for four to five months of every year; Mercury three or four times for about three weeks, Venus and Mars less often.

What is a retrograde planet?

A planet that looks, from Earth, as if it has stopped and is moving backwards against the stars. None of them really reverses: it is the view from a moving Earth as it passes them, or they pass it.

What does a retrograde planet mean in a birth chart?

A planet that was retrograde when you were born is read as turned inward: what it stands for is worked out privately first and shown later. Your free chart marks each one.