Learn · The sky this year

Retrograde planets 2030

Every planet but the Sun and the Moon seems to turn back for part of the year. In 2030 that is Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto, each below to the minute in your own time.

Mercury

Saturday December 22, 2029 to Friday January 11, 2030
Turns back Saturday December 22, 2029, 5:51 a.m. UTC, at 17° Capricorn; turns forward Friday January 11, 2030, 5:45 a.m. UTC, at 1° Capricorn.
Saturday April 13 to Monday May 6
Turns back Saturday April 13, 2:33 a.m. UTC, at 7° Taurus; turns forward Monday May 6, 8:15 p.m. UTC, at 27° Aries.
Friday August 16 to Sunday September 8
Turns back Friday August 16, 1:20 a.m. UTC, at 14° Virgo; turns forward Sunday September 8, 9:28 a.m. UTC, at 1° Virgo.
Friday December 6 to Wednesday December 25
Turns back Friday December 6, 2:47 a.m. UTC, at 1° Capricorn; turns forward Wednesday December 25, 9:14 p.m. UTC, at 15° Sagittarius.

Venus

Sunday December 16, 2029 to Saturday January 26, 2030
Turns back Sunday December 16, 2029, 11:48 p.m. UTC, at 24° Capricorn; turns forward Saturday January 26, 2030, 9:33 p.m. UTC, at 8° Capricorn.

Jupiter

Wednesday March 13 to Monday July 15
Turns back Wednesday March 13, 2:33 p.m. UTC, at 27° Scorpio; turns forward Monday July 15, 1:26 a.m. UTC, at 17° Scorpio.

Saturn

Thursday September 6, 2029 to Saturday January 19, 2030
Turns back Thursday September 6, 2029, 8:34 a.m. UTC, at 25° Taurus; turns forward Saturday January 19, 2030, 3:54 a.m. UTC, at 18° Taurus.
Friday September 20, 2030 to Sunday February 2, 2031
Turns back Friday September 20, 2030, 9:30 p.m. UTC, at 8° Gemini; turns forward Sunday February 2, 2031, 2:25 a.m. UTC, at 1° Gemini.

Uranus

Sunday September 23, 2029 to Wednesday February 20, 2030
Turns back Sunday September 23, 2029, 4:22 p.m. UTC, at 18° Gemini; turns forward Wednesday February 20, 2030, 11:23 p.m. UTC, at 14° Gemini.
Saturday September 28, 2030 to Tuesday February 25, 2031
Turns back Saturday September 28, 2030, 8:27 a.m. UTC, at 22° Gemini; turns forward Tuesday February 25, 2031, 11:24 a.m. UTC, at 18° Gemini.

Neptune

Tuesday July 16 to Saturday December 21
Turns back Tuesday July 16, 4:28 p.m. UTC, at 13° Aries; turns forward Saturday December 21, 8:40 p.m. UTC, at 10° Aries.

Pluto

Sunday May 12 to Wednesday October 23
Turns back Sunday May 12, 11:12 p.m. UTC, at 12° Aquarius; turns forward Wednesday October 23, 3:06 a.m. UTC, at 9° 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 2030?

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.