Learn · The sky this year

Retrograde planets 2031

Every planet but the Sun and the Moon seems to turn back for part of the year. In 2031 that is Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto, each below to the minute in your own time.

Mercury

Wednesday March 26 to Friday April 18
Turns back Wednesday March 26, 12:44 a.m. UTC, at 19° Aries; turns forward Friday April 18, 11:16 a.m. UTC, at 7° Aries.
Tuesday July 29 to Friday August 22
Turns back Tuesday July 29, 6:48 a.m. UTC, at 26° Leo; turns forward Friday August 22, 4:28 a.m. UTC, at 14° Leo.
Wednesday November 19 to Tuesday December 9
Turns back Wednesday November 19, 9:16 p.m. UTC, at 16° Sagittarius; turns forward Tuesday December 9, 4:23 p.m. UTC, at 29° Scorpio.

Venus

Sunday July 20 to Monday September 1
Turns back Sunday July 20, 5:08 p.m. UTC, at 26° Leo; turns forward Monday September 1, 5:57 p.m. UTC, at 10° Leo.

Mars

Saturday March 29 to Friday June 13
Turns back Saturday March 29, 12:35 a.m. UTC, at 21° Scorpio; turns forward Friday June 13, 11:57 a.m. UTC, at 4° Scorpio.

Jupiter

Tuesday April 15 to Saturday August 16
Turns back Tuesday April 15, 12:04 p.m. UTC, at 28° Sagittarius; turns forward Saturday August 16, 4:59 a.m. UTC, at 19° Sagittarius.

Saturn

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.
Sunday October 5, 2031 to Monday February 16, 2032
Turns back Sunday October 5, 2031, 10:50 a.m. UTC, at 23° Gemini; turns forward Monday February 16, 2032, 7:00 a.m. UTC, at 16° Gemini.

Uranus

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.
Friday October 3, 2031 to Monday March 1, 2032
Turns back Friday October 3, 2031, 2:43 a.m. UTC, at 27° Gemini; turns forward Monday March 1, 2032, 1:35 a.m. UTC, at 23° Gemini.

Neptune

Saturday July 19 to Wednesday December 24
Turns back Saturday July 19, 6:12 a.m. UTC, at 15° Aries; turns forward Wednesday December 24, 7:40 a.m. UTC, at 12° Aries.

Pluto

Wednesday May 14 to Friday October 24
Turns back Wednesday May 14, 8:27 p.m. UTC, at 13° Aquarius; turns forward Friday October 24, 11:14 p.m. UTC, at 11° 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.

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Questions

Which planets are retrograde in 2031?

Mercury, Venus, Mars, 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.