Retrograde periods in 2026: calendar

A period may have begun in the previous year. The reference therefore includes motion on 1 January and every subsequent station in 2026. “Retrograde” means decreasing geocentric zodiacal longitude, not a planet reversing its orbit.

Calculated reference, 7 September 2026. Astronomy Engine 2.1.19; apparent geocentric ecliptic longitude of date, tropical zodiac. Dates are approximate and shown in Europe/Sofia. Station times use a numerical change in longitude; eclipse dates use the global peak. This is not a local observing timetable.

A change to “retrograde” and the following change to “direct” bound a retrograde interval. If the next station falls outside the year, the table does not invent an end on 31 December. No listed station means the direction did not change during this calendar year.

The table does not add so-called shadow periods, which use a different definition: repeated passage through the degrees between stations. This calendar describes motion. It is not a list of forbidden dates for communication, travel or decisions.