2026 Ephemeris: Planetary Ingress and Retrograde Dates (UTC)

Quick Answer

This 2026 ephemeris calendar lists sign changes from the Sun through Pluto, planetary retrograde and direct stations, and all four eclipses. Dates use the tropical zodiac and UTC. It is an event calendar, rather than a daily table of every planet's longitude; Moon sign changes and lunar-node ingresses are outside its scope.

The main planetary sign changes are Neptune into Aries on January 26, Saturn into Aries on February 14, Uranus into Gemini on April 26, and Jupiter into Leo on June 30, using our calculation model and UTC dates. Some calendars show February 13 or April 25 because the events occur on the previous evening in the Americas.

Download the free 2026 planetary events CSV for all 49 sign changes, 18 stations, and four eclipses below. For planetary positions at the present moment, use current transits.

For the current planetary positions and upcoming UTC station times, check today’s sky.

Turn an Ingress Date Into Your Chart

An ingress tells you when a planet reaches a sign boundary. The house containing that boundary tells you which part of your chart to examine. For example, Jupiter entering 0° Leo activates whichever house contains 0° Leo in your chart; the house depends on your birth time, place, and house system. Find your Leo house to connect the date to your own chart.

Find One Event or Read Its Meaning

How to Read the Times

The tables are calculated from Natal Echo's astronomy-engine model with geocentric tropical longitudes, using the same calculation routines as our monthly horoscope facts. An ingress is a crossing of a multiple of 30° longitude. A station is where the planet's apparent longitudinal motion changes direction.

Times are model estimates, rounded to the nearest minute for readability; minute display is not a claim of minute-level agreement with every ephemeris. Slow-moving planets are particularly sensitive to small position differences near a boundary or station. The UTC date may differ from the date in your location. For an event close to midnight, compare the timestamp and calculation convention before choosing a calendar date.

Sun Ingresses 2026

Mercury Ingresses 2026

Venus Ingresses 2026

Mars Ingresses 2026

Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto Ingresses 2026

Pluto remains in Aquarius throughout 2026, so it has no sign ingress in this table.

Retrograde and Direct Stations 2026

There is no Mars retrograde station in 2026. Mercury has three retrograde periods; Venus has one, ending on November 14 in UTC.

2026 Eclipses

The time below is the calculated new or full moon, not greatest eclipse. Positions use the Sun for solar eclipses and the Moon for lunar eclipses.

Why Venus Direct Can Be November 13 or November 14

Venus turns direct shortly after midnight UTC on November 14, 2026, at about 22°52′ Libra. The same instant falls on the evening of November 13 in New York. Those two local dates can describe the same event; they are not different retrograde periods. Our model gives approximately 00:21 UTC. Check the calculated station table above and convert from UTC for your location.

Sources and Calculation Checks

The tables are generated from the same longitude and station routines used for Natal Echo's monthly horoscope facts, rather than maintained as separate lists of remembered times. Each SEO build checks that the published tables and CSV still match those calculations.

For an independent check, the U.S. Naval Observatory's 2026 seasons table gives the March equinox at 14:46 UTC on March 20, the June solstice at 08:24 UTC on June 21, the September equinox at 00:05 UTC on September 23, and the December solstice at 20:50 UTC on December 21. Our calculated solar crossings agree within two minutes. These checks do not independently validate every planetary station or ingress to the minute.

Eclipse types and calendar dates can be compared with NASA's solar eclipse catalog and lunar eclipse catalog. NASA's greatest-eclipse time and the exact new/full moon time are different quantities; the table above labels the latter. Zodiac degrees come from our calculation model.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is this a daily 2026 ephemeris?

No. This is the year's ingress, station, and eclipse calendar. It does not list all planetary positions for every day. Use current transits for a present-time planetary-position snapshot.

Are these dates tropical or sidereal?

Tropical. The zodiac begins at the March equinox. A sidereal ephemeris applies a different zodiac reference and can give different sign-entry dates.

Why do Saturn and Uranus have different dates on some calendars?

Time zones can place a near-midnight UTC event on the previous date in the Americas. This table uses February 14 for Saturn's Aries ingress and April 26 for Uranus's Gemini ingress. For smaller timing differences, also check the ephemeris model and coordinate conventions.

When is Mercury retrograde in 2026?

February 26–March 20 in Pisces, June 29–July 23 in Cancer, and October 24–November 13 in Scorpio, using UTC dates. The station table gives each boundary and degree; the Mercury retrograde guide explains the house meanings.

Does this include Moon and lunar-node sign changes?

No. The planetary ingress tables cover the Sun, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. The Moon's frequent sign changes and the distinction between true and mean lunar nodes require separate references. The four eclipses are included in their own table.

How do I see which house an ingress activates?

Calculate your birth chart, locate the sign boundary, and check which house contains it. A solar-sign or whole-sign rising-sign overview is a simplified reference; a birth-time calculation can locate the boundary in a Placidus chart.

Related Guides

• Jupiter house finder
• Uranus in Gemini house finder
• 2026 eclipse calendar
• Mercury retrograde 2026
• How to read your birth chart