{"id":14850,"date":"2022-07-03T05:00:17","date_gmt":"2022-07-03T03:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sciencefocus.com\/?p=122878"},"modified":"2022-07-03T05:21:14","modified_gmt":"2022-07-03T03:21:14","slug":"retrograde-motion-of-the-planets-everything-you-need-to-know","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/rss_feed\/retrograde-motion-of-the-planets-everything-you-need-to-know\/","title":{"rendered":"Retrograde motion of the planets: Everything you need to know"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Holly Spanner\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Sunday, 03 July 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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When planets in our Solar System go into retrograde, you\u2019ll often hear them being blamed as the source of a person\u2019s woes, restlessness, burnout or, more optimistically, representing a time for reflection. In reality, however, there is very little scientific evidence that any of the planets going into retrograde will have a tangible effect on our lives.<\/p>\n

Whether or not you believe this, planets going into retrograde is a common and regular occurrence, and in September 2022, there will be three planets in retrograde at the same time\u2026 four if you include Pluto.<\/p>\n

But what exactly does retrograde mean? What planets are in retrograde right now? And what causes the apparent retrograde motion of the planets? Answers to these questions, and more, are below.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re looking forward to breathing in the night air this year, we\u2019ve put together this full Moon UK calendar<\/a> and astronomy for beginners<\/a> guide to help you plan ahead. There are also regular meteor showers every year and we\u2019ve rounded them all up in this handy meteor shower calendar<\/a>.<\/p>\n

What is retrograde?<\/h2>\n

The planets move from west to east across the night sky.<\/p>\n

All the planets travel in the same direction around the Sun, and if you imagine a spot above the Earth\u2019s north pole, they would be seen to travel anticlockwise. Anticlockwise motion is the \u2018normal\u2019 (more common) motion and is known as \u2018prograde\u2019.<\/p>\n

When a planet is going through a period of apparent retrograde motion, it appears as though it\u2019s moving in the opposite direction, from east to west<\/em> across the sky, often looping or zig-zagging as it goes. To the observer, this looks as though the planet is moving backwards. The word \u2018retrograde\u2019 itself, means to move backwards.<\/p>\n

If a planet suddenly started moving backwards, it\u2019s perhaps not surprising that our ancestors might have taken this as a sign of impending doom.<\/p>\n

What causes apparent retrograde motion?<\/h2>\n

This backwards movement, retrograde, is actually an illusion created by our viewpoint here on Earth. It\u2019s created by the different speeds at which the planets orbit the Sun.<\/p>\n

When the Earth\u2019s orbit overtakes a planet with a slower orbit, we see that planet from a different perspective. As Earth overtakes another planet, let\u2019s say Jupiter, it overtakes on the inside and from our viewpoint on Earth, this results in Jupiter appearing to zigzag across the sky.<\/p>\n

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Animation showing the apparent retrograde motion of a planet in the outer solar system, such as Jupiter. Not drawn to scale \u00a9 Dominic Ford\/ in-the-sky.org <\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Think of when you overtake a vehicle on the motorway; you catch up with the other car, then you\u2019re level with each other, and then the other car appears to move backwards as you pull ahead.<\/p>\n

This is why you\u2019ll often hear retrograde referred to as \u2018apparent retrograde motion\u2019 \u2013 as it only appears<\/em> as though the planet is moving backwards, it\u2019s not really.<\/p>\n

The superior planets \u2013 any of the planets whose orbit is further away from the Sun than the Earth\u2019s \u2013 go into retrograde around the same time as they are in opposition.<\/p>\n

In astronomy, opposition is when a planet appears to be in the opposite direction to the Sun, as viewed from Earth. Oppositions occur approximately once a year for each planet (except Mars, which is around every 26 months<\/a>), and occur as the Earth passes between that planet and the Sun. It\u2019s also when the planet in question is closest to the Earth, making it appear bigger and brighter, so it\u2019s an excellent time to observe these distant worlds.<\/p>\n

Because Mercury and Venus have orbits that are closer to the Sun than the Earth\u2019s, they can never go into opposition. However, planets closer to the Sun can<\/em> go into retrograde.<\/p>\n

When is the next retrograde in 2022?<\/h2>\n