2027 Forecast

Mars retrograde 1987

There was no Mars retrograde in 1987: the planet stayed direct all year — the previous retrograde ended on August 12, 1986 in Capricorn, and the next began on August 26, 1988 in Aries.

Retrograde in 1987
None direct all year
Previous direct station
Aug 12, 1986 7:46 AM UTC
Next retrograde station
Aug 26, 1988 2:40 PM UTC
Gap between loops
745 days
Mars Retrograde 1987: None — Next Starts Aug 26, 1988

Mars’s path through 1987, day by day

Apparent position of Mars against the zodiac, 1987
Apparent position of Mars against the zodiac, 1987. Mars starts 1987 at 24°34′ Pisces and ends it at 24°45′ Scorpio — 240.2° of net progress, all of it forward. Fastest day: Jan 8, 0.7° forward. PiscesAriesTaurusGeminiCancerLeoVirgoLibraScorpioJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecSource: JPL orbital elements; stations NASA JPL DE440astrohot.com Apparent position of Mars against the zodiac, 1987. Mars starts 1987 at 24°34′ Pisces and ends it at 24°45′ Scorpio — 240.2° of net progress, all of it forward. Fastest day: Jan 8, 0.7° forward. PiscesAriesTaurusGeminiCancerLeoVirgoLibraScorpioJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecSource: JPL orbital elements; stations NASA JPL DE440astrohot.com
Retrograde Shadow R — stations retrograde · D — stations direct

Mars starts 1987 at 24°34′ Pisces and ends it at 24°45′ Scorpio — 240.2° of net progress, all of it forward. Fastest day: Jan 8, 0.7° forward.

Exact times

The Mars stations either side of 1987: exact times in your city

Mars turned retrograde at 2:40 PM UTC on August 26, 1988 at 11°27′ Aries — 10:40 AM in Santiago, 10:40 AM in New York, 3:40 PM in London and 11:40 PM in Tokyo.

City Turns direct · Aug 12, 1986 Turns retrograde · Aug 26, 1988
UTC Tue, Aug 12, 1986 · 11°25′ Capricorn Fri, Aug 26, 1988 · 11°27′ Aries
Honolulu United States 9:46 PM Mon, Aug 11, 1986 · UTC−10 4:40 AM Fri, Aug 26, 1988 · UTC−10
Anchorage United States 11:46 PM Mon, Aug 11, 1986 · UTC−8 6:40 AM Fri, Aug 26, 1988 · UTC−8
Los Angeles United States 12:46 AM Tue, Aug 12, 1986 · UTC−7 7:40 AM Fri, Aug 26, 1988 · UTC−7
Phoenix United States 12:46 AM Tue, Aug 12, 1986 · UTC−7 7:40 AM Fri, Aug 26, 1988 · UTC−7
Denver United States 1:46 AM Tue, Aug 12, 1986 · UTC−6 8:40 AM Fri, Aug 26, 1988 · UTC−6
Chicago United States 2:46 AM Tue, Aug 12, 1986 · UTC−5 9:40 AM Fri, Aug 26, 1988 · UTC−5
Mexico City Mexico 1:46 AM Tue, Aug 12, 1986 · UTC−6 8:40 AM Fri, Aug 26, 1988 · UTC−6
New York United States 3:46 AM Tue, Aug 12, 1986 · UTC−4 10:40 AM Fri, Aug 26, 1988 · UTC−4
Toronto Canada 3:46 AM Tue, Aug 12, 1986 · UTC−4 10:40 AM Fri, Aug 26, 1988 · UTC−4
Bogotá Colombia 2:46 AM Tue, Aug 12, 1986 · UTC−5 9:40 AM Fri, Aug 26, 1988 · UTC−5
Lima Peru 2:46 AM Tue, Aug 12, 1986 · UTC−5 9:40 AM Fri, Aug 26, 1988 · UTC−5
Caracas Venezuela 3:46 AM Tue, Aug 12, 1986 · UTC−4 10:40 AM Fri, Aug 26, 1988 · UTC−4
Santiago Chile 3:46 AM Tue, Aug 12, 1986 · UTC−4 10:40 AM Fri, Aug 26, 1988 · UTC−4
Buenos Aires Argentina 4:46 AM Tue, Aug 12, 1986 · UTC−3 11:40 AM Fri, Aug 26, 1988 · UTC−3
São Paulo Brazil 4:46 AM Tue, Aug 12, 1986 · UTC−3 11:40 AM Fri, Aug 26, 1988 · UTC−3
Reykjavík Iceland 7:46 AM Tue, Aug 12, 1986 · UTC 2:40 PM Fri, Aug 26, 1988 · UTC
London United Kingdom 8:46 AM Tue, Aug 12, 1986 · UTC+1 3:40 PM Fri, Aug 26, 1988 · UTC+1
Lagos Nigeria 8:46 AM Tue, Aug 12, 1986 · UTC+1 3:40 PM Fri, Aug 26, 1988 · UTC+1
Paris France 9:46 AM Tue, Aug 12, 1986 · UTC+2 4:40 PM Fri, Aug 26, 1988 · UTC+2
Berlin Germany 9:46 AM Tue, Aug 12, 1986 · UTC+2 4:40 PM Fri, Aug 26, 1988 · UTC+2
Johannesburg South Africa 9:46 AM Tue, Aug 12, 1986 · UTC+2 4:40 PM Fri, Aug 26, 1988 · UTC+2
Cairo Egypt 10:46 AM Tue, Aug 12, 1986 · UTC+3 5:40 PM Fri, Aug 26, 1988 · UTC+3
Athens Greece 10:46 AM Tue, Aug 12, 1986 · UTC+3 5:40 PM Fri, Aug 26, 1988 · UTC+3
Istanbul Turkey 10:46 AM Tue, Aug 12, 1986 · UTC+3 5:40 PM Fri, Aug 26, 1988 · UTC+3
Moscow Russia 11:46 AM Tue, Aug 12, 1986 · UTC+4 6:40 PM Fri, Aug 26, 1988 · UTC+4
Nairobi Kenya 10:46 AM Tue, Aug 12, 1986 · UTC+3 5:40 PM Fri, Aug 26, 1988 · UTC+3
Tehran Iran 11:16 AM Tue, Aug 12, 1986 · UTC+3:30 6:10 PM Fri, Aug 26, 1988 · UTC+3:30
Dubai United Arab Emirates 11:46 AM Tue, Aug 12, 1986 · UTC+4 6:40 PM Fri, Aug 26, 1988 · UTC+4
Karachi Pakistan 12:46 PM Tue, Aug 12, 1986 · UTC+5 7:40 PM Fri, Aug 26, 1988 · UTC+5
New Delhi India 1:16 PM Tue, Aug 12, 1986 · UTC+5:30 8:10 PM Fri, Aug 26, 1988 · UTC+5:30
Kathmandu Nepal 1:31 PM Tue, Aug 12, 1986 · UTC+5:45 8:25 PM Fri, Aug 26, 1988 · UTC+5:45
Dhaka Bangladesh 1:46 PM Tue, Aug 12, 1986 · UTC+6 8:40 PM Fri, Aug 26, 1988 · UTC+6
Bangkok Thailand 2:46 PM Tue, Aug 12, 1986 · UTC+7 9:40 PM Fri, Aug 26, 1988 · UTC+7
Jakarta Indonesia 2:46 PM Tue, Aug 12, 1986 · UTC+7 9:40 PM Fri, Aug 26, 1988 · UTC+7
Singapore 3:46 PM Tue, Aug 12, 1986 · UTC+8 10:40 PM Fri, Aug 26, 1988 · UTC+8
Beijing China 4:46 PM Tue, Aug 12, 1986 · UTC+9 11:40 PM Fri, Aug 26, 1988 · UTC+9
Manila Philippines 3:46 PM Tue, Aug 12, 1986 · UTC+8 10:40 PM Fri, Aug 26, 1988 · UTC+8
Perth Australia 3:46 PM Tue, Aug 12, 1986 · UTC+8 10:40 PM Fri, Aug 26, 1988 · UTC+8
Seoul South Korea 4:46 PM Tue, Aug 12, 1986 · UTC+9 12:40 AM Sat, Aug 27, 1988 · UTC+10
Tokyo Japan 4:46 PM Tue, Aug 12, 1986 · UTC+9 11:40 PM Fri, Aug 26, 1988 · UTC+9
Adelaide Australia 5:16 PM Tue, Aug 12, 1986 · UTC+9:30 12:10 AM Sat, Aug 27, 1988 · UTC+9:30
Brisbane Australia 5:46 PM Tue, Aug 12, 1986 · UTC+10 12:40 AM Sat, Aug 27, 1988 · UTC+10
Sydney Australia 5:46 PM Tue, Aug 12, 1986 · UTC+10 12:40 AM Sat, Aug 27, 1988 · UTC+10
Auckland New Zealand 7:46 PM Tue, Aug 12, 1986 · UTC+12 2:40 AM Sat, Aug 27, 1988 · UTC+12

Stations from the NASA JPL DE440 ephemeris. Swiss Ephemeris agrees on every Mars station 1900–2050: all within a minute. Local times: IANA time zones, to the minute.

Mars in 1987: a year between two loops

745 days separate the end of one Mars retrograde from the start of the next, and 1987 falls entirely inside that stretch. Mars turns back once every 779.94 days — longer than a calendar year — and each loop is over in weeks, so now and then a whole year passes between two of them.

The loops themselves are on the 1986 and 1988 pages.

Computed from the actual motion

The nearest Mars retrogrades either side of 1987

Previous

1986 Ended August 12, 1986 after 64 days, moving back 11.7° through the zodiac.

Next

1988 Begins August 26, 1988 and runs 63 days.

Gap across 1987

2 years between the two — long enough for a whole calendar year to fall inside it with nothing to report.

Both dates are computed from the planet’s apparent motion, not taken from a table. A retrograde begins the moment its daily movement against the stars turns negative, and that moment is findable to the hour.

Computed for 1987

Mars through the zodiac in 1987

Every sign Mars occupies during 1987, with the dates it enters and leaves. A sign that appears twice means the planet backed into the previous sign during a retrograde and crossed again.

Mars in Pisces From Jan 1 – Jan 8
Mars in Aries Jan 8 – Feb 20
Mars in Taurus Feb 20 – Apr 5
Mars in Gemini Apr 5 – May 21
Mars in Cancer May 21 – Jul 6
Mars in Leo Jul 6 – Aug 22
Mars in Virgo Aug 22 – Oct 8
Mars in Libra Oct 8 – Nov 24
Mars in Scorpio Nov 24 – Dec 31 and beyond

9 segments in 1987. Dates from NASA JPL’s DE440 ephemeris.

1987 at a glance

Every other retrograde in 1987

Pluto in Scorpio Feb 11, 1987 – Jul 18, 1987 · 157 days
Mercury in Pisces Feb 18, 1987 – Mar 12, 1987 · 22 days
Saturn in Sagittarius Mar 31, 1987 – Aug 19, 1987 · 141 days
Uranus in Sagittarius Apr 1, 1987 – Sep 1, 1987 · 153 days
Neptune in Capricorn Apr 10, 1987 – Sep 17, 1987 · 160 days
Mercury in Cancer Jun 21, 1987 – Jul 15, 1987 · 24 days
Jupiter in Aries Aug 19, 1987 – Dec 15, 1987 · 118 days
Mercury in Scorpio Oct 16, 1987 – Nov 6, 1987 · 21 days
← 1986 Mars retrograde in 1986. All Mars retrogrades Averages, shadow periods and the sign distribution over fifty years. 1988 → Mars retrograde in 1988.

Cite this page

AstroHot. “Mars Retrograde 1987: None — Next Starts Aug 26, 1988.” Accessed October 31, 2026. https://astrohot.com/retrograde/mars/1987/

For Wikipedia {{cite web |title=Mars Retrograde 1987: None — Next Starts Aug 26, 1988 |url=https://astrohot.com/retrograde/mars/1987/ |website=AstroHot |access-date=2026-10-31}}