Mars retrograde 2006

No retrograde period falls inside 2006. That is not an omission — the loop lands either side of the year boundary.

Why a year can have none

A retrograde recurs every 779.94 days — the synodic period of Mars. Because that does not divide evenly into 365.25 days, the loops drift through the calendar. For the slower planets a single loop can start in one year and finish in the next, leaving a calendar year with nothing inside it.

Check 2005 and 2007 — the period you are looking for will be in one of them.

Computed from the actual motion

The nearest Mars retrogrades either side of 2006

Previous

2005 Ended 10 December 2005 after 69 days, moving back 15.14° through the zodiac.

Next

2007 Begins 15 November 2007 and runs 77 days.

Gap across 2006

1.9 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.

2006 at a glance

Every other retrograde in 2006

Saturn in Leo 22 Nov 2005 – 5 Apr 2006 · 134 days
Venus in Aquarius 24 Dec 2005 – 3 Feb 2006 · 41 days
Mercury in Pisces 2 Mar 2006 – 25 Mar 2006 · 23 days
Jupiter in Scorpio 4 Mar 2006 – 6 Jul 2006 · 124 days
Pluto in Sagittarius 29 Mar 2006 – 4 Sep 2006 · 160 days
Neptune in Aquarius 22 May 2006 – 29 Oct 2006 · 160 days
Uranus in Pisces 19 Jun 2006 – 20 Nov 2006 · 154 days
Mercury in Leo 4 Jul 2006 – 29 Jul 2006 · 24 days
Mercury in Scorpio 28 Oct 2006 – 18 Nov 2006 · 20 days
Saturn in Leo 5 Dec 2006 – 9 Feb 2007 · 66 days
← 2005 Mars retrograde in 2005. All Mars retrogrades Averages, shadow periods and the sign distribution over fifty years. 2007 → Mars retrograde in 2007.