Mars retrograde 2038

No retrograde period falls inside 2038. 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 2037 and 2039 — the period you are looking for will be in one of them.

Computed from the actual motion

The nearest Mars retrogrades either side of 2038

Previous

2037 Ended 23 December 2037 after 71 days, moving back 16.14° through the zodiac.

Next

2039 Begins 23 November 2039 and runs 78 days.

Gap across 2038

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.