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Neptune retrograde 1978

Neptune retrograde 1978: 1 period, 160 days inside the year — 43.9% of 1978. Neptune turned retrograde at 6:47 PM UTC on March 20 at 18°19′ Sagittarius and turned direct at 12:54 AM UTC on August 28 at 15°32′ Sagittarius.

Turns retrograde
Mar 20 6:47 PM UTC
Turns direct
Aug 28 12:54 AM UTC
Retrograde in 1978
160 days 43.9% of the year
Sign
Sagittarius retreats 2.77°
Neptune Retrograde 1978 Dates: Mar 20 – Aug 28

Neptune’s path through 1978, day by day

Apparent position of Neptune against the zodiac, 1978
Apparent position of Neptune against the zodiac, 1978. Neptune starts 1978 at 16°26′ Sagittarius and ends it at 18°32′ Sagittarius — 2.1° of net progress: 4.9° forward, 2.8° given back. The loop retraces 2.77° in 160 days, from 18°19′ Sagittarius on Mar 20 back to 15°32′ Sagittarius on Aug 28. Fastest day: Dec 8, 0.038° forward; fastest backward: Jun 8, 0.027°. Counting the shadows, 365 days of 1978 sit inside a retrograde window. Pre-retrograde shadow: Nov 29, 1977 – Mar 20, 1978Post-retrograde shadow: Aug 28, 1978 – Dec 18, 1978Pre-retrograde shadow: Dec 2, 1978 – Mar 23, 1979Retrograde: Mar 20, 1978 – Aug 28, 197815° Sagittarius16° Sagittarius18° SagittariusStations retrograde Mar 20, 1978, 6:47 PM UTC, 18°19′ SagittariusR Mar 20Stations direct Aug 28, 1978, 12:54 AM UTC, 15°32′ SagittariusD Aug 28JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecSource: JPL orbital elements; stations NASA JPL DE440astrohot.com Apparent position of Neptune against the zodiac, 1978. Neptune starts 1978 at 16°26′ Sagittarius and ends it at 18°32′ Sagittarius — 2.1° of net progress: 4.9° forward, 2.8° given back. The loop retraces 2.77° in 160 days, from 18°19′ Sagittarius on Mar 20 back to 15°32′ Sagittarius on Aug 28. Fastest day: Dec 8, 0.038° forward; fastest backward: Jun 8, 0.027°. Counting the shadows, 365 days of 1978 sit inside a retrograde window. Pre-retrograde shadow: Nov 29, 1977 – Mar 20, 1978Post-retrograde shadow: Aug 28, 1978 – Dec 18, 1978Pre-retrograde shadow: Dec 2, 1978 – Mar 23, 1979Retrograde: Mar 20, 1978 – Aug 28, 197815° Sagittarius16° SagittariusStations retrograde Mar 20, 1978, 6:47 PM UTC, 18°19′ SagittariusR Mar 20Stations direct Aug 28, 1978, 12:54 AM UTC, 15°32′ SagittariusD Aug 28JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecSource: JPL orbital elements; stations NASA JPL DE440astrohot.com
Retrograde Shadow R — stations retrograde · D — stations direct

Neptune starts 1978 at 16°26′ Sagittarius and ends it at 18°32′ Sagittarius — 2.1° of net progress: 4.9° forward, 2.8° given back. The loop retraces 2.77° in 160 days, from 18°19′ Sagittarius on Mar 20 back to 15°32′ Sagittarius on Aug 28. Fastest day: Dec 8, 0.038° forward; fastest backward: Jun 8, 0.027°. Counting the shadows, 365 days of 1978 sit inside a retrograde window.

Exact times

Neptune retrograde 1978: exact times in your city

Neptune turned retrograde at 6:47 PM UTC on March 20, 1978 at 18°19′ Sagittarius — 2:47 PM in Santiago, 1:47 PM in New York, 7:47 PM in London and 3:47 AM on March 21 in Tokyo.

City Turns retrograde Turns direct
UTC Mon, Mar 20 · 18°19′ Sagittarius Mon, Aug 28 · 15°32′ Sagittarius
Honolulu United States 8:47 AM Mon, Mar 20 · UTC−10 2:54 PM Sun, Aug 27 · UTC−10
Anchorage United States 8:47 AM Mon, Mar 20 · UTC−10 3:54 PM Sun, Aug 27 · UTC−9
Los Angeles United States 10:47 AM Mon, Mar 20 · UTC−8 5:54 PM Sun, Aug 27 · UTC−7
Phoenix United States 11:47 AM Mon, Mar 20 · UTC−7 5:54 PM Sun, Aug 27 · UTC−7
Denver United States 11:47 AM Mon, Mar 20 · UTC−7 6:54 PM Sun, Aug 27 · UTC−6
Chicago United States 12:47 PM Mon, Mar 20 · UTC−6 7:54 PM Sun, Aug 27 · UTC−5
Mexico City Mexico 12:47 PM Mon, Mar 20 · UTC−6 6:54 PM Sun, Aug 27 · UTC−6
New York United States 1:47 PM Mon, Mar 20 · UTC−5 8:54 PM Sun, Aug 27 · UTC−4
Toronto Canada 1:47 PM Mon, Mar 20 · UTC−5 8:54 PM Sun, Aug 27 · UTC−4
Bogotá Colombia 1:47 PM Mon, Mar 20 · UTC−5 7:54 PM Sun, Aug 27 · UTC−5
Lima Peru 1:47 PM Mon, Mar 20 · UTC−5 7:54 PM Sun, Aug 27 · UTC−5
Caracas Venezuela 2:47 PM Mon, Mar 20 · UTC−4 8:54 PM Sun, Aug 27 · UTC−4
Santiago Chile 2:47 PM Mon, Mar 20 · UTC−4 8:54 PM Sun, Aug 27 · UTC−4
Buenos Aires Argentina 3:47 PM Mon, Mar 20 · UTC−3 9:54 PM Sun, Aug 27 · UTC−3
São Paulo Brazil 3:47 PM Mon, Mar 20 · UTC−3 9:54 PM Sun, Aug 27 · UTC−3
Reykjavík Iceland 6:47 PM Mon, Mar 20 · UTC 12:54 AM Mon, Aug 28 · UTC
London United Kingdom 7:47 PM Mon, Mar 20 · UTC+1 1:54 AM Mon, Aug 28 · UTC+1
Lagos Nigeria 7:47 PM Mon, Mar 20 · UTC+1 1:54 AM Mon, Aug 28 · UTC+1
Paris France 7:47 PM Mon, Mar 20 · UTC+1 2:54 AM Mon, Aug 28 · UTC+2
Berlin Germany 7:47 PM Mon, Mar 20 · UTC+1 1:54 AM Mon, Aug 28 · UTC+1
Johannesburg South Africa 8:47 PM Mon, Mar 20 · UTC+2 2:54 AM Mon, Aug 28 · UTC+2
Cairo Egypt 8:47 PM Mon, Mar 20 · UTC+2 3:54 AM Mon, Aug 28 · UTC+3
Athens Greece 8:47 PM Mon, Mar 20 · UTC+2 3:54 AM Mon, Aug 28 · UTC+3
Istanbul Turkey 8:47 PM Mon, Mar 20 · UTC+2 3:54 AM Mon, Aug 28 · UTC+3
Moscow Russia 9:47 PM Mon, Mar 20 · UTC+3 3:54 AM Mon, Aug 28 · UTC+3
Nairobi Kenya 9:47 PM Mon, Mar 20 · UTC+3 3:54 AM Mon, Aug 28 · UTC+3
Tehran Iran 10:47 PM Mon, Mar 20 · UTC+4 4:54 AM Mon, Aug 28 · UTC+4
Dubai United Arab Emirates 10:47 PM Mon, Mar 20 · UTC+4 4:54 AM Mon, Aug 28 · UTC+4
Karachi Pakistan 11:47 PM Mon, Mar 20 · UTC+5 5:54 AM Mon, Aug 28 · UTC+5
New Delhi India 12:17 AM Tue, Mar 21 · UTC+5:30 6:24 AM Mon, Aug 28 · UTC+5:30
Kathmandu Nepal 12:17 AM Tue, Mar 21 · UTC+5:30 6:24 AM Mon, Aug 28 · UTC+5:30
Dhaka Bangladesh 12:47 AM Tue, Mar 21 · UTC+6 6:54 AM Mon, Aug 28 · UTC+6
Bangkok Thailand 1:47 AM Tue, Mar 21 · UTC+7 7:54 AM Mon, Aug 28 · UTC+7
Jakarta Indonesia 1:47 AM Tue, Mar 21 · UTC+7 7:54 AM Mon, Aug 28 · UTC+7
Singapore 2:17 AM Tue, Mar 21 · UTC+7:30 8:24 AM Mon, Aug 28 · UTC+7:30
Beijing China 2:47 AM Tue, Mar 21 · UTC+8 8:54 AM Mon, Aug 28 · UTC+8
Manila Philippines 2:47 AM Tue, Mar 21 · UTC+8 8:54 AM Mon, Aug 28 · UTC+8
Perth Australia 2:47 AM Tue, Mar 21 · UTC+8 8:54 AM Mon, Aug 28 · UTC+8
Seoul South Korea 3:47 AM Tue, Mar 21 · UTC+9 9:54 AM Mon, Aug 28 · UTC+9
Tokyo Japan 3:47 AM Tue, Mar 21 · UTC+9 9:54 AM Mon, Aug 28 · UTC+9
Adelaide Australia 4:17 AM Tue, Mar 21 · UTC+9:30 10:24 AM Mon, Aug 28 · UTC+9:30
Brisbane Australia 4:47 AM Tue, Mar 21 · UTC+10 10:54 AM Mon, Aug 28 · UTC+10
Sydney Australia 4:47 AM Tue, Mar 21 · UTC+10 10:54 AM Mon, Aug 28 · UTC+10
Auckland New Zealand 6:47 AM Tue, Mar 21 · UTC+12 12:54 PM Mon, Aug 28 · UTC+12

Stations from the NASA JPL DE440 ephemeris. Swiss Ephemeris agrees on every Neptune station 1900–2050: median under a minute, largest 1.8 minutes. Near a station Neptune barely moves, so almanacs differ by minutes. Local times: IANA time zones, to the minute.

160 days · retreats 2.77°

March 20 → August 28, 1978 in Sagittarius

Stations retrograde Mar 20, 1978, 6:47 PM UTC at 18°19′ Sagittarius
Stations direct Aug 28, 1978, 12:54 AM UTC at 15°32′ Sagittarius
Shadow opens Nov 29, 1977, 6:21 PM UTC (111 days before)
Shadow closes Dec 18, 1978, 2:35 AM UTC (112 days after)
Full window including shadows 383 days

It begins in Pisces season and ends in Virgo season.

Also retrograde at the same time

  • Saturn in Virgo — Mar 20 to Apr 25, 1978 (36 days of overlap)
  • Uranus in Scorpio — Mar 20 to Jul 21, 1978 (123 days of overlap)
  • Pluto in Libra — Mar 20 to Jun 24, 1978 (96 days of overlap)
  • Mercury in Aries — Apr 1 to Apr 25, 1978 (24 days of overlap)
  • Mercury in Virgo — Aug 4 to Aug 28, 1978 (23 days of overlap)

For the sign itself, see Sagittarius and its daily horoscope.

Computed from the actual motion

The nearest Neptune retrogrades either side of 1978

Previous

1977 Ended August 25, 1977 after 160 days, moving back 2.78° through the zodiac.

Next

1979 Begins March 23, 1979 and runs 160 days.

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 1978

Neptune through the zodiac in 1978

Every sign Neptune occupies during 1978, 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.

Neptune in Sagittarius From Jan 1 – Dec 31 and beyond

The whole year is spent in one sign — a sign of how slowly Neptune moves.

1978 at a glance

Every other retrograde in 1978

Jupiter in Cancer Oct 24, 1977 – Feb 20, 1978 · 119 days
Saturn in Virgo Dec 11, 1977 – Apr 25, 1978 · 135 days
Mars in Leo Dec 12, 1977 – Mar 2, 1978 · 80 days
Pluto in Libra Jan 19, 1978 – Jun 24, 1978 · 156 days
Uranus in Scorpio Feb 19, 1978 – Jul 21, 1978 · 152 days
Mercury in Aries Apr 1, 1978 – Apr 25, 1978 · 24 days
Mercury in Virgo Aug 4, 1978 – Aug 28, 1978 · 24 days
Venus in Scorpio Oct 18, 1978 – Nov 28, 1978 · 41 days
Jupiter in Leo Nov 25, 1978 – Mar 26, 1979 · 120 days
Mercury in Sagittarius Nov 25, 1978 – Dec 15, 1978 · 20 days
Saturn in Virgo Dec 24, 1978 – May 9, 1979 · 136 days
← 1977 Neptune retrograde in 1977. All Neptune retrogrades Averages, shadow periods and the sign distribution over fifty years. 1979 → Neptune retrograde in 1979.

Cite this page

AstroHot. “Neptune Retrograde 1978 Dates: Mar 20 – Aug 28.” Accessed October 31, 2026. https://astrohot.com/retrograde/neptune/1978/

For Wikipedia {{cite web |title=Neptune Retrograde 1978 Dates: Mar 20 – Aug 28 |url=https://astrohot.com/retrograde/neptune/1978/ |website=AstroHot |access-date=2026-10-31}}