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Neptune retrograde 2003

Neptune retrograde 2003: 1 period, 160 days inside the year — 43.8% of 2003. Neptune turned retrograde at 12:46 AM UTC on May 16 at 13°11′ Aquarius and turned direct at 1:54 AM UTC on October 23 at 10°23′ Aquarius.

Turns retrograde
May 16 12:46 AM UTC
Turns direct
Oct 23 1:54 AM UTC
Retrograde in 2003
160 days 43.8% of the year
Sign
Aquarius retreats 2.79°
Neptune Retrograde 2003 Dates: May 16 – Oct 23

Neptune’s path through 2003, day by day

Apparent position of Neptune against the zodiac, 2003
Apparent position of Neptune against the zodiac, 2003. Neptune starts 2003 at 9°33′ Aquarius and ends it at 11°41′ Aquarius — 2.1° of net progress: 4.9° forward, 2.8° given back. The loop retraces 2.79° in 160 days, from 13°11′ Aquarius on May 16 back to 10°23′ Aquarius on Oct 23. Fastest day: Jan 1, 0.04° forward; fastest backward: Jul 3, 0.03°. Counting the shadows, 365 days of 2003 sit inside a retrograde window. Post-retrograde shadow: Oct 23, 2003 – Feb 10, 2004Retrograde: May 16, 2003 – Oct 23, 20039° Aquarius10° Aquarius12° Aquarius13° AquariusStations retrograde May 16, 2003, 12:46 AM UTC, 13°11′ AquariusR May 16Stations direct Oct 23, 2003, 1:54 AM UTC, 10°23′ AquariusD Oct 23JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecSource: NASA JPL DE440 ephemerisastrohot.com Apparent position of Neptune against the zodiac, 2003. Neptune starts 2003 at 9°33′ Aquarius and ends it at 11°41′ Aquarius — 2.1° of net progress: 4.9° forward, 2.8° given back. The loop retraces 2.79° in 160 days, from 13°11′ Aquarius on May 16 back to 10°23′ Aquarius on Oct 23. Fastest day: Jan 1, 0.04° forward; fastest backward: Jul 3, 0.03°. Counting the shadows, 365 days of 2003 sit inside a retrograde window. Post-retrograde shadow: Oct 23, 2003 – Feb 10, 2004Retrograde: May 16, 2003 – Oct 23, 20039° Aquarius12° Aquarius13° AquariusStations retrograde May 16, 2003, 12:46 AM UTC, 13°11′ AquariusR May 16Stations direct Oct 23, 2003, 1:54 AM UTC, 10°23′ AquariusD Oct 23JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecSource: NASA JPL DE440 ephemerisastrohot.com
Retrograde Shadow R — stations retrograde · D — stations direct

Neptune starts 2003 at 9°33′ Aquarius and ends it at 11°41′ Aquarius — 2.1° of net progress: 4.9° forward, 2.8° given back. The loop retraces 2.79° in 160 days, from 13°11′ Aquarius on May 16 back to 10°23′ Aquarius on Oct 23. Fastest day: Jan 1, 0.04° forward; fastest backward: Jul 3, 0.03°. Counting the shadows, 365 days of 2003 sit inside a retrograde window.

Exact times

Neptune retrograde 2003: exact times in your city

Neptune turned retrograde at 12:46 AM UTC on May 16, 2003 at 13°11′ Aquarius — 8:46 PM on May 15 in Santiago, 8:46 PM on May 15 in New York, 1:46 AM in London and 9:46 AM in Tokyo.

City Turns retrograde Turns direct
UTC Fri, May 16 · 13°11′ Aquarius Thu, Oct 23 · 10°23′ Aquarius
Honolulu United States 2:46 PM Thu, May 15 · UTC−10 3:54 PM Wed, Oct 22 · UTC−10
Anchorage United States 4:46 PM Thu, May 15 · UTC−8 5:54 PM Wed, Oct 22 · UTC−8
Los Angeles United States 5:46 PM Thu, May 15 · UTC−7 6:54 PM Wed, Oct 22 · UTC−7
Phoenix United States 5:46 PM Thu, May 15 · UTC−7 6:54 PM Wed, Oct 22 · UTC−7
Denver United States 6:46 PM Thu, May 15 · UTC−6 7:54 PM Wed, Oct 22 · UTC−6
Chicago United States 7:46 PM Thu, May 15 · UTC−5 8:54 PM Wed, Oct 22 · UTC−5
Mexico City Mexico 7:46 PM Thu, May 15 · UTC−5 8:54 PM Wed, Oct 22 · UTC−5
New York United States 8:46 PM Thu, May 15 · UTC−4 9:54 PM Wed, Oct 22 · UTC−4
Toronto Canada 8:46 PM Thu, May 15 · UTC−4 9:54 PM Wed, Oct 22 · UTC−4
Bogotá Colombia 7:46 PM Thu, May 15 · UTC−5 8:54 PM Wed, Oct 22 · UTC−5
Lima Peru 7:46 PM Thu, May 15 · UTC−5 8:54 PM Wed, Oct 22 · UTC−5
Caracas Venezuela 8:46 PM Thu, May 15 · UTC−4 9:54 PM Wed, Oct 22 · UTC−4
Santiago Chile 8:46 PM Thu, May 15 · UTC−4 10:54 PM Wed, Oct 22 · UTC−3
Buenos Aires Argentina 9:46 PM Thu, May 15 · UTC−3 10:54 PM Wed, Oct 22 · UTC−3
São Paulo Brazil 9:46 PM Thu, May 15 · UTC−3 11:54 PM Wed, Oct 22 · UTC−2
Reykjavík Iceland 12:46 AM Fri, May 16 · UTC 1:54 AM Thu, Oct 23 · UTC
London United Kingdom 1:46 AM Fri, May 16 · UTC+1 2:54 AM Thu, Oct 23 · UTC+1
Lagos Nigeria 1:46 AM Fri, May 16 · UTC+1 2:54 AM Thu, Oct 23 · UTC+1
Paris France 2:46 AM Fri, May 16 · UTC+2 3:54 AM Thu, Oct 23 · UTC+2
Berlin Germany 2:46 AM Fri, May 16 · UTC+2 3:54 AM Thu, Oct 23 · UTC+2
Johannesburg South Africa 2:46 AM Fri, May 16 · UTC+2 3:54 AM Thu, Oct 23 · UTC+2
Cairo Egypt 3:46 AM Fri, May 16 · UTC+3 3:54 AM Thu, Oct 23 · UTC+2
Athens Greece 3:46 AM Fri, May 16 · UTC+3 4:54 AM Thu, Oct 23 · UTC+3
Istanbul Turkey 3:46 AM Fri, May 16 · UTC+3 4:54 AM Thu, Oct 23 · UTC+3
Moscow Russia 4:46 AM Fri, May 16 · UTC+4 5:54 AM Thu, Oct 23 · UTC+4
Nairobi Kenya 3:46 AM Fri, May 16 · UTC+3 4:54 AM Thu, Oct 23 · UTC+3
Tehran Iran 5:16 AM Fri, May 16 · UTC+4:30 5:24 AM Thu, Oct 23 · UTC+3:30
Dubai United Arab Emirates 4:46 AM Fri, May 16 · UTC+4 5:54 AM Thu, Oct 23 · UTC+4
Karachi Pakistan 5:46 AM Fri, May 16 · UTC+5 6:54 AM Thu, Oct 23 · UTC+5
New Delhi India 6:16 AM Fri, May 16 · UTC+5:30 7:24 AM Thu, Oct 23 · UTC+5:30
Kathmandu Nepal 6:31 AM Fri, May 16 · UTC+5:45 7:39 AM Thu, Oct 23 · UTC+5:45
Dhaka Bangladesh 6:46 AM Fri, May 16 · UTC+6 7:54 AM Thu, Oct 23 · UTC+6
Bangkok Thailand 7:46 AM Fri, May 16 · UTC+7 8:54 AM Thu, Oct 23 · UTC+7
Jakarta Indonesia 7:46 AM Fri, May 16 · UTC+7 8:54 AM Thu, Oct 23 · UTC+7
Singapore 8:46 AM Fri, May 16 · UTC+8 9:54 AM Thu, Oct 23 · UTC+8
Beijing China 8:46 AM Fri, May 16 · UTC+8 9:54 AM Thu, Oct 23 · UTC+8
Manila Philippines 8:46 AM Fri, May 16 · UTC+8 9:54 AM Thu, Oct 23 · UTC+8
Perth Australia 8:46 AM Fri, May 16 · UTC+8 9:54 AM Thu, Oct 23 · UTC+8
Seoul South Korea 9:46 AM Fri, May 16 · UTC+9 10:54 AM Thu, Oct 23 · UTC+9
Tokyo Japan 9:46 AM Fri, May 16 · UTC+9 10:54 AM Thu, Oct 23 · UTC+9
Adelaide Australia 10:16 AM Fri, May 16 · UTC+9:30 11:24 AM Thu, Oct 23 · UTC+9:30
Brisbane Australia 10:46 AM Fri, May 16 · UTC+10 11:54 AM Thu, Oct 23 · UTC+10
Sydney Australia 10:46 AM Fri, May 16 · UTC+10 11:54 AM Thu, Oct 23 · UTC+10
Auckland New Zealand 12:46 PM Fri, May 16 · UTC+12 2:54 PM Thu, Oct 23 · UTC+13

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 2.79°

May 16 → October 23, 2003 in Aquarius

Stations retrograde May 16, 2003, 12:46 AM UTC at 13°11′ Aquarius
Stations direct Oct 23, 2003, 1:54 AM UTC at 10°23′ Aquarius
Shadow opens Jan 24, 2003, 12:57 AM UTC (112 days before)
Shadow closes Feb 10, 2004, 9:39 PM UTC (111 days after)
Full window including shadows 383 days

It begins in Taurus season and ends in Libra season.

Also retrograde at the same time

  • Mercury in Taurus — May 16 to May 20, 2003 (4 days of overlap)
  • Pluto in Sagittarius — May 16 to Aug 29, 2003 (105 days of overlap)
  • Uranus in Pisces — Jun 7 to Oct 23, 2003 (138 days of overlap)
  • Mars in Pisces — Jul 29 to Sep 27, 2003 (60 days of overlap)
  • Mercury in Virgo — Aug 28 to Sep 20, 2003 (23 days of overlap)

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

Computed from the actual motion

The nearest Neptune retrogrades either side of 2003

Previous

2002 Ended October 20, 2002 after 160 days, moving back 2.79° through the zodiac.

Next

2004 Begins May 17, 2004 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 2003

Neptune through the zodiac in 2003

Every sign Neptune occupies during 2003, 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 Aquarius From Jan 1 – Dec 31 and beyond

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

2003 at a glance

Every other retrograde in 2003

Saturn in Gemini Oct 11, 2002 – Feb 22, 2003 · 134 days
Jupiter in Leo Dec 4, 2002 – Apr 4, 2003 · 121 days
Mercury in Capricorn Jan 2, 2003 – Jan 23, 2003 · 20 days
Pluto in Sagittarius Mar 23, 2003 – Aug 29, 2003 · 159 days
Mercury in Taurus Apr 26, 2003 – May 20, 2003 · 24 days
Uranus in Pisces Jun 7, 2003 – Nov 8, 2003 · 154 days
Mars in Pisces Jul 29, 2003 – Sep 27, 2003 · 60 days
Mercury in Virgo Aug 28, 2003 – Sep 20, 2003 · 23 days
Saturn in Cancer Oct 25, 2003 – Mar 7, 2004 · 134 days
Mercury in Capricorn Dec 17, 2003 – Jan 6, 2004 · 20 days
← 2002 Neptune retrograde in 2002. All Neptune retrogrades Averages, shadow periods and the sign distribution over fifty years. 2004 → Neptune retrograde in 2004.

Cite this page

AstroHot. “Neptune Retrograde 2003 Dates: May 16 – Oct 23.” Accessed October 30, 2026. https://astrohot.com/retrograde/neptune/2003/

For Wikipedia {{cite web |title=Neptune Retrograde 2003 Dates: May 16 – Oct 23 |url=https://astrohot.com/retrograde/neptune/2003/ |website=AstroHot |access-date=2026-10-30}}