Start of Mercury's pre-shadow
- Input
- ☿ 2026-10-04 09:10Z
- Expected output
- 5°02′ ♏
The same degree as the future station direct.
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mercury retrograde shadow period
A retrograde shadow is often described as "a week or two before and after", but there is an exact definition, by zodiac degree. The tool uses it: the pre-shadow starts when the planet touches the degree of the future station direct and the post-shadow ends when it leaves the degree of the station retrograde.
The same degree as the future station direct.
19.9 days after the shadow began.
Back at the degree where the shadow began.
Closes the stretch crossed three times.
32.7 days before the October 3 station retrograde.
113 days before the July 7 station retrograde.
The panel at the top answers with the current phase. Retrograde means Mercury's ecliptic longitude is decreasing at this moment, between the station retrograde and the station direct. If it has not reached the station retrograde yet but has passed the degree where it will station direct, it is in the pre-shadow: still moving direct, and the panel shows when the retrograde starts. After the station direct comes the post-shadow, until it returns to the degree of the station retrograde. Outside those spans the motion is plain direct. In 2026 Mercury has three retrogrades: February 26 to March 20, June 29 to July 23, and October 24 to November 13, and on those dates New York and Brasília show the same day.
From 14 to 20 days, averaging 17, across the cycles from 1900 to 2100. In 2026 it lasts 14.4, 16.7 and 19.9 days, and the post-shadow 19.7, 14.2 and 16.6 days. It is not a fixed rule of two weeks.
No. When the planet turns direct, the post-shadow only begins. It ends weeks later, when the planet reaches the degree where it stationed retrograde again. In October 2026 that takes 16.6 days, from November 13 to 30.
All the ones that go retrograde, from Mercury to Pluto. The Sun and the Moon do not go retrograde and therefore have no shadow. For the slow planets the shadow is long: Pluto's pre-shadow lasts 107 to 124 days, about four months.
The October 4, 2026 pre-shadow starts at 09:10 UTC, which is 5:10 am in New York and 6:10 am in Brasília. Lists that give only the date, with no time zone, can differ by a day when the time falls near midnight, which happens with the August 7 post-shadow (12:36 am in Brasília, 11:36 pm on the 6th in New York).
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