Does Mercury Retrograde?

Retro literally means “going back”. Mercury retrograde is defined as Mercury turning backwards, going backwards. Named after the Roman god Mercury, the messenger of the gods, Mercury is the smallest planet in our Solar System and the closest to the Sun.

Like all planets, Mercury also revolves around the Sun in the same direction as all the planets, but the speed of this rotation varies depending on each other in their orbit around the Sun, some rotate quickly, while others rotate slowly.

The fastest moving planet around the Sun is Mercury. It orbits the Sun at an average speed of 47 kilometers per second. However, the Earth rotates at a speed of 30 kilometers per second, and this speed difference is what causes Mercury to overtake the Earth. Mercury completes its orbit in 88 Earth days, much earlier than the Earth, and while it "overtakes" the Earth, it appears to be moving in the opposite direction. In fact, it is simply continuing to orbit the Sun as normal.

You can compare Mercury retrograde to the feeling of being in a car at high speed and passing a slower car in the same direction, and the slower car appears to be reversing.

In other words, Mercury neither goes backwards nor slows down. Many people attribute these celestial events that have been happening for billions of years to ourselves and accept that all of space affects human behavior.

Mercury goes "retrograde" three or four times a year, lasting about three weeks each time and about a quarter of the year in total.

Mercury retrogrades in Turkey in 2024 are seen on the following dates (Duration and days vary in different parts of the world)

From April 1 to April 25

Between August 6 and August 29

Between November 25th and December 14th.

By the way, let's point out that other planets also have retrogrades, but since they are not observed as much, they remain in the background.