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Pluto: The Dwarf Planet of Transformation

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Pluto is 5.28 billion km (3.28 billion miles) from Earth. It is 303° along the ecliptic, in the sign of Aquarius, moving backward (retrograde). It moves into Pisces on .

Where Pluto is in space

  • 5.28 billion km(3.28 billion miles) from EarthIts light takes 4 h 53 min to reach us
  • 5.33 billion km(3.31 billion miles) from the SunSunlight takes 4 h 56 min to get there
  • 303.09° along the ecliptic 4.29° south of it Ecliptic longitude and latitude, from 0° at the March equinox
  • RA 20h 25m · Dec -23.6° right ascension and declinationThe sky coordinates a telescope uses

At 12:00 PM UTC today, as seen from Earth's center.

Where Pluto is in the zodiac

  • 3°05′ Aquariustoday at 12:00 PM UTC 3°05′ into Aquarius's 30°
  • In Aquarius since
  • Moves into Pisces After 6683 days in Aquarius
  • Moving backward (retrograde) 0.00° a day along the ecliptic
  1. Pre-shadow beginsNow
  2. Retrograde beginsNow 5°31′ Aquarius
  3. Retrograde endsNow 3°04′ Aquarius
  4. Post-shadow endsComplete

All transits →

Pluto retrograde

Retrograde means Pluto appears to move backward along the ecliptic for a while. Nothing reverses: Earth moves faster on its smaller orbit, and as it overtakes Pluto, our changing angle makes Pluto seem to slide back against the stars, the way a slower car seems to move backward as you pass it. Pluto goes retrograde once a year, for about five to six months.

Retrograde in 2026

  • – Now From 5°31′ Aquarius back to 3°04′ Aquarius

What is Pluto?

Pluto is a dwarf planet (134340 Pluto), not one of the eight planets: an icy world 2,377 km across, smaller than our Moon, in the Kuiper Belt beyond Neptune. Clyde Tombaugh discovered it in 1930; in 2006 the International Astronomical Union classed it as a dwarf planet, because it shares its orbit with many other icy bodies. Its orbit is long and tilted: it averages 5.9 billion km (39.5 au) from the Sun and goes around in 248 years. Its largest moon, Charon, is half its size.

Where Pluto is in the sky

The ecliptic is the path the Sun appears to follow across our sky over a year, the plane of Earth’s orbit seen from Earth. Positions along it are measured in degrees, from 0° at the March equinox to 360°. The zodiac divides it into twelve equal 30° parts named after signs: Aries covers 0° to 30°, Taurus 30° to 60°, and so on. The signs are counted from the equinox, not from the star patterns they were named after; those constellations now sit about 24° further along, because Earth’s axis slowly wobbles (precession).

Pluto moves along the ecliptic at up to about 0.04° a day. Its oval orbit makes it spend anywhere from about 12 to 31 years in a sign. Its orbit is tilted 17° to the ecliptic, so it can sit well north or south of it.

Pluto in astrology

In astrology Pluto stands for transformation, power, endings and rebirth: what has to be let go so something new can grow. Astrology still uses it, whatever its astronomical class. It is the modern ruler of Scorpio, and because it stays in a sign for decades, its sign marks a generation.

Pluto and your sign

Astrology also reads the twelve signs as twelve houses, each one an area of life, counted from your own sign: your sign is your 1st house, the next sign your 2nd, and so on around the zodiac. So Pluto, now in Aquarius, falls in a different house for every sign. For example, Aquarius is the 11th house for Aries, the house of friends and future plans. Find your sign below, and read your daily horoscope for how the day plays out.

Frequently asked questions

Is Pluto still a planet?
Not in astronomy: since 2006 it is classed as a dwarf planet, because it has not cleared its orbit of other icy bodies. Astrology still follows it like the planets.
How far away is Pluto?
On average 5.9 billion km from the Sun, between about 4.4 and 7.4 billion km on its oval orbit; sunlight takes about five and a half hours to reach it.
How long is Pluto in each sign?
From about 12 to 31 years, because its orbit is so oval; it goes around the zodiac in 248 years.
What does Pluto mean in astrology?
Transformation, power and rebirth. It is the modern ruler of Scorpio.