21.

Mars at aphelion Mars passes the furthest point along its orbit from the Sun. Sat, 07 Oct 2017 at 19:43 EDT (2,452 days ago) in Leo

22.

Neptune at opposition Neptune lies in the opposite direction to the Sun in the sky, making it optimally positioned to be observable for much of the night. Tue, 05 Sep 2017 at 01:19 EDT (2,484 days ago) in Aquarius

23.

Saturn ends retrograde motion Saturn returns to its usual eastward motion after opposition. Fri, 25 Aug 2017 at 07:39 EDT (2,495 days ago) in Ophiuchus

24.

Mars at apogee Mars reaches its furthest point from the Earth, as it passes around the far side of the Sun. Sat, 05 Aug 2017 at 06:39 EDT (2,515 days ago) in Cancer

25.

Uranus enters retrograde motion Uranus reverses its direction of motion across the sky. Thu, 03 Aug 2017 at 01:08 EDT (2,517 days ago) in Pisces

26.

Mars at solar conjunction Mars is unobservable as it passes around the far side of the Sun – marking the end of one apparition and the beginning of the next. Wed, 26 Jul 2017 at 20:30 EDT (2,525 days ago) in Cancer

27.

Neptune enters retrograde motion Neptune reverses its direction of motion across the sky. Fri, 16 Jun 2017 at 07:41 EDT (2,565 days ago) in Aquarius

28.

Saturn at opposition Saturn lies in the opposite direction to the Sun in the sky, making it slightly closer, brighter and larger than at other times. It is also optimally positioned to be observable for much of the night. Thu, 15 Jun 2017 at 06:09 EDT (2,566 days ago) in Ophiuchus

29.

Jupiter ends retrograde motion Jupiter returns to its usual eastward motion after opposition. Fri, 09 Jun 2017 at 10:12 EDT (2,572 days ago) in Virgo

30.

Uranus at solar conjunction Uranus is unobservable as it passes around the far side of the Sun – marking the end of one apparition and the beginning of the next. Fri, 14 Apr 2017 at 01:21 EDT (2,628 days ago) in Pisces

31.

Jupiter at perigee Jupiter reaches its closest point to the Earth – marking the best time to observe it in 1970. Sat, 08 Apr 2017 at 17:23 EDT (2,634 days ago) in Virgo

32.

Jupiter at opposition Jupiter lies in the opposite direction to the Sun in the sky, making it slightly closer, brighter and larger than at other times. It is also optimally positioned to be observable for much of the night. Fri, 07 Apr 2017 at 17:31 EDT (2,635 days ago) in Virgo

33.

Saturn enters retrograde motion Saturn reverses its direction of motion across the sky. Thu, 06 Apr 2017 at 01:18 EDT (2,636 days ago) in Sagittarius

34.

Neptune at solar conjunction Neptune is unobservable as it passes around the far side of the Sun – marking the end of one apparition and the beginning of the next. Wed, 01 Mar 2017 at 21:35 EDT (2,672 days ago) in Aquarius

35.

Jupiter at aphelion Jupiter passes the furthest point along its orbit from the Sun. Thu, 16 Feb 2017 at 05:07 EDT (2,685 days ago) in Virgo

36.

Jupiter enters retrograde motion Jupiter reverses its direction of motion across the sky. Mon, 06 Feb 2017 at 01:42 EDT (2,695 days ago) in Virgo

37.

Uranus ends retrograde motion Uranus returns to its usual eastward motion after opposition. Thu, 29 Dec 2016 at 05:14 EDT (2,734 days ago) in Pisces

38.

Saturn at solar conjunction Saturn is unobservable as it passes around the far side of the Sun – marking the end of one apparition and the beginning of the next. Sat, 10 Dec 2016 at 06:41 EDT (2,753 days ago) in Ophiuchus

39.

Neptune ends retrograde motion Neptune returns to its usual eastward motion after opposition. Sat, 19 Nov 2016 at 23:51 EDT (2,773 days ago) in Aquarius

40.

Mars at perihelion Mars passes its orbit's closest point to the Sun. Sat, 29 Oct 2016 at 10:10 EDT (2,795 days ago) in Sagittarius