281.

Jupiter at apogee Jupiter reaches its furthest point from the Earth, as it passes around the far side of the Sun. Thu, 22 Jan 2009 at 21:42 EDT (5,610 days ago) in Capricornus

282.

Saturn enters retrograde motion Saturn reverses its direction of motion across the sky. Wed, 31 Dec 2008 at 13:08 EDT (5,632 days ago) in Leo

283.

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. Fri, 05 Dec 2008 at 16:34 EDT (5,658 days ago) in Ophiuchus

284.

Uranus ends retrograde motion Uranus returns to its usual eastward motion after opposition. Thu, 27 Nov 2008 at 11:54 EDT (5,666 days ago) in Aquarius

285.

Neptune ends retrograde motion Neptune returns to its usual eastward motion after opposition. Sun, 02 Nov 2008 at 02:40 EDT (5,691 days ago) in Capricornus

286.

Mars at apogee Mars reaches its furthest point from the Earth, as it passes around the far side of the Sun. Thu, 30 Oct 2008 at 23:42 EDT (5,694 days ago) in Libra

287.

Uranus at opposition Uranus lies in the opposite direction to the Sun in the sky, making it optimally positioned to be observable for much of the night. Fri, 12 Sep 2008 at 22:13 EDT (5,742 days ago) in Aquarius

288.

Jupiter ends retrograde motion Jupiter returns to its usual eastward motion after opposition. Mon, 08 Sep 2008 at 00:23 EDT (5,746 days ago) in Sagittarius

289.

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. Wed, 03 Sep 2008 at 21:49 EDT (5,751 days ago) in Leo

290.

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. Fri, 15 Aug 2008 at 03:34 EDT (5,770 days ago) in Capricornus

291.

Jupiter at perigee Jupiter reaches its closest point to the Earth – marking the best time to observe it in 1970. Thu, 10 Jul 2008 at 06:59 EDT (5,806 days ago) in Sagittarius

292.

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. Wed, 09 Jul 2008 at 03:31 EDT (5,807 days ago) in Sagittarius

293.

Uranus enters retrograde motion Uranus reverses its direction of motion across the sky. Thu, 26 Jun 2008 at 20:27 EDT (5,820 days ago) in Aquarius

294.

Neptune enters retrograde motion Neptune reverses its direction of motion across the sky. Mon, 26 May 2008 at 12:07 EDT (5,851 days ago) in Capricornus

295.

Mars at aphelion Mars passes the furthest point along its orbit from the Sun. Mon, 12 May 2008 at 20:18 EDT (5,865 days ago) in Cancer

296.

Jupiter enters retrograde motion Jupiter reverses its direction of motion across the sky. Fri, 09 May 2008 at 07:52 EDT (5,868 days ago) in Sagittarius

297.

Saturn ends retrograde motion Saturn returns to its usual eastward motion after opposition. Fri, 02 May 2008 at 22:43 EDT (5,875 days ago) in Leo

298.

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. Sat, 08 Mar 2008 at 15:10 EDT (5,930 days ago) in Aquarius

299.

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. Sun, 24 Feb 2008 at 04:40 EDT (5,943 days ago) in Leo

300.

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. Sun, 10 Feb 2008 at 20:54 EDT (5,957 days ago) in Capricornus