241.

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 (5,595 days ago) in Capricornus

242.

Saturn enters retrograde motion Saturn reverses its direction of motion across the sky. Wed, 31 Dec 2008 at 13:08 EDT (5,617 days ago) in Leo

243.

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 (5,643 days ago) in Ophiuchus

244.

Uranus ends retrograde motion Uranus returns to its usual eastward motion after opposition. Thu, 27 Nov 2008 at 11:54 EDT (5,651 days ago) in Aquarius

245.

Neptune ends retrograde motion Neptune returns to its usual eastward motion after opposition. Sun, 02 Nov 2008 at 02:40 EDT (5,676 days ago) in Capricornus

246.

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 (5,679 days ago) in Libra

247.

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 (5,727 days ago) in Aquarius

248.

Jupiter ends retrograde motion Jupiter returns to its usual eastward motion after opposition. Mon, 08 Sep 2008 at 00:23 EDT (5,731 days ago) in Sagittarius

249.

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 (5,736 days ago) in Leo

250.

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 (5,755 days ago) in Capricornus

251.

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 (5,791 days ago) in Sagittarius

252.

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 (5,792 days ago) in Sagittarius

253.

Uranus enters retrograde motion Uranus reverses its direction of motion across the sky. Thu, 26 Jun 2008 at 20:27 EDT (5,805 days ago) in Aquarius

254.

Neptune enters retrograde motion Neptune reverses its direction of motion across the sky. Mon, 26 May 2008 at 12:07 EDT (5,836 days ago) in Capricornus

255.

Mars at aphelion Mars passes the furthest point along its orbit from the Sun. Mon, 12 May 2008 at 20:18 EDT (5,850 days ago) in Cancer

256.

Jupiter enters retrograde motion Jupiter reverses its direction of motion across the sky. Fri, 09 May 2008 at 07:52 EDT (5,853 days ago) in Sagittarius

257.

Saturn ends retrograde motion Saturn returns to its usual eastward motion after opposition. Fri, 02 May 2008 at 22:43 EDT (5,860 days ago) in Leo

258.

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 (5,915 days ago) in Aquarius

259.

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 (5,928 days ago) in Leo

260.

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 (5,942 days ago) in Capricornus