Moon & Jupiter point the way to Uranus, Sept 2010: Uranus, normally hard to spot with the naked eye, is revealed by a close conjunction with Jupiter.
Mercury, Venus and the Moon come together in the evening sky in April 2010: Mercury is usually visible for a few days in the evening during the northern hemisphere spring, but it's not every time that it has Venus to point the way to this elusive planet.
Mars overtakes Saturn again - June 2006: Two years have elapsed and Mars has once again caught up with Saturn beside the Beehive star cluster in Cancer.
Transit of Venus, 8 May 2004: A rare passage of Venus across the face of the Sun - the last time this happened was in 1882!
Conjunctions 2004: Not quite a rerun of 2002 but 5 of the 6 suspects are at it again in the west on clear evenings during April and May 2004: Venus, the Moon, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn.
Transit of Mercury: The innermost planet travels across the Sun on 7 May 2003
Dance of the Planets - 2002: A series of conjunctions throughout April and May 2002, including an occultation of Saturn by the Moon.
Where are the planets now? A link to online solar system generators
| Sun | Not really a planet, but the central point of our Solar System | |
| Mercury | The Messenger, always moving back and forth near the Sun | |
| Venus | The Evening or Morning Star, the brightest planet | |
| Mars | The Red Planet, puts in an appearance once every 2 years | |
| Asteroids | The "Vermin of the Skies", left over from the formation of the Solar System | |
| Jupiter | The King of Planets, always worth a look | |
| Saturn | The ringed planet, well presented for several years to come | |
| Uranus | A distant green world | |
| Neptune | Even further away, no more than a small blue disk in the telescope | |
| Pluto | A faint star, even in the telescope | |
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Jet Propulsion Laboratory Solar System index | |
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