| Date | Event | Where | Next | References |
| 2006 May | One fragment of comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 could become bright - fragment C could reach 1st or 2nd mag. | ? | ? | Hönig1 |
| 2006 Aug. 26 | Close conjunction of Venus and Saturn, minimum separation 4 arc min (also in 2016, 2037, 2048, 2080 and 2096). | ? | 10 | Fischer3 |
| 2007 Sep. 24 | Transit of minor planet (2101) Adonis in front of the solar disk as seen from Earth - with a diameter of 0.005 arc sec ... | Europe, Africa | ? | Meeus2, Wikipedia |
| 2008 Aug. 16 | Planet triangle of Mercury, Venus & Saturn within 2.3°, nice in the evening sky (also 2044, 2060, 2073). | Near equator | 36 | Fischer3 |
| 2009 March 27 | Venus can be seen naked-eye during inferior conjunction, because it is 8.2° north of the Sun (every 8 years; angular distance increasing throughout century). | Northern hemisphere | 8 | Flannery1 |
| 2009 July 22 | Longest Total Solar Eclipse for over a century and the longest one since 1991. | China | 123 | Williams |
| 2009 Nov. 17 | Interesting outburst of the Leonid meteors, with a possible max. ZHR of 600 at 22:00 UTC. | Asia | ? | Vaubaillon2 |
| 2010 Jan. 15 | Longest annular solar eclipse until 3043, with a maximum duration of 11 min 8 sec. | Africa, Asia | 1033 | Gill1, Map |
| 2011 May 16 | Four naked-eye planets close together, Mercury, Venus, Mars & Jupiter within 5 degrees - well visible in the morning skies | Southern hemisphere | (29) | Fischer3 |
| 2011 Oct. 8 | Possible big outburst of the Draconid meteors, could approach 1933 storm ... | ? | ? | Vaubaillon |
| 2012 June 6 | Transit of Venus, 2nd of the pair in the 21st century. | Mostly Asia, Australia | 105 | Espenak |
| 2013 May 26 | Planet triangle of Mercury, Venus & Jupiter within 2.9°, nice in the evening sky (also 2011, 2048 and 2060). | Northern hemisphere | -2 | Fischer3 |
| 2013 Nov. 3 | Hybrid solar eclipse with the longest totality until 3264, reaching 1 min 40 sec. | Central Africa | 1351 | Gill1, Map |
| 2014 Mar. 20 | Occultation of 1 mag. star Regulus by asteroid (163) Erigone, maximum duration 14 seconds. | North America | 9 | Denissenko |
| 2014 Apr. 14 | Best 'pseudo-conjunction' of the totally eclipsed moon with a bright object in centuries when Spica is just 1½° from the Moon. | North America and more? | 496 | Rao1 |
| 2014 Apr. 29 | Most bizarre solar eclipse of the century, a noncentral antumbral eclipse that can be seen as a ring only in a tiny area on Earth - and only thanks to refraction. | Antarctica | ? | Harrington1: p. 194-6, Fischer3 |
| 2016 Aug. 27 | Close Venus / Jupiter conjunction, minimum separation 4 arc min (others in 2080, 2082 and 2097 - and in 2065 Venus overlaps Jupiter). | ? | 49 | Fischer3 |
| 2017 Aug. 21 | Total Solar Eclipse in North America, the first in the contiguous U.S. since 1979. | USA | 7 | Espenak, Harrington1: p. 208-13 |
| 2017 Sep. 16 | Close conjunction of Mercury & Mars, minimum separation 4 arc min (also 2032, 2036, 2068 and 2094 - and they will overlap in 2079). | ? | 15 | Fischer3 |
| 2018 July 27 | Particularly close opposition of Mars, with the disk reaching 24.3 arc sec. | Globe | 32 | MLN |
| 2018 X-mas | Comet Wirtanen close to Earth, could reach 3rd mag. | Globe | ? | The Comet's Tale (p. 8) |
| 2019 July 2 | A total solar eclipse passes over two big observatories in Chile. | South America | ? | Sutton1, Map |
| 2020 Mar. 28 | Planet triangle of Mars, Jupiter & Saturn within 4.3° - well visible far from the Sun (also 2040, 2060, 2100). | ? | 20 | Fischer3 |
| 2020 Dec. 21 | Close conjunction of Jupiter & Saturn, minimum separation 6 arc min (also 2080). | ? | 60 | Fischer3 |
| 2021 Jan. 10 | Planet triangle of Mercury, Jupiter & Saturn within 2.1°, low in the evening sky (also 2060). | ? | 39 | Fischer3 |
| 2023 Dec. 12 | Occultation of Alpha Orionis by asteroid (319) Leona - which has practically the same angular diameter as the 0.5 mag. star! | Mediterranean etc. | ? | Denissenko |
| 2024 Apr. 8 | Total Solar Eclipse in North America, less than 7 years after the last one. | Mexico, USA | 20 | Map |
| 2026 Aug. 12 | Sunset total solar eclipse in Southwestern Europe, e.g. on Mallorca - will the millions of drunken tourists notice? :-) | N.E. Russia, Arctic, Spain | (55) | Espenak |
| 2027 Aug. 2 | Another very long Total Solar Eclipse, Saros successor of the Chinese one in 2009. | North Africa, Middle East | (18) | Map |
| 2027 Aug. 7 | Earth grazer 1999 AN10 passes close to Earth, minimum separation 400,000 km, max. mag. 7.4. | Americas mainly | 2 | jlx1 |
| 2028 April 2 | Venus marches through the Pleiades star cluster (also in 2036 and 2044). | Globe | 8 | Dorst1 |
| 2028 Jun. 26 | Earth grazer 2001 WN5 passes close to Earth, minimum separation 250,000 km, max. mag. 6.8. | South America | ? | jlx1 |
| 2028 Aug. 12 | Possibility of a strong outburst of the Perseids, perhaps at storm level. | ? | ? | CBA Belgium, Space.com |
| 2029 Apr. 13 | NEO makes bright Earth fly-by when 2004 MN4 could reach 3rd mag., move 42°/hour. | Global | ? | NEO News, S&T |
| 2032 Jun. 15 | Planet triangle of Venus, Mars & Saturn within 4.1°, very close to the Sun (also 2040). | ? | 8 | Fischer3 |
| 2034 Nov. 19 | Potentially two Leonid meteor storms, "for sure [...] an incredible year" with ZHR > 1000 - or just a max. ZHR of 800 to 900 at 6:00 UTC? | ? | ? | Vaubaillon1 vs. Maslov1 |
| 2036 Jul. 22 | Particulary small planet triangle, of Mercury, Mars & Saturn within 1.2°, nice in the evening sky (also 2032, 2062 and 2066). | Northern hemisphere | (-4) | Fischer3 |
| 2037 Sep. 15 | Very close conjunction of Mercury and Saturn, minimum separation 33 arc sec! | ? | (59) | Fischer3 |
| 2040 Sep. 8 | Tight 'massing' of all bright planets East of the Sun in an arc of only 9.3° - twice as close as the massing of May 2000 and visible in the evening skies. | Equator, southern hemisphere | ? | Griffith Obs., Curtis, Peuschel, Fischer1 |
| 2044 Aug. 23 | Total Solar Eclipse in North America, first in a rare pair of two only one year apart. | USA, Canada | 1 | Map |
| 2044 Oct. 1 | Occultation of the bright star Regulus by Venus, a true rarity. | Asia, Western U.S. | ? | Meeus1 |
| 2045 Aug. 12 | Total Solar Eclipse in North and South America, just one year after the last in the U.S. - and very long (Saros successor of 2009/27)! | USA, Brazil | 54 | Map |
| 2050 May 6 | Occultation by 2 mag. star Zubenelgenubi by the totally eclipsed Moon, the only occultation of a star brighter than 3rd mag. during a TLE since 2004! | Antarctica ... | 19 | Dunham, Curtis |
| 2050 Aug. 15 | Especially close opposition of Mars, approaching Earth to less than 56 Mio. km for the 1st time in 47 years. | Globe | ? | MLN |
| 2051 Aug. 29 | Planet triangle of Venus, Mars & Jupiter within 2.7°, close to the Sun (also 2040). | ? | -11 | Fischer3 |
| 2051 Dec. 18 | Close conjunction of Mars & Jupiter, minimum separation 2 arc min (also in 2064). | ? | 15 | Fischer3 |
| 2052 Dec. 6 | Closest approach of the Moon to the Earth in the 21st century, with 356,421 km between their centers. | Globe | ? | Meeus1 |
| 2053 Nov. 24 | Particularly small planet triangle, of Mercury, Mars & Jupiter within 1.0° - and well visible in the morning sky (also 2051, 2098, 2100). | Northern hemisphere | (-2) | Fischer3 |
| 2056 Jan. 24 | Close approach of asteroid (433) Eros to Earth, 22.4 million km minimum distance. | ? | ? | Meeus1 |
| 2056 Feb. 13 | Simultaneous occultation of Mercury and Mars by the Moon. | North America | ? | Meeus1 |
| 2058 Jan. 10 | Close conjunction of Venus and Mars, minimum separation 4 arc min (also 2090 and 2096). | ? | 32 | Fischer3 |
| 2059 May 7 | Close conjunction of Mercury & Jupiter, minimum separation 2 arc min. | ? | 35 | Fischer3 |
| 2060 1st July week | Massing of the five naked-eye planets in the morning sky - first such show for Northern hemisphere in 58 years. | N. hemisphere | ? | Fischer2 |
| 2061 July 29 | Halley's comet closest to Earth at 0.48 AU, not a good apparition in general, but could reach 2nd mag. again as in 1986. | ? | 73 | Kronk |
| 2064 Nov. 5/6 | Close approach of comet Tempel-Tuttle to Earth: The parent of the Leonids may approach to within 9 million kilometers. | ? | ? | Eberle1 (questioned by Gabel) |
| 2065 Nov. 22 | Venus occults Jupiter, planets 10 and 29 arc sec, min. sep. 14 arc sec - the first planet vs. planet event since Venus occulted Jupiter in 1818! 10 degrees from the Sun. | Panama, just before sunrise (best at 97°W 19°N) | ? | Bogan, Peuschel, Fischer3 |
| 2067 July 15 | Mercury occults Neptune, planets 6 and 2 arc sec, minimum separation 10 arc sec. | North Pole, daylight | 12 | Bogan, Peuschel |
| 2069 May 6 | Occultation by 2 mag. star Zubenelgenubi by the totally eclipsed Moon, much better observable than the 2050 event (and thus the first good TLE occultation of a bright star in 65 years). | S. Pacific, S. America | ? | Dunham, Curtis |
| 2075 May 26 | Planet triangle of Mercury, Venus & Mars within 3.1°, nice in the morning sky (also 2011, 2088). | Northern hemisphere | -64 | Fischer3 |
| 2079 Aug. 11 | Mercury occults Mars, planets 5 and 4 arc sec, minimum separation 1 arc sec - and this is well visible (only good planet-planet occ. in the century)! | Middle East | ? | Bogan, Curtis |
| 2080 Feb. 19 | Planet triangle of Venus, Jupiter & Saturn within 1.9°, far from the Sun (also 2100). | ? | 20 | Fischer3 |
| 2081 Sep. 3 | Total Solar Eclipse in Europe and the Middle East, the first touching Germany since 1999 - and a very long one (Saros successor of 2009/27/45). | France, Germany, Turkey etc. | (7) | Map |
| 2084 June 13 | Close conjunction of Mars & Saturn (only one in 21st century), minimum separation 5 arc min. | ? | ? | Fischer3 |
| 2088 Apr. 21 | Total Solar Eclipse in S.E. Europe (and N. Africa and Central Asia), just 7 years after the last one in Europe. | Greece, Turkey, Kasachstan | ? | Map |
| 2088 Oct. 27 | Mercury occults Jupiter, planets 5 and 29 arc sec, minimum sep. 19". | Too close to Sun | 6 | Bogan |
| 2094 Apr. 7 | Mercury occults Jupiter, planets 5 and 31 arc sec, minimum separation 6 arc sec. | Too close to Sun | ? | Bogan, Fischer3, vanGent1 |
| 2099 Sep. 14 | Total Solar Eclipse in North America. | Canada, USA | ? | Map |
| 2100 Mar. 24 | Polaris closest to North celestial pole, at a declination of +89° 32' 51". | globe | 26K | Meeus1 |
Where: Area(s) of best visibility
Next: In how many years does the same or a similar event take place?
References: Key web links or other references
Also check M. Peuschel's event listings!
The listed events are mostly alignments, conjunctions, transits, occultations and eclipses, involving two or more solar system bodies - and they are so rare that they happen on average less than once per decade. Not listed are most total and annular solar eclipses (too common :-), except for unusual circumstances (e.g. when they cross regions of the world where many eclipse chasers live, 'coming home', so to speak), lunar eclipses, transits of Mercury (also too common, sorry) and asteroidal occultations of stars fainter than 1st mag. or by small asteroids.
First posted Nov. 30 and Dec. 3, updated continuously since
More interesting events that should be included can be mailed to Daniel Fischer
