from The Old Farmer’s Almanac, 2003
“Venus and Jupiter closely, but invisibly, bunch behind the Sun as they meet on the 22nd, going in opposite directions. Venus transitions from a morning star to an evening star while Jupiter does the converse, a role reversal that will produce brilliance by year’s end. Other wimpy events include Neptune’s opposition on the 4th, the Perseid meteor shower’s washout by a full Moon on the 11th, and Uranus’s opposition on the 24th, when in dark skies it can be dimly glimpsed above Mars by the naked eye. However, kneel before the great Martian opposition on the 28th, when the red planet comes nearer and gets brighter than it has been in thousands of years!”

NOTE: Western Edition quoted, adjust times accordingly