281.

1 Ceres at opposition 1 Ceres lies in the opposite direction to the Sun in the sky, making it closer and brighter than at other times. It is also optimally positioned to be observable for much of the night. Wed, 31 Jan 2018 at 06:51 EDT (2,338 days ago) in Cancer

282.

The Moon at perigee The Moon makes its monthly closest approach to the Earth, making it appear fractionally larger than at other times of the month. Tue, 30 Jan 2018 at 04:57 EDT (2,339 days ago) in Gemini

283.

Lunar occultation of Aldebaran The Moon will pass in front of Aldebaran (Alpha Tauri), creating a lunar occultation visible from countries and territories including Russia, Canada, Alaska and China amongst others. Sat, 27 Jan 2018 at 05:21 EDT (2,342 days ago) in Taurus

284.

Close approach of the Moon and Collinder 50 The Moon and Collinder 50 pass close to each other. Sat, 27 Jan 2018 at 01:42 EDT (2,342 days ago) in Taurus

285.

Mercury at aphelion Mercury passes the furthest point along its orbit from the Sun. Thu, 25 Jan 2018 at 06:21 EDT (2,344 days ago) in Sagittarius

286.

Moon at First Quarter The Moon reaches first quarter phase – appearing high in the sky at sunset and setting in the west at around midnight. Wed, 24 Jan 2018 at 17:20 EDT (2,345 days ago) in Cetus

287.

Conjunction of Mercury and Pluto Mercury and Pluto share the same right ascension, at a separation of 1°33'. Wed, 24 Jan 2018 at 16:34 EDT (2,345 days ago) in Sagittarius

288.

The cluster NGC 2547 is well placed The open star cluster NGC 2547 (mag 4.7) in Vela culminates at around midnight local time. Tue, 23 Jan 2018 (2,346 days ago) in Vela

289.

Venus at aphelion Venus passes the furthest point along its orbit from the Sun. Tue, 23 Jan 2018 at 03:21 EDT (2,346 days ago) in Capricornus

290.

The cluster NGC 2516 is well placed The open star cluster NGC 2516 (mag 3.8) in Volans culminates at around midnight local time. Sat, 20 Jan 2018 (2,349 days ago) in Carina

291.

Supernova SN2018is discovered A new supernova has been discovered in NGC 5054. Fri, 19 Jan 2018 (2,349 days ago)

292.

γ-Ursae Minorid meteor shower 2018 The γ-Ursae Minorid meteor shower reaches its peak. Fri, 19 Jan 2018 (2,350 days ago) in Ursa Minor

293.

The cluster NGC 2451 is well placed The open star cluster NGC 2451 (mag 2.8) in Puppis culminates at around midnight local time. Wed, 17 Jan 2018 (2,352 days ago) in Puppis

294.

New Moon The Moon disappears into the Sun's glare for a few days. Tue, 16 Jan 2018 at 21:18 EDT (2,353 days ago) in Sagittarius

295.

The Moon at perihelion The Moon passes its orbit's closest point to the Sun, which happens each month around the time of new moon. Tue, 16 Jan 2018 at 04:06 EDT (2,353 days ago) in Sagittarius

296.

NGC 2403 is well placed NGC 2403 (mag 8.9), a spiral galaxy in Camelopardalis culminates at around midnight local time. Mon, 15 Jan 2018 (2,354 days ago) in Camelopardalis

297.

The cluster Messier 47 is well placed The open star cluster M47 (NGC 2422; mag 4.4) in Puppis culminates at around midnight local time. Mon, 15 Jan 2018 (2,354 days ago) in Puppis

298.

Conjunction of the Moon and Mercury The Moon and Mercury share the same right ascension, at a separation of 3°21'. Mon, 15 Jan 2018 at 02:22 EDT (2,354 days ago) in Sagittarius

299.

The Moon at apogee The Moon recedes to its orbit's furthest point from the Earth, making it appear fractionally smaller than at other times of the month. Sun, 14 Jan 2018 at 21:09 EDT (2,355 days ago) in Sagittarius

300.

Conjunction of the Moon and Saturn The Moon and Saturn share the same right ascension, at a separation of 2°37'. Sun, 14 Jan 2018 at 20:56 EDT (2,355 days ago) in Sagittarius