261.

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. Fri, 20 Apr 2018 at 10:41 EDT (2,221 days ago) in Orion

262.

Lunar occultation of Aldebaran The Moon will pass in front of Aldebaran (Alpha Tauri), creating a lunar occultation visible from Canada and Alaska. Thu, 19 Apr 2018 at 00:51 EDT (2,222 days ago) in Taurus

263.

Close approach of the Moon and Collinder 50 The Moon and Collinder 50 pass close to each other. Wed, 18 Apr 2018 at 21:09 EDT (2,223 days ago) in Taurus

264.

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. Wed, 18 Apr 2018 at 09:51 EDT (2,223 days ago) in Pisces

265.

Saturn enters retrograde motion Saturn reverses its direction of motion across the sky. Tue, 17 Apr 2018 at 21:48 EDT (2,224 days ago) in Sagittarius

266.

Messier 3 is well placed The globular cluster M3 (NGC 5272; mag 6.3) in Canes Venatici culminates at around midnight local time. Tue, 17 Apr 2018 (2,224 days ago) in Canes Venatici

267.

Conjunction of the Moon and Venus The Moon and Venus share the same right ascension, at a separation of 5°24'. Tue, 17 Apr 2018 at 15:27 EDT (2,224 days ago) in Aries

268.

Messier 83 is well placed The Southern Pinwheel Galaxy M83 (NGC 5236; mag 7.2), a face-on spiral galaxy in Hydra culminates at around midnight local time. Mon, 16 Apr 2018 (2,225 days ago) in Hydra

269.

New Moon The Moon disappears into the Sun's glare for a few days. Sun, 15 Apr 2018 at 21:58 EDT (2,226 days ago) in Pisces

270.

136108 Haumea at opposition 136108 Haumea lies in the opposite direction to the Sun in the sky, making it optimally positioned to be observable for much of the night. Sat, 14 Apr 2018 at 20:42 EDT (2,227 days ago) in Bootes

271.

The Whirlpool Galaxy is well placed The Whirlpool Galaxy M51 (NGC 5194; mag 8.4) in Canes Venatici culminates at around midnight local time. Sat, 14 Apr 2018 (2,227 days ago) in Canes Venatici

272.

Conjunction of the Moon and Mercury The Moon and Mercury share the same right ascension, at a separation of 3°54'. Sat, 14 Apr 2018 at 05:24 EDT (2,227 days ago) in Pisces

273.

Omega Centauri is well placed The brightest globular cluster in the sky, Omega Centauri (mag 3.6) culminates at around midnight local time. Fri, 13 Apr 2018 (2,228 days ago) in Centaurus

274.

Centaurus A is well placed Centaurus A (NGC 5128; mag 7.0) culminates at around midnight local time. Fri, 13 Apr 2018 (2,228 days ago) in Centaurus

275.

136199 Eris at solar conjunction 136199 Eris 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, 13 Apr 2018 at 11:30 EDT (2,228 days ago) in Cetus

276.

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. Fri, 13 Apr 2018 at 00:19 EDT (2,228 days ago) in Aquarius

277.

Moon at Last Quarter The Moon reaches last quarter phase – rising in the east at around midnight and appearing high in the sky by sunrise. Sun, 08 Apr 2018 at 03:18 EDT (2,233 days ago) in Sagittarius

278.

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, 08 Apr 2018 at 01:31 EDT (2,233 days ago) in Sagittarius

279.

Saturn at aphelion Saturn passes the furthest point along its orbit from the Sun. Sat, 07 Apr 2018 at 14:56 EDT (2,234 days ago) in Sagittarius

280.

Conjunction of the Moon and Mars The Moon and Mars share the same right ascension, at a separation of 3°07'. Sat, 07 Apr 2018 at 14:15 EDT (2,234 days ago) in Sagittarius