281.

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. Sun, 22 Apr 2018 at 17:46 EDT (2,198 days ago) in Cancer

282.

Lyrid meteor shower 2018 The Lyrid meteor shower reaches its peak. Sun, 22 Apr 2018 (2,198 days ago) in Hercules

283.

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 (2,200 days ago) in Orion

284.

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 (2,201 days ago) in Taurus

285.

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 (2,202 days ago) in Taurus

286.

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 (2,202 days ago) in Pisces

287.

Saturn enters retrograde motion Saturn reverses its direction of motion across the sky. Tue, 17 Apr 2018 at 21:48 EDT (2,203 days ago) in Sagittarius

288.

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 (2,203 days ago) in Canes Venatici

289.

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 (2,203 days ago) in Aries

290.

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 (2,204 days ago) in Hydra

291.

New Moon The Moon disappears into the Sun's glare for a few days. Sun, 15 Apr 2018 at 21:58 EDT (2,205 days ago) in Pisces

292.

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 (2,206 days ago) in Bootes

293.

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 (2,206 days ago) in Canes Venatici

294.

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 (2,206 days ago) in Pisces

295.

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 (2,207 days ago) in Centaurus

296.

Centaurus A is well placed Centaurus A (NGC 5128; mag 7.0) culminates at around midnight local time. Fri, 13 Apr 2018 (2,207 days ago) in Centaurus

297.

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 (2,207 days ago) in Cetus

298.

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 (2,207 days ago) in Aquarius

299.

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 (2,212 days ago) in Sagittarius

300.

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 (2,212 days ago) in Sagittarius