The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — April 1971
Highlights this month
- 1ThuMercury at greatest evening elongation (19° from the Sun, mag −0.1) — best evening apparition. (2:46pm)
- 2FriUranus at opposition — closest and brightest of the year, up all night in Virgo (mag 5.4). (7:50am)
- 10SatMercury is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (5:01am)
- 18SunThe Moon passes Mars — 2° apart. (11:59am)
- 20TueMercury in inferior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (9:28am)
- 23FriThe Moon passes Venus — 5° apart. (4:49am)
- 23FriLyrids meteor shower peaks (up to 18/hr). A thin 5% Moon leaves the sky dark.
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thu 1 | 6:33am | 6:14pm | 11h 42m | 7:42pm | 5:05am |
| Sat 10 | 6:41am | 6:01pm | 11h 20m | 7:29pm | 5:13am |
| Tue 20 | 6:50am | 5:47pm | 10h 56m | 7:15pm | 5:22am |
| Fri 30 | 7:00am | 5:34pm | 10h 35m | 7:03pm | 5:30am |
Days shorten by about 67 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- First QuarterSat 3, 1:45am
- Full MoonSun 11, 6:14am
- Last QuarterSun 18, 11:05pm
- New MoonSun 25, 1:58pm
Apogee 8 Apr (406,100 km) · Perigee 24 Apr (359,700 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Ari | 4.5 | 7:33am | 12:46pm | 6:00pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Aqr | −3.8 | 3:53am | 10:13am | 4:33pm | Morning |
| Mars | Sgr | 0.1 | 10:54pm | 6:16am | 1:36pm | Morning |
| Jupiter | Sco | −2.2 | 7:53pm | 3:07am | 10:16am | Morning |
| Saturn | Ari | 0.1 | 9:00am | 2:09pm | 7:18pm | Hidden |
| Uranus | Vir | 5.4 | 5:16pm | 11:29pm | 5:46am | Evening |
| Neptune | Sco | 7.9 | 7:46pm | 2:55am | 10:00am | Morning |
Meteor showers
- Lyrids — peaks 23 April, radiant in Lyra (up to 18/hr). A modest shower; the radiant is low in the north-east before dawn from Victoria. A thin 5% Moon leaves the sky dark.
The solar system — April 1971
Evening sky Morning sky Up much of the night Lost in the Sun’s glare
Open the full interactive orrery ↗ — fast-forward, pick any date, toggle the Moon and more.
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Generated automatically from the MPAS sky engine on 24 August 2026.