The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — July 1973
Highlights this month
- 6FriMercury is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (8:28am)
- 17TueThe Moon passes Jupiter — 3° apart. (5:31am)
- 20FriMercury in inferior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (4:01pm)
- 27FriThe Moon passes Saturn — 2° apart. (5:25pm)
- 30MonSouthern Delta Aquariids meteor shower peaks (up to 25/hr). A thin 0% Moon leaves the sky dark.
- 30MonAlpha Capricornids meteor shower peaks (up to 5/hr). A thin 0% Moon leaves the sky dark.
- 30MonJupiter at opposition — closest and brightest of the year, up all night in Capricornus (mag −2.7). (10:32pm)
- 30MonMercury is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (11:10pm)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun 1 | 7:37am | 5:10pm | 9h 32m | 6:45pm | 6:03am |
| Tue 10 | 7:36am | 5:15pm | 9h 39m | 6:49pm | 6:02am |
| Fri 20 | 7:31am | 5:22pm | 9h 51m | 6:54pm | 5:58am |
| Tue 31 | 7:22am | 5:30pm | 10h 08m | 7:02pm | 5:51am |
Days lengthen by about 36 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- First QuarterSat 7, 6:24pm
- Full MoonSun 15, 10:00pm
- Last QuarterMon 23, 2:05pm
- New MoonMon 30, 4:57am
Apogee 13 Jul (406,100 km) · Perigee 28 Jul (360,200 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Cnc | 4.5 | 7:46am | 12:56pm | 6:07pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Cnc | −3.7 | 9:05am | 2:12pm | 7:20pm | Evening |
| Mars | Psc | −0.5 | 11:56pm | 5:50am | 11:42am | Morning |
| Jupiter | Cap | −2.6 | 6:30pm | 1:38am | 8:41am | Morning |
| Saturn | Tau | −0.0 | 5:53am | 10:40am | 3:27pm | Hidden |
| Uranus | Vir | 5.5 | 11:35am | 5:59pm | 12:27am | Evening |
| Neptune | Sco | 7.9 | 1:53pm | 9:00pm | 4:11am | Evening |
Meteor showers
- Southern Delta Aquariids — peaks 30 July, radiant in Aquarius (up to 25/hr). A favourite southern shower with a high radiant — steady rates through the small hours; overlaps the Alpha Capricornids. A thin 0% Moon leaves the sky dark.
- Alpha Capricornids — peaks 30 July, radiant in Capricornus (up to 5/hr). Low rates but noted for slow, bright fireballs; radiant well placed from the south. A thin 0% Moon leaves the sky dark.
The solar system — July 1973
Evening sky Morning sky Up much of the night Lost in the Sun’s glare
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Generated automatically from the MPAS sky engine on 24 August 2026.