The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — February 1974
Highlights this month
- 1FriThe Moon passes Mars — 2° apart. (3:41am)
- 1FriUranus is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (3:35pm)
- 4MonThe Moon passes Saturn — 0.9° apart. (3:27am)
- 9SatMercury at greatest evening elongation (18° from the Sun, mag −0.6) — best evening apparition. (7:38pm)
- 13WedVenus is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (10:33am)
- 14ThuJupiter in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (2:46am)
- 15FriMercury is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (4:02pm)
- 19TueThe Moon passes Venus — 4° apart. (4:04pm)
- 25MonMercury in inferior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (7:23am)
- 28ThuSaturn is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (8:06am)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thu 1 | 6:32am | 8:34pm | 14h 03m | 10:17pm | 4:49am |
| Sat 10 | 6:42am | 8:25pm | 13h 43m | 10:04pm | 5:03am |
| Tue 20 | 6:53am | 8:13pm | 13h 20m | 9:48pm | 5:18am |
| Wed 28 | 7:02am | 8:02pm | 13h 00m | 9:35pm | 5:29am |
Days shorten by about 62 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- Full MoonThu 7, 10:19am
- Last QuarterThu 14, 11:03am
- New MoonFri 22, 4:39pm
Perigee 6 Feb (358,400 km) · Apogee 18 Feb (405,800 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Aqr | 0.5 | 8:12am | 2:30pm | 8:48pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Sgr | −4.6 | 4:40am | 11:27am | 6:14pm | Morning |
| Mars | Ari | 0.6 | 2:07pm | 7:03pm | 12:00am | Evening |
| Jupiter | Cap | −1.8 | 6:43am | 1:31pm | 8:18pm | Hidden |
| Saturn | Tau | −0.3 | 4:44pm | 9:31pm | 2:21am | Evening |
| Uranus | Vir | 5.4 | 10:48pm | 5:26am | 12:00pm | Morning |
| Neptune | Oph | 7.9 | 1:04am | 8:14am | 3:24pm | Morning |
The solar system — February 1974
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.