The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — March 1974
Highlights this month
- 1FriThe Moon passes Mars — 0.5° apart. (11:55am)
- 3SunThe Moon passes Saturn — 0.6° apart. (9:26am)
- 9SatMercury is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (12:40pm)
- 12TueNeptune is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (12:13pm)
- 20WedThe Moon passes Venus — 0.8° apart. (7:50am)
- 21ThuAutumn equinox.
- 22FriMercury and Jupiter in conjunction — 0.1° apart. (2:38am)
- 24SunMercury at greatest morning elongation (28° from the Sun, mag 0.2) — best morning apparition. (6:13am)
- 29FriThe Moon passes Mars — 1° apart. (8:11pm)
- 30SatThe Moon passes Saturn — 0.2° apart. (4:23pm)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thu 1 | 7:03am | 8:01pm | 12h 58m | 9:33pm | 5:31am |
| Sun 10 | 6:12am | 6:48pm | 12h 36m | 8:18pm | 4:42am |
| Wed 20 | 6:22am | 6:33pm | 12h 11m | 8:01pm | 4:53am |
| Sun 31 | 6:32am | 6:16pm | 11h 43m | 7:43pm | 5:04am |
Days shorten by about 75 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- First QuarterSat 2, 5:09am
- Full MoonFri 8, 7:57pm
- Last QuarterSat 16, 5:18am
- New MoonSun 24, 7:30am
- First QuarterSun 31, 11:47am
Perigee 6 Mar (362,800 km) · Apogee 18 Mar (405,200 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Aqr | 0.5 | 4:13am | 10:53am | 5:33pm | Morning |
| Venus | Cap | −4.6 | 2:45am | 9:35am | 4:24pm | Morning |
| Mars | Tau | 1.1 | 12:34pm | 5:18pm | 10:01pm | Evening |
| Jupiter | Aqr | −1.8 | 4:26am | 11:06am | 5:46pm | Morning |
| Saturn | Tau | −0.1 | 1:55pm | 6:41pm | 11:27pm | Evening |
| Uranus | Vir | 5.4 | 7:56pm | 2:33am | 9:07am | Morning |
| Neptune | Oph | 7.9 | 10:11pm | 5:24am | 12:34pm | Morning |
The solar system — March 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 23 August 2026.