The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — April 1976
Highlights this month
- 2FriMercury in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (3:55am)
- 23FriLyrids meteor shower peaks (up to 18/hr). A 31% Moon washes out fainter meteors for part of the night.
- 25SunUranus at opposition — closest and brightest of the year, up all night in Virgo (mag 5.4). (2:41pm)
- 28WedJupiter in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (5:11am)
- 28WedMercury at greatest evening elongation (21° from the Sun, mag 0.2) — best evening apparition. (12:16pm)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thu 1 | 6:34am | 6:13pm | 11h 40m | 7:41pm | 5:06am |
| Sat 10 | 6:42am | 6:00pm | 11h 18m | 7:28pm | 5:14am |
| Tue 20 | 6:51am | 5:46pm | 10h 55m | 7:14pm | 5:23am |
| Fri 30 | 7:00am | 5:33pm | 10h 33m | 7:03pm | 5:31am |
Days shorten by about 67 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- First QuarterThu 8, 5:10am
- Full Moon SupermoonWed 14, 9:49pm
- Last QuarterWed 21, 5:13pm
- New MoonThu 29, 8:21pm
Perigee 14 Apr (356,700 km) · Apogee 27 Apr (406,200 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Ari | −1.2 | 8:00am | 1:12pm | 6:24pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Psc | −3.7 | 5:22am | 11:19am | 5:16pm | Hidden |
| Mars | Gem | 1.1 | 1:06pm | 5:44pm | 10:22pm | Evening |
| Jupiter | Ari | −1.9 | 7:34am | 12:57pm | 6:20pm | Hidden |
| Saturn | Gem | 0.0 | 1:48pm | 6:39pm | 11:30pm | Evening |
| Uranus | Vir | 5.4 | 6:14pm | 1:02am | 7:45am | All night |
| Neptune | Oph | 7.9 | 8:22pm | 3:38am | 10:50am | 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 31% Moon washes out fainter meteors for part of the night.
The solar system — April 1976
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.