The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — September 1976
Highlights this month
- 8WedMercury and Venus in conjunction — 5° apart. (7:09am)
- 9ThuMercury is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (12:03am)
- 11SatVenus and Mars in conjunction — 0.4° apart. (2:48pm)
- 15WedThe Moon passes Jupiter — 1° apart. (5:43am)
- 20MonJupiter is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (6:07am)
- 22WedMercury in inferior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (11:30am)
- 23ThuSpring equinox.
- 26SunThe Moon passes Venus — 0.7° apart. (3:55am)
- 30ThuMercury is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (7:33pm)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wed 1 | 6:42am | 5:58pm | 11h 16m | 7:26pm | 5:15am |
| Fri 10 | 6:29am | 6:06pm | 11h 37m | 7:33pm | 5:01am |
| Mon 20 | 6:13am | 6:14pm | 12h 01m | 7:43pm | 4:45am |
| Thu 30 | 5:57am | 6:23pm | 12h 26m | 7:53pm | 4:28am |
Days lengthen by about 70 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- First QuarterWed 1, 1:31pm
- Full MoonWed 8, 10:50pm
- Last QuarterFri 17, 3:24am
- New MoonFri 24, 6:01am
- First QuarterThu 30, 9:06pm
Apogee 13 Sep (405,700 km) · Perigee 25 Sep (359,300 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Vir | 2.4 | 6:37am | 12:58pm | 7:18pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Vir | −3.7 | 7:24am | 1:45pm | 8:07pm | Evening |
| Mars | Vir | 1.7 | 7:17am | 1:36pm | 7:55pm | Hidden |
| Jupiter | Tau | −2.3 | 11:39pm | 4:41am | 9:40am | Morning |
| Saturn | Cnc | 0.3 | 4:39am | 9:44am | 2:48pm | Hidden |
| Uranus | Vir | 5.6 | 8:11am | 2:53pm | 9:36pm | Evening |
| Neptune | Oph | 7.9 | 10:11am | 5:22pm | 12:37am | Evening |
The solar system — September 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.