The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — February 1978
Highlights this month
- 16ThuSaturn at opposition — closest and brightest of the year, up all night in Leo (mag −0.1). (2:22pm)
- 17FriThe Moon passes Jupiter — 5° apart. (9:51pm)
- 20MonUranus is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (1:35am)
- 20MonJupiter is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (12:23pm)
- 22WedThe Moon passes Saturn — 5° apart. (10:46pm)
- 27MonMercury in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (1:52pm)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tue 1 | 6:32am | 8:34pm | 14h 02m | 10:17pm | 4:49am |
| Thu 10 | 6:42am | 8:25pm | 13h 43m | 10:04pm | 5:03am |
| Sun 20 | 6:53am | 8:13pm | 13h 20m | 9:48pm | 5:18am |
| Mon 28 | 7:02am | 8:02pm | 13h 00m | 9:35pm | 5:29am |
Days shorten by about 62 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- Last QuarterWed 1, 10:57am
- New MoonWed 8, 1:54am
- First QuarterWed 15, 9:16am
- Full MoonThu 23, 12:27pm
Perigee 6 Feb (361,200 km) · Apogee 18 Feb (405,400 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Cap | −0.8 | 5:58am | 1:00pm | 8:03pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Aqr | −3.8 | 7:15am | 1:58pm | 8:40pm | Hidden |
| Mars | Gem | −0.8 | 6:50pm | 11:25pm | 4:04am | Evening |
| Jupiter | Tau | −2.2 | 4:39pm | 9:23pm | 2:10am | Evening |
| Saturn | Leo | −0.1 | 8:21pm | 1:43am | 7:00am | All night |
| Uranus | Lib | 5.5 | 11:39pm | 6:38am | 1:34pm | Morning |
| Neptune | Oph | 7.9 | 1:36am | 8:50am | 4:04pm | Morning |
The solar system — February 1978
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.