The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — July 1978
Highlights this month
- 9SunThe Moon passes Venus — 4° apart. (12:37pm)
- 9SunThe Moon passes Saturn — 4° apart. (3:25pm)
- 10MonJupiter in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (8:39pm)
- 10MonVenus and Saturn in conjunction — 0.1° apart. (10:03pm)
- 11TueThe Moon passes Mars — 2° apart. (1:04am)
- 21FriUranus is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (9:49pm)
- 22SatMercury at greatest evening elongation (27° from the Sun, mag 0.4) — best evening apparition. (10:36am)
- 26WedMercury and Saturn in conjunction — 3° apart. (1:27am)
- 30SunSouthern Delta Aquariids meteor shower peaks (up to 25/hr). A thin 19% Moon leaves the sky dark.
- 30SunAlpha Capricornids meteor shower peaks (up to 5/hr). A thin 19% Moon leaves the sky dark.
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat 1 | 7:37am | 5:10pm | 9h 32m | 6:44pm | 6:03am |
| Mon 10 | 7:36am | 5:15pm | 9h 39m | 6:49pm | 6:02am |
| Thu 20 | 7:31am | 5:21pm | 9h 50m | 6:54pm | 5:58am |
| Mon 31 | 7:23am | 5:30pm | 10h 08m | 7:01pm | 5:51am |
Days lengthen by about 35 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- New MoonWed 5, 7:51pm
- First QuarterThu 13, 8:50pm
- Full Moon SupermoonThu 20, 1:08pm
- Last QuarterThu 27, 8:35am
Apogee 6 Jul (406,300 km) · Perigee 20 Jul (356,800 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Cnc | 0.1 | 9:00am | 2:12pm | 7:25pm | Evening |
| Venus | Leo | −3.9 | 9:47am | 3:13pm | 8:39pm | Evening |
| Mars | Leo | 1.5 | 10:20am | 4:05pm | 9:50pm | Evening |
| Jupiter | Gem | −1.7 | 7:24am | 12:11pm | 4:59pm | Hidden |
| Saturn | Leo | 0.6 | 9:35am | 2:54pm | 8:14pm | Evening |
| Uranus | Lib | 5.5 | 12:37pm | 7:28pm | 2:24am | Evening |
| Neptune | Oph | 7.9 | 2:34pm | 9:48pm | 5:05am | Evening |
Meteor showers
- Southern Delta Aquariids — peaks 30 July, radiant in Aquarius (up to 25/hr). A favourite southern shower with a high radiant — steady rates through the small hours; overlaps the Alpha Capricornids. A thin 19% Moon leaves the sky dark.
- Alpha Capricornids — peaks 30 July, radiant in Capricornus (up to 5/hr). Low rates but noted for slow, bright fireballs; radiant well placed from the south. A thin 19% Moon leaves the sky dark.
The solar system — July 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.