The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — March 1979
Highlights this month
- 2FriSaturn at opposition — closest and brightest of the year, up all night in Leo (mag 0.2). (3:53am)
- 8ThuMercury at greatest evening elongation (18° from the Sun, mag −0.4) — best evening apparition. (10:48am)
- 9FriThe Moon passes Jupiter — 5° apart. (8:14pm)
- 13TueThe Moon passes Saturn — 3° apart. (5:39am)
- 15ThuMercury is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (12:57am)
- 21WedAutumn equinox.
- 23FriNeptune is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (3:20pm)
- 25SunMercury in inferior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (12:00am)
- 25SunThe Moon passes Venus — 2° apart. (6:06pm)
- 26MonJupiter is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (9:46am)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wed 1 | 7:03am | 8:01pm | 12h 58m | 9:33pm | 5:30am |
| Sat 10 | 6:12am | 6:48pm | 12h 36m | 8:18pm | 4:42am |
| Tue 20 | 6:22am | 6:33pm | 12h 11m | 8:01pm | 4:53am |
| Sat 31 | 6:32am | 6:16pm | 11h 44m | 7:44pm | 5:04am |
Days shorten by about 75 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- First QuarterTue 6, 2:21am
- Full MoonWed 14, 7:15am
- Last QuarterWed 21, 9:33pm
- New MoonWed 28, 12:59pm
Apogee 10 Mar (406,000 km) · Perigee 26 Mar (361,500 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Psc | 1.3 | 7:36am | 1:17pm | 6:59pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Cap | −3.9 | 2:56am | 9:54am | 4:52pm | Morning |
| Mars | Aqr | 1.2 | 5:18am | 11:47am | 6:15pm | Hidden |
| Jupiter | Cnc | −2.2 | 4:04pm | 8:56pm | 1:52am | Evening |
| Saturn | Leo | 0.3 | 6:06pm | 11:37pm | 5:11am | Evening |
| Uranus | Lib | 5.5 | 9:03pm | 4:07am | 11:07am | Morning |
| Neptune | Oph | 7.9 | 10:52pm | 6:11am | 1:27pm | Morning |
The solar system — March 1979
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.