The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — April 1979
Highlights this month
- 6FriThe Moon passes Jupiter — 5° apart. (2:52am)
- 6FriMercury is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (10:30am)
- 9MonThe Moon passes Saturn — 3° apart. (9:14am)
- 21SatMercury at greatest morning elongation (27° from the Sun, mag 0.4) — best morning apparition. (10:56pm)
- 23MonLyrids meteor shower peaks (up to 18/hr). A thin 14% Moon leaves the sky dark.
- 24TueThe Moon passes Venus — 0.2° apart. (12:52pm)
- 24TueThe Moon passes Mercury — 0.9° apart. (10:10pm)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun 1 | 6:33am | 6:14pm | 11h 41m | 7:42pm | 5:05am |
| Tue 10 | 6:41am | 6:01pm | 11h 20m | 7:29pm | 5:14am |
| Fri 20 | 6:51am | 5:47pm | 10h 56m | 7:15pm | 5:22am |
| Mon 30 | 7:00am | 5:34pm | 10h 34m | 7:03pm | 5:30am |
Days shorten by about 67 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- First QuarterWed 4, 7:57pm
- Full MoonThu 12, 11:19pm
- Last QuarterFri 20, 4:39am
- New MoonThu 26, 11:14pm
Apogee 7 Apr (405,300 km) · Perigee 23 Apr (366,800 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Psc | 0.6 | 4:36am | 10:46am | 4:55pm | Morning |
| Venus | Aqr | −3.8 | 3:56am | 10:15am | 4:34pm | Morning |
| Mars | Psc | 1.2 | 5:16am | 11:14am | 5:11pm | Hidden |
| Jupiter | Cnc | −1.9 | 2:04pm | 6:56pm | 11:48pm | Evening |
| Saturn | Leo | 0.4 | 4:00pm | 9:28pm | 3:00am | Evening |
| Uranus | Lib | 5.5 | 6:58pm | 2:02am | 9:01am | Morning |
| Neptune | Oph | 7.9 | 8:50pm | 4:09am | 11:24am | 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 thin 14% Moon leaves the sky dark.
The solar system — April 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.
Looking for an earlier month? Browse all past monthly guides →
Generated automatically from the MPAS sky engine on 23 August 2026.