The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — February 1980
Highlights this month
- 3SunThe Moon passes Jupiter — 0.5° apart. (6:27pm)
- 4MonThe Moon passes Mars — 3° apart. (5:18am)
- 5TueThe Moon passes Saturn — 0.1° apart. (7:28am)
- 19TueMercury at greatest evening elongation (18° from the Sun, mag −0.5) — best evening apparition. (11:25pm)
- 25MonJupiter at opposition — closest and brightest of the year, up all night in Leo (mag −2.4). (4:57am)
- 25MonMars at opposition — closest and brightest of the year, up all night in Leo (mag −1.2). (4:39pm)
- 25MonMercury is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (10:23pm)
- 28ThuMars and Jupiter in conjunction — 3° apart. (9:10am)
- 29FriUranus is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (4:08pm)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thu 1 | 6:31am | 8:35pm | 14h 03m | 10:18pm | 4:48am |
| Sat 10 | 6:42am | 8:26pm | 13h 44m | 10:05pm | 5:02am |
| Tue 20 | 6:53am | 8:14pm | 13h 21m | 9:49pm | 5:18am |
| Thu 29 | 7:03am | 8:02pm | 12h 59m | 9:34pm | 5:30am |
Days shorten by about 64 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- Full MoonFri 1, 1:24pm
- Last QuarterSat 9, 6:41pm
- New MoonSat 16, 7:52pm
- First QuarterSat 23, 11:10am
Apogee 5 Feb (405,800 km) · Perigee 17 Feb (358,700 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Aqr | −0.9 | 8:14am | 2:38pm | 9:02pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Psc | −4.0 | 10:09am | 4:05pm | 10:01pm | Hidden |
| Mars | Leo | −1.1 | 9:08pm | 2:37am | 8:00am | Morning |
| Jupiter | Leo | −2.3 | 8:47pm | 2:20am | 7:49am | All night |
| Saturn | Vir | 0.6 | 9:39pm | 3:32am | 9:22am | Morning |
| Uranus | Lib | 5.6 | 12:12am | 7:17am | 2:21pm | Morning |
| Neptune | Oph | 7.9 | 1:54am | 9:10am | 4:26pm | Morning |
The solar system — February 1980
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.