The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — March 1980
Highlights this month
- 1SatThe Moon passes Mars — 4° apart. (5:18pm)
- 1SatThe Moon passes Jupiter — 0.8° apart. (6:17pm)
- 3MonThe Moon passes Saturn — 0.1° apart. (9:31am)
- 6ThuMercury in inferior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (3:35pm)
- 14FriSaturn at opposition — closest and brightest of the year, up all night in Leo (mag 0.5). (11:11am)
- 19WedMercury is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (12:30am)
- 20ThuAutumn equinox.
- 25TueNeptune is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (1:48am)
- 28FriThe Moon passes Mars — 4° apart. (7:24am)
- 28FriThe Moon passes Jupiter — 1° apart. (5:14pm)
- 30SunThe Moon passes Saturn — 0.3° apart. (11:28am)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fri 1 | 7:04am | 8:00pm | 12h 57m | 9:32pm | 5:31am |
| Mon 10 | 6:13am | 6:47pm | 12h 34m | 8:17pm | 4:43am |
| Thu 20 | 6:22am | 6:32pm | 12h 09m | 8:00pm | 4:54am |
| Mon 31 | 6:33am | 6:15pm | 11h 42m | 7:42pm | 5:05am |
Days shorten by about 75 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- Full MoonSun 2, 7:03am
- Last QuarterMon 10, 9:57am
- New MoonMon 17, 4:54am
- First QuarterSun 23, 10:29pm
Apogee 3 Mar (406,200 km) · Perigee 17 Mar (356,700 km) · Apogee 30 Mar (406,200 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Aqr | 2.0 | 5:04am | 11:26am | 5:48pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Ari | −4.2 | 10:03am | 3:13pm | 8:23pm | Hidden |
| Mars | Leo | −0.9 | 5:45pm | 10:56pm | 4:13am | Evening |
| Jupiter | Leo | −2.3 | 5:43pm | 11:08pm | 4:37am | Evening |
| Saturn | Leo | 0.5 | 6:40pm | 12:31am | 6:17am | All night |
| Uranus | Lib | 5.5 | 9:14pm | 4:23am | 11:27am | Morning |
| Neptune | Oph | 7.9 | 10:58pm | 6:18am | 1:34pm | Morning |
The solar system — March 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.