The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — June 1981
Highlights this month
- 6SatSaturn is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (10:04am)
- 9TueMercury is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (6:10pm)
- 10WedThe Moon passes Jupiter — 3° apart. (9:08pm)
- 11ThuThe Moon passes Saturn — 2° apart. (1:44am)
- 15MonNeptune at opposition — closest and brightest of the year, up all night in Ophiuchus (mag 7.8). (1:44am)
- 21SunWinter solstice.
- 22MonMercury in inferior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (10:59am)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 1 | 7:27am | 5:08pm | 9h 41m | 6:42pm | 5:53am |
| Wed 10 | 7:32am | 5:06pm | 9h 33m | 6:40pm | 5:58am |
| Sat 20 | 7:36am | 5:06pm | 9h 30m | 6:41pm | 6:01am |
| Tue 30 | 7:37am | 5:09pm | 9h 32m | 6:44pm | 6:03am |
Days shorten by about 9 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- New MoonTue 2, 9:35pm
- First QuarterTue 9, 9:39pm
- Full MoonThu 18, 1:07am
- Last QuarterThu 25, 2:32pm
Perigee 1 Jun (358,000 km) · Apogee 14 Jun (405,900 km) · Perigee 30 Jun (362,100 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Gem | 4.3 | 8:13am | 1:04pm | 5:56pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Gem | −3.7 | 8:58am | 1:40pm | 6:21pm | Hidden |
| Mars | Tau | 1.5 | 6:17am | 11:07am | 3:58pm | Hidden |
| Jupiter | Vir | −1.8 | 12:52pm | 6:51pm | 12:54am | Evening |
| Saturn | Vir | 0.8 | 1:02pm | 7:01pm | 1:03am | Evening |
| Uranus | Lib | 5.5 | 3:18pm | 10:24pm | 5:34am | Evening |
| Neptune | Oph | 7.8 | 5:00pm | 12:21am | 7:37am | All night |
The solar system — June 1981
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.