The Sky for the Month

The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — November 1981

Computed for The Briars, Mt Martha. Times are local (Melbourne).

Highlights this month

  • 3TueMercury at greatest morning elongation (19° from the Sun, mag −0.6) — best morning apparition. (2:33pm)
  • 5ThuSouthern Taurids meteor shower peaks (up to 5/hr). A 52% Moon washes out fainter meteors for part of the night.
  • 11WedVenus at greatest evening elongation (47° from the Sun, mag −4.4) — best evening apparition. (12:32pm)
  • 17TueLeonids meteor shower peaks (up to 15/hr). A bright 65% Moon interferes badly this year.
  • 20FriThe Moon passes Mars — 2° apart. (4:15pm)
  • 23MonUranus in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (5:47am)

Sun & twilight

DateSunriseSunsetDay lengthAstro. dark beginsends
Sat 16:13am7:55pm13h 42m9:34pm4:34am
Mon 106:03am8:05pm14h 01m9:48pm4:21am
Thu 205:55am8:16pm14h 20m10:03pm4:08am
Sun 305:51am8:26pm14h 35m10:18pm3:59am

Days lengthen by about 53 minutes over the month.

The Moon

  • First QuarterThu 5, 12:12pm
  • Full Moon SupermoonThu 12, 9:35am
  • Last QuarterThu 19, 1:51am
  • New MoonFri 27, 1:37am

Perigee 13 Nov (357,100 km) · Apogee 27 Nov (406,300 km)

The planets

Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.

PlanetInMagRiseTransitSetBest
MercuryLib−0.95:25am12:09pm6:54pmHidden
VenusSgr−4.58:50am4:27pm12:03amEvening
MarsLeo1.33:11am8:48am2:26pmMorning
JupiterVir−1.54:55am11:28am6:01pmHidden
SaturnVir0.74:35am10:52am5:09pmHidden
UranusLib5.76:26am1:35pm8:43pmHidden
NeptuneOph8.07:58am3:15pm10:31pmEvening

Meteor showers

  • Southern Taurids — peaks 5 November, radiant in Taurus (up to 5/hr). Sparse but rich in slow fireballs over a long, broad maximum. A 52% Moon washes out fainter meteors for part of the night.
  • Leonids — peaks 17 November, radiant in Leo (up to 15/hr). Fast meteors; the radiant rises after midnight and is moderate from the south. A bright 65% Moon interferes badly this year.

The solar system — November 1981

Evening sky Morning sky Up much of the night Lost in the Sun’s glare

Generated automatically from the MPAS sky engine on 23 August 2026.