The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — March 1985
Highlights this month
- 8FriSaturn is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (7:22am)
- 12TueThe Moon passes Saturn — 3° apart. (7:46am)
- 12TueVenus is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (6:45pm)
- 17SunThe Moon passes Jupiter — 5° apart. (2:44pm)
- 17SunMercury at greatest evening elongation (18° from the Sun, mag −0.3) — best evening apparition. (4:46pm)
- 21ThuAutumn equinox.
- 23SatUranus is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (6:05am)
- 24SunMercury is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (10:35pm)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thu 1 | 7:03am | 8:01pm | 12h 57m | 9:32pm | 5:31am |
| Sun 10 | 6:13am | 6:47pm | 12h 35m | 8:17pm | 4:42am |
| Wed 20 | 6:22am | 6:32pm | 12h 10m | 8:00pm | 4:54am |
| Sun 31 | 6:33am | 6:15pm | 11h 43m | 7:43pm | 5:05am |
Days shorten by about 75 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- Full MoonThu 7, 12:17pm
- Last QuarterThu 14, 3:34am
- New MoonThu 21, 9:58pm
- First QuarterSat 30, 2:18am
Perigee 8 Mar (359,600 km) · Apogee 24 Mar (406,100 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Psc | −0.6 | 7:50am | 1:32pm | 7:14pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Psc | −4.5 | 8:48am | 2:00pm | 7:12pm | Hidden |
| Mars | Ari | 1.4 | 9:15am | 2:40pm | 8:06pm | Hidden |
| Jupiter | Cap | −1.8 | 2:27am | 9:31am | 4:35pm | Morning |
| Saturn | Lib | 0.2 | 9:32pm | 4:36am | 11:35am | Morning |
| Uranus | Oph | 5.6 | 10:34pm | 5:58am | 1:18pm | Morning |
| Neptune | Sgr | 7.9 | 11:44pm | 7:05am | 2:23pm | Morning |
The solar system — March 1985
Evening sky Morning sky Up much of the night Lost in the Sun’s glare
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Generated automatically from the MPAS sky engine on 21 August 2026.