The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — April 1985
Highlights this month
- 3WedMercury in inferior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (11:57pm)
- 4ThuVenus in inferior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (7:58am)
- 5FriNeptune is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (7:36am)
- 8MonThe Moon passes Saturn — 3° apart. (3:26pm)
- 14SunThe Moon passes Jupiter — 5° apart. (5:25am)
- 16TueMercury is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (9:54am)
- 22MonVenus is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (9:47pm)
- 23TueLyrids meteor shower peaks (up to 18/hr). A thin 8% Moon leaves the sky dark.
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 1 | 6:34am | 6:14pm | 11h 40m | 7:41pm | 5:06am |
| Wed 10 | 6:42am | 6:00pm | 11h 18m | 7:28pm | 5:14am |
| Sat 20 | 6:51am | 5:46pm | 10h 55m | 7:14pm | 5:23am |
| Tue 30 | 7:00am | 5:33pm | 10h 33m | 7:03pm | 5:31am |
Days shorten by about 67 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- Full Moon SupermoonFri 5, 9:35pm
- Last QuarterFri 12, 2:40pm
- New MoonSat 20, 3:23pm
- First QuarterSun 28, 2:34pm
Perigee 6 Apr (356,900 km) · Apogee 20 Apr (406,300 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Psc | 2.0 | 5:20am | 11:13am | 5:07pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Psc | −4.1 | 5:33am | 11:08am | 4:43pm | Hidden |
| Mars | Ari | 1.5 | 9:04am | 2:05pm | 7:06pm | Hidden |
| Jupiter | Cap | −1.9 | 12:52am | 7:51am | 2:50pm | Morning |
| Saturn | Lib | 0.1 | 7:27pm | 2:29am | 9:28am | Morning |
| Uranus | Oph | 5.6 | 8:31pm | 3:55am | 11:15am | Morning |
| Neptune | Sgr | 7.9 | 9:42pm | 5:04am | 12:21pm | Morning |
Meteor showers
- Lyrids — peaks 23 April, radiant in Lyra (up to 18/hr). A modest shower; the radiant is low in the north-east before dawn from Victoria. A thin 8% Moon leaves the sky dark.
The solar system — April 1985
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 21 August 2026.