The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — April 1987
Highlights this month
- 1WedUranus is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (12:22pm)
- 2ThuThe Moon passes Mars — 3° apart. (5:36pm)
- 10FriNeptune is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (5:52am)
- 23ThuLyrids meteor shower peaks (up to 18/hr). A 25% Moon washes out fainter meteors for part of the night.
- 25SatThe Moon passes Venus — 0.9° apart. (9:43pm)
- 26SunThe Moon passes Jupiter — 1° apart. (3:00pm)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wed 1 | 6:33am | 6:14pm | 11h 41m | 7:42pm | 5:05am |
| Fri 10 | 6:41am | 6:01pm | 11h 19m | 7:28pm | 5:14am |
| Mon 20 | 6:51am | 5:47pm | 10h 56m | 7:15pm | 5:22am |
| Thu 30 | 7:00am | 5:34pm | 10h 34m | 7:03pm | 5:30am |
Days shorten by about 67 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- First QuarterMon 6, 5:48pm
- Full MoonTue 14, 12:32pm
- Last QuarterTue 21, 8:20am
- New MoonTue 28, 11:38am
Apogee 6 Apr (404,700 km) · Perigee 19 Apr (369,000 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Psc | −0.3 | 4:59am | 11:06am | 5:12pm | Morning |
| Venus | Aqr | −3.8 | 3:59am | 10:17am | 4:36pm | Morning |
| Mars | Tau | 1.6 | 10:18am | 3:06pm | 7:54pm | Evening |
| Jupiter | Psc | −1.9 | 5:37am | 11:29am | 5:21pm | Hidden |
| Saturn | Oph | 0.2 | 8:53pm | 4:11am | 11:26am | Morning |
| Uranus | Sgr | 5.6 | 9:09pm | 4:36am | 11:58am | Morning |
| Neptune | Sgr | 7.9 | 10:04pm | 5:25am | 12:42pm | 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 25% Moon washes out fainter meteors for part of the night.
The solar system — April 1987
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 20 August 2026.