The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — April 1990
Highlights this month
- 2MonThe Moon passes Jupiter — 3° apart. (4:07am)
- 14SatMercury at greatest evening elongation (20° from the Sun, mag 0.0) — best evening apparition. (1:26am)
- 14SatUranus is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (5:40am)
- 16MonNeptune is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (4:08pm)
- 18WedThe Moon passes Saturn — 2° apart. (11:46am)
- 21SatThe Moon passes Mars — 3° apart. (3:12am)
- 22SunThe Moon passes Venus — 3° apart. (7:54am)
- 23MonLyrids meteor shower peaks (up to 18/hr). A thin 5% Moon leaves the sky dark.
- 24TueMercury is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (1:11am)
- 29SunThe Moon passes Jupiter — 3° apart. (6:12pm)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun 1 | 6:33am | 6:14pm | 11h 41m | 7:41pm | 5:06am |
| Tue 10 | 6:42am | 6:00pm | 11h 19m | 7:28pm | 5:14am |
| Fri 20 | 6:51am | 5:46pm | 10h 56m | 7:15pm | 5:22am |
| Mon 30 | 7:00am | 5:34pm | 10h 34m | 7:03pm | 5:31am |
Days shorten by about 67 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- First QuarterMon 2, 8:26pm
- Full MoonTue 10, 1:21pm
- Last QuarterWed 18, 5:04pm
- New MoonWed 25, 2:30pm
Apogee 13 Apr (406,000 km) · Perigee 26 Apr (357,300 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Ari | 0.3 | 8:30am | 1:31pm | 6:32pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Aqr | −4.2 | 3:01am | 9:31am | 4:00pm | Morning |
| Mars | Cap | 0.9 | 1:52am | 8:41am | 3:30pm | Morning |
| Jupiter | Gem | −1.8 | 12:24pm | 5:07pm | 9:49pm | Evening |
| Saturn | Sgr | 0.5 | 11:20pm | 6:36am | 1:49pm | Morning |
| Uranus | Sgr | 5.7 | 10:05pm | 5:31am | 12:53pm | Morning |
| Neptune | Sgr | 7.9 | 10:32pm | 5:52am | 1:07pm | 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 5% Moon leaves the sky dark.
The solar system — April 1990
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 19 August 2026.