The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — April 1996
Highlights this month
- 1MonVenus at greatest evening elongation (46° from the Sun, mag −4.4) — best evening apparition. (9:49am)
- 16TueThe Moon passes Saturn — 3° apart. (9:06am)
- 23TueLyrids meteor shower peaks (up to 18/hr). A 26% Moon washes out fainter meteors for part of the night.
- 23TueMercury at greatest evening elongation (20° from the Sun, mag 0.2) — best evening apparition. (5:36pm)
- 29MonNeptune is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (3:51pm)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 1 | 6:34am | 6:13pm | 11h 39m | 7:41pm | 5:06am |
| Wed 10 | 6:42am | 6:00pm | 11h 18m | 7:27pm | 5:14am |
| Sat 20 | 6:51am | 5:46pm | 10h 54m | 7:14pm | 5:23am |
| Tue 30 | 7:01am | 5:33pm | 10h 33m | 7:03pm | 5:31am |
Days shorten by about 67 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- Full MoonThu 4, 10:08am
- Last QuarterThu 11, 9:41am
- New MoonThu 18, 8:52am
- First QuarterFri 26, 6:39am
Perigee 11 Apr (369,900 km) · Apogee 25 Apr (404,800 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Ari | −0.8 | 8:18am | 1:24pm | 6:30pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Tau | −4.5 | 10:45am | 3:18pm | 7:51pm | Evening |
| Mars | Psc | 1.2 | 6:04am | 11:48am | 5:32pm | Hidden |
| Jupiter | Sgr | −2.0 | 10:40pm | 6:01am | 1:18pm | Morning |
| Saturn | Psc | 1.0 | 4:46am | 10:52am | 4:59pm | Morning |
| Uranus | Cap | 5.8 | 12:06am | 7:14am | 2:22pm | Morning |
| Neptune | Sgr | 7.9 | 11:32pm | 6:45am | 1:55pm | 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 26% Moon washes out fainter meteors for part of the night.
The solar system — April 1996
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 17 August 2026.