The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — April 1998
Highlights this month
- 7TueMercury in inferior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (2:30am)
- 13MonSaturn in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (9:05pm)
- 19SunMercury is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (12:13pm)
- 23ThuVenus and Jupiter in conjunction — 0.3° apart. (10:15am)
- 23ThuLyrids meteor shower peaks (up to 18/hr). A thin 15% Moon leaves the sky dark.
- 23ThuThe Moon passes Jupiter — 0.2° apart. (5:05pm)
- 23ThuThe Moon passes Venus — 0.1° apart. (5:32pm)
- 25SatThe Moon passes Mercury — 0.9° apart. (5:19am)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wed 1 | 6:33am | 6:14pm | 11h 40m | 7:41pm | 5:06am |
| Fri 10 | 6:42am | 6:00pm | 11h 19m | 7:28pm | 5:14am |
| Mon 20 | 6:51am | 5:46pm | 10h 55m | 7:15pm | 5:23am |
| Thu 30 | 7:00am | 5:34pm | 10h 34m | 7:03pm | 5:31am |
Days shorten by about 67 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- First QuarterSat 4, 6:17am
- Full MoonSun 12, 8:28am
- Last QuarterMon 20, 6:01am
- New MoonSun 26, 9:39pm
Apogee 11 Apr (406,200 km) · Perigee 26 Apr (357,600 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Psc | 3.0 | 5:41am | 11:28am | 5:14pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Aqr | −4.2 | 3:02am | 9:31am | 4:00pm | Morning |
| Mars | Ari | 1.3 | 7:20am | 12:45pm | 6:10pm | Hidden |
| Jupiter | Aqr | −1.9 | 3:37am | 9:59am | 4:21pm | Morning |
| Saturn | Psc | 0.4 | 6:38am | 12:18pm | 5:58pm | Hidden |
| Uranus | Cap | 5.9 | 12:48am | 7:48am | 2:49pm | Morning |
| Neptune | Cap | 7.9 | 11:55pm | 7:05am | 2:12pm | 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 15% Moon leaves the sky dark.
The solar system — April 1998
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 16 August 2026.