The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — March 2004
Highlights this month
- 1MonThe Moon passes Saturn — 5° apart. (9:26pm)
- 4ThuMercury in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (12:31pm)
- 4ThuJupiter at opposition — closest and brightest of the year, up all night in Leo (mag −2.3). (4:02pm)
- 7SunThe Moon passes Jupiter — 3° apart. (5:04am)
- 8MonSaturn is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (1:08am)
- 20SatAutumn equinox.
- 26FriThe Moon passes Mars — 0.8° apart. (10:33am)
- 29MonThe Moon passes Saturn — 5° apart. (5:29am)
- 29MonMercury at greatest evening elongation (19° from the Sun, mag −0.1) — best evening apparition. (10:17pm)
- 30TueVenus at greatest evening elongation (46° from the Sun, mag −4.4) — best evening apparition. (1:16am)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 1 | 7:04am | 8:00pm | 12h 56m | 9:32pm | 5:32am |
| Wed 10 | 7:13am | 7:47pm | 12h 34m | 9:16pm | 5:43am |
| Sat 20 | 7:23am | 7:31pm | 12h 09m | 9:00pm | 5:54am |
| Wed 31 | 6:33am | 6:14pm | 11h 42m | 7:42pm | 5:05am |
Days shorten by about 75 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- Full MoonSun 7, 10:19am
- Last QuarterSun 14, 8:03am
- New MoonSun 21, 9:43am
- First QuarterMon 29, 9:52am
Perigee 12 Mar (369,500 km) · Apogee 27 Mar (404,900 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Psc | −1.4 | 8:09am | 2:07pm | 8:05pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Ari | −4.2 | 11:08am | 4:16pm | 9:24pm | Hidden |
| Mars | Tau | 1.3 | 12:26pm | 5:21pm | 10:16pm | Evening |
| Jupiter | Leo | −2.3 | 7:08pm | 12:48am | 6:24am | Evening |
| Saturn | Gem | −0.1 | 3:29pm | 8:14pm | 1:03am | Evening |
| Uranus | Aqr | 6.0 | 5:36am | 12:13pm | 6:49pm | Hidden |
| Neptune | Cap | 7.9 | 3:59am | 10:55am | 5:52pm | Morning |
The solar system — March 2004
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 15 July 2026.