The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — April 2004
Highlights this month
- 3SatThe Moon passes Jupiter — 3° apart. (7:58am)
- 7WedMercury is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (7:07am)
- 17SatMercury in inferior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (11:01am)
- 23FriLyrids meteor shower peaks (up to 18/hr). A thin 12% Moon leaves the sky dark.
- 23FriThe Moon passes Venus — 1° apart. (8:53pm)
- 24SatThe Moon passes Mars — 2° apart. (6:14am)
- 25SunThe Moon passes Saturn — 5° apart. (4:30pm)
- 29ThuMercury is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (7:39pm)
- 30FriThe Moon passes Jupiter — 3° apart. (2:49pm)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thu 1 | 6:34am | 6:13pm | 11h 39m | 7:41pm | 5:06am |
| Sat 10 | 6:42am | 6:00pm | 11h 17m | 7:27pm | 5:14am |
| Tue 20 | 6:51am | 5:46pm | 10h 54m | 7:14pm | 5:23am |
| Fri 30 | 7:01am | 5:33pm | 10h 32m | 7:02pm | 5:31am |
Days shorten by about 67 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- Full MoonMon 5, 9:06pm
- Last QuarterMon 12, 1:46pm
- New MoonMon 19, 11:25pm
- First QuarterWed 28, 3:36am
Perigee 8 Apr (364,900 km) · Apogee 24 Apr (405,600 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Ari | 6.6 | 7:10am | 12:29pm | 5:48pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Tau | −4.5 | 10:44am | 3:17pm | 7:49pm | Evening |
| Mars | Tau | 1.5 | 11:02am | 3:43pm | 8:25pm | Evening |
| Jupiter | Leo | −2.1 | 3:58pm | 9:30pm | 3:07am | Evening |
| Saturn | Gem | −0.0 | 12:33pm | 5:18pm | 10:03pm | Evening |
| Uranus | Aqr | 5.9 | 2:42am | 9:16am | 3:51pm | Morning |
| Neptune | Cap | 7.9 | 1:01am | 7:57am | 2:52pm | 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 12% Moon leaves the sky dark.
The solar system — April 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.
Looking for an earlier month? Browse all past monthly guides →
Generated automatically from the MPAS sky engine on 15 July 2026.