The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — September 2008
Highlights this month
- 2TueThe Moon passes Venus — 5° apart. (1:44am)
- 2TueThe Moon passes Mercury — 3° apart. (6:38am)
- 2TueThe Moon passes Mars — 4° apart. (1:27pm)
- 4ThuSaturn in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (12:00pm)
- 7SunMercury and Mars in conjunction — 3° apart. (1:23pm)
- 8MonJupiter is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (1:08pm)
- 10WedThe Moon passes Jupiter — 3° apart. (7:14am)
- 11ThuMercury at greatest evening elongation (27° from the Sun, mag 0.2) — best evening apparition. (2:18pm)
- 12FriVenus and Mars in conjunction — 0.3° apart. (12:43pm)
- 13SatMercury and Venus in conjunction — 4° apart. (1:57am)
- 13SatUranus at opposition — closest and brightest of the year, up all night in Aquarius (mag 5.8). (12:14pm)
- 23TueMercury and Mars in conjunction — 4° apart. (9:45am)
- 23TueSpring equinox.
- 24WedMercury is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (3:16pm)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 1 | 6:42am | 5:58pm | 11h 16m | 7:26pm | 5:14am |
| Wed 10 | 6:28am | 6:06pm | 11h 38m | 7:34pm | 5:01am |
| Sat 20 | 6:13am | 6:15pm | 12h 02m | 7:43pm | 4:44am |
| Tue 30 | 5:57am | 6:23pm | 12h 27m | 7:53pm | 4:28am |
Days lengthen by about 70 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- First QuarterMon 8, 12:05am
- Full MoonMon 15, 7:18pm
- Last QuarterMon 22, 3:07pm
- New MoonMon 29, 6:13pm
Apogee 8 Sep (404,700 km) · Perigee 20 Sep (368,800 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Vir | 0.2 | 7:12am | 1:47pm | 8:23pm | Evening |
| Venus | Vir | −3.7 | 7:28am | 1:53pm | 8:19pm | Evening |
| Mars | Vir | 1.7 | 7:23am | 1:46pm | 8:10pm | Evening |
| Jupiter | Sgr | −2.2 | 12:15pm | 7:36pm | 3:01am | Evening |
| Saturn | Leo | 0.8 | 6:07am | 11:43am | 5:20pm | Hidden |
| Uranus | Aqr | 5.8 | 5:51pm | 12:11am | 6:27am | All night |
| Neptune | Cap | 7.8 | 3:30pm | 10:19pm | 5:12am | Evening |
The solar system — September 2008
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.