The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — April 2010
Highlights this month
- 9FriMercury at greatest evening elongation (19° from the Sun, mag −0.0) — best evening apparition. (9:26am)
- 18SunMercury is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (8:05pm)
- 22ThuThe Moon passes Mars — 4° apart. (4:44pm)
- 23FriLyrids meteor shower peaks (up to 18/hr). A bright 67% Moon interferes badly this year.
- 29ThuMercury in inferior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (2:40am)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thu 1 | 7:33am | 7:14pm | 11h 40m | 8:41pm | 6:06am |
| Sat 10 | 6:42am | 6:00pm | 11h 18m | 7:28pm | 5:14am |
| Tue 20 | 6:51am | 5:46pm | 10h 55m | 7:14pm | 5:23am |
| Fri 30 | 7:00am | 5:34pm | 10h 33m | 7:03pm | 5:31am |
Days shorten by about 67 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- Last QuarterTue 6, 7:41pm
- New MoonWed 14, 10:36pm
- First QuarterThu 22, 4:23am
- Full MoonWed 28, 10:15pm
Apogee 9 Apr (405,300 km) · Perigee 25 Apr (367,000 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Ari | 1.1 | 8:20am | 1:22pm | 6:24pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Ari | −3.7 | 8:41am | 1:48pm | 6:54pm | Hidden |
| Mars | Cnc | 0.5 | 2:33pm | 7:25pm | 12:20am | Evening |
| Jupiter | Aqr | −1.9 | 3:57am | 10:14am | 4:31pm | Morning |
| Saturn | Vir | 0.6 | 4:54pm | 10:48pm | 4:46am | Evening |
| Uranus | Psc | 6.0 | 4:36am | 10:42am | 4:48pm | Morning |
| Neptune | Aqr | 7.9 | 2:07am | 8:50am | 3:32pm | 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 bright 67% Moon interferes badly this year.
The solar system — April 2010
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.