The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — March 2012
Highlights this month
- 4SunMars at opposition — closest and brightest of the year, up all night in Leo (mag −1.2). (7:09am)
- 5MonMercury at greatest evening elongation (18° from the Sun, mag −0.4) — best evening apparition. (8:25pm)
- 12MonMercury is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (7:52am)
- 20TueAutumn equinox.
- 22ThuMercury in inferior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (6:17am)
- 25SunUranus in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (5:40am)
- 27TueVenus at greatest evening elongation (46° from the Sun, mag −4.4) — best evening apparition. (5:41pm)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thu 1 | 7:04am | 8:00pm | 12h 56m | 9:32pm | 5:32am |
| Sat 10 | 7:13am | 7:47pm | 12h 34m | 9:16pm | 5:43am |
| Tue 20 | 7:23am | 7:31pm | 12h 09m | 9:00pm | 5:54am |
| Sat 31 | 7:33am | 7:14pm | 11h 41m | 8:42pm | 6:05am |
Days shorten by about 75 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- First QuarterThu 1, 12:22pm
- Full MoonThu 8, 8:45pm
- Last QuarterThu 15, 12:27pm
- New MoonFri 23, 1:37am
- First QuarterSat 31, 6:45am
Perigee 10 Mar (362,800 km) · Apogee 26 Mar (405,800 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Psc | 2.4 | 8:21am | 2:05pm | 7:48pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Ari | −4.2 | 11:09am | 4:17pm | 9:24pm | Hidden |
| Mars | Leo | −1.1 | 7:11pm | 12:40am | 6:04am | Evening |
| Jupiter | Ari | −1.9 | 11:00am | 4:18pm | 9:35pm | Evening |
| Saturn | Vir | 0.2 | 9:06pm | 3:39am | 10:07am | Morning |
| Uranus | Psc | 6.0 | 8:04am | 2:03pm | 8:02pm | Hidden |
| Neptune | Aqr | 7.9 | 5:24am | 12:03pm | 6:41pm | Morning |
The solar system — March 2012
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.