The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — April 2014
Highlights this month
- 2WedUranus in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (6:36pm)
- 9WedMars at opposition — closest and brightest of the year, up all night in Virgo (mag −1.5). (7:15am)
- 15TueThe Moon passes Mars — 3° apart. (2:35am)
- 17ThuThe Moon passes Saturn — 0.4° apart. (5:10pm)
- 23WedLyrids meteor shower peaks (up to 18/hr). A 39% Moon washes out fainter meteors for part of the night.
- 26SatThe Moon passes Venus — 4° apart. (6:47am)
- 26SatMercury in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (1:17pm)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tue 1 | 7:33am | 7:14pm | 11h 40m | 8:41pm | 6:06am |
| Thu 10 | 6:42am | 6:00pm | 11h 18m | 7:28pm | 5:14am |
| Sun 20 | 6:51am | 5:46pm | 10h 55m | 7:14pm | 5:23am |
| Wed 30 | 7:00am | 5:34pm | 10h 33m | 7:03pm | 5:31am |
Days shorten by about 67 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- First QuarterMon 7, 6:34pm
- Full MoonTue 15, 5:44pm
- Last QuarterTue 22, 5:58pm
- New MoonTue 29, 4:18pm
Apogee 8 Apr (404,900 km) · Perigee 23 Apr (369,700 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Psc | −1.0 | 5:46am | 11:39am | 5:31pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Aqr | −4.1 | 3:04am | 9:33am | 4:02pm | Morning |
| Mars | Vir | −1.4 | 5:34pm | 11:54pm | 6:10am | Evening |
| Jupiter | Gem | −1.9 | 12:58pm | 5:42pm | 10:26pm | Evening |
| Saturn | Lib | 0.1 | 7:11pm | 2:09am | 9:03am | Morning |
| Uranus | Psc | 6.0 | 5:49am | 11:37am | 5:24pm | Hidden |
| Neptune | Aqr | 7.9 | 2:50am | 9:23am | 3:55pm | 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 39% Moon washes out fainter meteors for part of the night.
The solar system — April 2014
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.