The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — March 2016
Highlights this month
- 1TueThe Moon passes Mars — 4° apart. (6:43am)
- 2WedThe Moon passes Saturn — 4° apart. (6:13pm)
- 7MonThe Moon passes Venus — 3° apart. (8:19pm)
- 8TueJupiter at opposition — closest and brightest of the year, up all night in Leo (mag −2.3). (9:44pm)
- 20SunAutumn equinox.
- 22TueThe Moon passes Jupiter — 2° apart. (1:51pm)
- 24ThuMercury in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (7:00am)
- 25FriSaturn is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (10:30pm)
- 29TueThe Moon passes Mars — 4° apart. (7:04am)
- 30WedThe Moon passes Saturn — 3° apart. (2:16am)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tue 1 | 7:04am | 8:00pm | 12h 56m | 9:32pm | 5:32am |
| Thu 10 | 7:13am | 7:47pm | 12h 34m | 9:16pm | 5:43am |
| Sun 20 | 7:23am | 7:31pm | 12h 09m | 9:00pm | 5:54am |
| Thu 31 | 7:33am | 7:14pm | 11h 41m | 8:42pm | 6:05am |
Days shorten by about 75 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- Last QuarterWed 2, 10:16am
- New MoonWed 9, 12:55pm
- First QuarterWed 16, 4:00am
- Full MoonWed 23, 11:04pm
Perigee 10 Mar (359,500 km) · Apogee 26 Mar (406,100 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Aqr | −1.1 | 6:35am | 1:02pm | 7:28pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Aqr | −3.7 | 5:30am | 12:10pm | 6:49pm | Morning |
| Mars | Sco | −0.1 | 10:43pm | 5:53am | 1:01pm | Morning |
| Jupiter | Leo | −2.3 | 7:19pm | 1:06am | 6:48am | All night |
| Saturn | Oph | 0.3 | 11:33pm | 6:50am | 2:02pm | Morning |
| Uranus | Psc | 5.9 | 9:18am | 2:58pm | 8:38pm | Hidden |
| Neptune | Aqr | 7.9 | 6:06am | 12:35pm | 7:04pm | Hidden |
The solar system — March 2016
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.