The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — September 2016
Highlights this month
- 3SatNeptune at opposition — closest and brightest of the year, up all night in Aquarius (mag 7.8). (2:36am)
- 3SatThe Moon passes Venus — 1° apart. (9:20pm)
- 9FriThe Moon passes Saturn — 4° apart. (8:07am)
- 13TueMercury in inferior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (9:37am)
- 21WedMercury is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (7:54pm)
- 23FriSpring equinox.
- 26MonJupiter in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (4:54pm)
- 29ThuMercury at greatest morning elongation (18° from the Sun, mag −0.5) — best morning apparition. (5:22am)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thu 1 | 6:42am | 5:58pm | 11h 17m | 7:26pm | 5:14am |
| Sat 10 | 6:28am | 6:06pm | 11h 38m | 7:34pm | 5:01am |
| Tue 20 | 6:12am | 6:15pm | 12h 02m | 7:43pm | 4:44am |
| Fri 30 | 5:57am | 6:24pm | 12h 27m | 7:53pm | 4:27am |
Days lengthen by about 70 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- New MoonThu 1, 7:06pm
- First QuarterFri 9, 9:52pm
- Full MoonSat 17, 5:10am
- Last QuarterFri 23, 7:54pm
Apogee 7 Sep (405,300 km) · Perigee 19 Sep (361,600 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Leo | 5.5 | 6:00am | 11:55am | 5:50pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Vir | −3.7 | 7:30am | 1:55pm | 8:22pm | Evening |
| Mars | Oph | −0.1 | 10:34am | 6:07pm | 1:41am | Evening |
| Jupiter | Vir | −1.5 | 6:48am | 12:48pm | 6:49pm | Hidden |
| Saturn | Oph | 0.4 | 10:07am | 5:18pm | 12:33am | Evening |
| Uranus | Psc | 5.8 | 8:34pm | 2:12am | 7:47am | Morning |
| Neptune | Aqr | 7.8 | 5:00pm | 11:29pm | 6:02am | All night |
The solar system — September 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.
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Generated automatically from the MPAS sky engine on 15 July 2026.