The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — April 2171
Highlights this month
- 1MonMercury and Saturn in conjunction — 0.3° apart. (5:45am)
- 3WedThe Moon passes Saturn — 3° apart. (5:42am)
- 3WedThe Moon passes Venus — 5° apart. (7:06am)
- 3WedThe Moon passes Mercury — 3° apart. (7:08am)
- 4ThuJupiter at opposition — closest and brightest of the year, up all night in Virgo (mag −2.3). (11:07am)
- 19FriThe Moon passes Jupiter — 4° apart. (6:16pm)
- 23TueLyrids meteor shower peaks (up to 18/hr). A bright 87% Moon interferes badly this year.
- 27SatMars in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (4:37am)
- 30TueThe Moon passes Saturn — 5° apart. (6:32am)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 1 | 7:33am | 7:14pm | 11h 40m | 8:41pm | 6:06am |
| Wed 10 | 6:42am | 6:00pm | 11h 19m | 7:28pm | 5:14am |
| Sat 20 | 6:51am | 5:46pm | 10h 55m | 7:15pm | 5:23am |
| Tue 30 | 7:00am | 5:34pm | 10h 33m | 7:03pm | 5:31am |
Days shorten by about 67 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- New MoonFri 5, 9:07pm
- First QuarterSat 13, 11:41pm
- Full Moon SupermoonSat 20, 6:00pm
- Last QuarterSat 27, 11:38am
Apogee 7 Apr (406,200 km) · Perigee 20 Apr (356,700 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Psc | −0.1 | 4:48am | 10:57am | 5:06pm | Morning |
| Venus | Psc | −3.7 | 5:01am | 11:04am | 5:06pm | Hidden |
| Mars | Psc | 1.2 | 7:01am | 12:30pm | 6:00pm | Hidden |
| Jupiter | Vir | −2.3 | 5:21pm | 11:34pm | 5:52am | Evening |
| Saturn | Aqr | 1.0 | 3:27am | 9:53am | 4:19pm | Morning |
| Uranus | Aqr | 5.9 | 2:36am | 9:12am | 3:48pm | Morning |
| Neptune | Cap | 7.9 | 1:38am | 8:26am | 3:14pm | 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 87% Moon interferes badly this year.
The solar system — April 2171
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 7 October 2026.