Planetary Phenomena for 2006 Date CST Event (h:m) Jan 2 09 Moon closest to Earth: 361750 km 4 20 Earth closest to Sun 6 20:30 ASSA viewing night Heights School 7 05:30 FIRST QUARTER 9 06 Mars 1.4°S of Moon 14 10 Venus at Inferior Conjunction 14 20:18 FULL MOON 15 23 Saturn 3.8°S of Moon 18 05 Moon-Earth distance maximum: 405886 km 23 01:46 LAST QUARTER 24 06 Jupiter 4.7°N of Moon 27 08 Mercury at Superior Conjunction 28 09 Saturn at Opposition 30 00:46 NEW MOON 30 18 Moon-Earth distance minimum: 357781 km Feb 1 20 ASSA Monthly meeting 3 20:30 ASSA public viewing night Hights School 4 20:30 Stockport Observatory Summer Star party 5 17:02 FIRST QUARTER 6 08 Mars 2.2°S of Moon 12 01 Saturn 3.9°S of Moon 13 15:15 FULL MOON 14 01 Moon-Earth distance maximum: 406362 km 21 17:52 LAST QUARTER 24 15 Mercury best in evening: 18.1°E 28 06 Moon-Earth distance minimum: 356885 km 28 11:03 NEW MOON Mar 1 20 ASSA Monthly meeting 3 20:30 ASSA public viewing night Heights School 6 17 Mars 3.0°S of Moon 7 06:48 FIRST QUARTER 11 04 Saturn 4.0°S of Moon 12 13 Mercury invisible 13 12 Moon-Earth distance maximum: 406273 km 15 10:06 FULL MOON 15 09:17 Pen. Lunar Eclipse; mag=1.025 Not visible in SA 21 04:57 Northern Vernal Equinox 23 05:47 LAST QUARTER 25 01 Venus best in Morning: 46.5°W 26 09 Venus 5.9°N of Moon 28 02 Mercury 2.4°N of Moon 28 16 Moon-Earth distance minimum: 359170 km 29 19:45 Total Solar Eclipse; mag=1.051 Not visible in Australia 29 19:48 NEW MOON Apr 4 05 Mars 3.5°S of Moon 5 20 ASSA Montly meeting 5 21:32 FIRST QUARTER 7 08 Saturn 4.0°S of Moon 7 20:00 ASSA public viewing night Heights School 8 20 ASSA public viewing Westminster School 9 03 Mercury easiest to see in Morning 9 22 Moon-Earth distance maximum: 405551 km 14 02:11 FULL MOON 21 13:04 LAST QUARTER 24 23 Venus 0.5°N of Moon: 26 05 Moon-Earth distance minimum: 363737 km 26 17 Mercury 4.0°S of Moon 28 05:16 NEW MOON May 2 20 Mars 3.6°S of Moon 3 20 ASSA Monthly meeting 4 18 Saturn 3.8°S of Moon 5 00 Jupiter at Opposition 5 14:43 FIRST QUARTER 5 20:00 ASSA public viewing night Heights School 6 20 ASSA Stockport Autumn Star Party 8 01 Moon-Earth distance at maximum: 404572 km 13 16:22 FULL MOON 20 18:55 LAST QUARTER 23 01 Moon-Earth distance minimum: 368615 km 24 18 Venus 4.3°S of Moon 27 14:58 NEW MOON 31 12 Mars 3.2°S of Moon Jun 1 06 Saturn 3.5°S of Moon 2 20 ASSA public viewing night Heights School 4 08:35 FIRST QUARTER 4 11 Moon-Earth distance maximum: 404080 km 7 20 ASSA Montly meeting 12 03:35 FULL MOON 17 02 Moon-Earth distance minimum: 368926 km 18 23:40 LAST QUARTER 21 14 Mercury best seen in evening 21 21:57 Northern Summer Solstice 23 12 Venus 6.2°S of Moon 26 01:37 NEW MOON 28 20 Saturn 3.2°S of Moon 29 07 Mars 2.4°S of Moon Jul 2 05 Moon at Apogee: 404448 km 4 04:06 FIRST QUARTER 4 09 Earth-Sun distance maximum 5 20 ASSA Monthly meeting 7 20 ASSA public viewing night Heights School 8 20 ASSA public viewing Westminster School 11 12:34 FULL MOON 13 18 Moon-Earth distance minimum: 364287 km 18 04:42 LAST QUARTER 18 16 Mercury at Inferior Conjunction 23 10 Venus 5.6°S of Moon 25 14:02 NEW MOON 28 02 Mars 1.1°S of Moon 29 22 Moon-Earth distance maximum: 405405 km Aug 2 18:16 FIRST QUARTER 2 20 ASSA Monthly meeting 7 09 Mercury best seen in morning sky 7 21 Saturn-Sun Conjunction 9 20:26 FULL MOON 11 03 Moon-Earth distance minimume: 359755 km 16 11:18 LAST QUARTER 22 12 Venus 3.1°S of Moon 24 04:41 NEW MOON 26 10 Moon-Earth distance maximum: 406271 km 26 20 ASSA Stockport Winter Star Party Sep 1 08:27 FIRST QUARTER 1 14 Mercury at Superior Conjunction 1 20 ASSA public viewing night Heights School 6 20 ASSA Monthly meeting 8 04:14 FULL MOON 8 04:24 Partial Lunar Eclipse; mag=0.176 Visible from Australia starts 0335 Ends 0507 8 12 Moon-Earth distance at minimum: 357175 km 14 20:42 LAST QUARTER 19 12 Saturn 2.4°S of Moon 22 14 Moon-Earth distance at maximum: 406500Km 22 21:11 Annular Solar Eclipse; mag=0.935 Not visible in Australia 22 21:16 NEW MOON 23 13:35 Northern Autumnal Equinox 30 20:35 FIRST QUARTER Oct 4 20 ASSA Monthly meeting 6 23 Moon-Earth distance minimum: 357410 km 7 12:44 FULL MOON 14 09:53 LAST QUARTER 16 23 Saturn 2.0°S of Moon 17 14 Mercury most visible in Evening sky 19 10 Moon-Earth distance maximum: 406075 km 22 14:15 NEW MOON 23 15 Mars-Sun Conjunction 24 17 Mercury 1.4°N of Moon 27 20 ASSA public viewing night Heights School 28 20 ASSA public viewing night Westminster School 28 03 Venus at Superior Conjunction 30 07:57 FIRST QUARTER Nov 1 20 ASSA Monthly meeting 4 10 Moon-Earth distance minimum: 360598 km 5 23:29 FULL MOON 9 08:11 Mercury at Inferior Conjunction Transit of Mercury across solar disk visible at sunrise 06:07 maximum 08:11 leaves disk 10:40 13 04:15 LAST QUARTER 13 11 Saturn 1.6°S of Moon 16 09 Moon-Earth distance maximum: 405193 km 21 08:48 NEW MOON 22 10 Jupiter-Sun Conjunction 24 20 ASSA public viewing night Heights School 25 20 ASSA Stockport Spring Star Party 25 23 Mercury best visibility morning sky 28 17:00 FIRST QUARTER Dec 2 10 Moon-Earth distance at minimum: 365923 km 5 10:55 FULL MOON 6 20 ASSA Annual General meeting 10 21 Saturn 1.2°S of Moon 13 01:05 LAST QUARTER 14 05 Moon-Earth distance maximum: 404418 km 21 00:31 NEW MOON 22 10:53 Winter Solstice 27 01:19 FIRST QUARTER 28 12 Moon-Earth distance minimum: 370321 km 29 20 ASSA public viewing night Heights School