The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — August 1972
Highlights this month
- 5SatThe Moon passes Saturn — 5° apart. (10:05am)
- 8TueMercury in inferior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (5:58am)
- 13SunPerseids meteor shower peaks (up to 100/hr). A thin 17% Moon leaves the sky dark.
- 14MonNeptune is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (5:11pm)
- 17ThuMercury is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (4:50pm)
- 20SunThe Moon passes Jupiter — 2° apart. (8:05am)
- 25FriJupiter is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (5:37pm)
- 26SatMercury at greatest morning elongation (18° from the Sun, mag −0.2) — best morning apparition. (1:06am)
- 27SunVenus at greatest morning elongation (46° from the Sun, mag −4.3) — best morning apparition. (12:54pm)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tue 1 | 7:21am | 5:31pm | 10h 10m | 7:02pm | 5:50am |
| Thu 10 | 7:12am | 5:39pm | 10h 27m | 7:09pm | 5:42am |
| Sun 20 | 6:59am | 5:48pm | 10h 48m | 7:16pm | 5:31am |
| Thu 31 | 6:44am | 5:57pm | 11h 13m | 7:25pm | 5:16am |
Days lengthen by about 63 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- Last QuarterWed 2, 6:07pm
- New MoonWed 9, 3:26pm
- First QuarterThu 17, 11:09am
- Full MoonFri 25, 4:26am
- Last QuarterThu 31, 10:51pm
Perigee 4 Aug (369,600 km) · Apogee 17 Aug (404,700 km) · Perigee 29 Aug (367,800 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Cnc | 2.8 | 6:19am | 11:35am | 4:51pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Gem | −4.4 | 4:17am | 9:16am | 2:15pm | Morning |
| Mars | Leo | 1.8 | 7:33am | 12:56pm | 6:18pm | Hidden |
| Jupiter | Sgr | −2.2 | 1:16pm | 8:38pm | 4:04am | Evening |
| Saturn | Tau | −0.0 | 3:06am | 7:57am | 12:47pm | Morning |
| Uranus | Vir | 5.6 | 9:23am | 3:43pm | 10:02pm | Evening |
| Neptune | Sco | 7.9 | 11:42am | 6:47pm | 1:56am | Evening |
Meteor showers
- Perseids — peaks 13 August, radiant in Perseus (up to 100/hr). The famous northern shower, but its far-northern radiant scarcely rises from Victoria — only a trickle this far south. A thin 17% Moon leaves the sky dark.
The solar system — August 1972
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 24 August 2026.