The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — August 1973
Highlights this month
- 9ThuMercury at greatest morning elongation (19° from the Sun, mag 0.0) — best morning apparition. (3:26am)
- 13MonThe Moon passes Jupiter — 3° apart. (5:20am)
- 13MonPerseids meteor shower peaks (up to 100/hr). A bright 99% Moon interferes badly this year.
- 17FriNeptune is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (4:05am)
- 24FriThe Moon passes Saturn — 1° apart. (6:04am)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wed 1 | 7:21am | 5:31pm | 10h 10m | 7:02pm | 5:50am |
| Fri 10 | 7:12am | 5:39pm | 10h 27m | 7:09pm | 5:42am |
| Mon 20 | 7:00am | 5:47pm | 10h 48m | 7:16pm | 5:31am |
| Fri 31 | 6:44am | 5:57pm | 11h 13m | 7:25pm | 5:16am |
Days lengthen by about 63 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- First QuarterMon 6, 8:28am
- Full MoonTue 14, 12:23pm
- Last QuarterTue 21, 8:28pm
- New MoonTue 28, 1:22pm
Apogee 9 Aug (405,500 km) · Perigee 25 Aug (365,300 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Cnc | −0.8 | 6:16am | 11:16am | 4:16pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Vir | −3.7 | 8:37am | 2:31pm | 8:25pm | Evening |
| Mars | Ari | −1.1 | 11:10pm | 4:48am | 10:23am | Morning |
| Jupiter | Cap | −2.6 | 4:08pm | 11:16pm | 6:27am | Evening |
| Saturn | Gem | −0.0 | 4:06am | 8:53am | 1:40pm | Morning |
| Uranus | Vir | 5.6 | 9:35am | 4:00pm | 10:25pm | Evening |
| Neptune | Sco | 7.9 | 11:51am | 6:57pm | 2:08am | 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 bright 99% Moon interferes badly this year.
The solar system — August 1973
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.