The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — August 1976
Highlights this month
- 13FriPerseids meteor shower peaks (up to 100/hr). A bright 89% Moon interferes badly this year.
- 18WedThe Moon passes Jupiter — 1.0° apart. (6:46pm)
- 23MonNeptune is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (12:41pm)
- 25WedMercury and Mars in conjunction — 3° apart. (9:58pm)
- 26ThuMercury at greatest evening elongation (27° from the Sun, mag 0.2) — best evening apparition. (8:21pm)
- 27FriThe Moon passes Mercury — 0.5° apart. (9:19pm)
- 27FriThe Moon passes Mars — 3° apart. (10:40pm)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun 1 | 7:21am | 5:31pm | 10h 10m | 7:03pm | 5:50am |
| Tue 10 | 7:12am | 5:39pm | 10h 27m | 7:09pm | 5:42am |
| Fri 20 | 6:59am | 5:48pm | 10h 49m | 7:16pm | 5:31am |
| Tue 31 | 6:44am | 5:57pm | 11h 13m | 7:25pm | 5:16am |
Days lengthen by about 63 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- First QuarterTue 3, 8:06am
- Full MoonTue 10, 9:39am
- Last QuarterWed 18, 10:14am
- New MoonWed 25, 9:07pm
Perigee 1 Aug (369,100 km) · Apogee 16 Aug (405,000 km) · Perigee 28 Aug (364,100 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Leo | −0.0 | 8:10am | 1:58pm | 7:47pm | Evening |
| Venus | Leo | −3.7 | 7:56am | 1:28pm | 7:00pm | Hidden |
| Mars | Vir | 1.8 | 8:32am | 2:25pm | 8:18pm | Evening |
| Jupiter | Tau | −2.1 | 1:35am | 6:35am | 11:35am | Morning |
| Saturn | Cnc | 0.2 | 6:30am | 11:30am | 4:31pm | Hidden |
| Uranus | Vir | 5.6 | 10:09am | 4:51pm | 11:32pm | Evening |
| Neptune | Oph | 7.9 | 12:13pm | 7:24pm | 2:39am | 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 89% Moon interferes badly this year.
The solar system — August 1976
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 23 August 2026.