The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — August 1978
Highlights this month
- 4FriMercury is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (12:18pm)
- 8TueThe Moon passes Venus — 0.4° apart. (11:13am)
- 8TueThe Moon passes Mars — 0.0° apart. (4:08pm)
- 13SunPerseids meteor shower peaks (up to 100/hr). A bright 66% Moon interferes badly this year.
- 13SunVenus and Mars in conjunction — 1.0° apart. (12:40pm)
- 19SatMercury in inferior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (6:03am)
- 28MonSaturn in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (12:19am)
- 28MonMercury is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (7:22am)
- 28MonNeptune is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (10:23am)
- 30WedVenus at greatest evening elongation (46° from the Sun, mag −4.4) — best evening apparition. (6:41am)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tue 1 | 7:22am | 5:31pm | 10h 09m | 7:02pm | 5:51am |
| Thu 10 | 7:12am | 5:39pm | 10h 27m | 7:09pm | 5:42am |
| Sun 20 | 7:00am | 5:47pm | 10h 47m | 7:16pm | 5:31am |
| Thu 31 | 6:44am | 5:57pm | 11h 12m | 7:25pm | 5:17am |
Days lengthen by about 63 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- New MoonFri 4, 11:01am
- First QuarterSat 12, 6:09am
- Full MoonFri 18, 8:17pm
- Last QuarterFri 25, 10:21pm
Apogee 2 Aug (406,200 km) · Perigee 17 Aug (359,200 km) · Apogee 29 Aug (405,700 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Leo | 4.6 | 7:06am | 12:43pm | 6:21pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Vir | −4.2 | 8:59am | 3:13pm | 9:28pm | Evening |
| Mars | Vir | 1.6 | 9:03am | 3:12pm | 9:22pm | Evening |
| Jupiter | Gem | −1.7 | 5:47am | 10:38am | 3:30pm | Hidden |
| Saturn | Leo | 0.6 | 7:43am | 1:07pm | 6:30pm | Hidden |
| Uranus | Lib | 5.6 | 10:36am | 5:27pm | 12:23am | Evening |
| Neptune | Oph | 7.9 | 12:31pm | 7:44pm | 3:01am | 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 66% Moon interferes badly this year.
The solar system — August 1978
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 23 August 2026.