The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — August 1980
Highlights this month
- 1FriMercury at greatest morning elongation (19° from the Sun, mag 0.1) — best morning apparition. (12:27pm)
- 7ThuThe Moon passes Venus — 0.3° apart. (11:54am)
- 13WedThe Moon passes Jupiter — 1° apart. (7:27am)
- 13WedPerseids meteor shower peaks (up to 100/hr). A thin 6% Moon leaves the sky dark.
- 14ThuThe Moon passes Saturn — 1.0° apart. (6:10am)
- 16SatThe Moon passes Mars — 5° apart. (10:48am)
- 25MonVenus at greatest morning elongation (46° from the Sun, mag −4.3) — best morning apparition. (4:35am)
- 26TueMercury in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (9:41pm)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fri 1 | 7:21am | 5:31pm | 10h 10m | 7:03pm | 5:50am |
| Sun 10 | 7:12am | 5:39pm | 10h 28m | 7:09pm | 5:42am |
| Wed 20 | 6:59am | 5:48pm | 10h 49m | 7:16pm | 5:31am |
| Sun 31 | 6:44am | 5:57pm | 11h 14m | 7:25pm | 5:16am |
Days lengthen by about 63 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- Last QuarterSun 3, 10:00pm
- New MoonMon 11, 5:11am
- First QuarterTue 19, 8:30am
- Full MoonTue 26, 1:46pm
Apogee 16 Aug (405,500 km) · Perigee 28 Aug (360,600 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Cnc | −1.3 | 6:37am | 11:39am | 4:41pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Gem | −4.4 | 4:17am | 9:15am | 2:13pm | Morning |
| Mars | Vir | 1.2 | 9:33am | 4:02pm | 10:32pm | Evening |
| Jupiter | Leo | −1.5 | 8:10am | 1:50pm | 7:29pm | Hidden |
| Saturn | Vir | 1.1 | 8:41am | 2:32pm | 8:22pm | Evening |
| Uranus | Lib | 5.6 | 11:00am | 6:01pm | 1:06am | Evening |
| Neptune | Oph | 7.9 | 12:46pm | 8:01pm | 3:20am | 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 6% Moon leaves the sky dark.
The solar system — August 1980
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.