The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — August 1983
Highlights this month
- 1MonVenus is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (10:51pm)
- 13SatPerseids meteor shower peaks (up to 100/hr). A 27% Moon washes out fainter meteors for part of the night.
- 14SunThe Moon passes Saturn — 2° apart. (5:32am)
- 14SunUranus is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (3:54pm)
- 16TueThe Moon passes Jupiter — 1° apart. (4:41pm)
- 20SatMercury at greatest evening elongation (27° from the Sun, mag 0.3) — best evening apparition. (1:43am)
- 25ThuVenus in inferior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (2:36pm)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 1 | 7:22am | 5:31pm | 10h 09m | 7:02pm | 5:51am |
| Wed 10 | 7:12am | 5:39pm | 10h 26m | 7:08pm | 5:43am |
| Sat 20 | 7:00am | 5:47pm | 10h 47m | 7:16pm | 5:31am |
| Wed 31 | 6:45am | 5:57pm | 11h 12m | 7:24pm | 5:17am |
Days lengthen by about 63 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- Last QuarterTue 2, 10:56am
- New MoonTue 9, 5:18am
- First QuarterMon 15, 10:47pm
- Full MoonWed 24, 1:06am
- Last QuarterWed 31, 9:26pm
Perigee 9 Aug (356,700 km) · Apogee 22 Aug (406,200 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Leo | 0.2 | 8:13am | 2:05pm | 7:57pm | Evening |
| Venus | Leo | −4.0 | 7:19am | 1:12pm | 7:06pm | Hidden |
| Mars | Cnc | 1.7 | 6:09am | 11:02am | 3:54pm | Hidden |
| Jupiter | Sco | −1.9 | 11:37am | 6:45pm | 1:57am | Evening |
| Saturn | Vir | 0.6 | 10:09am | 4:40pm | 11:11pm | Evening |
| Uranus | Sco | 5.6 | 11:47am | 7:00pm | 2:16am | Evening |
| Neptune | Sgr | 7.9 | 1:15pm | 8:32pm | 3:53am | 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 27% Moon washes out fainter meteors for part of the night.
The solar system — August 1983
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 22 August 2026.