The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — July 1985
Highlights this month
- 5FriThe Moon passes Jupiter — 4° apart. (11:11am)
- 14SunMercury at greatest evening elongation (27° from the Sun, mag 0.4) — best evening apparition. (11:24am)
- 14SunThe Moon passes Venus — 4° apart. (4:44pm)
- 18ThuMars in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (1:10pm)
- 26FriThe Moon passes Saturn — 3° apart. (6:20pm)
- 26FriSaturn is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (8:13pm)
- 27SatMercury is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (1:20pm)
- 30TueSouthern Delta Aquariids meteor shower peaks (up to 25/hr). A bright 97% Moon interferes badly this year.
- 30TueAlpha Capricornids meteor shower peaks (up to 5/hr). A bright 97% Moon interferes badly this year.
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 1 | 7:37am | 5:10pm | 9h 32m | 6:45pm | 6:03am |
| Wed 10 | 7:36am | 5:15pm | 9h 39m | 6:49pm | 6:02am |
| Sat 20 | 7:31am | 5:22pm | 9h 51m | 6:55pm | 5:58am |
| Wed 31 | 7:22am | 5:31pm | 10h 08m | 7:02pm | 5:51am |
Days lengthen by about 36 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- Full MoonTue 2, 10:04pm
- Last QuarterWed 10, 10:52am
- New MoonThu 18, 10:04am
- First QuarterThu 25, 9:40am
Apogee 11 Jul (404,900 km) · Perigee 26 Jul (369,800 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Leo | 0.5 | 8:57am | 2:14pm | 7:30pm | Evening |
| Venus | Tau | −4.0 | 4:22am | 9:21am | 2:20pm | Morning |
| Mars | Gem | 1.7 | 7:43am | 12:30pm | 5:18pm | Hidden |
| Jupiter | Cap | −2.6 | 6:56pm | 1:59am | 8:58am | Morning |
| Saturn | Lib | 0.3 | 1:12pm | 8:06pm | 3:04am | Evening |
| Uranus | Oph | 5.6 | 2:21pm | 9:40pm | 5:02am | Evening |
| Neptune | Sgr | 7.8 | 3:36pm | 10:54pm | 6:15am | Evening |
Meteor showers
- Southern Delta Aquariids — peaks 30 July, radiant in Aquarius (up to 25/hr). A favourite southern shower with a high radiant — steady rates through the small hours; overlaps the Alpha Capricornids. A bright 97% Moon interferes badly this year.
- Alpha Capricornids — peaks 30 July, radiant in Capricornus (up to 5/hr). Low rates but noted for slow, bright fireballs; radiant well placed from the south. A bright 97% Moon interferes badly this year.
The solar system — July 1985
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 21 August 2026.