The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — August 1985
Highlights this month
- 1ThuThe Moon passes Jupiter — 4° apart. (2:29pm)
- 4SunJupiter at opposition — closest and brightest of the year, up all night in Capricornus (mag −2.7). (9:23pm)
- 11SunMercury in inferior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (8:03am)
- 13TuePerseids meteor shower peaks (up to 100/hr). A thin 11% Moon leaves the sky dark.
- 20TueMercury is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (4:12pm)
- 23FriThe Moon passes Saturn — 3° apart. (12:38am)
- 23FriUranus is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (9:10am)
- 28WedThe Moon passes Jupiter — 4° apart. (3:58pm)
- 28WedMercury at greatest morning elongation (18° from the Sun, mag −0.2) — best morning apparition. (10:09pm)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thu 1 | 7:21am | 5:31pm | 10h 10m | 7:02pm | 5:50am |
| Sat 10 | 7:12am | 5:39pm | 10h 27m | 7:09pm | 5:42am |
| Tue 20 | 6:59am | 5:48pm | 10h 48m | 7:16pm | 5:31am |
| Sat 31 | 6:44am | 5:57pm | 11h 13m | 7:25pm | 5:16am |
Days lengthen by about 63 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- Full MoonThu 1, 7:36am
- Last QuarterFri 9, 4:30am
- New MoonFri 16, 8:13pm
- First QuarterFri 23, 2:34pm
- Full MoonFri 30, 7:24pm
Apogee 8 Aug (404,800 km) · Perigee 20 Aug (367,100 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Cnc | 4.4 | 6:30am | 11:51am | 5:13pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Gem | −3.8 | 4:58am | 9:49am | 2:40pm | Morning |
| Mars | Cnc | 1.8 | 6:47am | 11:51am | 4:55pm | Hidden |
| Jupiter | Cap | −2.6 | 4:35pm | 11:37pm | 6:44am | All night |
| Saturn | Lib | 0.4 | 11:10am | 6:05pm | 1:04am | Evening |
| Uranus | Oph | 5.6 | 12:17pm | 7:35pm | 2:58am | Evening |
| Neptune | Sgr | 7.9 | 1:32pm | 8:49pm | 4:11am | 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 11% Moon leaves the sky dark.
The solar system — August 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.