The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — August 1987
Highlights this month
- 13ThuPerseids meteor shower peaks (up to 100/hr). A bright 80% Moon interferes badly this year.
- 14FriThe Moon passes Jupiter — 4° apart. (10:36pm)
- 19WedSaturn is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (9:01pm)
- 20ThuMercury in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (3:17pm)
- 20ThuJupiter is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (4:46pm)
- 23SunVenus in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (3:48pm)
- 25TueMars in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (5:59pm)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat 1 | 7:22am | 5:31pm | 10h 09m | 7:02pm | 5:51am |
| Mon 10 | 7:12am | 5:39pm | 10h 26m | 7:08pm | 5:43am |
| Thu 20 | 7:00am | 5:47pm | 10h 47m | 7:16pm | 5:31am |
| Mon 31 | 6:45am | 5:57pm | 11h 12m | 7:25pm | 5:17am |
Days lengthen by about 63 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- First QuarterMon 3, 5:26am
- Full Moon SupermoonSun 9, 8:21pm
- Last QuarterSun 16, 6:28pm
- New MoonMon 24, 9:58pm
Perigee 9 Aug (357,500 km) · Apogee 21 Aug (406,000 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Cnc | −1.7 | 6:59am | 12:05pm | 5:12pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Leo | −3.8 | 7:07am | 12:18pm | 5:28pm | Hidden |
| Mars | Leo | 1.8 | 7:23am | 12:39pm | 5:56pm | Hidden |
| Jupiter | Ari | −2.4 | 11:08pm | 4:42am | 10:12am | Morning |
| Saturn | Oph | 0.2 | 12:27pm | 7:40pm | 2:57am | Evening |
| Uranus | Oph | 5.6 | 12:53pm | 8:15pm | 3:41am | Evening |
| Neptune | Sgr | 7.9 | 1:53pm | 9:10pm | 4:32am | 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 80% Moon interferes badly this year.
The solar system — August 1987
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.
Looking for an earlier month? Browse all past monthly guides →
Generated automatically from the MPAS sky engine on 20 August 2026.