The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — August 1988
Highlights this month
- 3WedMercury in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (1:17pm)
- 13SatPerseids meteor shower peaks (up to 100/hr). A thin 1% Moon leaves the sky dark.
- 22MonVenus at greatest morning elongation (46° from the Sun, mag −4.3) — best morning apparition. (8:17pm)
- 27SatMars is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (8:29am)
- 30TueSaturn is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (5:12pm)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 1 | 7:21am | 5:32pm | 10h 11m | 7:03pm | 5:50am |
| Wed 10 | 7:12am | 5:39pm | 10h 28m | 7:09pm | 5:42am |
| Sat 20 | 6:59am | 5:48pm | 10h 49m | 7:16pm | 5:31am |
| Wed 31 | 6:44am | 5:57pm | 11h 14m | 7:25pm | 5:16am |
Days lengthen by about 63 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- Last QuarterFri 5, 4:20am
- New MoonFri 12, 10:30pm
- First QuarterSun 21, 1:57am
- Full Moon SupermoonSat 27, 9:01pm
Apogee 15 Aug (406,200 km) · Perigee 28 Aug (356,700 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Leo | −0.9 | 7:45am | 1:13pm | 6:40pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Gem | −4.4 | 4:16am | 9:14am | 2:12pm | Morning |
| Mars | Psc | −1.9 | 9:26pm | 3:33am | 9:36am | Morning |
| Jupiter | Tau | −2.1 | 1:57am | 6:53am | 11:49am | Morning |
| Saturn | Oph | 0.2 | 1:09pm | 8:27pm | 3:49am | Evening |
| Uranus | Sgr | 5.6 | 1:09pm | 8:31pm | 3:58am | Evening |
| Neptune | Sgr | 7.8 | 2:00pm | 9:17pm | 4:38am | 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 1% Moon leaves the sky dark.
The solar system — August 1988
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 20 August 2026.