The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — August 1991
Highlights this month
- 7WedMercury is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (1:44pm)
- 13TuePerseids meteor shower peaks (up to 100/hr). A thin 13% Moon leaves the sky dark.
- 18SunJupiter in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (8:15am)
- 22ThuMercury in inferior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (6:36am)
- 23FriVenus in inferior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (6:11am)
- 23FriThe Moon passes Saturn — 2° apart. (7:31am)
- 31SatMercury is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (5:43am)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thu 1 | 7:22am | 5:31pm | 10h 09m | 7:02pm | 5:51am |
| Sat 10 | 7:12am | 5:39pm | 10h 26m | 7:08pm | 5:43am |
| Tue 20 | 7:00am | 5:47pm | 10h 47m | 7:16pm | 5:31am |
| Sat 31 | 6:45am | 5:57pm | 11h 12m | 7:25pm | 5:17am |
Days lengthen by about 63 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- Last QuarterSat 3, 9:33pm
- New MoonSat 10, 12:26pm
- First QuarterSat 17, 3:01pm
- Full MoonSun 25, 7:13pm
Perigee 9 Aug (359,700 km) · Apogee 21 Aug (405,600 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Leo | 3.2 | 7:20am | 1:03pm | 6:46pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Leo | −3.8 | 7:09am | 1:00pm | 6:50pm | Hidden |
| Mars | Leo | 1.8 | 8:23am | 2:09pm | 7:55pm | Evening |
| Jupiter | Leo | −1.6 | 7:18am | 12:34pm | 5:50pm | Hidden |
| Saturn | Cap | 0.1 | 3:55pm | 11:04pm | 6:18am | Evening |
| Uranus | Sgr | 5.7 | 2:09pm | 9:31pm | 4:57am | Evening |
| Neptune | Sgr | 7.8 | 2:33pm | 9:49pm | 5:08am | 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 13% Moon leaves the sky dark.
The solar system — August 1991
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 19 August 2026.