The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — July 1997
Highlights this month
- 12SatThe Moon passes Mars — 2° apart. (12:14pm)
- 21MonNeptune at opposition — closest and brightest of the year, up all night in Sagittarius (mag 7.8). (4:43pm)
- 22TueThe Moon passes Jupiter — 4° apart. (1:24am)
- 26SatThe Moon passes Saturn — 0.0° apart. (5:10am)
- 28MonMercury and Venus in conjunction — 4° apart. (12:04am)
- 30WedUranus at opposition — closest and brightest of the year, up all night in Capricornus (mag 5.7). (5:00am)
- 30WedSouthern Delta Aquariids meteor shower peaks (up to 25/hr). A thin 16% Moon leaves the sky dark.
- 30WedAlpha Capricornids meteor shower peaks (up to 5/hr). A thin 16% Moon leaves the sky dark.
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tue 1 | 7:37am | 5:10pm | 9h 33m | 6:45pm | 6:03am |
| Thu 10 | 7:36am | 5:15pm | 9h 39m | 6:49pm | 6:02am |
| Sun 20 | 7:31am | 5:22pm | 9h 51m | 6:55pm | 5:58am |
| Thu 31 | 7:22am | 5:31pm | 10h 08m | 7:02pm | 5:51am |
Days lengthen by about 36 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- New MoonSat 5, 4:37am
- First QuarterSun 13, 7:45am
- Full MoonSun 20, 1:29pm
- Last QuarterSun 27, 4:28am
Apogee 10 Jul (405,300 km) · Perigee 22 Jul (361,400 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Cnc | −0.4 | 8:47am | 1:49pm | 6:52pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Leo | −3.7 | 9:10am | 2:19pm | 7:29pm | Evening |
| Mars | Vir | 0.7 | 11:15am | 5:34pm | 11:52pm | Evening |
| Jupiter | Cap | −2.6 | 7:24pm | 2:21am | 9:14am | Morning |
| Saturn | Psc | 0.5 | 12:22am | 6:07am | 11:51am | Morning |
| Uranus | Cap | 5.7 | 6:20pm | 1:29am | 8:34am | Morning |
| Neptune | Sgr | 7.8 | 5:40pm | 12:53am | 8:02am | All night |
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 thin 16% Moon leaves the sky dark.
- 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 thin 16% Moon leaves the sky dark.
The solar system — July 1997
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 16 August 2026.