The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — August 1997
Highlights this month
- 3SunSaturn is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (3:15am)
- 4MonMercury at greatest evening elongation (27° from the Sun, mag 0.3) — best evening apparition. (10:23am)
- 6WedThe Moon passes Mercury — 1.0° apart. (5:30am)
- 6WedThe Moon passes Venus — 2° apart. (6:14pm)
- 9SatJupiter at opposition — closest and brightest of the year, up all night in Capricornus (mag −2.7). (11:35pm)
- 10SunThe Moon passes Mars — 4° apart. (3:44am)
- 13WedPerseids meteor shower peaks (up to 100/hr). A bright 68% Moon interferes badly this year.
- 17SunMercury is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (12:46pm)
- 18MonThe Moon passes Jupiter — 4° apart. (6:11am)
- 22FriThe Moon passes Saturn — 0.0° apart. (12:19pm)
- 31SunMercury in inferior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (11:39pm)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fri 1 | 7:21am | 5:31pm | 10h 10m | 7:03pm | 5:50am |
| Sun 10 | 7:12am | 5:39pm | 10h 27m | 7:09pm | 5:42am |
| Wed 20 | 6:59am | 5:48pm | 10h 48m | 7:16pm | 5:31am |
| Sun 31 | 6:44am | 5:57pm | 11h 13m | 7:25pm | 5:16am |
Days lengthen by about 63 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- New MoonSun 3, 6:12pm
- First QuarterMon 11, 10:47pm
- Full Moon SupermoonMon 18, 9:02pm
- Last QuarterMon 25, 12:21pm
Apogee 7 Aug (406,000 km) · Perigee 19 Aug (357,600 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Leo | 0.9 | 7:53am | 1:48pm | 7:43pm | Evening |
| Venus | Vir | −3.8 | 8:40am | 2:36pm | 8:33pm | Evening |
| Mars | Vir | 0.9 | 9:56am | 4:38pm | 11:20pm | Evening |
| Jupiter | Cap | −2.7 | 5:02pm | 12:00am | 7:01am | All night |
| Saturn | Psc | 0.4 | 10:17pm | 4:06am | 9:50am | Morning |
| Uranus | Cap | 5.7 | 4:12pm | 11:18pm | 6:29am | Evening |
| Neptune | Sgr | 7.8 | 3:34pm | 10:44pm | 5:57am | 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 68% Moon interferes badly this year.
The solar system — August 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.
Looking for an earlier month? Browse all past monthly guides →
Generated automatically from the MPAS sky engine on 16 August 2026.