The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — August 1999
Highlights this month
- 4WedThe Moon passes Jupiter — 4° apart. (2:27pm)
- 5ThuThe Moon passes Saturn — 3° apart. (11:33am)
- 6FriMercury is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (2:17am)
- 8SunUranus at opposition — closest and brightest of the year, up all night in Capricornus (mag 5.7). (4:15am)
- 13FriPerseids meteor shower peaks (up to 100/hr). A thin 4% Moon leaves the sky dark.
- 15SunMercury at greatest morning elongation (19° from the Sun, mag −0.0) — best morning apparition. (12:00am)
- 20FriVenus in inferior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (9:51pm)
- 25WedJupiter is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (9:38pm)
- 31TueSaturn is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (1:03am)
- 31TueThe Moon passes Jupiter — 4° apart. (8:58pm)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun 1 | 7:22am | 5:31pm | 10h 09m | 7:02pm | 5:51am |
| Tue 10 | 7:12am | 5:39pm | 10h 26m | 7:09pm | 5:43am |
| Fri 20 | 7:00am | 5:47pm | 10h 47m | 7:16pm | 5:31am |
| Tue 31 | 6:45am | 5:57pm | 11h 12m | 7:25pm | 5:17am |
Days lengthen by about 63 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- Last QuarterThu 5, 3:32am
- New MoonWed 11, 9:10pm
- First QuarterThu 19, 11:50am
- Full MoonFri 27, 9:52am
Perigee 8 Aug (366,800 km) · Apogee 20 Aug (404,800 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Cnc | −0.1 | 6:06am | 11:08am | 4:10pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Leo | −3.7 | 6:59am | 12:46pm | 6:34pm | Hidden |
| Mars | Lib | 0.2 | 10:45am | 5:51pm | 12:58am | Evening |
| Jupiter | Ari | −2.3 | 11:33pm | 5:01am | 10:25am | Morning |
| Saturn | Ari | 0.1 | 12:35am | 5:49am | 11:04am | Morning |
| Uranus | Cap | 5.7 | 4:56pm | 11:58pm | 6:57am | All night |
| Neptune | Cap | 7.8 | 3:58pm | 11:04pm | 6:15am | 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 4% Moon leaves the sky dark.
The solar system — August 1999
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 15 August 2026.