The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — August 2000
Highlights this month
- 11FriUranus at opposition — closest and brightest of the year, up all night in Capricornus (mag 5.7). (2:58pm)
- 13SunPerseids meteor shower peaks (up to 100/hr). A bright 97% Moon interferes badly this year.
- 22TueMercury in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (10:54am)
- 23WedThe Moon passes Saturn — 2° apart. (6:14am)
- 23WedThe Moon passes Jupiter — 3° apart. (8:58pm)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tue 1 | 7:21am | 5:32pm | 10h 11m | 7:03pm | 5:50am |
| Thu 10 | 7:11am | 5:39pm | 10h 28m | 7:09pm | 5:42am |
| Sun 20 | 6:59am | 5:48pm | 10h 49m | 7:17pm | 5:30am |
| Wed 31 | 7:43am | 6:57pm | 11h 14m | 8:25pm | 6:16am |
Days lengthen by about 63 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- First QuarterMon 7, 11:02am
- Full MoonTue 15, 3:19pm
- Last QuarterWed 23, 4:58am
- New MoonTue 29, 9:18pm
Apogee 12 Aug (405,900 km) · Perigee 28 Aug (361,800 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Cnc | −1.6 | 6:52am | 11:58am | 5:03pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Leo | −3.7 | 8:00am | 1:34pm | 7:09pm | Hidden |
| Mars | Cnc | 1.8 | 6:32am | 11:32am | 4:32pm | Hidden |
| Jupiter | Tau | −2.0 | 2:18am | 7:11am | 12:04pm | Morning |
| Saturn | Tau | 0.0 | 1:37am | 6:40am | 11:42am | Morning |
| Uranus | Cap | 5.7 | 5:14pm | 12:12am | 7:06am | All night |
| Neptune | Cap | 7.8 | 4:06pm | 11:11pm | 6:19am | 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 97% Moon interferes badly this year.
The solar system — August 2000
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 15 August 2026.