The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — August 2001
Highlights this month
- 6MonMercury in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (7:38am)
- 6MonVenus and Jupiter in conjunction — 1° apart. (10:07am)
- 13MonPerseids meteor shower peaks (up to 100/hr). A 40% Moon washes out fainter meteors for part of the night.
- 14TueThe Moon passes Saturn — 0.2° apart. (12:56pm)
- 16ThuUranus at opposition — closest and brightest of the year, up all night in Capricornus (mag 5.7). (1:05am)
- 16ThuThe Moon passes Jupiter — 0.4° apart. (5:42am)
- 16ThuThe Moon passes Venus — 2° apart. (10:41pm)
- 27MonThe Moon passes Mars — 5° apart. (11:38pm)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wed 1 | 7:21am | 5:31pm | 10h 10m | 7:03pm | 5:50am |
| Fri 10 | 7:12am | 5:39pm | 10h 27m | 7:09pm | 5:42am |
| Mon 20 | 6:59am | 5:48pm | 10h 48m | 7:16pm | 5:31am |
| Fri 31 | 6:44am | 5:57pm | 11h 13m | 7:25pm | 5:16am |
Days lengthen by about 63 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- Full MoonSat 4, 4:01pm
- Last QuarterSun 12, 5:56pm
- New MoonSun 19, 12:56pm
- First QuarterSun 26, 5:54am
Apogee 6 Aug (406,200 km) · Perigee 19 Aug (356,700 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Leo | −1.1 | 7:39am | 1:03pm | 6:27pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Gem | −3.8 | 5:03am | 9:53am | 2:44pm | Morning |
| Mars | Oph | −1.2 | 12:20pm | 7:58pm | 3:38am | Evening |
| Jupiter | Gem | −1.8 | 4:32am | 9:16am | 2:00pm | Morning |
| Saturn | Tau | 0.0 | 2:42am | 7:35am | 12:28pm | Morning |
| Uranus | Cap | 5.7 | 5:36pm | 12:29am | 7:19am | All night |
| Neptune | Cap | 7.8 | 4:18pm | 11:21pm | 6:28am | 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 40% Moon washes out fainter meteors for part of the night.
The solar system — August 2001
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 July 2026.