The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — August 2002
Highlights this month
- 2FriNeptune at opposition — closest and brightest of the year, up all night in Capricornus (mag 7.8). (10:33am)
- 5MonThe Moon passes Saturn — 2° apart. (1:07pm)
- 11SunMars in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (8:54am)
- 13TuePerseids meteor shower peaks (up to 100/hr). A 26% Moon washes out fainter meteors for part of the night.
- 20TueUranus at opposition — closest and brightest of the year, up all night in Capricornus (mag 5.7). (10:39am)
- 22ThuVenus at greatest evening elongation (46° from the Sun, mag −4.3) — best evening apparition. (10:58pm)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thu 1 | 7:21am | 5:31pm | 10h 10m | 7:02pm | 5:50am |
| Sat 10 | 7:12am | 5:39pm | 10h 27m | 7:09pm | 5:42am |
| Tue 20 | 7:00am | 5:48pm | 10h 48m | 7:16pm | 5:31am |
| Sat 31 | 6:44am | 5:57pm | 11h 13m | 7:25pm | 5:16am |
Days lengthen by about 63 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- Last QuarterThu 1, 8:19pm
- New MoonFri 9, 5:20am
- First QuarterThu 15, 8:12pm
- Full MoonFri 23, 8:29am
- Last QuarterSat 31, 12:30pm
Perigee 11 Aug (362,600 km) · Apogee 27 Aug (405,800 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Leo | −0.2 | 8:06am | 1:49pm | 7:32pm | Evening |
| Venus | Vir | −4.3 | 8:58am | 3:14pm | 9:30pm | Evening |
| Mars | Leo | 1.7 | 7:09am | 12:21pm | 5:33pm | Hidden |
| Jupiter | Cnc | −1.6 | 6:12am | 11:08am | 4:04pm | Hidden |
| Saturn | Tau | −0.0 | 3:43am | 8:31am | 1:19pm | Morning |
| Uranus | Cap | 5.7 | 5:58pm | 12:47am | 7:31am | All night |
| Neptune | Cap | 7.8 | 4:30pm | 11:31pm | 6:36am | All night |
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 26% Moon washes out fainter meteors for part of the night.
The solar system — August 2002
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.