The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — August 2006
Highlights this month
- 2WedThe Moon passes Jupiter — 5° apart. (6:26pm)
- 7MonMercury at greatest morning elongation (19° from the Sun, mag 0.0) — best morning apparition. (10:22am)
- 7MonSaturn in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (10:02pm)
- 11FriNeptune at opposition — closest and brightest of the year, up all night in Capricornus (mag 7.8). (3:19pm)
- 13SunPerseids meteor shower peaks (up to 100/hr). A bright 80% Moon interferes badly this year.
- 30WedThe Moon passes Jupiter — 5° apart. (7:34am)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tue 1 | 7:21am | 5:31pm | 10h 10m | 7:02pm | 5:50am |
| Thu 10 | 7:12am | 5:39pm | 10h 27m | 7:09pm | 5:42am |
| Sun 20 | 7:00am | 5:48pm | 10h 48m | 7:16pm | 5:31am |
| Thu 31 | 6:44am | 5:57pm | 11h 13m | 7:25pm | 5:16am |
Days lengthen by about 63 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- First QuarterWed 2, 6:48pm
- Full MoonWed 9, 9:01pm
- Last QuarterWed 16, 11:48am
- New MoonThu 24, 5:09am
Perigee 11 Aug (359,400 km) · Apogee 26 Aug (406,200 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Cnc | −0.9 | 6:20am | 11:20am | 4:20pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Cnc | −3.7 | 6:10am | 11:07am | 4:04pm | Hidden |
| Mars | Leo | 1.8 | 8:11am | 1:51pm | 7:32pm | Evening |
| Jupiter | Lib | −1.7 | 10:34am | 5:22pm | 12:14am | Evening |
| Saturn | Cnc | 0.2 | 6:54am | 12:01pm | 5:08pm | Hidden |
| Uranus | Aqr | 5.8 | 7:20pm | 1:49am | 8:14am | Morning |
| Neptune | Cap | 7.8 | 5:15pm | 12:12am | 7:04am | 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 bright 80% Moon interferes badly this year.
The solar system — August 2006
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 July 2026.