The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — August 2008
Highlights this month
- 3SunThe Moon passes Saturn — 3° apart. (8:29pm)
- 4MonThe Moon passes Mars — 4° apart. (6:44pm)
- 13WedPerseids meteor shower peaks (up to 100/hr). A bright 87% Moon interferes badly this year.
- 14ThuThe Moon passes Jupiter — 3° apart. (1:05am)
- 15FriNeptune at opposition — closest and brightest of the year, up all night in Capricornus (mag 7.8). (5:40pm)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fri 1 | 7:21am | 5:32pm | 10h 11m | 7:03pm | 5:50am |
| Sun 10 | 7:11am | 5:39pm | 10h 28m | 7:09pm | 5:42am |
| Wed 20 | 6:59am | 5:48pm | 10h 49m | 7:17pm | 5:30am |
| Sun 31 | 6:43am | 5:57pm | 11h 14m | 7:25pm | 5:16am |
Days lengthen by about 63 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- New MoonFri 1, 8:14pm
- First QuarterSat 9, 6:24am
- Full MoonSun 17, 7:20am
- Last QuarterSun 24, 9:54am
- New MoonSun 31, 5:59am
Apogee 11 Aug (405,000 km) · Perigee 26 Aug (368,900 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Leo | −0.6 | 7:53am | 1:26pm | 7:00pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Leo | −3.7 | 8:01am | 1:37pm | 7:12pm | Hidden |
| Mars | Vir | 1.7 | 8:38am | 2:35pm | 8:33pm | Evening |
| Jupiter | Sgr | −2.4 | 2:21pm | 9:41pm | 5:06am | Evening |
| Saturn | Leo | 0.7 | 7:59am | 1:31pm | 7:02pm | Hidden |
| Uranus | Psc | 5.8 | 7:59pm | 2:17am | 8:32am | Morning |
| Neptune | Cap | 7.8 | 5:36pm | 12:28am | 7:16am | 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 87% Moon interferes badly this year.
The solar system — August 2008
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.