The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — August 2009
Highlights this month
- 7FriThe Moon passes Jupiter — 3° apart. (5:17am)
- 13ThuPerseids meteor shower peaks (up to 100/hr). A 56% Moon washes out fainter meteors for part of the night.
- 15SatJupiter at opposition — closest and brightest of the year, up all night in Capricornus (mag −2.7). (3:31am)
- 16SunThe Moon passes Mars — 3° apart. (1:26pm)
- 17MonMercury and Saturn in conjunction — 3° apart. (4:19pm)
- 18TueNeptune at opposition — closest and brightest of the year, up all night in Capricornus (mag 7.8). (6:50am)
- 18TueThe Moon passes Venus — 2° apart. (7:30am)
- 22SatThe Moon passes Mercury — 3° apart. (7:22pm)
- 25TueMercury at greatest evening elongation (27° from the Sun, mag 0.2) — best evening apparition. (2:02am)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat 1 | 7:21am | 5:32pm | 10h 10m | 7:03pm | 5:50am |
| Mon 10 | 7:12am | 5:39pm | 10h 28m | 7:09pm | 5:42am |
| Thu 20 | 6:59am | 5:48pm | 10h 49m | 7:16pm | 5:31am |
| Mon 31 | 6:44am | 5:57pm | 11h 13m | 7:25pm | 5:16am |
Days lengthen by about 63 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- Full MoonThu 6, 10:59am
- Last QuarterFri 14, 5:02am
- New MoonThu 20, 8:00pm
- First QuarterThu 27, 9:42pm
Apogee 4 Aug (406,200 km) · Perigee 19 Aug (359,300 km) · Apogee 31 Aug (405,700 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Leo | 0.0 | 8:11am | 2:01pm | 7:51pm | Evening |
| Venus | Gem | −3.8 | 5:05am | 9:56am | 2:46pm | Morning |
| Mars | Tau | 1.0 | 3:31am | 8:16am | 1:00pm | Morning |
| Jupiter | Cap | −2.7 | 5:31pm | 12:26am | 7:18am | All night |
| Saturn | Leo | 1.0 | 8:30am | 2:15pm | 8:00pm | Evening |
| Uranus | Psc | 5.8 | 8:20pm | 2:33am | 8:42am | Morning |
| Neptune | Cap | 7.8 | 5:48pm | 12:38am | 7:23am | 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 56% Moon washes out fainter meteors for part of the night.
The solar system — August 2009
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.