The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — August 2010
Highlights this month
- 7SatMercury at greatest evening elongation (27° from the Sun, mag 0.3) — best evening apparition. (11:07am)
- 8SunVenus and Saturn in conjunction — 3° apart. (8:49pm)
- 12ThuThe Moon passes Mercury — 2° apart. (10:01am)
- 13FriPerseids meteor shower peaks (up to 100/hr). A thin 14% Moon leaves the sky dark.
- 13FriThe Moon passes Venus — 4° apart. (7:01pm)
- 19ThuVenus and Mars in conjunction — 2° apart. (2:54pm)
- 20FriVenus at greatest evening elongation (46° from the Sun, mag −4.3) — best evening apparition. (12:29pm)
- 20FriMercury is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (1:46pm)
- 20FriNeptune at opposition — closest and brightest of the year, up all night in Capricornus (mag 7.8). (8:00pm)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun 1 | 7:21am | 5:31pm | 10h 10m | 7:02pm | 5:50am |
| Tue 10 | 7:12am | 5:39pm | 10h 27m | 7:09pm | 5:42am |
| Fri 20 | 7:00am | 5:48pm | 10h 48m | 7:16pm | 5:31am |
| Tue 31 | 6:44am | 5:57pm | 11h 13m | 7:25pm | 5:16am |
Days lengthen by about 63 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- Last QuarterTue 3, 3:00pm
- New MoonTue 10, 1:09pm
- First QuarterTue 17, 4:11am
- Full MoonWed 25, 3:10am
Perigee 11 Aug (357,300 km) · Apogee 25 Aug (406,300 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Leo | 0.7 | 8:00am | 1:56pm | 7:52pm | Evening |
| Venus | Vir | −4.3 | 8:58am | 3:14pm | 9:31pm | Evening |
| Mars | Vir | 1.5 | 9:09am | 3:23pm | 9:38pm | Evening |
| Jupiter | Psc | −2.6 | 8:52pm | 3:00am | 9:03am | Morning |
| Saturn | Vir | 1.0 | 8:59am | 2:58pm | 8:56pm | Evening |
| Uranus | Psc | 5.8 | 8:41pm | 2:49am | 8:53am | Morning |
| Neptune | Cap | 7.8 | 6:00pm | 12:47am | 7:31am | 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 thin 14% Moon leaves the sky dark.
The solar system — August 2010
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.