The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — August 2012
Highlights this month
- 8WedMercury is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (3:16am)
- 12SunThe Moon passes Jupiter — 0.1° apart. (6:30am)
- 13MonPerseids meteor shower peaks (up to 100/hr). A thin 19% Moon leaves the sky dark.
- 14TueThe Moon passes Venus — 0.6° apart. (5:52am)
- 15WedMars and Saturn in conjunction — 3° apart. (6:55pm)
- 15WedVenus at greatest morning elongation (46° from the Sun, mag −4.3) — best morning apparition. (7:32pm)
- 16ThuMercury at greatest morning elongation (19° from the Sun, mag −0.1) — best morning apparition. (9:57pm)
- 22WedThe Moon passes Mars — 2° apart. (4:41pm)
- 24FriNeptune at opposition — closest and brightest of the year, up all night in Aquarius (mag 7.8). (10:16pm)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wed 1 | 7:21am | 5:32pm | 10h 11m | 7:03pm | 5:50am |
| Fri 10 | 7:11am | 5:39pm | 10h 28m | 7:09pm | 5:42am |
| Mon 20 | 6:59am | 5:48pm | 10h 49m | 7:17pm | 5:30am |
| Fri 31 | 6:43am | 5:57pm | 11h 14m | 7:25pm | 5:16am |
Days lengthen by about 63 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- Full MoonThu 2, 1:23pm
- Last QuarterFri 10, 4:58am
- New MoonSat 18, 2:01am
- First QuarterFri 24, 11:53pm
- Full MoonFri 31, 11:54pm
Apogee 10 Aug (404,800 km) · Perigee 24 Aug (369,700 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Cnc | 0.1 | 6:04am | 11:09am | 4:13pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Gem | −4.3 | 4:17am | 9:14am | 2:10pm | Morning |
| Mars | Vir | 1.1 | 9:41am | 4:15pm | 10:49pm | Evening |
| Jupiter | Tau | −2.0 | 2:39am | 7:29am | 12:20pm | Morning |
| Saturn | Vir | 0.7 | 9:54am | 4:19pm | 10:45pm | Evening |
| Uranus | Psc | 5.8 | 9:19pm | 3:17am | 9:11am | Morning |
| Neptune | Aqr | 7.8 | 6:21pm | 1:03am | 7:41am | Morning |
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 19% Moon leaves the sky dark.
The solar system — August 2012
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.