The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — August 2013
Highlights this month
- 4SunThe Moon passes Jupiter — 4° apart. (7:36am)
- 10SatThe Moon passes Venus — 5° apart. (8:44am)
- 13TuePerseids meteor shower peaks (up to 100/hr). A 37% Moon washes out fainter meteors for part of the night.
- 13TueThe Moon passes Saturn — 3° apart. (5:15pm)
- 25SunMercury in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (6:45am)
- 27TueNeptune at opposition — closest and brightest of the year, up all night in Aquarius (mag 7.8). (11:23am)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thu 1 | 7:21am | 5:32pm | 10h 10m | 7:03pm | 5:50am |
| Sat 10 | 7:12am | 5:39pm | 10h 28m | 7:09pm | 5:42am |
| Tue 20 | 6:59am | 5:48pm | 10h 49m | 7:16pm | 5:31am |
| Sat 31 | 6:44am | 5:57pm | 11h 14m | 7:25pm | 5:16am |
Days lengthen by about 63 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- New MoonWed 7, 7:56am
- First QuarterWed 14, 8:57pm
- Full MoonWed 21, 11:43am
- Last QuarterWed 28, 7:43pm
Apogee 3 Aug (405,900 km) · Perigee 19 Aug (362,500 km) · Apogee 31 Aug (405,200 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Cnc | −1.5 | 6:42am | 11:46am | 4:49pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Vir | −3.8 | 8:42am | 2:40pm | 8:39pm | Evening |
| Mars | Gem | 1.6 | 5:33am | 10:19am | 3:06pm | Hidden |
| Jupiter | Gem | −1.8 | 4:48am | 9:33am | 2:18pm | Morning |
| Saturn | Vir | 0.6 | 10:24am | 5:02pm | 11:41pm | Evening |
| Uranus | Psc | 5.8 | 9:40pm | 3:33am | 9:21am | Morning |
| Neptune | Aqr | 7.8 | 6:33pm | 1:13am | 7:48am | 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 37% Moon washes out fainter meteors for part of the night.
The solar system — August 2013
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.