The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — July 2016
Highlights this month
- 7ThuMercury in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (1:13pm)
- 9SatThe Moon passes Jupiter — 0.8° apart. (7:48pm)
- 16SatThe Moon passes Saturn — 3° apart. (3:44pm)
- 30SatUranus is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (8:41am)
- 30SatSouthern Delta Aquariids meteor shower peaks (up to 25/hr). A thin 15% Moon leaves the sky dark.
- 30SatAlpha Capricornids meteor shower peaks (up to 5/hr). A thin 15% Moon leaves the sky dark.
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fri 1 | 7:37am | 5:10pm | 9h 33m | 6:45pm | 6:03am |
| Sun 10 | 7:36am | 5:15pm | 9h 40m | 6:49pm | 6:02am |
| Wed 20 | 7:31am | 5:22pm | 9h 52m | 6:55pm | 5:58am |
| Sun 31 | 7:22am | 5:31pm | 10h 09m | 7:02pm | 5:51am |
Days lengthen by about 36 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- New MoonMon 4, 9:00pm
- First QuarterTue 12, 11:00am
- Full MoonWed 20, 9:03am
- Last QuarterWed 27, 9:01am
Perigee 1 Jul (366,000 km) · Apogee 13 Jul (404,800 km) · Perigee 27 Jul (369,900 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Cnc | −1.3 | 8:14am | 1:06pm | 5:58pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Cnc | −3.7 | 8:17am | 1:11pm | 6:06pm | Hidden |
| Mars | Lib | −1.1 | 12:56pm | 8:11pm | 3:30am | Evening |
| Jupiter | Leo | −1.6 | 10:23am | 4:08pm | 9:53pm | Evening |
| Saturn | Oph | 0.1 | 2:11pm | 9:21pm | 4:35am | Evening |
| Uranus | Psc | 5.9 | 12:45am | 6:19am | 11:52am | Morning |
| Neptune | Aqr | 7.8 | 9:11pm | 3:42am | 10:09am | Morning |
Meteor showers
- Southern Delta Aquariids — peaks 30 July, radiant in Aquarius (up to 25/hr). A favourite southern shower with a high radiant — steady rates through the small hours; overlaps the Alpha Capricornids. A thin 15% Moon leaves the sky dark.
- Alpha Capricornids — peaks 30 July, radiant in Capricornus (up to 5/hr). Low rates but noted for slow, bright fireballs; radiant well placed from the south. A thin 15% Moon leaves the sky dark.
The solar system — July 2016
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.