The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — August 2016
Highlights this month
- 5FriThe Moon passes Mercury — 0.5° apart. (7:55am)
- 6SatThe Moon passes Jupiter — 0.2° apart. (1:27pm)
- 12FriThe Moon passes Saturn — 4° apart. (10:49pm)
- 13SatPerseids meteor shower peaks (up to 100/hr). A bright 73% Moon interferes badly this year.
- 14SunSaturn is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (2:14am)
- 17WedMercury at greatest evening elongation (27° from the Sun, mag 0.3) — best evening apparition. (7:13am)
- 20SatMercury and Jupiter in conjunction — 4° apart. (4:10pm)
- 25ThuMars and Saturn in conjunction — 4° apart. (12:46am)
- 30TueMercury is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (10:47am)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 1 | 7:21am | 5:32pm | 10h 11m | 7:03pm | 5:50am |
| Wed 10 | 7:11am | 5:39pm | 10h 28m | 7:09pm | 5:42am |
| Sat 20 | 6:59am | 5:48pm | 10h 49m | 7:17pm | 5:30am |
| Wed 31 | 6:43am | 5:58pm | 11h 14m | 7:25pm | 5:16am |
Days lengthen by about 63 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- New MoonWed 3, 6:45am
- First QuarterThu 11, 4:27am
- Full MoonThu 18, 7:32pm
- Last QuarterThu 25, 1:41pm
Apogee 10 Aug (404,800 km) · Perigee 22 Aug (367,000 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Leo | 0.2 | 8:10am | 2:05pm | 8:00pm | Evening |
| Venus | Leo | −3.7 | 8:03am | 1:39pm | 7:15pm | Hidden |
| Mars | Sco | −0.5 | 11:30am | 6:55pm | 2:21am | Evening |
| Jupiter | Vir | −1.5 | 8:34am | 2:26pm | 8:19pm | Evening |
| Saturn | Oph | 0.3 | 12:06pm | 7:16pm | 2:30am | Evening |
| Uranus | Psc | 5.8 | 10:39pm | 4:17am | 9:51am | Morning |
| Neptune | Aqr | 7.8 | 7:06pm | 1:38am | 8:06am | 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 bright 73% Moon interferes badly this year.
The solar system — August 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.
Looking for an earlier month? Browse all past monthly guides →
Generated automatically from the MPAS sky engine on 15 July 2026.