The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — August 2017
Highlights this month
- 3ThuUranus is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (5:37pm)
- 3ThuThe Moon passes Saturn — 3° apart. (5:53pm)
- 12SatMercury is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (4:22pm)
- 13SunPerseids meteor shower peaks (up to 100/hr). A bright 69% Moon interferes badly this year.
- 19SatThe Moon passes Venus — 2° apart. (2:30pm)
- 25FriSaturn is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (10:27pm)
- 26SatThe Moon passes Jupiter — 3° apart. (1:15am)
- 27SunMercury in inferior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (6:37am)
- 31ThuThe Moon passes Saturn — 4° apart. (12:49am)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tue 1 | 7:21am | 5:32pm | 10h 11m | 7:03pm | 5:50am |
| Thu 10 | 7:12am | 5:39pm | 10h 28m | 7:09pm | 5:42am |
| Sun 20 | 6:59am | 5:48pm | 10h 49m | 7:17pm | 5:31am |
| Thu 31 | 6:44am | 5:57pm | 11h 14m | 7:25pm | 5:16am |
Days lengthen by about 63 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- Full MoonTue 8, 4:14am
- Last QuarterTue 15, 11:21am
- New MoonTue 22, 4:32am
- First QuarterTue 29, 6:16pm
Apogee 3 Aug (405,400 km) · Perigee 18 Aug (366,300 km) · Apogee 30 Aug (404,800 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Leo | 1.6 | 7:39am | 1:30pm | 7:21pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Gem | −3.8 | 5:07am | 9:58am | 2:49pm | Morning |
| Mars | Cnc | 1.8 | 6:55am | 12:02pm | 5:09pm | Hidden |
| Jupiter | Vir | −1.6 | 9:34am | 3:57pm | 10:19pm | Evening |
| Saturn | Oph | 0.2 | 12:50pm | 8:06pm | 3:26am | Evening |
| Uranus | Psc | 5.8 | 11:00pm | 4:33am | 10:02am | Morning |
| Neptune | Aqr | 7.8 | 7:18pm | 1:47am | 8:12am | 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 69% Moon interferes badly this year.
The solar system — August 2017
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.