The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — August 2018
Highlights this month
- 8WedUranus is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (3:03am)
- 9ThuMercury in inferior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (12:01pm)
- 13MonPerseids meteor shower peaks (up to 100/hr). A thin 5% Moon leaves the sky dark.
- 17FriThe Moon passes Jupiter — 4° apart. (11:13pm)
- 18SatVenus at greatest evening elongation (46° from the Sun, mag −4.3) — best evening apparition. (2:04am)
- 18SatMercury is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (10:14pm)
- 21TueThe Moon passes Saturn — 2° apart. (7:52pm)
- 27MonMercury at greatest morning elongation (18° from the Sun, mag −0.2) — best morning apparition. (6:26am)
- 28TueMars is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (8:44pm)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wed 1 | 7:21am | 5:31pm | 10h 10m | 7:03pm | 5:50am |
| Fri 10 | 7:12am | 5:39pm | 10h 27m | 7:09pm | 5:42am |
| Mon 20 | 6:59am | 5:48pm | 10h 48m | 7:16pm | 5:31am |
| Fri 31 | 6:44am | 5:57pm | 11h 13m | 7:25pm | 5:16am |
Days lengthen by about 63 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- Last QuarterSun 5, 4:26am
- New MoonSat 11, 7:59pm
- First QuarterSat 18, 5:48pm
- Full MoonSun 26, 10:02pm
Perigee 11 Aug (357,600 km) · Apogee 23 Aug (406,000 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Cnc | 3.4 | 6:23am | 11:41am | 5:00pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Vir | −4.3 | 8:57am | 3:14pm | 9:31pm | Evening |
| Mars | Sgr | −2.5 | 3:23pm | 10:57pm | 6:37am | Evening |
| Jupiter | Lib | −1.8 | 10:45am | 5:37pm | 12:33am | Evening |
| Saturn | Sgr | 0.2 | 1:38pm | 8:57pm | 4:20am | Evening |
| Uranus | Ari | 5.8 | 11:22pm | 4:49am | 10:14am | Morning |
| Neptune | Aqr | 7.8 | 7:30pm | 1:57am | 8:19am | 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 5% Moon leaves the sky dark.
The solar system — August 2018
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.