The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — August 2040
Highlights this month
- 9ThuNeptune is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (3:26am)
- 11SatThe Moon passes Mars — 4° apart. (9:39pm)
- 12SunThe Moon passes Jupiter — 3° apart. (3:22am)
- 12SunThe Moon passes Saturn — 2° apart. (5:49pm)
- 13MonPerseids meteor shower peaks (up to 100/hr). A 25% Moon washes out fainter meteors for part of the night.
- 13MonMercury in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (3:42pm)
- 18SatMars and Jupiter in conjunction — 0.6° apart. (12:15pm)
- 31FriMars and Saturn in conjunction — 2° apart. (10:34am)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wed 1 | 7:21am | 5:32pm | 10h 11m | 7:03pm | 5:50am |
| Fri 10 | 7:11am | 5:40pm | 10h 29m | 7:09pm | 5:41am |
| Mon 20 | 6:59am | 5:48pm | 10h 50m | 7:17pm | 5:30am |
| Fri 31 | 6:43am | 5:58pm | 11h 15m | 7:26pm | 5:15am |
Days lengthen by about 63 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- New MoonWed 8, 10:32am
- First QuarterThu 16, 4:38am
- Full MoonWed 22, 7:09pm
- Last QuarterWed 29, 9:23pm
Apogee 6 Aug (406,200 km) · Perigee 21 Aug (359,400 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Leo | −1.8 | 7:19am | 12:35pm | 5:50pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Leo | −3.7 | 8:07am | 1:45pm | 7:24pm | Hidden |
| Mars | Vir | 1.7 | 8:44am | 2:46pm | 8:47pm | Evening |
| Jupiter | Vir | −1.5 | 8:50am | 2:51pm | 8:52pm | Evening |
| Saturn | Vir | 0.9 | 9:13am | 3:19pm | 9:26pm | Evening |
| Uranus | Cnc | 5.6 | 6:16am | 11:13am | 4:11pm | Hidden |
| Neptune | Ari | 7.8 | 11:33pm | 5:01am | 10:25am | 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 25% Moon washes out fainter meteors for part of the night.
The solar system — August 2040
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.