The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — August 2051
Highlights this month
- 5SatVenus in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (4:31pm)
- 7MonMercury in inferior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (3:40pm)
- 9WedThe Moon passes Jupiter — 5° apart. (2:18am)
- 10ThuSaturn at opposition — closest and brightest of the year, up all night in Capricornus (mag 0.1). (6:40am)
- 13SunPerseids meteor shower peaks (up to 100/hr). A 37% Moon washes out fainter meteors for part of the night.
- 17ThuMercury is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (4:03am)
- 25FriMercury at greatest morning elongation (18° from the Sun, mag −0.2) — best morning apparition. (2:36pm)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tue 1 | 7:21am | 5:32pm | 10h 10m | 7:03pm | 5:50am |
| Thu 10 | 7:12am | 5:39pm | 10h 27m | 7:09pm | 5:42am |
| Sun 20 | 6:59am | 5:48pm | 10h 48m | 7:16pm | 5:31am |
| Thu 31 | 6:44am | 5:57pm | 11h 13m | 7:25pm | 5:16am |
Days lengthen by about 63 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- New MoonMon 7, 1:01am
- First QuarterTue 15, 2:51am
- Full MoonTue 22, 11:44am
- Last QuarterTue 29, 3:27am
Apogee 13 Aug (405,100 km) · Perigee 24 Aug (363,000 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Cnc | 2.5 | 6:17am | 11:32am | 4:48pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Leo | −3.8 | 7:21am | 12:37pm | 5:54pm | Hidden |
| Mars | Leo | 1.8 | 7:36am | 1:00pm | 6:23pm | Hidden |
| Jupiter | Leo | −1.5 | 8:02am | 1:38pm | 7:13pm | Hidden |
| Saturn | Cap | 0.1 | 5:05pm | 12:02am | 7:04am | All night |
| Uranus | Leo | 5.6 | 8:32am | 2:24pm | 8:16pm | Evening |
| Neptune | Tau | 7.9 | 1:41am | 6:42am | 11:43am | 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 37% Moon washes out fainter meteors for part of the night.
The solar system — August 2051
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.