The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — August 2068
Highlights this month
- 3FriJupiter at opposition — closest and brightest of the year, up all night in Capricornus (mag −2.7). (5:28pm)
- 13MonPerseids meteor shower peaks (up to 100/hr). A bright 100% Moon interferes badly this year.
- 19SunUranus is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (12:49am)
- 19SunMercury and Saturn in conjunction — 3° apart. (7:54pm)
- 24FriThe Moon passes Venus — 2° apart. (6:13am)
- 28TueMercury at greatest evening elongation (27° from the Sun, mag 0.2) — best evening apparition. (7:50am)
- 30ThuThe Moon passes Mercury — 1° apart. (4:10pm)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wed 1 | 7:21am | 5:32pm | 10h 12m | 7:03pm | 5:50am |
| Fri 10 | 7:11am | 5:40pm | 10h 29m | 7:10pm | 5:41am |
| Mon 20 | 6:58am | 5:49pm | 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
- First QuarterMon 6, 5:36pm
- Full MoonMon 13, 7:58pm
- Last QuarterMon 20, 10:18am
- New MoonTue 28, 4:27am
Apogee 2 Aug (405,700 km) · Perigee 15 Aug (359,200 km) · Apogee 30 Aug (406,200 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Leo | −0.0 | 8:08am | 1:56pm | 7:45pm | Evening |
| Venus | Gem | −4.2 | 4:23am | 9:17am | 2:12pm | Morning |
| Mars | Leo | 1.8 | 7:53am | 1:26pm | 6:59pm | Hidden |
| Jupiter | Cap | −2.6 | 4:29pm | 11:32pm | 6:40am | All night |
| Saturn | Leo | 1.1 | 8:32am | 2:20pm | 8:07pm | Evening |
| Uranus | Oph | 5.6 | 12:01pm | 7:18pm | 2:38am | Evening |
| Neptune | Gem | 7.9 | 4:30am | 9:17am | 2:05pm | 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 100% Moon interferes badly this year.
The solar system — August 2068
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 17 August 2026.