The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — August 2105
Highlights this month
- 2SunMercury at greatest morning elongation (20° from the Sun, mag 0.1) — best morning apparition. (6:03am)
- 6ThuThe Moon passes Mars — 2° apart. (11:21pm)
- 13ThuPerseids meteor shower peaks (up to 100/hr). A thin 12% Moon leaves the sky dark.
- 20ThuThe Moon passes Saturn — 0.1° apart. (4:27am)
- 21FriUranus is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (10:58pm)
- 23SunSaturn is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (3:10pm)
- 27ThuMercury in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (5:03pm)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat 1 | 7:22am | 5:32pm | 10h 10m | 7:03pm | 5:50am |
| Mon 10 | 7:12am | 5:39pm | 10h 27m | 7:09pm | 5:42am |
| Thu 20 | 7:00am | 5:48pm | 10h 48m | 7:16pm | 5:31am |
| Mon 31 | 6:44am | 5:57pm | 11h 13m | 7:25pm | 5:16am |
Days lengthen by about 63 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- Last QuarterMon 3, 4:35pm
- New MoonMon 10, 11:29am
- First QuarterTue 18, 4:04am
- Full MoonWed 26, 12:16am
Perigee 6 Aug (368,000 km) · Apogee 18 Aug (404,700 km) · Perigee 31 Aug (369,500 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Cnc | −1.3 | 6:34am | 11:36am | 4:38pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Gem | −3.7 | 5:30am | 10:22am | 3:14pm | Hidden |
| Mars | Gem | 1.3 | 4:19am | 9:02am | 1:44pm | Morning |
| Jupiter | Psc | −2.5 | 9:18pm | 3:19am | 9:15am | Morning |
| Saturn | Oph | 0.2 | 12:41pm | 7:56pm | 3:15am | Evening |
| Uranus | Ari | 5.8 | 12:33am | 5:42am | 10:51am | Morning |
| Neptune | Vir | 8.0 | 8:41am | 2:36pm | 8:30pm | Evening |
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 12% Moon leaves the sky dark.
The solar system — August 2105
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 4 September 2026.