The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — August 2161
Highlights this month
- 1SatThe Moon passes Jupiter — 2° apart. (2:26am)
- 2SunJupiter is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (12:04pm)
- 8SatMars is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (7:51pm)
- 13ThuMercury at greatest evening elongation (27° from the Sun, mag 0.3) — best evening apparition. (5:10am)
- 13ThuPerseids meteor shower peaks (up to 100/hr). A 59% Moon washes out fainter meteors for part of the night.
- 23SunThe Moon passes Mercury — 4° apart. (6:19pm)
- 26WedMercury is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (8:18am)
- 26WedThe Moon passes Saturn — 4° apart. (11:16pm)
- 28FriThe Moon passes Jupiter — 4° apart. (6:24pm)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat 1 | 7:21am | 5:32pm | 10h 11m | 7:03pm | 5:50am |
| Mon 10 | 7:12am | 5:40pm | 10h 28m | 7:10pm | 5:42am |
| Thu 20 | 6:59am | 5:48pm | 10h 49m | 7:17pm | 5:31am |
| Mon 31 | 6:44am | 5:58pm | 11h 14m | 7:26pm | 5:16am |
Days lengthen by about 63 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- Full MoonThu 6, 12:24pm
- Last QuarterFri 14, 4:09pm
- New MoonFri 21, 5:55pm
- First QuarterFri 28, 8:32am
Apogee 10 Aug (405,800 km) · Perigee 23 Aug (358,800 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Leo | 0.4 | 8:08am | 2:04pm | 8:01pm | Evening |
| Venus | Gem | −3.7 | 5:45am | 10:39am | 3:33pm | Hidden |
| Mars | Aqr | −2.5 | 7:39pm | 2:17am | 8:51am | Morning |
| Jupiter | Sco | −2.0 | 11:48am | 7:00pm | 2:15am | Evening |
| Saturn | Lib | 0.5 | 10:53am | 5:43pm | 12:36am | Evening |
| Uranus | Sgr | 5.7 | 2:58pm | 10:15pm | 5:37am | Evening |
| Neptune | Sgr | 7.8 | 3:36pm | 10:45pm | 5:57am | 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 59% Moon washes out fainter meteors for part of the night.
The solar system — August 2161
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 2 October 2026.