The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — August 2166
Highlights this month
- 2SatNeptune at opposition — closest and brightest of the year, up all night in Capricornus (mag 7.8). (3:18pm)
- 5TueUranus at opposition — closest and brightest of the year, up all night in Capricornus (mag 5.7). (5:12pm)
- 9SatThe Moon passes Saturn — 5° apart. (6:09pm)
- 13WedPerseids meteor shower peaks (up to 100/hr). A bright 96% Moon interferes badly this year.
- 28ThuThe Moon passes Mars — 4° apart. (7:44pm)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fri 1 | 7:21am | 5:32pm | 10h 11m | 7:03pm | 5:50am |
| Sun 10 | 7:12am | 5:40pm | 10h 28m | 7:09pm | 5:42am |
| Wed 20 | 6:59am | 5:48pm | 10h 49m | 7:17pm | 5:31am |
| Sun 31 | 6:44am | 5:58pm | 11h 14m | 7:25pm | 5:16am |
Days lengthen by about 63 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- First QuarterMon 4, 1:28pm
- Full MoonTue 12, 1:15am
- Last QuarterMon 18, 5:30pm
- New MoonTue 26, 2:25am
Apogee 3 Aug (404,900 km) · Perigee 14 Aug (364,800 km) · Apogee 30 Aug (405,600 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Leo | −0.6 | 7:55am | 1:29pm | 7:03pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Cnc | −3.8 | 6:50am | 11:57am | 5:03pm | Hidden |
| Mars | Vir | 1.7 | 8:44am | 2:43pm | 8:43pm | Evening |
| Jupiter | Tau | −2.0 | 2:17am | 7:10am | 12:03pm | Morning |
| Saturn | Sgr | 0.1 | 2:28pm | 9:46pm | 5:07am | Evening |
| Uranus | Cap | 5.7 | 4:45pm | 11:45pm | 6:49am | All night |
| Neptune | Cap | 7.8 | 4:32pm | 11:32pm | 6:36am | All night |
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 96% Moon interferes badly this year.
The solar system — August 2166
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 6 October 2026.