The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — August 2168
Highlights this month
- 1MonSaturn at opposition — closest and brightest of the year, up all night in Capricornus (mag 0.0). (2:36pm)
- 5FriMercury at greatest evening elongation (27° from the Sun, mag 0.3) — best evening apparition. (8:58am)
- 5FriThe Moon passes Venus — 5° apart. (6:53pm)
- 6SatNeptune at opposition — closest and brightest of the year, up all night in Capricornus (mag 7.8). (5:42pm)
- 13SatPerseids meteor shower peaks (up to 100/hr). A bright 74% Moon interferes badly this year.
- 13SatUranus at opposition — closest and brightest of the year, up all night in Capricornus (mag 5.7). (2:49pm)
- 17WedThe Moon passes Saturn — 1° apart. (6:16pm)
- 18ThuMercury is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (11:13am)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 1 | 7:21am | 5:32pm | 10h 12m | 7:03pm | 5:50am |
| Wed 10 | 7:11am | 5:40pm | 10h 29m | 7:10pm | 5:42am |
| Sat 20 | 6:59am | 5:49pm | 10h 50m | 7:17pm | 5:30am |
| Wed 31 | 6:43am | 5:58pm | 11h 15m | 7:26pm | 5:15am |
Days lengthen by about 63 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- New MoonThu 4, 12:52am
- First QuarterThu 11, 1:28am
- Full MoonFri 19, 5:53am
- Last QuarterFri 26, 5:05pm
Perigee 2 Aug (358,700 km) · Apogee 15 Aug (405,800 km) · Perigee 31 Aug (363,300 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Leo | 0.8 | 7:55am | 1:51pm | 7:47pm | Evening |
| Venus | Leo | −3.7 | 8:28am | 2:18pm | 8:09pm | Evening |
| Mars | Vir | 1.5 | 9:12am | 3:30pm | 9:48pm | Evening |
| Jupiter | Cnc | −1.6 | 6:08am | 11:05am | 4:02pm | Hidden |
| Saturn | Cap | 0.1 | 4:22pm | 11:26pm | 6:35am | All night |
| Uranus | Cap | 5.7 | 5:25pm | 12:20am | 7:11am | All night |
| Neptune | Cap | 7.8 | 4:52pm | 11:49pm | 6:49am | 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 74% Moon interferes badly this year.
The solar system — August 2168
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.