The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — August 2171
Highlights this month
- 6TueThe Moon passes Jupiter — 2° apart. (9:51pm)
- 13TuePerseids meteor shower peaks (up to 100/hr). A bright 93% Moon interferes badly this year.
- 14WedNeptune at opposition — closest and brightest of the year, up all night in Capricornus (mag 7.8). (9:20am)
- 18SunThe Moon passes Saturn — 2° apart. (12:08am)
- 24SatMercury in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (11:38am)
- 26MonUranus at opposition — closest and brightest of the year, up all night in Aquarius (mag 5.8). (7:20pm)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thu 1 | 7:22am | 5:32pm | 10h 10m | 7:03pm | 5:51am |
| Sat 10 | 7:12am | 5:39pm | 10h 27m | 7:09pm | 5:42am |
| Tue 20 | 7:00am | 5:48pm | 10h 48m | 7:17pm | 5:31am |
| Sat 31 | 6:44am | 5:57pm | 11h 13m | 7:25pm | 5:16am |
Days lengthen by about 63 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- New MoonFri 2, 6:29am
- First QuarterFri 9, 5:07am
- Full MoonFri 16, 4:04am
- Last QuarterSat 24, 2:26am
- New MoonSat 31, 4:32pm
Perigee 9 Aug (369,900 km) · Apogee 23 Aug (404,800 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Cnc | −1.5 | 6:45am | 11:49am | 4:53pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Leo | −3.7 | 7:45am | 1:12pm | 6:39pm | Hidden |
| Mars | Gem | 1.7 | 5:41am | 10:28am | 3:16pm | Hidden |
| Jupiter | Vir | −1.6 | 9:27am | 3:45pm | 10:03pm | Evening |
| Saturn | Aqr | 0.6 | 7:35pm | 2:04am | 8:28am | Morning |
| Uranus | Aqr | 5.8 | 6:30pm | 1:11am | 7:48am | Morning |
| Neptune | Cap | 7.8 | 5:29pm | 12:23am | 7:12am | 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 93% Moon interferes badly this year.
The solar system — August 2171
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 7 October 2026.