The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — August 2174
Highlights this month
- 8MonThe Moon passes Mars — 2° apart. (2:16am)
- 9TueSaturn is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (8:27pm)
- 10WedThe Moon passes Jupiter — 4° apart. (10:34pm)
- 13SatPerseids meteor shower peaks (up to 100/hr). A bright 100% Moon interferes badly this year.
- 16TueMercury at greatest evening elongation (27° from the Sun, mag 0.3) — best evening apparition. (5:38am)
- 21SunNeptune at opposition — closest and brightest of the year, up all night in Aquarius (mag 7.8). (12:55am)
- 29MonMercury is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (9:05am)
- 29MonThe Moon passes Mercury — 4° apart. (7:04pm)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 1 | 7:21am | 5:32pm | 10h 11m | 7:03pm | 5:50am |
| Wed 10 | 7:12am | 5:40pm | 10h 28m | 7:09pm | 5:42am |
| Sat 20 | 6:59am | 5:48pm | 10h 49m | 7:17pm | 5:31am |
| Wed 31 | 6:44am | 5:58pm | 11h 14m | 7:25pm | 5:16am |
Days lengthen by about 63 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- First QuarterSat 6, 9:27am
- Full MoonSat 13, 9:29am
- Last QuarterSat 20, 12:23am
- New MoonSat 27, 8:04pm
Apogee 2 Aug (405,800 km) · Perigee 14 Aug (358,300 km) · Apogee 29 Aug (406,200 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Leo | 0.3 | 8:10am | 2:06pm | 8:01pm | Evening |
| Venus | Cnc | −3.8 | 6:52am | 11:59am | 5:06pm | Hidden |
| Mars | Oph | −0.7 | 11:45am | 7:13pm | 2:44am | Evening |
| Jupiter | Sgr | −2.4 | 2:21pm | 9:41pm | 5:06am | Evening |
| Saturn | Psc | 0.3 | 10:50pm | 4:30am | 10:07am | Morning |
| Uranus | Aqr | 5.8 | 7:31pm | 1:56am | 8:18am | Morning |
| Neptune | Aqr | 7.8 | 6:02pm | 12:48am | 7:31am | 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 100% Moon interferes badly this year.
The solar system — August 2174
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 8 October 2026.