The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — August 2178
Highlights this month
- 9SunThe Moon passes Jupiter — 3° apart. (3:51am)
- 13ThuPerseids meteor shower peaks (up to 100/hr). A thin 0% Moon leaves the sky dark.
- 17MonVenus is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (6:08am)
- 17MonMercury in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (6:42am)
- 30SunNeptune at opposition — closest and brightest of the year, up all night in Aquarius (mag 7.8). (5:33am)
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 | 7:09pm | 5:42am |
| Thu 20 | 6:59am | 5:48pm | 10h 49m | 7:17pm | 5:31am |
| Mon 31 | 6:44am | 5:58pm | 11h 14m | 7:25pm | 5:16am |
Days lengthen by about 63 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- Last QuarterFri 7, 5:06am
- New MoonFri 14, 1:27am
- First QuarterThu 20, 5:24pm
- Full MoonFri 28, 6:00pm
Apogee 1 Aug (406,200 km) · Perigee 14 Aug (356,800 km) · Apogee 28 Aug (406,300 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Leo | −1.9 | 7:09am | 12:20pm | 5:31pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Vir | −4.5 | 8:08am | 2:17pm | 8:27pm | Evening |
| Mars | Ari | −1.2 | 11:00pm | 4:40am | 10:18am | Morning |
| Jupiter | Tau | −2.0 | 2:38am | 7:28am | 12:19pm | Morning |
| Saturn | Tau | 0.0 | 3:12am | 8:02am | 12:52pm | Morning |
| Uranus | Psc | 5.8 | 8:51pm | 2:56am | 8:58am | Morning |
| Neptune | Aqr | 7.8 | 6:47pm | 1:23am | 7:56am | Morning |
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 thin 0% Moon leaves the sky dark.
The solar system — August 2178
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.
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Generated automatically from the MPAS sky engine on 10 October 2026.