The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — August 2187
Highlights this month
- 6MonThe Moon passes Mercury — 5° apart. (6:54pm)
- 8WedThe Moon passes Saturn — 3° apart. (7:59pm)
- 13MonPerseids meteor shower peaks (up to 100/hr). A bright 71% Moon interferes badly this year.
- 14TueUranus is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (12:49pm)
- 19SunMercury at greatest evening elongation (27° from the Sun, mag 0.3) — best evening apparition. (6:01am)
- 19SunThe Moon passes Jupiter — 4° apart. (6:23pm)
- 20MonJupiter at opposition — closest and brightest of the year, up all night in Capricornus (mag −2.7). (12:57am)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wed 1 | 7:21am | 5:32pm | 10h 10m | 7:03pm | 5:50am |
| Fri 10 | 7:12am | 5:40pm | 10h 28m | 7:09pm | 5:42am |
| Mon 20 | 7:00am | 5:48pm | 10h 49m | 7:17pm | 5:31am |
| Fri 31 | 6:44am | 5:57pm | 11h 13m | 7:25pm | 5:16am |
Days lengthen by about 63 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- New MoonSun 5, 1:40am
- First QuarterSat 11, 4:10pm
- Full MoonSun 19, 1:25pm
- Last QuarterMon 27, 2:46pm
Perigee 5 Aug (357,900 km) · Apogee 20 Aug (406,200 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Leo | 0.2 | 8:12am | 2:05pm | 7:59pm | Evening |
| Venus | Leo | −3.7 | 7:48am | 1:17pm | 6:45pm | Hidden |
| Mars | Vir | 0.7 | 10:12am | 5:02pm | 11:53pm | Evening |
| Jupiter | Cap | −2.7 | 5:58pm | 12:48am | 7:33am | All night |
| Saturn | Vir | 0.9 | 9:14am | 3:19pm | 9:25pm | Evening |
| Uranus | Ari | 5.8 | 11:53pm | 5:14am | 10:31am | Morning |
| Neptune | Psc | 7.8 | 8:29pm | 2:41am | 8:49am | 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 bright 71% Moon interferes badly this year.
The solar system — August 2187
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 15 October 2026.