The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — December 1970
Highlights this month
- 11FriMercury at greatest evening elongation (21° from the Sun, mag −0.5) — best evening apparition. (9:00am)
- 14MonGeminids meteor shower peaks (up to 150/hr). A bright 98% Moon interferes badly this year.
- 19SatMercury is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (12:07pm)
- 22TueSummer solstice.
- 22TueUrsids meteor shower peaks (up to 10/hr). A 37% Moon washes out fainter meteors for part of the night.
- 28MonMercury in inferior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (11:55pm)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tue 1 | 4:51am | 7:27pm | 14h 36m | 9:19pm | 2:59am |
| Thu 10 | 4:50am | 7:35pm | 14h 45m | 9:30pm | 2:55am |
| Sun 20 | 4:52am | 7:42pm | 14h 50m | 9:39pm | 2:55am |
| Thu 31 | 4:59am | 7:46pm | 14h 48m | 9:42pm | 3:03am |
Days lengthen by about 11 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- First QuarterSun 6, 6:34am
- Full MoonSun 13, 7:02am
- Last QuarterMon 21, 7:12am
- New MoonMon 28, 8:47pm
Perigee 5 Dec (369,800 km) · Apogee 20 Dec (404,900 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Sgr | −0.3 | 6:16am | 1:42pm | 9:08pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Lib | −4.7 | 2:49am | 9:34am | 4:19pm | Hidden |
| Mars | Vir | 1.6 | 2:18am | 9:00am | 3:43pm | Morning |
| Jupiter | Lib | −1.5 | 3:14am | 10:15am | 5:17pm | Hidden |
| Saturn | Ari | −0.2 | 4:30pm | 9:45pm | 3:04am | Evening |
| Uranus | Vir | 5.5 | 1:20am | 7:36am | 1:52pm | Morning |
| Neptune | Sco | 8.0 | 3:41am | 10:45am | 5:50pm | Hidden |
Meteor showers
- Geminids — peaks 14 December, radiant in Gemini (up to 150/hr). The richest shower of the year; the radiant reaches a useful altitude after local midnight, so it rewards southern observers well. A bright 98% Moon interferes badly this year.
- Ursids — peaks 22 December, radiant in Ursa Minor (up to 10/hr). A circumpolar northern shower whose radiant never rises from Victoria. A 37% Moon washes out fainter meteors for part of the night.
The solar system — December 1970
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 24 August 2026.