The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — December 1975
Highlights this month
- 4ThuNeptune in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (6:12pm)
- 11ThuJupiter is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (2:04pm)
- 13SatThe Moon passes Jupiter — 5° apart. (8:37am)
- 14SunGeminids meteor shower peaks (up to 150/hr). A bright 82% Moon interferes badly this year.
- 16TueMars at opposition — closest and brightest of the year, up all night in Taurus (mag −1.7). (1:07am)
- 22MonSummer solstice.
- 22MonUrsids meteor shower peaks (up to 10/hr). A bright 85% Moon interferes badly this year.
- 29MonThe Moon passes Venus — 2° apart. (8:54pm)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun 1 | 5:51am | 8:27pm | 14h 36m | 10:19pm | 3:59am |
| Tue 10 | 5:50am | 8:35pm | 14h 45m | 10:30pm | 3:55am |
| Fri 20 | 5:52am | 8:42pm | 14h 50m | 10:39pm | 3:55am |
| Tue 31 | 5:58am | 8:46pm | 14h 48m | 10:42pm | 4:02am |
Days lengthen by about 12 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- New MoonWed 3, 11:52am
- First QuarterThu 11, 1:40am
- Full MoonFri 19, 1:42am
- Last QuarterFri 26, 1:56am
Apogee 12 Dec (404,800 km) · Perigee 26 Dec (369,900 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Sgr | −0.8 | 6:21am | 1:54pm | 9:26pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Lib | −4.1 | 3:36am | 10:18am | 5:01pm | Hidden |
| Mars | Tau | −1.7 | 8:42pm | 1:20am | 5:52am | All night |
| Jupiter | Psc | −2.4 | 2:55pm | 8:43pm | 2:34am | Evening |
| Saturn | Cnc | −0.2 | 11:07pm | 4:07am | 9:03am | Morning |
| Uranus | Vir | 5.6 | 3:18am | 10:02am | 4:46pm | Morning |
| Neptune | Oph | 8.0 | 5:18am | 12:30pm | 7:42pm | 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 82% 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 bright 85% Moon interferes badly this year.
The solar system — December 1975
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 23 August 2026.