The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — December 1977
Highlights this month
- 3SatThe Moon passes Saturn — 5° apart. (11:36am)
- 3SatMercury at greatest evening elongation (21° from the Sun, mag −0.4) — best evening apparition. (7:52pm)
- 8ThuNeptune in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (12:53pm)
- 12MonMercury is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (11:01am)
- 12MonSaturn is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (3:43pm)
- 14WedMars is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (6:49am)
- 14WedGeminids meteor shower peaks (up to 150/hr). A thin 18% Moon leaves the sky dark.
- 22ThuMercury in inferior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (1:01am)
- 22ThuSummer solstice.
- 22ThuUrsids meteor shower peaks (up to 10/hr). A bright 90% Moon interferes badly this year.
- 23FriJupiter at opposition — closest and brightest of the year, up all night in Gemini (mag −2.6). (11:21am)
- 25SunThe Moon passes Jupiter — 5° apart. (5:55pm)
- 30FriThe Moon passes Saturn — 5° apart. (5:11pm)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wed 1 | 5:51am | 8:27pm | 14h 37m | 10:20pm | 3:59am |
| Fri 10 | 5:50am | 8:35pm | 14h 46m | 10:31pm | 3:55am |
| Mon 20 | 5:52am | 8:42pm | 14h 50m | 10:39pm | 3:56am |
| Fri 31 | 5:59am | 8:46pm | 14h 47m | 10:42pm | 4:03am |
Days lengthen by about 11 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- Last QuarterSun 4, 8:19am
- New MoonSun 11, 4:35am
- First QuarterSat 17, 9:36pm
- Full MoonSun 25, 11:52pm
Perigee 11 Dec (356,800 km) · Apogee 25 Dec (406,200 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Sgr | 1.2 | 6:53am | 2:14pm | 9:34pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Oph | −3.7 | 5:17am | 12:36pm | 7:54pm | Hidden |
| Mars | Cnc | −0.6 | 11:48pm | 4:46am | 9:41am | Morning |
| Jupiter | Gem | −2.6 | 9:09pm | 1:57am | 6:40am | All night |
| Saturn | Leo | 0.4 | 12:37am | 5:59am | 11:20am | Morning |
| Uranus | Lib | 5.6 | 3:41am | 10:34am | 5:28pm | Hidden |
| Neptune | Oph | 8.0 | 5:32am | 12:46pm | 8:00pm | 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 thin 18% Moon leaves the sky dark.
- Ursids — peaks 22 December, radiant in Ursa Minor (up to 10/hr). A circumpolar northern shower whose radiant never rises from Victoria. A bright 90% Moon interferes badly this year.
The solar system — December 1977
Evening sky Morning sky Up much of the night Lost in the Sun’s glare
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Generated automatically from the MPAS sky engine on 23 August 2026.