The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — December 1981
Highlights this month
- 1TueThe Moon passes Venus — 3° apart. (6:35am)
- 11FriMercury in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (1:35am)
- 14MonGeminids meteor shower peaks (up to 150/hr). A bright 88% Moon interferes badly this year.
- 17ThuNeptune in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (2:08am)
- 19SatThe Moon passes Mars — 3° apart. (2:04am)
- 20SunThe Moon passes Saturn — 3° apart. (4:08pm)
- 21MonThe Moon passes Jupiter — 4° apart. (7:37pm)
- 22TueSummer solstice.
- 22TueUrsids meteor shower peaks (up to 10/hr). A thin 15% Moon leaves the sky dark.
- 30WedVenus is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (6:08pm)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 1 | 5:51am | 8:27pm | 14h 37m | 10:20pm | 3:59am |
| Wed 10 | 5:50am | 8:35pm | 14h 46m | 10:31pm | 3:55am |
| Sat 20 | 5:52am | 8:42pm | 14h 50m | 10:39pm | 3:56am |
| Wed 31 | 5:59am | 8:46pm | 14h 47m | 10:42pm | 4:03am |
Days lengthen by about 11 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- First QuarterSat 5, 3:29am
- Full Moon SupermoonFri 11, 7:47pm
- Last QuarterFri 18, 4:45pm
- New MoonSat 26, 9:09pm
Perigee 11 Dec (357,000 km) · Apogee 24 Dec (406,100 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Oph | −1.1 | 5:55am | 1:26pm | 8:56pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Cap | −4.8 | 8:59am | 4:11pm | 11:23pm | Evening |
| Mars | Vir | 1.0 | 1:52am | 7:48am | 1:43pm | Morning |
| Jupiter | Vir | −1.6 | 3:13am | 9:52am | 4:31pm | Morning |
| Saturn | Vir | 0.7 | 2:44am | 9:05am | 3:25pm | Morning |
| Uranus | Sco | 5.7 | 4:34am | 11:44am | 6:54pm | Hidden |
| Neptune | Oph | 8.0 | 6:05am | 1:22pm | 8:38pm | 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 88% 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 thin 15% Moon leaves the sky dark.
The solar system — December 1981
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.