The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — December 1982
Highlights this month
- 11SatThe Moon passes Saturn — 2° apart. (2:57pm)
- 14TueGeminids meteor shower peaks (up to 150/hr). A thin 1% Moon leaves the sky dark.
- 19SunNeptune in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (11:27am)
- 19SunThe Moon passes Mars — 2° apart. (1:02pm)
- 22WedSummer solstice.
- 22WedUrsids meteor shower peaks (up to 10/hr). A 37% Moon washes out fainter meteors for part of the night.
- 31FriMercury at greatest evening elongation (20° from the Sun, mag −0.6) — best evening apparition. (6:13am)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tue 1 | 5:51am | 8:27pm | 14h 36m | 10:19pm | 3:59am |
| Thu 10 | 5:50am | 8:35pm | 14h 45m | 10:31pm | 3:55am |
| Sun 20 | 5:52am | 8:42pm | 14h 50m | 10:39pm | 3:55am |
| Thu 31 | 5:59am | 8:46pm | 14h 48m | 10:42pm | 4:03am |
Days lengthen by about 11 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- Full MoonWed 1, 11:28am
- Last QuarterWed 8, 2:48am
- New MoonWed 15, 8:21pm
- First QuarterFri 24, 1:25am
- Full Moon SupermoonThu 30, 10:35pm
Perigee 3 Dec (360,100 km) · Apogee 18 Dec (406,100 km) · Perigee 31 Dec (357,100 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Sgr | −0.7 | 6:43am | 2:15pm | 9:48pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Sgr | −3.7 | 6:32am | 1:59pm | 9:25pm | Hidden |
| Mars | Cap | 1.1 | 9:00am | 4:12pm | 11:23pm | Evening |
| Jupiter | Lib | −1.5 | 4:24am | 11:29am | 6:34pm | Hidden |
| Saturn | Vir | 0.6 | 3:14am | 9:47am | 4:21pm | Morning |
| Uranus | Sco | 5.7 | 4:49am | 12:03pm | 7:16pm | Hidden |
| Neptune | Sgr | 8.0 | 6:14am | 1:32pm | 8:49pm | 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 1% 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 37% Moon washes out fainter meteors for part of the night.
The solar system — December 1982
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.