The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — December 1983
Highlights this month
- 2FriUranus in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (2:06pm)
- 14WedMercury at greatest evening elongation (21° from the Sun, mag −0.5) — best evening apparition. (8:18am)
- 14WedGeminids meteor shower peaks (up to 150/hr). A bright 66% Moon interferes badly this year.
- 14WedJupiter in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (11:44pm)
- 21WedNeptune in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (8:45pm)
- 22ThuMercury is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (7:18am)
- 22ThuSummer solstice.
- 22ThuUrsids meteor shower peaks (up to 10/hr). A bright 94% Moon interferes badly this year.
- 28WedThe Moon passes Mars — 3° apart. (1:36pm)
- 30FriThe Moon passes Saturn — 0.5° apart. (3:10am)
- 31SatThe Moon passes Venus — 0.6° apart. (5:53am)
- 31SatMercury in inferior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (6:34pm)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wed 1 | 5:51am | 8:27pm | 14h 36m | 10:19pm | 3:59am |
| Fri 10 | 5:50am | 8:35pm | 14h 45m | 10:30pm | 3:55am |
| Mon 20 | 5:52am | 8:42pm | 14h 50m | 10:39pm | 3:55am |
| Fri 31 | 5:59am | 8:46pm | 14h 48m | 10:42pm | 4:02am |
Days lengthen by about 12 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- New MoonSun 4, 11:31pm
- First QuarterTue 13, 12:13am
- Full MoonTue 20, 1:03pm
- Last QuarterTue 27, 5:52am
Apogee 11 Dec (404,900 km) · Perigee 23 Dec (364,900 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Sgr | −0.4 | 7:16am | 2:44pm | 10:12pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Lib | −4.1 | 3:37am | 10:20am | 5:03pm | Hidden |
| Mars | Vir | 1.4 | 2:30am | 8:47am | 3:04pm | Morning |
| Jupiter | Oph | −1.6 | 5:53am | 1:13pm | 8:33pm | Hidden |
| Saturn | Lib | 0.5 | 3:45am | 10:30am | 5:15pm | Hidden |
| Uranus | Oph | 5.7 | 5:05am | 12:21pm | 7:38pm | Hidden |
| Neptune | Sgr | 8.0 | 6:24am | 1:41pm | 8:59pm | 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 66% 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 94% Moon interferes badly this year.
The solar system — December 1983
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 22 August 2026.