The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — December 1984
Highlights this month
- 5WedMercury is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (8:29am)
- 6ThuUranus in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (4:53am)
- 14FriGeminids meteor shower peaks (up to 150/hr). A bright 66% Moon interferes badly this year.
- 15SatMercury in inferior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (1:23am)
- 22SatSummer solstice.
- 22SatUrsids meteor shower peaks (up to 10/hr). A thin 0% Moon leaves the sky dark.
- 23SunNeptune in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (6:04am)
- 25TueMercury is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (4:02am)
- 26WedThe Moon passes Venus — 3° apart. (3:36pm)
- 27ThuThe Moon passes Mars — 4° apart. (2:08pm)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fri 1 | 5:51am | 8:28pm | 14h 37m | 10:20pm | 3:58am |
| Sun 10 | 5:50am | 8:36pm | 14h 46m | 10:31pm | 3:55am |
| Wed 20 | 5:52am | 8:42pm | 14h 50m | 10:39pm | 3:56am |
| Sun 31 | 5:59am | 8:46pm | 14h 47m | 10:42pm | 4:03am |
Days lengthen by about 10 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- Full MoonSat 8, 9:56pm
- Last QuarterSun 16, 2:31am
- New MoonSat 22, 10:49pm
- First QuarterSun 30, 4:28pm
Apogee 3 Dec (405,100 km) · Perigee 18 Dec (368,200 km) · Apogee 31 Dec (404,700 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Oph | 6.8 | 5:58am | 1:10pm | 8:22pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Cap | −4.1 | 9:11am | 4:24pm | 11:36pm | Evening |
| Mars | Cap | 0.8 | 10:31am | 5:24pm | 12:18am | Evening |
| Jupiter | Sgr | −1.7 | 7:42am | 3:00pm | 10:19pm | Hidden |
| Saturn | Lib | 0.4 | 4:13am | 11:09am | 6:05pm | Hidden |
| Uranus | Oph | 5.8 | 5:18am | 12:36pm | 7:55pm | Hidden |
| Neptune | Sgr | 8.0 | 6:30am | 1:48pm | 9:05pm | 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 thin 0% Moon leaves the sky dark.
The solar system — December 1984
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 21 August 2026.