The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — December 1985
Highlights this month
- 8SunThe Moon passes Mars — 0.0° apart. (9:31pm)
- 8SunMercury is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (9:42pm)
- 10TueUranus in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (6:44pm)
- 14SatGeminids meteor shower peaks (up to 150/hr). A thin 7% Moon leaves the sky dark.
- 16MonThe Moon passes Jupiter — 4° apart. (7:06am)
- 17TueMercury at greatest morning elongation (21° from the Sun, mag −0.4) — best morning apparition. (3:39pm)
- 22SunSummer solstice.
- 22SunUrsids meteor shower peaks (up to 10/hr). A bright 78% Moon interferes badly this year.
- 25WedNeptune in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (3:24pm)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat 1 | 5:51am | 8:27pm | 14h 37m | 10:20pm | 3:59am |
| Mon 10 | 5:50am | 8:35pm | 14h 46m | 10:31pm | 3:55am |
| Thu 20 | 5:52am | 8:42pm | 14h 50m | 10:39pm | 3:56am |
| Mon 31 | 5:59am | 8:46pm | 14h 47m | 10:42pm | 4:03am |
Days lengthen by about 11 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- Last QuarterThu 5, 8:09pm
- New MoonThu 12, 11:54am
- First QuarterThu 19, 12:58pm
- Full MoonFri 27, 6:36pm
Perigee 11 Dec (358,700 km) · Apogee 23 Dec (405,800 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Sco | −0.4 | 4:44am | 11:46am | 6:50pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Oph | −3.8 | 5:20am | 12:38pm | 7:57pm | Hidden |
| Mars | Vir | 1.6 | 3:03am | 9:39am | 4:16pm | Morning |
| Jupiter | Cap | −1.9 | 9:56am | 4:55pm | 11:53pm | Evening |
| Saturn | Sco | 0.4 | 4:46am | 11:52am | 6:57pm | Hidden |
| Uranus | Oph | 5.8 | 5:35am | 12:55pm | 8:15pm | Hidden |
| Neptune | Sgr | 8.0 | 6:40am | 1:58pm | 9:15pm | 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 7% 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 78% Moon interferes badly this year.
The solar system — December 1985
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 21 August 2026.