The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — December 1986
Highlights this month
- 5FriSaturn in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (2:16am)
- 8MonThe Moon passes Mars — 2° apart. (4:58am)
- 8MonThe Moon passes Jupiter — 2° apart. (4:32pm)
- 14SunGeminids meteor shower peaks (up to 150/hr). A bright 96% Moon interferes badly this year.
- 15MonUranus in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (7:38am)
- 19FriMars and Jupiter in conjunction — 0.5° apart. (8:36am)
- 22MonSummer solstice.
- 22MonUrsids meteor shower peaks (up to 10/hr). A bright 71% Moon interferes badly this year.
- 28SunNeptune in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (12:44am)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun 1 | 5:51am | 8:27pm | 14h 36m | 10:19pm | 3:59am |
| Tue 10 | 5:50am | 8:35pm | 14h 45m | 10:31pm | 3:55am |
| Fri 20 | 5:52am | 8:42pm | 14h 50m | 10:39pm | 3:55am |
| Tue 31 | 5:59am | 8:46pm | 14h 48m | 10:42pm | 4:03am |
Days lengthen by about 11 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- New MoonTue 2, 3:46am
- First QuarterMon 8, 7:00pm
- Full MoonTue 16, 6:10pm
- Last QuarterWed 24, 8:21pm
- New MoonWed 31, 2:11pm
Perigee 3 Dec (357,700 km) · Apogee 17 Dec (406,200 km) · Perigee 31 Dec (356,700 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Sco | −0.6 | 4:56am | 12:09pm | 7:23pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Lib | −4.7 | 3:42am | 10:25am | 5:08pm | Hidden |
| Mars | Aqr | 0.4 | 12:18pm | 6:44pm | 1:13am | Evening |
| Jupiter | Aqr | −2.1 | 12:28pm | 6:53pm | 1:20am | Evening |
| Saturn | Oph | 0.3 | 5:23am | 12:35pm | 7:47pm | Hidden |
| Uranus | Oph | 5.8 | 5:52am | 1:14pm | 8:35pm | Hidden |
| Neptune | Sgr | 8.0 | 6:50am | 2:08pm | 9:25pm | 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 96% 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 71% Moon interferes badly this year.
The solar system — December 1986
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 20 August 2026.