The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — December 1990
Highlights this month
- 2SunThe Moon passes Mars — 3° apart. (9:40am)
- 6ThuMercury at greatest evening elongation (21° from the Sun, mag −0.4) — best evening apparition. (6:31pm)
- 7FriThe Moon passes Jupiter — 2° apart. (1:33am)
- 14FriGeminids meteor shower peaks (up to 150/hr). A thin 8% Moon leaves the sky dark.
- 15SatMercury is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (5:20am)
- 22SatSummer solstice.
- 22SatUrsids meteor shower peaks (up to 10/hr). A thin 22% Moon leaves the sky dark.
- 24MonMercury in inferior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (6:33pm)
- 29SatThe Moon passes Mars — 2° apart. (11:07am)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fri 1 | 5:51am | 8:27pm | 14h 36m | 10:19pm | 3:59am |
| Sun 10 | 5:50am | 8:35pm | 14h 46m | 10:31pm | 3:55am |
| Wed 20 | 5:52am | 8:42pm | 14h 50m | 10:39pm | 3:55am |
| Sun 31 | 5:59am | 8:46pm | 14h 48m | 10:42pm | 4:03am |
Days lengthen by about 11 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- Full Moon SupermoonSun 2, 6:57pm
- Last QuarterSun 9, 1:01pm
- New MoonMon 17, 3:21pm
- First QuarterTue 25, 2:24pm
Perigee 2 Dec (356,700 km) · Apogee 16 Dec (406,200 km) · Perigee 31 Dec (357,900 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Sgr | 0.3 | 7:06am | 2:29pm | 9:52pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Sgr | −3.7 | 6:35am | 2:01pm | 9:28pm | Hidden |
| Mars | Tau | −1.5 | 6:45pm | 11:32pm | 4:25am | Evening |
| Jupiter | Cnc | −2.2 | 11:42pm | 4:51am | 9:56am | Morning |
| Saturn | Sgr | 0.5 | 8:14am | 3:28pm | 10:43pm | Hidden |
| Uranus | Sgr | 5.8 | 7:01am | 2:24pm | 9:46pm | Hidden |
| Neptune | Sgr | 8.0 | 7:28am | 2:44pm | 10:00pm | 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 8% 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 thin 22% Moon leaves the sky dark.
The solar system — December 1990
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 19 August 2026.