The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — December 1996
Highlights this month
- 4WedThe Moon passes Mars — 4° apart. (5:40am)
- 4WedSaturn is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (7:18pm)
- 14SatGeminids meteor shower peaks (up to 150/hr). A thin 17% Moon leaves the sky dark.
- 16MonMercury at greatest evening elongation (20° from the Sun, mag −0.5) — best evening apparition. (6:28am)
- 18WedThe Moon passes Saturn — 3° apart. (5:43am)
- 22SunSummer solstice.
- 22SunUrsids meteor shower peaks (up to 10/hr). A bright 93% Moon interferes badly this year.
- 24TueMercury is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (1:29am)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat 1 | 5:50am | 8:28pm | 14h 37m | 10:20pm | 3:58am |
| Mon 10 | 5:50am | 8:36pm | 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 10 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- Last QuarterTue 3, 4:04pm
- New MoonWed 11, 4:02am
- First QuarterTue 17, 8:31pm
- Full MoonWed 25, 7:41am
Apogee 1 Dec (405,000 km) · Perigee 13 Dec (364,100 km) · Apogee 29 Dec (405,700 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Sgr | −0.5 | 7:16am | 2:44pm | 10:12pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Lib | −3.7 | 4:22am | 11:25am | 6:29pm | Hidden |
| Mars | Leo | 0.8 | 1:35am | 7:22am | 1:08pm | Morning |
| Jupiter | Sgr | −1.7 | 7:59am | 3:16pm | 10:33pm | Hidden |
| Saturn | Psc | 0.9 | 1:41pm | 7:49pm | 2:01am | Evening |
| Uranus | Cap | 5.9 | 8:53am | 4:02pm | 11:12pm | Evening |
| Neptune | Sgr | 7.9 | 8:25am | 3:36pm | 10:47pm | 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 17% 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 93% Moon interferes badly this year.
The solar system — December 1996
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 16 August 2026.