The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — December 1997
Highlights this month
- 5FriThe Moon passes Jupiter — 3° apart. (5:27pm)
- 8MonMercury is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (2:58am)
- 9TueThe Moon passes Saturn — 0.2° apart. (5:24pm)
- 14SunGeminids meteor shower peaks (up to 150/hr). A bright 100% Moon interferes badly this year.
- 17WedMercury in inferior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (6:50pm)
- 17WedSaturn is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (8:16pm)
- 22MonSummer solstice.
- 22MonUrsids meteor shower peaks (up to 10/hr). A 47% Moon washes out fainter meteors for part of the night.
- 26FriVenus is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (12:53am)
- 27SatMercury is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (11:35pm)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun 1 | 5:51am | 8:27pm | 14h 37m | 10:20pm | 3:58am |
| Tue 10 | 5:50am | 8:35pm | 14h 46m | 10:31pm | 3:55am |
| Fri 20 | 5:52am | 8:42pm | 14h 50m | 10:39pm | 3:56am |
| Tue 31 | 5:59am | 8:46pm | 14h 47m | 10:42pm | 4:03am |
Days lengthen by about 11 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- First QuarterSun 7, 5:11pm
- Full MoonSun 14, 1:36pm
- Last QuarterMon 22, 8:47am
- New MoonTue 30, 4:02am
Perigee 9 Dec (368,800 km) · Apogee 22 Dec (404,700 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Sgr | 4.6 | 6:22am | 1:38pm | 8:53pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Cap | −4.8 | 8:46am | 4:00pm | 11:14pm | Evening |
| Mars | Sgr | 1.2 | 8:27am | 3:44pm | 11:01pm | Evening |
| Jupiter | Cap | −1.9 | 10:16am | 5:11pm | 12:08am | Evening |
| Saturn | Psc | 0.5 | 2:45pm | 8:37pm | 2:34am | Evening |
| Uranus | Cap | 5.9 | 9:13am | 4:19pm | 11:26pm | Evening |
| Neptune | Sgr | 7.9 | 8:37am | 3:46pm | 10:55pm | 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 100% 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 47% Moon washes out fainter meteors for part of the night.
The solar system — December 1997
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 16 August 2026.