The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — December 1998
Highlights this month
- 1TueThe Moon passes Saturn — 2° apart. (4:41am)
- 2WedMercury in inferior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (2:19am)
- 11FriMercury is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (5:10pm)
- 12SatThe Moon passes Mars — 2° apart. (8:00pm)
- 14MonGeminids meteor shower peaks (up to 150/hr). A thin 19% Moon leaves the sky dark.
- 20SunMercury at greatest morning elongation (22° from the Sun, mag −0.4) — best morning apparition. (2:45pm)
- 22TueSummer solstice.
- 22TueUrsids meteor shower peaks (up to 10/hr). A thin 11% Moon leaves the sky dark.
- 25FriThe Moon passes Jupiter — 1° apart. (10:15pm)
- 28MonThe Moon passes Saturn — 2° apart. (11:33am)
- 31ThuSaturn is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (1:30am)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 1 | 5:51am | 8:27pm | 14h 37m | 10:19pm | 3:59am |
| Wed 10 | 5:50am | 8:35pm | 14h 46m | 10:31pm | 3:55am |
| Sat 20 | 5:52am | 8:42pm | 14h 50m | 10:39pm | 3:55am |
| Wed 31 | 5:59am | 8:46pm | 14h 47m | 10:42pm | 4:03am |
Days lengthen by about 11 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- Full MoonFri 4, 2:22am
- Last QuarterFri 11, 4:58am
- New MoonSat 19, 9:44am
- First QuarterSat 26, 9:50pm
Perigee 2 Dec (359,200 km) · Apogee 15 Dec (405,700 km) · Perigee 31 Dec (364,000 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Sco | −0.2 | 4:47am | 11:49am | 6:52pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Sgr | −3.7 | 6:37am | 2:04pm | 9:31pm | Hidden |
| Mars | Vir | 1.2 | 2:15am | 8:25am | 2:34pm | Morning |
| Jupiter | Aqr | −2.2 | 12:51pm | 7:09pm | 1:32am | Evening |
| Saturn | Psc | 0.2 | 3:51pm | 9:28pm | 3:09am | Evening |
| Uranus | Cap | 5.9 | 9:34am | 4:36pm | 11:39pm | Evening |
| Neptune | Cap | 7.9 | 8:48am | 3:56pm | 11:03pm | Evening |
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 19% 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 11% Moon leaves the sky dark.
The solar system — December 1998
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 15 August 2026.