The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — December 2000
Highlights this month
- 10SunThe Moon passes Saturn — 2° apart. (5:14am)
- 10SunThe Moon passes Jupiter — 3° apart. (7:41pm)
- 14ThuGeminids meteor shower peaks (up to 150/hr). A bright 88% Moon interferes badly this year.
- 20WedThe Moon passes Mars — 4° apart. (8:49pm)
- 22FriSummer solstice.
- 22FriUrsids meteor shower peaks (up to 10/hr). A thin 11% Moon leaves the sky dark.
- 26TueMercury in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (6:07am)
- 30SatThe Moon passes Venus — 2° apart. (10:34am)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thu 1 | 5:50am | 8:28pm | 14h 37m | 10:20pm | 3:58am |
| Sat 10 | 5:50am | 8:36pm | 14h 46m | 10:31pm | 3:55am |
| Tue 20 | 5:52am | 8:42pm | 14h 50m | 10:39pm | 3:56am |
| Sat 31 | 5:59am | 8:46pm | 14h 47m | 10:42pm | 4:03am |
Days lengthen by about 10 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- First QuarterMon 4, 3:03pm
- Full MoonMon 11, 8:10pm
- Last QuarterMon 18, 11:37am
- New MoonTue 26, 4:25am
Apogee 1 Dec (405,500 km) · Perigee 13 Dec (360,600 km) · Apogee 29 Dec (406,100 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Oph | −0.9 | 5:25am | 12:49pm | 8:13pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Cap | −4.1 | 9:15am | 4:27pm | 11:38pm | Evening |
| Mars | Vir | 1.5 | 2:49am | 9:18am | 3:48pm | Morning |
| Jupiter | Tau | −2.6 | 6:55pm | 11:50pm | 4:50am | Evening |
| Saturn | Tau | −0.3 | 6:10pm | 11:17pm | 4:28am | Evening |
| Uranus | Cap | 5.9 | 10:11am | 5:05pm | 12:04am | Evening |
| Neptune | Cap | 7.9 | 9:07am | 4:11pm | 11:16pm | 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 bright 88% 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 thin 11% Moon leaves the sky dark.
The solar system — December 2000
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.
Looking for an earlier month? Browse all past monthly guides →
Generated automatically from the MPAS sky engine on 15 August 2026.