The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — December 2001
Highlights this month
- 1SatThe Moon passes Saturn — 0.5° apart. (1:05pm)
- 3MonThe Moon passes Jupiter — 2° apart. (9:45pm)
- 4TueSaturn at opposition — closest and brightest of the year, up all night in Taurus (mag −0.6). (1:06am)
- 5WedMercury in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (8:20am)
- 14FriGeminids meteor shower peaks (up to 150/hr). A thin 0% Moon leaves the sky dark.
- 21FriThe Moon passes Mars — 4° apart. (10:45am)
- 22SatSummer solstice.
- 22SatUrsids meteor shower peaks (up to 10/hr). A 44% Moon washes out fainter meteors for part of the night.
- 28FriThe Moon passes Saturn — 0.2° apart. (6:53pm)
- 31MonThe Moon passes Jupiter — 1° apart. (12:59am)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat 1 | 5:51am | 8:27pm | 14h 37m | 10:20pm | 3:58am |
| Mon 10 | 5:50am | 8:35pm | 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
- Full MoonSat 1, 7:52am
- Last QuarterSat 8, 6:52am
- New MoonSat 15, 7:53am
- First QuarterSun 23, 8:01am
- Full MoonSun 30, 9:43pm
Perigee 7 Dec (369,800 km) · Apogee 22 Dec (404,900 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Sgr | −0.9 | 6:08am | 1:40pm | 9:11pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Oph | −3.8 | 5:24am | 12:43pm | 8:03pm | Hidden |
| Mars | Aqr | 0.6 | 11:34am | 6:11pm | 12:50am | Evening |
| Jupiter | Gem | −2.5 | 9:53pm | 2:42am | 7:28am | Morning |
| Saturn | Tau | −0.5 | 7:25pm | 12:24am | 5:19am | All night |
| Uranus | Cap | 5.9 | 10:31am | 5:21pm | 12:16am | Evening |
| Neptune | Cap | 7.9 | 9:18am | 4:21pm | 11:24pm | 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 0% 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 44% Moon washes out fainter meteors for part of the night.
The solar system — December 2001
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 July 2026.