The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — December 2003
Highlights this month
- 2TueThe Moon passes Mars — 4° apart. (6:14am)
- 9TueMercury at greatest evening elongation (21° from the Sun, mag −0.5) — best evening apparition. (5:03pm)
- 11ThuThe Moon passes Saturn — 5° apart. (9:32am)
- 14SunGeminids meteor shower peaks (up to 150/hr). A bright 75% Moon interferes badly this year.
- 16TueThe Moon passes Jupiter — 3° apart. (6:18pm)
- 17WedMercury is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (11:35pm)
- 22MonSummer solstice.
- 22MonUrsids meteor shower peaks (up to 10/hr). A thin 2% Moon leaves the sky dark.
- 27SatMercury in inferior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (12:06pm)
- 30TueThe Moon passes Mars — 3° apart. (9:21pm)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 1 | 5:51am | 8:27pm | 14h 36m | 10:19pm | 3:59am |
| Wed 10 | 5:50am | 8:35pm | 14h 45m | 10:30pm | 3:55am |
| Sat 20 | 5:52am | 8:42pm | 14h 50m | 10:39pm | 3:55am |
| Wed 31 | 5:59am | 8:46pm | 14h 48m | 10:42pm | 4:03am |
Days lengthen by about 11 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- First QuarterMon 1, 4:12am
- Full MoonTue 9, 7:42am
- Last QuarterWed 17, 4:51am
- New MoonTue 23, 8:42pm
- First QuarterTue 30, 9:03pm
Apogee 7 Dec (406,200 km) · Perigee 22 Dec (358,300 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Sgr | −0.1 | 7:14am | 2:39pm | 10:04pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Sgr | −3.7 | 8:01am | 3:24pm | 10:47pm | Hidden |
| Mars | Psc | −0.1 | 1:39pm | 7:43pm | 1:50am | Evening |
| Jupiter | Leo | −1.8 | 1:22am | 7:06am | 12:50pm | Morning |
| Saturn | Gem | −0.5 | 9:45pm | 2:36am | 7:24am | Morning |
| Uranus | Aqr | 5.9 | 11:11am | 5:53pm | 12:39am | Evening |
| Neptune | Cap | 7.9 | 9:41am | 4:40pm | 11:40pm | 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 75% 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 2% Moon leaves the sky dark.
The solar system — December 2003
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.