The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — December 2004
Highlights this month
- 1WedMercury is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (12:04am)
- 7TueThe Moon passes Jupiter — 0.3° apart. (9:58pm)
- 10FriMercury in inferior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (7:17pm)
- 14TueGeminids meteor shower peaks (up to 150/hr). A thin 7% Moon leaves the sky dark.
- 20MonMercury is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (6:02pm)
- 21TueSummer solstice.
- 22WedUrsids meteor shower peaks (up to 10/hr). A bright 83% Moon interferes badly this year.
- 30ThuMercury at greatest morning elongation (22° from the Sun, mag −0.3) — best morning apparition. (7:01am)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wed 1 | 5:50am | 8:28pm | 14h 37m | 10:20pm | 3:58am |
| Fri 10 | 5:50am | 8:36pm | 14h 46m | 10:31pm | 3:55am |
| Mon 20 | 5:52am | 8:42pm | 14h 50m | 10:39pm | 3:56am |
| Fri 31 | 5:59am | 8:46pm | 14h 47m | 10:42pm | 4:03am |
Days lengthen by about 10 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- Last QuarterSun 5, 11:54am
- New MoonSun 12, 12:31pm
- First QuarterSun 19, 3:37am
- Full MoonMon 27, 2:10am
Perigee 13 Dec (358,000 km) · Apogee 28 Dec (406,200 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Oph | 2.2 | 5:24am | 12:31pm | 7:37pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Lib | −3.7 | 4:24am | 11:28am | 6:32pm | Hidden |
| Mars | Lib | 1.6 | 4:03am | 11:06am | 6:08pm | Hidden |
| Jupiter | Vir | −1.6 | 2:25am | 8:43am | 3:00pm | Morning |
| Saturn | Gem | −0.3 | 10:41pm | 3:38am | 8:30am | Morning |
| Uranus | Aqr | 5.9 | 11:28am | 6:05pm | 12:46am | Evening |
| Neptune | Cap | 7.9 | 9:49am | 4:46pm | 11:44pm | 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 7% 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 bright 83% Moon interferes badly this year.
The solar system — December 2004
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 July 2026.