The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — December 2007
Highlights this month
- 1SatThe Moon passes Saturn — 2° apart. (10:06pm)
- 14FriGeminids meteor shower peaks (up to 150/hr). A thin 19% Moon leaves the sky dark.
- 18TueMercury in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (2:08am)
- 20ThuSaturn is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (10:12pm)
- 22SatSummer solstice.
- 22SatUrsids meteor shower peaks (up to 10/hr). A bright 95% Moon interferes badly this year.
- 23SunJupiter in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (4:49pm)
- 24MonThe Moon passes Mars — 0.9° apart. (2:06pm)
- 25TueMars at opposition — closest and brightest of the year, up all night in Gemini (mag −1.6). (7:08am)
- 29SatThe Moon passes Saturn — 3° apart. (7:05am)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat 1 | 5:51am | 8:27pm | 14h 36m | 10:19pm | 3:59am |
| Mon 10 | 5:50am | 8:35pm | 14h 45m | 10:30pm | 3:55am |
| Thu 20 | 5:52am | 8:42pm | 14h 50m | 10:39pm | 3:55am |
| Mon 31 | 5:59am | 8:46pm | 14h 48m | 10:42pm | 4:03am |
Days lengthen by about 11 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- Last QuarterSat 1, 11:46pm
- New MoonMon 10, 4:42am
- First QuarterMon 17, 9:21pm
- Full MoonMon 24, 12:16pm
- Last QuarterMon 31, 6:55pm
Apogee 7 Dec (406,000 km) · Perigee 22 Dec (361,100 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Oph | −1.1 | 5:41am | 1:08pm | 8:36pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Lib | −4.0 | 3:40am | 10:25am | 5:10pm | Hidden |
| Mars | Gem | −1.5 | 9:41pm | 2:17am | 6:48am | Morning |
| Jupiter | Sgr | −1.7 | 6:21am | 1:43pm | 9:04pm | Hidden |
| Saturn | Leo | 0.6 | 1:00am | 6:31am | 12:01pm | Morning |
| Uranus | Aqr | 5.9 | 12:28pm | 6:51pm | 1:18am | Evening |
| Neptune | Cap | 7.9 | 10:24am | 5:15pm | 12:10am | 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 bright 95% Moon interferes badly this year.
The solar system — December 2007
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.