The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — December 2008
Highlights this month
- 1MonVenus and Jupiter in conjunction — 2° apart. (7:31pm)
- 2TueThe Moon passes Jupiter — 1° apart. (2:20am)
- 2TueThe Moon passes Venus — 0.8° apart. (2:33am)
- 6SatMars in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (9:29am)
- 14SunGeminids meteor shower peaks (up to 150/hr). A bright 96% Moon interferes badly this year.
- 21SunSummer solstice.
- 22MonUrsids meteor shower peaks (up to 10/hr). A thin 23% Moon leaves the sky dark.
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 1 | 5:50am | 8:28pm | 14h 37m | 10:20pm | 3:58am |
| Wed 10 | 5:50am | 8:36pm | 14h 46m | 10:31pm | 3:55am |
| Sat 20 | 5:52am | 8:42pm | 14h 50m | 10:39pm | 3:56am |
| Wed 31 | 5:59am | 8:46pm | 14h 47m | 10:42pm | 4:03am |
Days lengthen by about 10 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- First QuarterSat 6, 8:32am
- Full Moon SupermoonSat 13, 3:44am
- Last QuarterFri 19, 9:27pm
- New MoonSat 27, 11:22pm
Perigee 13 Dec (356,700 km) · Apogee 27 Dec (406,200 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Sgr | −0.8 | 6:29am | 2:02pm | 9:35pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Cap | −4.1 | 9:17am | 4:28pm | 11:39pm | Evening |
| Mars | Oph | 1.3 | 5:40am | 1:04pm | 8:28pm | Hidden |
| Jupiter | Sgr | −1.8 | 8:17am | 3:32pm | 10:46pm | Hidden |
| Saturn | Leo | 0.9 | 1:31am | 7:16am | 1:02pm | Morning |
| Uranus | Aqr | 5.9 | 12:45pm | 7:03pm | 1:25am | Evening |
| Neptune | Cap | 7.9 | 10:32am | 5:21pm | 12:13am | 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 96% 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 23% Moon leaves the sky dark.
The solar system — December 2008
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.