The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — December 2013
Highlights this month
- 14SatGeminids meteor shower peaks (up to 150/hr). A bright 91% Moon interferes badly this year.
- 18WedUranus is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (10:58am)
- 19ThuThe Moon passes Jupiter — 5° apart. (4:46pm)
- 21SatVenus is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (7:30am)
- 22SunSummer solstice.
- 22SunUrsids meteor shower peaks (up to 10/hr). A bright 80% Moon interferes badly this year.
- 26ThuThe Moon passes Mars — 4° apart. (10:57am)
- 29SunThe Moon passes Saturn — 0.9° apart. (12:03pm)
- 29SunMercury in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (5:14pm)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun 1 | 5:50am | 8:27pm | 14h 37m | 10:20pm | 3:58am |
| Tue 10 | 5:50am | 8:36pm | 14h 46m | 10:31pm | 3:55am |
| Fri 20 | 5:52am | 8:42pm | 14h 50m | 10:39pm | 3:56am |
| Tue 31 | 5:59am | 8:46pm | 14h 47m | 10:42pm | 4:03am |
Days lengthen by about 10 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- New MoonTue 3, 11:25am
- First QuarterTue 10, 2:09am
- Full MoonTue 17, 8:34pm
- Last QuarterThu 26, 12:51am
Perigee 5 Dec (360,000 km) · Apogee 20 Dec (406,100 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Oph | −0.8 | 5:18am | 12:41pm | 8:03pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Sgr | −4.7 | 8:30am | 3:46pm | 11:01pm | Evening |
| Mars | Vir | 1.1 | 2:00am | 8:01am | 2:02pm | Morning |
| Jupiter | Gem | −2.5 | 10:14pm | 3:05am | 7:52am | Morning |
| Saturn | Lib | 0.5 | 4:00am | 10:52am | 5:44pm | Hidden |
| Uranus | Psc | 5.8 | 2:23pm | 8:16pm | 2:13am | Evening |
| Neptune | Aqr | 7.9 | 11:26am | 6:04pm | 12:45am | 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 91% 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 bright 80% Moon interferes badly this year.
The solar system — December 2013
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.