The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — December 2017
Highlights this month
- 3SunMercury is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (6:41pm)
- 13WedMercury in inferior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (12:43pm)
- 14ThuThe Moon passes Mars — 4° apart. (6:13am)
- 14ThuGeminids meteor shower peaks (up to 150/hr). A thin 14% Moon leaves the sky dark.
- 22FriSaturn in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (7:46am)
- 22FriSummer solstice.
- 22FriUrsids meteor shower peaks (up to 10/hr). A thin 13% Moon leaves the sky dark.
- 23SatMercury is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (1:33pm)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fri 1 | 5:50am | 8:27pm | 14h 37m | 10:20pm | 3:58am |
| Sun 10 | 5:50am | 8:36pm | 14h 46m | 10:31pm | 3:55am |
| Wed 20 | 5:52am | 8:42pm | 14h 50m | 10:39pm | 3:56am |
| Sun 31 | 5:59am | 8:46pm | 14h 47m | 10:42pm | 4:03am |
Days lengthen by about 10 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- Full Moon SupermoonMon 4, 2:55am
- Last QuarterSun 10, 6:49pm
- New MoonMon 18, 5:30pm
- First QuarterTue 26, 8:28pm
Perigee 4 Dec (357,600 km) · Apogee 19 Dec (406,200 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Oph | 4.8 | 5:45am | 12:55pm | 8:04pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Oph | −3.8 | 5:28am | 12:49pm | 8:09pm | Hidden |
| Mars | Vir | 1.6 | 3:11am | 9:51am | 4:32pm | Morning |
| Jupiter | Lib | −1.5 | 3:40am | 10:31am | 5:22pm | Hidden |
| Saturn | Sgr | 0.3 | 6:23am | 1:41pm | 9:00pm | Hidden |
| Uranus | Psc | 5.8 | 3:42pm | 9:15pm | 2:52am | Evening |
| Neptune | Aqr | 7.9 | 12:09pm | 6:37pm | 1:08am | 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 14% 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 thin 13% Moon leaves the sky dark.
The solar system — December 2017
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.