The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — December 2026
Highlights this month
- 1TueThe Moon passes Mars — 3° apart. (3:53am)
- 12SatSaturn is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (8:22am)
- 13SunNeptune is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (6:25pm)
- 13SunJupiter is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (10:24pm)
- 14MonGeminids meteor shower peaks (up to 150/hr). A thin 22% Moon leaves the sky dark.
- 22TueSummer solstice.
- 22TueUrsids meteor shower peaks (up to 10/hr). A bright 95% Moon interferes badly this year.
- 28MonThe Moon passes Jupiter — 1° apart. (3:30am)
- 29TueThe Moon passes Mars — 5° apart. (12:31am)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tue 1 | 5:51am | 8:27pm | 14h 37m | 10:20pm | 3:58am |
| Thu 10 | 5:50am | 8:35pm | 14h 46m | 10:31pm | 3:55am |
| Sun 20 | 5:52am | 8:42pm | 14h 50m | 10:39pm | 3:56am |
| Thu 31 | 5:59am | 8:46pm | 14h 47m | 10:42pm | 4:03am |
Days lengthen by about 11 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- Last QuarterTue 1, 5:06pm
- New MoonWed 9, 11:51am
- First QuarterThu 17, 4:49pm
- Full Moon SupermoonThu 24, 12:35pm
- Last QuarterThu 31, 5:56am
Apogee 11 Dec (406,200 km) · Perigee 24 Dec (356,800 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Oph | −0.8 | 5:12am | 12:33pm | 7:53pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Lib | −4.6 | 3:31am | 10:11am | 4:51pm | Morning |
| Mars | Leo | 0.2 | 12:58am | 6:23am | 11:48am | Morning |
| Jupiter | Leo | −2.1 | 12:25am | 5:44am | 11:03am | Morning |
| Saturn | Psc | 0.7 | 2:17pm | 8:17pm | 2:20am | Evening |
| Uranus | Tau | 5.6 | 6:53pm | 11:47pm | 4:44am | Evening |
| Neptune | Psc | 7.8 | 1:48pm | 7:52pm | 2:00am | 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 22% 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 2026
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.
Generated automatically from the MPAS sky engine on 15 July 2026.