The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — December 2028
Highlights this month
- 4MonUranus at opposition — closest and brightest of the year, up all night in Taurus (mag 5.6). (7:45am)
- 14ThuGeminids meteor shower peaks (up to 150/hr). A thin 4% Moon leaves the sky dark.
- 17SunNeptune is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (6:28pm)
- 21ThuSummer solstice.
- 22FriUrsids meteor shower peaks (up to 10/hr). A 34% Moon washes out fainter meteors for part of the night.
- 31SunMercury at greatest evening elongation (20° from the Sun, mag −0.6) — best evening apparition. (11:33am)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fri 1 | 5:50am | 8:28pm | 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 MoonSat 2, 12:41pm
- Last QuarterSat 9, 4:40pm
- New MoonSat 16, 1:09pm
- First QuarterSun 24, 8:49am
Perigee 11 Dec (368,900 km) · Apogee 24 Dec (404,700 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Sgr | −0.7 | 6:42am | 2:15pm | 9:48pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Lib | −3.7 | 4:29am | 11:35am | 6:41pm | Hidden |
| Mars | Vir | 0.9 | 1:44am | 7:37am | 1:29pm | Morning |
| Jupiter | Vir | −1.6 | 2:43am | 9:09am | 3:36pm | Morning |
| Saturn | Ari | 0.0 | 4:27pm | 9:55pm | 3:27am | Evening |
| Uranus | Tau | 5.6 | 7:34pm | 12:26am | 5:13am | All night |
| Neptune | Psc | 7.8 | 2:08pm | 8:06pm | 2:09am | 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 4% 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 34% Moon washes out fainter meteors for part of the night.
The solar system — December 2028
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.
Looking for an earlier month? Browse all past monthly guides →
Generated automatically from the MPAS sky engine on 15 July 2026.