The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — December 2029
Highlights this month
- 8SatThe Moon passes Venus — 4° apart. (5:22pm)
- 8SatUranus at opposition — closest and brightest of the year, up all night in Taurus (mag 5.6). (7:27pm)
- 8SatThe Moon passes Mars — 4° apart. (11:53pm)
- 14FriGeminids meteor shower peaks (up to 150/hr). A bright 64% Moon interferes badly this year.
- 14FriMercury at greatest evening elongation (21° from the Sun, mag −0.5) — best evening apparition. (1:44pm)
- 16SunVenus is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (1:53pm)
- 20ThuNeptune is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (6:26am)
- 22SatMercury is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (12:00pm)
- 22SatSummer solstice.
- 22SatUrsids meteor shower peaks (up to 10/hr). A bright 98% Moon interferes badly this year.
- 31MonThe Moon passes Jupiter — 4° apart. (10:32pm)
- 31MonMercury in inferior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (11:22pm)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat 1 | 5:50am | 8:28pm | 14h 37m | 10:20pm | 3:58am |
| Mon 10 | 5:50am | 8:36pm | 14h 46m | 10:31pm | 3:55am |
| Thu 20 | 5:52am | 8:42pm | 14h 50m | 10:39pm | 3:56am |
| Mon 31 | 5:59am | 8:46pm | 14h 47m | 10:42pm | 4:03am |
Days lengthen by about 10 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- New MoonThu 6, 1:56am
- First QuarterThu 13, 4:49am
- Full MoonFri 21, 9:46am
- Last QuarterFri 28, 8:56pm
Perigee 4 Dec (359,300 km) · Apogee 17 Dec (405,700 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Sgr | −0.5 | 7:17am | 2:45pm | 10:12pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Sgr | −4.6 | 8:10am | 3:27pm | 10:44pm | Hidden |
| Mars | Cap | 1.1 | 8:46am | 4:00pm | 11:13pm | Evening |
| Jupiter | Lib | −1.5 | 3:50am | 10:45am | 5:40pm | Hidden |
| Saturn | Ari | −0.2 | 5:39pm | 10:52pm | 4:08am | Evening |
| Uranus | Tau | 5.6 | 7:57pm | 12:46am | 5:31am | All night |
| Neptune | Psc | 7.8 | 2:20pm | 8:16pm | 2:15am | 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 64% 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 98% Moon interferes badly this year.
The solar system — December 2029
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.