The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — December 2030
Highlights this month
- 1SunJupiter in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (1:53am)
- 6FriMercury is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (1:14pm)
- 9MonThe Moon passes Saturn — 2° apart. (7:02am)
- 13FriUranus at opposition — closest and brightest of the year, up all night in Taurus (mag 5.6). (7:43am)
- 14SatGeminids meteor shower peaks (up to 150/hr). A bright 84% Moon interferes badly this year.
- 16MonMercury in inferior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (6:09am)
- 22SunSummer solstice.
- 22SunUrsids meteor shower peaks (up to 10/hr). A thin 9% Moon leaves the sky dark.
- 22SunNeptune is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (6:22pm)
- 26ThuMercury is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (9:05am)
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 | 8:35pm | 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 11 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- First QuarterMon 2, 9:51am
- Full MoonTue 10, 9:45am
- Last QuarterWed 18, 11:10am
- New MoonWed 25, 4:32am
Apogee 10 Dec (406,300 km) · Perigee 24 Dec (356,900 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Oph | 6.6 | 6:08am | 1:22pm | 8:35pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Sgr | −3.7 | 6:48am | 2:15pm | 9:42pm | Hidden |
| Mars | Vir | 1.3 | 2:23am | 8:37am | 2:51pm | Morning |
| Jupiter | Oph | −1.6 | 5:11am | 12:26pm | 7:41pm | Hidden |
| Saturn | Tau | −0.4 | 6:53pm | 11:53pm | 4:56am | All night |
| Uranus | Tau | 5.6 | 8:19pm | 1:07am | 5:50am | All night |
| Neptune | Psc | 7.8 | 2:32pm | 8:25pm | 2:22am | 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 84% 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 thin 9% Moon leaves the sky dark.
The solar system — December 2030
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.