The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — December 2040
Highlights this month
- 1SatThe Moon passes Saturn — 0.6° apart. (12:44am)
- 8SatThe Moon passes Venus — 2° apart. (1:33am)
- 14FriGeminids meteor shower peaks (up to 150/hr). A bright 82% Moon interferes badly this year.
- 14FriMercury in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (9:19pm)
- 18TueMars in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (12:58am)
- 21FriSummer solstice.
- 22SatUrsids meteor shower peaks (up to 10/hr). A bright 88% Moon interferes badly this year.
- 28FriThe Moon passes Saturn — 0.2° apart. (2:08pm)
- 28FriThe Moon passes Jupiter — 1.0° apart. (11:35pm)
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 | 3:54am |
| 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 9 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- New MoonTue 4, 6:35pm
- First QuarterTue 11, 10:28am
- Full MoonTue 18, 11:21pm
- Last QuarterThu 27, 4:03am
Perigee 7 Dec (363,200 km) · Apogee 23 Dec (405,800 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Oph | −1.1 | 5:47am | 1:16pm | 8:46pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Cap | −4.2 | 9:23am | 4:33pm | 11:43pm | Evening |
| Mars | Oph | 1.3 | 5:53am | 1:18pm | 8:43pm | Hidden |
| Jupiter | Vir | −1.6 | 2:52am | 9:23am | 3:53pm | Morning |
| Saturn | Vir | 0.7 | 2:47am | 9:10am | 3:32pm | Morning |
| Uranus | Cnc | 5.4 | 11:21pm | 4:25am | 9:24am | Morning |
| Neptune | Ari | 7.8 | 4:21pm | 9:48pm | 3:19am | 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 82% 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 88% Moon interferes badly this year.
The solar system — December 2040
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.