The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — December 2042
Highlights this month
- 5FriJupiter in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (10:00am)
- 14SunGeminids meteor shower peaks (up to 150/hr). A thin 3% Moon leaves the sky dark.
- 17WedMercury at greatest evening elongation (20° from the Sun, mag −0.5) — best evening apparition. (11:53am)
- 22MonSummer solstice.
- 22MonUrsids meteor shower peaks (up to 10/hr). A bright 74% Moon interferes badly this year.
- 24WedVenus and Saturn in conjunction — 0.9° apart. (12:50am)
- 25ThuMercury is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (6:10am)
- 30TueVenus at greatest morning elongation (47° from the Sun, mag −4.4) — best morning apparition. (9:47am)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 1 | 5:50am | 8:27pm | 14h 37m | 10:20pm | 3:58am |
| Wed 10 | 5:50am | 8:35pm | 14h 46m | 10:31pm | 3:55am |
| Sat 20 | 5:52am | 8:42pm | 14h 50m | 10:39pm | 3:56am |
| Wed 31 | 5:59am | 8:46pm | 14h 47m | 10:42pm | 4:03am |
Days lengthen by about 10 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- Last QuarterThu 4, 8:18pm
- New MoonSat 13, 1:34am
- First QuarterSat 20, 11:31am
- Full MoonSat 27, 4:40am
Apogee 8 Dec (405,600 km) · Perigee 24 Dec (364,900 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Sgr | −0.5 | 7:14am | 2:44pm | 10:12pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Vir | −4.6 | 3:29am | 10:08am | 4:47pm | Morning |
| Mars | Sgr | 1.3 | 6:58am | 2:24pm | 9:50pm | Hidden |
| Jupiter | Oph | −1.6 | 5:23am | 12:40pm | 7:58pm | Hidden |
| Saturn | Lib | 0.5 | 3:47am | 10:35am | 5:22pm | Hidden |
| Uranus | Cnc | 5.4 | 11:52pm | 5:05am | 10:14am | Morning |
| Neptune | Ari | 7.8 | 4:45pm | 10:07pm | 3:33am | 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 3% 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 74% Moon interferes badly this year.
The solar system — December 2042
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.