The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — December 2044
Highlights this month
- 2FriUranus is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (6:31am)
- 2FriMercury in inferior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (7:07am)
- 11SunMercury is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (10:16pm)
- 14WedGeminids meteor shower peaks (up to 150/hr). A thin 24% Moon leaves the sky dark.
- 20TueMercury at greatest morning elongation (22° from the Sun, mag −0.4) — best morning apparition. (8:20pm)
- 21WedSummer solstice.
- 22ThuUrsids meteor shower peaks (up to 10/hr). A thin 7% Moon leaves the sky dark.
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thu 1 | 5:50am | 8:28pm | 14h 38m | 10:21pm | 3:58am |
| Sat 10 | 5:50am | 8:36pm | 14h 46m | 10:31pm | 3:54am |
| Tue 20 | 5:52am | 8:42pm | 14h 50m | 10:39pm | 3:56am |
| Sat 31 | 5:59am | 8:46pm | 14h 47m | 10:42pm | 4:04am |
Days lengthen by about 9 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- Full MoonMon 5, 10:42am
- Last QuarterMon 12, 1:50am
- New MoonMon 19, 7:53pm
- First QuarterWed 28, 1:06am
Perigee 6 Dec (359,800 km) · Apogee 22 Dec (406,100 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Sco | −0.2 | 4:47am | 11:50am | 6:53pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Sco | −3.7 | 4:33am | 11:40am | 6:47pm | Hidden |
| Mars | Sgr | 1.2 | 8:14am | 3:32pm | 10:50pm | Hidden |
| Jupiter | Cap | −1.8 | 9:13am | 4:19pm | 11:25pm | Evening |
| Saturn | Sco | 0.4 | 4:50am | 11:57am | 7:04pm | Hidden |
| Uranus | Leo | 5.4 | 12:21am | 5:41am | 11:00am | Morning |
| Neptune | Ari | 7.8 | 5:06pm | 10:23pm | 3:44am | 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 24% 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 thin 7% Moon leaves the sky dark.
The solar system — December 2044
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.