The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — December 2048
Highlights this month
- 14MonGeminids meteor shower peaks (up to 150/hr). A bright 70% Moon interferes badly this year.
- 17ThuJupiter at opposition — closest and brightest of the year, up all night in Taurus (mag −2.6). (4:02pm)
- 20SunThe Moon passes Jupiter — 0.2° apart. (10:34am)
- 21MonUranus is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (8:42am)
- 21MonSummer solstice.
- 22TueUrsids meteor shower peaks (up to 10/hr). A bright 97% Moon interferes badly this year.
- 26SatMercury at greatest evening elongation (20° from the Sun, mag −0.5) — best evening apparition. (9:53pm)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tue 1 | 5:50am | 8:28pm | 14h 38m | 10:21pm | 3:58am |
| Thu 10 | 5:50am | 8:36pm | 14h 46m | 10:31pm | 3:54am |
| Sun 20 | 5:52am | 8:42pm | 14h 50m | 10:39pm | 3:56am |
| Thu 31 | 5:59am | 8:46pm | 14h 47m | 10:42pm | 4:04am |
Days lengthen by about 9 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- New MoonSun 6, 2:34am
- First QuarterSat 12, 6:23pm
- Full MoonSun 20, 5:43pm
- Last QuarterMon 28, 7:40pm
Perigee 6 Dec (357,500 km) · Apogee 21 Dec (406,300 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Sgr | −0.7 | 6:55am | 2:27pm | 9:59pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Cap | −4.2 | 9:25am | 4:34pm | 11:44pm | Evening |
| Mars | Aqr | 0.7 | 11:16am | 5:57pm | 12:40am | Evening |
| Jupiter | Tau | −2.6 | 8:39pm | 1:28am | 6:12am | All night |
| Saturn | Sgr | 0.4 | 7:32am | 2:49pm | 10:07pm | Hidden |
| Uranus | Leo | 5.5 | 1:10am | 6:53am | 12:35pm | Morning |
| Neptune | Ari | 7.8 | 5:51pm | 10:59pm | 4:12am | 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 70% 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 97% Moon interferes badly this year.
The solar system — December 2048
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.