The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — December 2053
Highlights this month
- 9TueVenus is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (10:45am)
- 14SunGeminids meteor shower peaks (up to 150/hr). A thin 15% Moon leaves the sky dark.
- 17WedThe Moon passes Saturn — 2° apart. (9:10am)
- 18ThuMercury in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (9:31am)
- 21SunSummer solstice.
- 22MonUrsids meteor shower peaks (up to 10/hr). A bright 86% Moon interferes badly this year.
- 30TueVenus in inferior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (1:05pm)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 1 | 5:50am | 8:28pm | 14h 37m | 10:20pm | 3:58am |
| Wed 10 | 5:50am | 8:36pm | 14h 46m | 10:31pm | 3:54am |
| 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 QuarterWed 3, 1:04am
- New MoonWed 10, 2:40pm
- First QuarterThu 18, 8:15pm
- Full Moon SupermoonThu 25, 8:30pm
Apogee 14 Dec (405,900 km) · Perigee 26 Dec (358,200 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Oph | −1.1 | 5:40am | 1:08pm | 8:36pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Sgr | −4.4 | 7:32am | 2:52pm | 10:11pm | Hidden |
| Mars | Sco | 1.6 | 4:40am | 11:53am | 7:07pm | Hidden |
| Jupiter | Lib | −1.5 | 4:11am | 11:12am | 6:14pm | Hidden |
| Saturn | Aqr | 0.9 | 11:53am | 6:27pm | 1:05am | Evening |
| Uranus | Vir | 5.5 | 2:08am | 8:20am | 2:32pm | Morning |
| Neptune | Tau | 7.8 | 6:48pm | 11:47pm | 4:50am | 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 15% 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 86% Moon interferes badly this year.
The solar system — December 2053
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.