The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — December 2054
Highlights this month
- 8TueThe Moon passes Saturn — 0.2° apart. (3:25am)
- 9WedJupiter in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (5:29pm)
- 14MonGeminids meteor shower peaks (up to 150/hr). A bright 99% Moon interferes badly this year.
- 18FriMars at opposition — closest and brightest of the year, up all night in Taurus (mag −1.7). (9:28am)
- 22TueSummer solstice.
- 22TueUrsids meteor shower peaks (up to 10/hr). A 45% Moon washes out fainter meteors for part of the night.
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tue 1 | 5:50am | 8:27pm | 14h 37m | 10:20pm | 3:58am |
| Thu 10 | 5:50am | 8:35pm | 14h 46m | 10:31pm | 3:55am |
| Sun 20 | 5:52am | 8:42pm | 14h 50m | 10:39pm | 3:56am |
| Thu 31 | 5:59am | 8:46pm | 14h 47m | 10:42pm | 4:03am |
Days lengthen by about 10 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- First QuarterMon 7, 5:13pm
- Full MoonTue 15, 9:48am
- Last QuarterTue 22, 5:20am
- New MoonTue 29, 10:53am
Apogee 7 Dec (404,800 km) · Perigee 19 Dec (367,500 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Sgr | −0.8 | 6:26am | 1:59pm | 9:31pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Sgr | −3.7 | 6:56am | 2:23pm | 9:50pm | Hidden |
| Mars | Tau | −1.7 | 8:58pm | 1:35am | 6:06am | All night |
| Jupiter | Oph | −1.6 | 5:36am | 12:55pm | 8:14pm | Hidden |
| Saturn | Aqr | 1.0 | 12:52pm | 7:12pm | 1:36am | Evening |
| Uranus | Vir | 5.5 | 2:20am | 8:38am | 2:55pm | Morning |
| Neptune | Tau | 7.8 | 7:00pm | 11:58pm | 4:59am | All night |
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 99% 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 45% Moon washes out fainter meteors for part of the night.
The solar system — December 2054
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.