The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — December 2055
Highlights this month
- 7TueSaturn is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (7:59am)
- 14TueGeminids meteor shower peaks (up to 150/hr). A thin 22% Moon leaves the sky dark.
- 20MonMercury at greatest evening elongation (20° from the Sun, mag −0.5) — best evening apparition. (9:55am)
- 22WedSummer solstice.
- 22WedUrsids meteor shower peaks (up to 10/hr). A thin 17% Moon leaves the sky dark.
- 26SunThe Moon passes Saturn — 2° apart. (7:36am)
- 28TueMercury is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (12:19am)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wed 1 | 5:50am | 8:27pm | 14h 37m | 10:20pm | 3:58am |
| Fri 10 | 5:50am | 8:35pm | 14h 46m | 10:31pm | 3:55am |
| Mon 20 | 5:52am | 8:42pm | 14h 50m | 10:39pm | 3:55am |
| Fri 31 | 5:59am | 8:46pm | 14h 47m | 10:42pm | 4:03am |
Days lengthen by about 11 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- Full MoonSat 4, 4:42pm
- Last QuarterSun 12, 2:08am
- New MoonSat 18, 7:18pm
- First QuarterSun 26, 9:36am
Perigee 15 Dec (365,700 km) · Apogee 27 Dec (404,900 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Sgr | −0.6 | 7:10am | 2:40pm | 10:10pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Lib | −3.9 | 3:46am | 10:35am | 5:24pm | Hidden |
| Mars | Oph | 1.4 | 5:31am | 12:54pm | 8:17pm | Hidden |
| Jupiter | Sgr | −1.7 | 7:24am | 2:44pm | 10:04pm | Hidden |
| Saturn | Psc | 0.8 | 1:53pm | 7:58pm | 2:08am | Evening |
| Uranus | Vir | 5.5 | 2:32am | 8:56am | 3:19pm | Morning |
| Neptune | Tau | 7.8 | 7:12pm | 12:12am | 5:08am | 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 thin 22% 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 17% Moon leaves the sky dark.
The solar system — December 2055
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.