The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — December 2059
Highlights this month
- 8MonThe Moon passes Venus — 3° apart. (3:24am)
- 9TueNeptune at opposition — closest and brightest of the year, up all night in Taurus (mag 7.8). (5:47pm)
- 14SunGeminids meteor shower peaks (up to 150/hr). A bright 73% Moon interferes badly this year.
- 17WedThe Moon passes Jupiter — 2° apart. (12:54am)
- 17WedThe Moon passes Saturn — 3° apart. (10:21am)
- 22MonSummer solstice.
- 22MonUrsids meteor shower peaks (up to 10/hr). A bright 89% Moon interferes badly this year.
- 31WedMercury in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (12:26am)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 1 | 5:50am | 8:27pm | 14h 37m | 10:20pm | 3:58am |
| Wed 10 | 5:50am | 8:35pm | 14h 46m | 10:31pm | 3:55am |
| Sat 20 | 5:52am | 8:42pm | 14h 50m | 10:39pm | 3:55am |
| Wed 31 | 5:59am | 8:46pm | 14h 47m | 10:42pm | 4:03am |
Days lengthen by about 11 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- New MoonFri 5, 12:51pm
- First QuarterFri 12, 3:55pm
- Full MoonFri 19, 1:13pm
- Last QuarterSat 27, 8:16am
Perigee 14 Dec (369,000 km) · Apogee 27 Dec (404,700 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Oph | −0.8 | 5:16am | 12:38pm | 7:59pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Sgr | −3.8 | 8:20am | 3:41pm | 11:01pm | Evening |
| Mars | Sgr | 1.2 | 7:43am | 3:06pm | 10:28pm | Hidden |
| Jupiter | Ari | −2.6 | 5:59pm | 11:04pm | 4:14am | Evening |
| Saturn | Tau | −0.4 | 6:24pm | 11:29pm | 4:37am | Evening |
| Uranus | Vir | 5.6 | 3:19am | 10:04am | 4:49pm | Morning |
| Neptune | Tau | 7.8 | 7:56pm | 12:51am | 5:42am | 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 73% 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 89% Moon interferes badly this year.
The solar system — December 2059
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.