The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — December 2063
Highlights this month
- 4TueMercury is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (11:27pm)
- 9SunThe Moon passes Saturn — 2° apart. (2:06pm)
- 14FriThe Moon passes Jupiter — 5° apart. (10:15am)
- 14FriGeminids meteor shower peaks (up to 150/hr). A 34% Moon washes out fainter meteors for part of the night.
- 14FriMercury in inferior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (5:30pm)
- 18TueNeptune at opposition — closest and brightest of the year, up all night in Taurus (mag 7.8). (12:52pm)
- 22SatSummer solstice.
- 22SatUrsids meteor shower peaks (up to 10/hr). A thin 6% Moon leaves the sky dark.
- 24MonMercury is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (6:36pm)
- 25TueThe Moon passes Mars — 1° apart. (7:50am)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat 1 | 5:50am | 8:27pm | 14h 37m | 10:20pm | 3:58am |
| Mon 10 | 5:50am | 8:35pm | 14h 46m | 10:31pm | 3:55am |
| Thu 20 | 5:52am | 8:42pm | 14h 50m | 10:39pm | 3:55am |
| Mon 31 | 5:59am | 8:46pm | 14h 47m | 10:42pm | 4:03am |
Days lengthen by about 11 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- Full MoonThu 6, 7:13am
- Last QuarterThu 13, 5:49am
- New MoonThu 20, 7:04am
- First QuarterFri 28, 8:03am
Perigee 12 Dec (369,600 km) · Apogee 26 Dec (404,900 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Oph | 6.4 | 5:55am | 1:07pm | 8:18pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Lib | −3.9 | 3:48am | 10:37am | 5:27pm | Hidden |
| Mars | Cap | 0.8 | 10:37am | 5:28pm | 12:21am | Evening |
| Jupiter | Vir | −1.7 | 2:08am | 8:16am | 2:24pm | Morning |
| Saturn | Cnc | −0.3 | 10:52pm | 3:50am | 8:44am | Morning |
| Uranus | Lib | 5.7 | 4:09am | 11:13am | 6:16pm | Hidden |
| Neptune | Tau | 7.8 | 8:38pm | 1:30am | 6:18am | 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 34% Moon washes out fainter meteors for part of the night.
- Ursids — peaks 22 December, radiant in Ursa Minor (up to 10/hr). A circumpolar northern shower whose radiant never rises from Victoria. A thin 6% Moon leaves the sky dark.
The solar system — December 2063
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.
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Generated automatically from the MPAS sky engine on 15 August 2026.