The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — December 2068
Highlights this month
- 6ThuUranus in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (4:58pm)
- 14FriGeminids meteor shower peaks (up to 150/hr). A bright 72% Moon interferes badly this year.
- 21FriSummer solstice.
- 22SatMercury at greatest evening elongation (20° from the Sun, mag −0.5) — best evening apparition. (7:49am)
- 22SatUrsids meteor shower peaks (up to 10/hr). A thin 6% Moon leaves the sky dark.
- 28FriNeptune at opposition — closest and brightest of the year, up all night in Gemini (mag 7.8). (5:44pm)
- 29SatMercury is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (6:28pm)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat 1 | 5:50am | 8:28pm | 14h 38m | 10:21pm | 3:58am |
| Mon 10 | 5:50am | 8:36pm | 14h 46m | 10:31pm | 3:54am |
| Thu 20 | 5:53am | 8:42pm | 14h 50m | 10:39pm | 3:56am |
| Mon 31 | 5:59am | 8:46pm | 14h 47m | 10:42pm | 4:04am |
Days lengthen by about 9 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- First QuarterSun 2, 4:26pm
- Full MoonSun 9, 10:44am
- Last QuarterMon 17, 1:10am
- New MoonTue 25, 12:47am
Perigee 6 Dec (366,400 km) · Apogee 18 Dec (404,800 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Sgr | −0.6 | 7:06am | 2:37pm | 10:07pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Sco | −3.7 | 4:38am | 11:47am | 6:57pm | Hidden |
| Mars | Lib | 1.6 | 4:22am | 11:31am | 6:40pm | Hidden |
| Jupiter | Cap | −1.9 | 9:53am | 4:51pm | 11:50pm | Evening |
| Saturn | Vir | 0.8 | 2:05am | 8:08am | 2:11pm | Morning |
| Uranus | Oph | 5.8 | 5:20am | 12:39pm | 7:58pm | Hidden |
| Neptune | Gem | 7.8 | 9:25pm | 2:17am | 7:04am | 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 72% 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 thin 6% Moon leaves the sky dark.
The solar system — December 2068
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 17 August 2026.