The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — December 2070
Highlights this month
- 7SunMercury in inferior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (5:59pm)
- 13SatThe Moon passes Jupiter — 0.9° apart. (3:07pm)
- 14SunGeminids meteor shower peaks (up to 150/hr). A bright 84% Moon interferes badly this year.
- 15MonJupiter is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (11:59am)
- 15MonUranus in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (7:37pm)
- 17WedMercury is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (1:12pm)
- 22MonSummer solstice.
- 22MonUrsids meteor shower peaks (up to 10/hr). A bright 72% Moon interferes badly this year.
- 26FriMercury at greatest morning elongation (22° from the Sun, mag −0.4) — best morning apparition. (7:02pm)
- 27SatThe Moon passes Saturn — 0.9° apart. (12:34am)
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 | 8:36pm | 14h 46m | 10:31pm | 3:54am |
| Sat 20 | 5:52am | 8:42pm | 14h 50m | 10:39pm | 3:56am |
| Wed 31 | 5:59am | 8:46pm | 14h 47m | 10:42pm | 4:03am |
Days lengthen by about 10 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- New MoonWed 3, 3:59am
- First QuarterThu 11, 7:37am
- Full Moon SupermoonThu 18, 3:09am
- Last QuarterWed 24, 8:31pm
Apogee 5 Dec (406,200 km) · Perigee 18 Dec (356,700 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Oph | 0.8 | 5:06am | 12:10pm | 7:13pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Sgr | −3.7 | 7:02am | 2:28pm | 9:55pm | Hidden |
| Mars | Oph | 1.5 | 5:10am | 12:30pm | 7:50pm | Hidden |
| Jupiter | Psc | −2.4 | 3:15pm | 8:57pm | 2:42am | Evening |
| Saturn | Vir | 0.6 | 3:05am | 9:36am | 4:06pm | Morning |
| Uranus | Oph | 5.8 | 5:54am | 1:16pm | 8:38pm | Hidden |
| Neptune | Gem | 7.8 | 9:46pm | 2:38am | 7:27am | Morning |
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 84% 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 72% Moon interferes badly this year.
The solar system — December 2070
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 18 August 2026.