The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — December 2071
Highlights this month
- 1TueMercury is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (7:17am)
- 3ThuMars is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (7:45am)
- 6SunThe Moon passes Jupiter — 4° apart. (3:13pm)
- 9WedMercury at greatest morning elongation (21° from the Sun, mag −0.5) — best morning apparition. (1:25pm)
- 14MonGeminids meteor shower peaks (up to 150/hr). A 47% Moon washes out fainter meteors for part of the night.
- 18FriThe Moon passes Saturn — 1° apart. (12:37am)
- 20SunUranus in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (7:35am)
- 22TueSummer solstice.
- 22TueUrsids meteor shower peaks (up to 10/hr). A thin 1% Moon leaves the sky dark.
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tue 1 | 5:50am | 8:27pm | 14h 37m | 10:20pm | 3:58am |
| Thu 10 | 5:50am | 8:35pm | 14h 46m | 10:31pm | 3:55am |
| Sun 20 | 5:52am | 8:42pm | 14h 50m | 10:39pm | 3:55am |
| Thu 31 | 5:59am | 8:46pm | 14h 47m | 10:42pm | 4:03am |
Days lengthen by about 10 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- Full MoonMon 7, 6:06pm
- Last QuarterMon 14, 9:57am
- New MoonMon 21, 10:47pm
- First QuarterWed 30, 4:21am
Perigee 10 Dec (363,000 km) · Apogee 25 Dec (405,800 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Sco | −0.5 | 4:45am | 11:52am | 6:59pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Lib | −3.9 | 3:49am | 10:39am | 5:29pm | Hidden |
| Mars | Cnc | −1.0 | 11:08pm | 3:55am | 8:38am | Morning |
| Jupiter | Tau | −2.6 | 6:27pm | 11:27pm | 4:32am | Evening |
| Saturn | Lib | 0.5 | 3:35am | 10:18am | 5:01pm | Morning |
| Uranus | Sgr | 5.8 | 6:12am | 1:34pm | 8:57pm | Hidden |
| Neptune | Gem | 7.8 | 9:56pm | 2:49am | 7:38am | 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 47% 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 1% Moon leaves the sky dark.
The solar system — December 2071
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 19 August 2026.