The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — December 2072
Highlights this month
- 14WedThe Moon passes Venus — 4° apart. (2:48am)
- 14WedGeminids meteor shower peaks (up to 150/hr). A thin 20% Moon leaves the sky dark.
- 21WedSummer solstice.
- 22ThuUrsids meteor shower peaks (up to 10/hr). A bright 89% Moon interferes badly this year.
- 23FriUranus in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (6:43pm)
- 25SunThe Moon passes Jupiter — 4° apart. (9:31pm)
- 27TueJupiter at opposition — closest and brightest of the year, up all night in Gemini (mag −2.6). (4:36am)
- 27TueVenus at greatest evening elongation (47° from the Sun, mag −4.4) — best evening apparition. (6:27am)
- 30FriMars in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (1:50pm)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thu 1 | 5:50am | 8:28pm | 14h 38m | 10:21pm | 3:58am |
| Sat 10 | 5:50am | 8:36pm | 14h 46m | 10:31pm | 3:54am |
| Tue 20 | 5:53am | 8:43pm | 14h 50m | 10:39pm | 3:56am |
| Sat 31 | 5:59am | 8:46pm | 14h 47m | 10:42pm | 4:04am |
Days lengthen by about 9 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- Last QuarterSat 3, 6:24am
- New MoonSat 10, 3:59am
- First QuarterSun 18, 12:57am
- Full MoonSun 25, 6:22pm
Perigee 4 Dec (369,500 km) · Apogee 17 Dec (404,700 km) · Perigee 30 Dec (368,000 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Oph | −0.8 | 5:12am | 12:32pm | 7:53pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Cap | −4.3 | 9:28am | 4:37pm | 11:45pm | Evening |
| Mars | Sgr | 1.3 | 6:06am | 1:32pm | 8:58pm | Hidden |
| Jupiter | Gem | −2.6 | 9:27pm | 2:15am | 7:00am | All night |
| Saturn | Lib | 0.5 | 4:03am | 10:57am | 5:51pm | Hidden |
| Uranus | Sgr | 5.8 | 6:26am | 1:49pm | 9:12pm | Hidden |
| Neptune | Gem | 7.8 | 10:02pm | 2:56am | 7:46am | 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 thin 20% Moon leaves the sky dark.
- 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 2072
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 19 August 2026.