The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — December 2074
Highlights this month
- 1SatSaturn in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (8:46pm)
- 11TueThe Moon passes Jupiter — 3° apart. (3:07pm)
- 14FriGeminids meteor shower peaks (up to 150/hr). A thin 23% Moon leaves the sky dark.
- 15SatThe Moon passes Venus — 2° apart. (10:44am)
- 20ThuVenus at greatest morning elongation (47° from the Sun, mag −4.4) — best morning apparition. (6:36pm)
- 21FriSummer solstice.
- 22SatUrsids meteor shower peaks (up to 10/hr). A thin 20% Moon leaves the sky dark.
- 30SunJupiter is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (11:48pm)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat 1 | 5:50am | 8:28pm | 14h 37m | 10:20pm | 3:58am |
| Mon 10 | 5:50am | 8:36pm | 14h 46m | 10:31pm | 3:54am |
| Thu 20 | 5:52am | 8:42pm | 14h 50m | 10:39pm | 3:56am |
| Mon 31 | 5:59am | 8:46pm | 14h 47m | 10:42pm | 4:03am |
Days lengthen by about 10 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- Full MoonTue 4, 1:03am
- Last QuarterWed 12, 2:16am
- New MoonTue 18, 6:25pm
- First QuarterTue 25, 4:06pm
Apogee 4 Dec (406,300 km) · Perigee 18 Dec (357,100 km) · Apogee 31 Dec (406,100 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Sgr | −0.7 | 6:39am | 2:12pm | 9:45pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Vir | −4.5 | 3:26am | 10:05am | 4:43pm | Morning |
| Mars | Sgr | 1.3 | 7:14am | 2:39pm | 10:04pm | Hidden |
| Jupiter | Leo | −1.9 | 1:09am | 6:48am | 12:27pm | Morning |
| Saturn | Oph | 0.4 | 5:12am | 12:23pm | 7:34pm | Hidden |
| Uranus | Sgr | 5.8 | 7:04am | 2:26pm | 9:48pm | Hidden |
| Neptune | Gem | 7.8 | 10:21pm | 3:17am | 8:09am | 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 23% 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 thin 20% Moon leaves the sky dark.
The solar system — December 2074
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 20 August 2026.