The Sky for the Month

The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — December 2079

Computed for The Briars, Mt Martha. Times are local (Melbourne).

14ThuGeminids meteor shower peaks (up to 150/hr). A bright 61% Moon interferes badly this year.
18MonThe Moon passes Mars — 2° apart. (9:56am)
22FriSummer solstice.
22FriUrsids meteor shower peaks (up to 10/hr). A thin 1% Moon leaves the sky dark.
25MonMercury in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (9:14am)

Date	Sunrise	Sunset	Day length	Astro. dark begins	ends
Fri 1	5:50am	8:27pm	14h 37m	10:20pm	3:58am
Sun 10	5:50am	8:35pm	14h 46m	10:31pm	3:55am
Wed 20	5:52am	8:42pm	14h 50m	10:39pm	3:55am
Sun 31	5:59am	8:46pm	14h 47m	10:42pm	4:03am

Days lengthen by about 10 minutes over the month.

Perigee 9 Dec (357,500 km) · Apogee 24 Dec (406,300 km)

Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.

Planet	In	Mag	Rise	Transit	Set	Best
Mercury	Oph	−0.9	5:27am	12:51pm	8:16pm	Hidden
Venus	Lib	−3.9	3:50am	10:41am	5:32pm	Hidden
Mars	Vir	1.5	2:52am	9:23am	3:54pm	Morning
Jupiter	Sgr	−1.7	7:59am	3:16pm	10:33pm	Hidden
Saturn	Cap	0.5	8:50am	4:00pm	11:09pm	Evening
Uranus	Sgr	5.9	8:39am	3:51pm	11:03pm	Evening
Neptune	Cnc	7.8	11:03pm	4:06am	9:04am	Morning

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 61% 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 1% Moon leaves the sky dark.

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.

Generated automatically from the MPAS sky engine on 23 August 2026.