The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — December 2081
Highlights this month
- 6SatThe Moon passes Saturn — 0.2° apart. (4:16pm)
- 8MonThe Moon passes Jupiter — 2° apart. (10:13pm)
- 14SunGeminids meteor shower peaks (up to 150/hr). A bright 96% Moon interferes badly this year.
- 19FriVenus in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (11:57pm)
- 21SunSummer solstice.
- 22MonUrsids meteor shower peaks (up to 10/hr). A bright 60% Moon interferes badly this year.
- 25ThuMercury at greatest evening elongation (20° from the Sun, mag −0.5) — best evening apparition. (5:35am)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 1 | 5:50am | 8:28pm | 14h 38m | 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 9 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- New MoonMon 1, 1:35am
- First QuarterMon 8, 5:44pm
- Full MoonTue 16, 3:38pm
- Last QuarterTue 23, 2:56pm
- New MoonTue 30, 3:29pm
Apogee 9 Dec (404,800 km) · Perigee 23 Dec (369,800 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Sgr | −0.7 | 7:00am | 2:31pm | 10:02pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Oph | −3.8 | 5:47am | 1:10pm | 8:34pm | Hidden |
| Mars | Lib | 1.7 | 3:27am | 10:15am | 5:04pm | Morning |
| Jupiter | Aqr | −2.2 | 12:48pm | 7:06pm | 1:28am | Evening |
| Saturn | Cap | 0.7 | 10:33am | 5:24pm | 12:19am | Evening |
| Uranus | Cap | 5.9 | 9:16am | 4:21pm | 11:27pm | Evening |
| Neptune | Cnc | 7.8 | 11:16pm | 4:22am | 9:24am | 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 96% 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 60% Moon interferes badly this year.
The solar system — December 2081
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 26 August 2026.