The Sky for the Month

The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — December 2087

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

7SunThe Moon passes Saturn — 3° apart. (5:48pm)
10WedMars in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (1:30am)
14SunGeminids meteor shower peaks (up to 150/hr). A bright 76% Moon interferes badly this year.
19FriThe Moon passes Jupiter — 4° apart. (12:10am)
22MonSummer solstice.
22MonUrsids meteor shower peaks (up to 10/hr). A thin 7% Moon leaves the sky dark.

Date	Sunrise	Sunset	Day length	Astro. dark begins	ends
Mon 1	5:50am	8:27pm	14h 37m	10:20pm	3:58am
Wed 10	5:50am	8:35pm	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 10 minutes over the month.

Perigee 9 Dec (357,400 km) · Apogee 22 Dec (406,000 km)

Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.

Planet	In	Mag	Rise	Transit	Set	Best
Mercury	Sgr	−0.8	6:31am	2:04pm	9:36pm	Hidden
Venus	Lib	−3.9	3:52am	10:43am	5:34pm	Hidden
Mars	Oph	1.3	5:44am	1:08pm	8:32pm	Hidden
Jupiter	Vir	−1.6	2:25am	8:43am	3:00pm	Morning
Saturn	Ari	−0.0	4:40pm	10:05pm	3:35am	Evening
Uranus	Aqr	5.9	11:14am	5:55pm	12:39am	Evening
Neptune	Leo	7.8	12:04am	5:18am	10:33am	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 76% 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 7% 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 28 August 2026.