The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — December 2101
Highlights this month
- 6TueThe Moon passes Mars — 2° apart. (7:53pm)
- 12MonMars at opposition — closest and brightest of the year, up all night in Taurus (mag −1.8). (3:10am)
- 14WedGeminids meteor shower peaks (up to 150/hr). A 46% Moon washes out fainter meteors for part of the night.
- 16FriVenus in inferior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (2:02pm)
- 21WedMercury at greatest evening elongation (20° from the Sun, mag −0.5) — best evening apparition. (3:19pm)
- 22ThuSummer solstice.
- 22ThuUrsids meteor shower peaks (up to 10/hr). A thin 4% Moon leaves the sky dark.
- 24SatNeptune is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (10:09pm)
- 29ThuMercury is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (5:00am)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thu 1 | 5:50am | 8:27pm | 14h 36m | 10:19pm | 3:59am |
| Sat 10 | 5:50am | 8:35pm | 14h 45m | 10:30pm | 3:55am |
| Tue 20 | 5:52am | 8:42pm | 14h 50m | 10:39pm | 3:55am |
| Sat 31 | 5:59am | 8:46pm | 14h 47m | 10:42pm | 4:03am |
Days lengthen by about 11 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- Full MoonTue 6, 3:17am
- Last QuarterWed 14, 7:32am
- New MoonWed 21, 2:21am
- First QuarterTue 27, 8:37pm
Apogee 7 Dec (406,200 km) · Perigee 21 Dec (356,700 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Sgr | −0.6 | 7:07am | 2:38pm | 10:09pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Oph | −3.3 | 6:04am | 1:22pm | 8:39pm | Hidden |
| Mars | Tau | −1.8 | 8:16pm | 12:56am | 5:30am | All night |
| Jupiter | Oph | −1.6 | 4:59am | 12:12pm | 7:25pm | Hidden |
| Saturn | Lib | 0.5 | 3:54am | 10:43am | 5:33pm | Hidden |
| Uranus | Psc | 5.8 | 3:49pm | 9:21pm | 2:57am | Evening |
| Neptune | Leo | 7.9 | 1:29am | 7:18am | 1:06pm | 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 46% Moon washes out fainter meteors for part of the night.
- Ursids — peaks 22 December, radiant in Ursa Minor (up to 10/hr). A circumpolar northern shower whose radiant never rises from Victoria. A thin 4% Moon leaves the sky dark.
The solar system — December 2101
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 2 September 2026.