The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — December 2102
Highlights this month
- 4MonMercury at greatest evening elongation (21° from the Sun, mag −0.4) — best evening apparition. (1:39pm)
- 13WedMercury is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (6:49am)
- 14ThuGeminids meteor shower peaks (up to 150/hr). A thin 21% Moon leaves the sky dark.
- 22FriSummer solstice.
- 22FriUrsids meteor shower peaks (up to 10/hr). A bright 95% Moon interferes badly this year.
- 22FriMercury in inferior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (9:52pm)
- 27WedNeptune is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (8:49am)
- 28ThuJupiter in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (8:26am)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fri 1 | 5:51am | 8:27pm | 14h 36m | 10:19pm | 3:59am |
| Sun 10 | 5:50am | 8:35pm | 14h 45m | 10:30pm | 3:55am |
| Wed 20 | 5:52am | 8:42pm | 14h 50m | 10:38pm | 3:55am |
| Sun 31 | 5:58am | 8:46pm | 14h 48m | 10:42pm | 4:02am |
Days lengthen by about 11 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- Last QuarterSun 3, 8:10am
- New MoonSun 10, 5:23pm
- First QuarterSun 17, 9:46am
- Full MoonSun 24, 10:29pm
Apogee 1 Dec (405,100 km) · Perigee 13 Dec (362,900 km) · Apogee 28 Dec (405,800 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Sgr | 0.9 | 6:57am | 2:19pm | 9:40pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Sgr | −3.7 | 7:11am | 2:37pm | 10:04pm | Hidden |
| Mars | Oph | 1.4 | 5:23am | 12:44pm | 8:06pm | Hidden |
| Jupiter | Sgr | −1.7 | 6:37am | 1:58pm | 9:20pm | Hidden |
| Saturn | Lib | 0.4 | 4:26am | 11:26am | 6:26pm | Hidden |
| Uranus | Ari | 5.8 | 4:11pm | 9:37pm | 3:08am | Evening |
| Neptune | Leo | 7.9 | 1:36am | 7:27am | 1:18pm | 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 21% 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 bright 95% Moon interferes badly this year.
The solar system — December 2102
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.