The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — December 2104
Highlights this month
- 7SunMercury at greatest morning elongation (21° from the Sun, mag −0.5) — best morning apparition. (8:34pm)
- 8MonSaturn in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (7:07pm)
- 14SunGeminids meteor shower peaks (up to 150/hr). A thin 10% Moon leaves the sky dark.
- 18ThuVenus at greatest evening elongation (47° from the Sun, mag −4.4) — best evening apparition. (4:22pm)
- 22MonSummer solstice.
- 22MonUrsids meteor shower peaks (up to 10/hr). A thin 22% Moon leaves the sky dark.
- 31WedNeptune is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (5:59am)
Sun & twilight
| 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 | 3:55am |
| Sat 20 | 5:52am | 8:42pm | 14h 50m | 10:39pm | 3:55am |
| Wed 31 | 5:59am | 8:46pm | 14h 47m | 10:42pm | 4:03am |
Days lengthen by about 10 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- Full MoonTue 2, 3:55pm
- Last QuarterTue 9, 8:08pm
- New MoonThu 18, 12:58am
- First QuarterThu 25, 10:29am
Perigee 1 Dec (360,100 km) · Apogee 13 Dec (405,500 km) · Perigee 29 Dec (365,300 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Sco | −0.6 | 4:46am | 11:54am | 7:03pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Cap | −4.4 | 9:29am | 4:38pm | 11:47pm | Evening |
| Mars | Sgr | 1.3 | 6:21am | 1:47pm | 9:14pm | Hidden |
| Jupiter | Cap | −2.0 | 10:57am | 5:43pm | 12:31am | Evening |
| Saturn | Oph | 0.3 | 5:35am | 12:49pm | 8:03pm | Hidden |
| Uranus | Ari | 5.7 | 4:50pm | 10:07pm | 3:29am | Evening |
| Neptune | Vir | 7.9 | 1:44am | 7:41am | 1:37pm | 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 10% 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 thin 22% Moon leaves the sky dark.
The solar system — December 2104
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 3 September 2026.