The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — December 2116
Highlights this month
- 8TueMercury in inferior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (10:46pm)
- 11FriThe Moon passes Jupiter — 3° apart. (1:23am)
- 14MonGeminids meteor shower peaks (up to 150/hr). A bright 69% Moon interferes badly this year.
- 16WedThe Moon passes Saturn — 3° apart. (2:19am)
- 17ThuThe Moon passes Mars — 0.6° apart. (9:21pm)
- 18FriMercury is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (6:16pm)
- 22TueSummer solstice.
- 22TueUrsids meteor shower peaks (up to 10/hr). A bright 93% Moon interferes badly this year.
- 22TueUranus at opposition — closest and brightest of the year, up all night in Gemini (mag 5.5). (10:24pm)
- 27SunMars is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (10:27pm)
- 28MonMercury at greatest morning elongation (22° from the Sun, mag −0.4) — best morning apparition. (12:39am)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tue 1 | 5:50am | 8:27pm | 14h 37m | 10:20pm | 3:58am |
| Thu 10 | 5:50am | 8:35pm | 14h 46m | 10:31pm | 3:54am |
| Sun 20 | 5:52am | 8:42pm | 14h 50m | 10:39pm | 3:55am |
| Thu 31 | 5:59am | 8:46pm | 14h 47m | 10:42pm | 4:03am |
Days lengthen by about 10 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- New MoonFri 4, 7:14pm
- First QuarterSat 12, 4:39pm
- Full MoonSun 20, 9:27am
- Last QuarterSun 27, 4:00am
Apogee 12 Dec (404,800 km) · Perigee 24 Dec (367,200 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Oph | 1.2 | 5:12am | 12:17pm | 7:21pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Sco | −3.7 | 4:49am | 12:01pm | 7:13pm | Hidden |
| Mars | Tau | −1.5 | 6:16pm | 11:09pm | 4:07am | Evening |
| Jupiter | Aqr | −2.0 | 11:18am | 5:59pm | 12:43am | Evening |
| Saturn | Ari | 0.1 | 4:13pm | 9:44pm | 3:20am | Evening |
| Uranus | Gem | 5.5 | 9:05pm | 1:51am | 6:32am | All night |
| Neptune | Vir | 8.0 | 2:49am | 9:16am | 3:43pm | 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 69% 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 93% Moon interferes badly this year.
The solar system — December 2116
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 8 September 2026.