The Sky for the Month

The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — December 2118

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

2FriThe Moon passes Mars — 1° apart. (7:12pm)
14WedGeminids meteor shower peaks (up to 150/hr). A thin 3% Moon leaves the sky dark.
22ThuSummer solstice.
22ThuUrsids meteor shower peaks (up to 10/hr). A bright 72% Moon interferes badly this year.
29ThuThe Moon passes Mars — 0.4° apart. (11:49am)

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	10:38pm	3:55am
Sat 31	5:58am	8:46pm	14h 47m	10:42pm	4:02am

Days lengthen by about 11 minutes over the month.

Perigee 12 Dec (357,500 km) · Apogee 25 Dec (406,000 km)

Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.

Planet	In	Mag	Rise	Transit	Set	Best
Mercury	Oph	−0.7	5:08am	12:27pm	7:45pm	Hidden
Venus	Sgr	−3.7	7:16am	2:43pm	10:09pm	Hidden
Mars	Gem	−1.2	10:45pm	3:27am	8:05am	Morning
Jupiter	Ari	−2.5	5:04pm	10:21pm	3:42am	Evening
Saturn	Tau	−0.4	6:38pm	11:40pm	4:47am	Evening
Uranus	Gem	5.5	9:46pm	2:33am	7:16am	Morning
Neptune	Vir	8.0	3:02am	9:34am	4:05pm	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 thin 3% 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 72% Moon interferes badly this year.

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 8 September 2026.