The Sky for the Month

The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — December 2136

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

Highlights this month

  • 4TueMercury in inferior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (4:41pm)
  • 9SunVenus at greatest evening elongation (47° from the Sun, mag −4.4) — best evening apparition. (1:47am)
  • 14FriMercury is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (8:27am)
  • 14FriGeminids meteor shower peaks (up to 150/hr). A bright 73% Moon interferes badly this year.
  • 22SatSummer solstice.
  • 22SatUrsids meteor shower peaks (up to 10/hr). A thin 2% Moon leaves the sky dark.
  • 23SunMercury at greatest morning elongation (22° from the Sun, mag −0.4) — best morning apparition. (7:30am)
  • 27ThuThe Moon passes Venus — 2° apart. (1:36am)

Sun & twilight

DateSunriseSunsetDay lengthAstro. dark beginsends
Sat 15:50am8:27pm14h 37m10:20pm3:58am
Mon 105:50am8:35pm14h 46m10:31pm3:54am
Thu 205:52am8:42pm14h 50m10:39pm3:55am
Mon 315:59am8:46pm14h 47m10:42pm4:03am

Days lengthen by about 10 minutes over the month.

The Moon

  • Full MoonSun 9, 1:05am
  • Last QuarterMon 17, 1:21am
  • New MoonSun 23, 5:38pm
  • First QuarterSun 30, 3:33pm

Apogee 8 Dec (406,300 km) · Perigee 23 Dec (357,200 km)

The planets

Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.

PlanetInMagRiseTransitSetBest
MercurySco0.14:54am11:56am6:59pmHidden
VenusCap−4.59:29am4:38pm11:46pmEvening
MarsSgr1.36:36am2:02pm9:28pmHidden
JupiterLib−1.54:11am11:12am6:14pmHidden
SaturnSgr0.47:22am2:40pm9:58pmHidden
UranusVir5.52:00am8:07am2:15pmMorning
NeptuneSco8.04:54am12:02pm7:10pmHidden

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 73% 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 thin 2% Moon leaves the sky dark.

The solar system — December 2136

Evening sky Morning sky Up much of the night Lost in the Sun’s glare

Generated automatically from the MPAS sky engine on 14 September 2026.