The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — December 2142
Highlights this month
- 2SunThe Moon passes Jupiter — 2° apart. (10:31am)
- 4TueMercury is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (2:23pm)
- 11TueNeptune in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (6:44am)
- 14FriMercury in inferior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (9:37am)
- 14FriGeminids meteor shower peaks (up to 150/hr). A thin 9% Moon leaves the sky dark.
- 22SatSummer solstice.
- 22SatUrsids meteor shower peaks (up to 10/hr). A thin 21% Moon leaves the sky dark.
- 24MonMercury is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (9:13am)
- 29SatThe Moon passes Jupiter — 2° apart. (4:16pm)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat 1 | 5:50am | 8:27pm | 14h 36m | 10:19pm | 3:58am |
| Mon 10 | 5:50am | 8:35pm | 14h 45m | 10:30pm | 3:55am |
| Thu 20 | 5:52am | 8:42pm | 14h 50m | 10:39pm | 3:55am |
| Mon 31 | 5:59am | 8:46pm | 14h 47m | 10:42pm | 4:03am |
Days lengthen by about 11 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- Full MoonMon 3, 3:27pm
- Last QuarterMon 10, 8:51am
- New MoonMon 17, 5:50pm
- First QuarterTue 25, 9:56pm
Perigee 6 Dec (365,700 km) · Apogee 22 Dec (405,500 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Oph | 6.0 | 5:52am | 1:03pm | 8:14pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Sgr | −3.7 | 7:25am | 2:51pm | 10:16pm | Hidden |
| Mars | Cap | 0.8 | 10:43am | 5:33pm | 12:25am | Evening |
| Jupiter | Ari | −2.6 | 5:59pm | 11:05pm | 4:14am | Evening |
| Saturn | Aqr | 0.9 | 12:38pm | 7:02pm | 1:29am | Evening |
| Uranus | Vir | 5.6 | 3:10am | 9:51am | 4:32pm | Morning |
| Neptune | Oph | 8.0 | 5:42am | 12:57pm | 8:12pm | Hidden |
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 9% 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 21% Moon leaves the sky dark.
The solar system — December 2142
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 16 September 2026.