The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — December 2144
Highlights this month
- 2WedThe Moon passes Mars — 5° apart. (9:40am)
- 5SatThe Moon passes Saturn — 4° apart. (6:59am)
- 6SunVenus at greatest evening elongation (47° from the Sun, mag −4.4) — best evening apparition. (4:03pm)
- 14MonGeminids meteor shower peaks (up to 150/hr). A bright 85% Moon interferes badly this year.
- 15TueNeptune in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (1:23am)
- 16WedSaturn is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (8:12am)
- 21MonSummer solstice.
- 22TueUrsids meteor shower peaks (up to 10/hr). A thin 8% Moon leaves the sky dark.
- 31ThuThe Moon passes Mars — 2° apart. (7:52am)
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
- First QuarterWed 2, 2:25pm
- Full MoonThu 10, 8:00pm
- Last QuarterFri 18, 9:40am
- New MoonFri 25, 1:44am
Apogee 7 Dec (405,900 km) · Perigee 22 Dec (362,400 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Oph | −0.7 | 4:59am | 12:14pm | 7:30pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Cap | −4.5 | 9:28am | 4:37pm | 11:45pm | Evening |
| Mars | Aqr | 0.3 | 12:32pm | 6:54pm | 1:18am | Evening |
| Jupiter | Cnc | −2.3 | 11:23pm | 4:28am | 9:29am | Morning |
| Saturn | Psc | 0.6 | 2:37pm | 8:31pm | 2:29am | Evening |
| Uranus | Lib | 5.6 | 3:32am | 10:24am | 5:15pm | Morning |
| Neptune | Oph | 8.0 | 5:57am | 1:13pm | 8:29pm | 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 bright 85% 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 8% Moon leaves the sky dark.
The solar system — December 2144
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.
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Generated automatically from the MPAS sky engine on 16 September 2026.