The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — December 2147
Highlights this month
- 6WedThe Moon passes Saturn — 3° apart. (7:17am)
- 14ThuGeminids meteor shower peaks (up to 150/hr). A 59% Moon washes out fainter meteors for part of the night.
- 19TueThe Moon passes Jupiter — 4° apart. (1:53am)
- 22FriNeptune in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (5:20am)
- 22FriSummer solstice.
- 22FriUrsids meteor shower peaks (up to 10/hr). A thin 1% Moon leaves the sky dark.
- 22FriMercury at greatest evening elongation (20° from the Sun, mag −0.5) — best evening apparition. (8:43pm)
- 26TueThe Moon passes Venus — 3° apart. (11:26am)
- 30SatMercury is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (9:41am)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fri 1 | 5:50am | 8:27pm | 14h 36m | 10:19pm | 3:59am |
| Sun 10 | 5:50am | 8:35pm | 14h 45m | 10:30pm | 3:55am |
| Wed 20 | 5:52am | 8:42pm | 14h 50m | 10:38pm | 3:55am |
| Sun 31 | 5:58am | 8:46pm | 14h 47m | 10:42pm | 4:02am |
Days lengthen by about 11 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- Full MoonThu 7, 6:29pm
- Last QuarterFri 15, 4:47pm
- New MoonSat 23, 8:40am
- First QuarterSat 30, 3:54am
Perigee 1 Dec (369,900 km) · Apogee 15 Dec (404,800 km) · Perigee 27 Dec (367,000 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Sgr | −0.6 | 7:05am | 2:36pm | 10:07pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Cap | −3.9 | 8:47am | 4:04pm | 11:21pm | Evening |
| Mars | Lib | 1.6 | 4:27am | 11:36am | 6:46pm | Hidden |
| Jupiter | Vir | −1.6 | 3:13am | 9:52am | 4:31pm | Morning |
| Saturn | Tau | −0.3 | 6:06pm | 11:14pm | 4:26am | Evening |
| Uranus | Lib | 5.7 | 4:14am | 11:19am | 6:23pm | Hidden |
| Neptune | Sgr | 8.0 | 6:25am | 1:43pm | 9:00pm | 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 59% Moon washes out fainter meteors for part of the night.
- Ursids — peaks 22 December, radiant in Ursa Minor (up to 10/hr). A circumpolar northern shower whose radiant never rises from Victoria. A thin 1% Moon leaves the sky dark.
The solar system — December 2147
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 19 September 2026.