The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — December 2148
Highlights this month
- 2MonSaturn at opposition — closest and brightest of the year, up all night in Taurus (mag −0.6). (8:45am)
- 4WedMars at opposition — closest and brightest of the year, up all night in Taurus (mag −1.9). (10:37am)
- 4WedMercury at greatest evening elongation (21° from the Sun, mag −0.4) — best evening apparition. (7:10pm)
- 10TueMars and Saturn in conjunction — 4° apart. (9:10pm)
- 13FriMercury is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (11:32am)
- 14SatGeminids meteor shower peaks (up to 150/hr). A thin 9% Moon leaves the sky dark.
- 21SatSummer solstice.
- 22SunUrsids meteor shower peaks (up to 10/hr). A bright 88% Moon interferes badly this year.
- 23MonMercury in inferior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (2:39am)
- 23MonNeptune in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (2:39pm)
- 23MonThe Moon passes Saturn — 1° apart. (11:44pm)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun 1 | 5:50am | 8:27pm | 14h 37m | 10:20pm | 3:58am |
| Tue 10 | 5:50am | 8:35pm | 14h 46m | 10:31pm | 3:54am |
| Fri 20 | 5:52am | 8:42pm | 14h 50m | 10:39pm | 3:56am |
| Tue 31 | 5:59am | 8:46pm | 14h 47m | 10:41pm | 4:03am |
Days lengthen by about 10 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- Last QuarterTue 3, 12:08pm
- New MoonWed 11, 3:56pm
- First QuarterThu 19, 12:41am
- Full MoonWed 25, 6:11pm
Apogee 6 Dec (405,400 km) · Perigee 22 Dec (366,200 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Sgr | 0.8 | 6:59am | 2:21pm | 9:42pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Oph | −3.7 | 4:57am | 12:11pm | 7:25pm | Hidden |
| Mars | Tau | −1.7 | 7:25pm | 12:05am | 4:51am | Evening |
| Jupiter | Lib | −1.5 | 4:22am | 11:26am | 6:31pm | Hidden |
| Saturn | Tau | −0.5 | 7:16pm | 12:16am | 5:12am | All night |
| Uranus | Lib | 5.7 | 4:25am | 11:34am | 6:42pm | Hidden |
| Neptune | Sgr | 8.0 | 6:31am | 1:49pm | 9:06pm | 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 bright 88% Moon interferes badly this year.
The solar system — December 2148
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 20 September 2026.