The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — December 2150
Highlights this month
- 6SunMars is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (11:12am)
- 6SunThe Moon passes Saturn — 4° apart. (11:14pm)
- 8TueThe Moon passes Mars — 4° apart. (5:18am)
- 9WedMercury at greatest morning elongation (21° from the Sun, mag −0.5) — best morning apparition. (2:01am)
- 14MonGeminids meteor shower peaks (up to 150/hr). A thin 20% Moon leaves the sky dark.
- 22TueSummer solstice.
- 22TueUrsids meteor shower peaks (up to 10/hr). A thin 9% Moon leaves the sky dark.
- 28MonNeptune in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (9:19am)
- 30WedSaturn at opposition — closest and brightest of the year, up all night in Gemini (mag −0.6). (4:29pm)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tue 1 | 5:50am | 8:27pm | 14h 37m | 10:19pm | 3:58am |
| Thu 10 | 5:50am | 8:35pm | 14h 45m | 10:30pm | 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 11 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- Full MoonSat 5, 12:08am
- Last QuarterFri 11, 3:18pm
- New MoonSat 19, 11:21am
- First QuarterSun 27, 3:27pm
Perigee 6 Dec (358,900 km) · Apogee 21 Dec (406,200 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Sco | −0.6 | 4:45am | 11:53am | 7:00pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Sgr | −3.7 | 7:27am | 2:53pm | 10:19pm | Hidden |
| Mars | Cnc | −0.9 | 11:20pm | 4:10am | 8:57am | Morning |
| Jupiter | Sgr | −1.7 | 7:42am | 3:00pm | 10:19pm | Hidden |
| Saturn | Gem | −0.5 | 9:37pm | 2:28am | 7:16am | Morning |
| Uranus | Oph | 5.7 | 4:56am | 12:11pm | 7:26pm | Hidden |
| Neptune | Sgr | 8.0 | 6:51am | 2:09pm | 9:26pm | 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 20% 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 9% Moon leaves the sky dark.
The solar system — December 2150
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 23 September 2026.