The Sky for the Month

The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — December 2158

Computed for The Briars, Mt Martha. Times are local (Melbourne).

14ThuMars and Saturn in conjunction — 1° apart. (4:27am)
14ThuGeminids meteor shower peaks (up to 150/hr). A 34% Moon washes out fainter meteors for part of the night.
22FriSummer solstice.
22FriUrsids meteor shower peaks (up to 10/hr). A thin 2% Moon leaves the sky dark.
24SunMercury in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (12:11pm)

Date	Sunrise	Sunset	Day length	Astro. dark begins	ends
Fri 1	5:50am	8:27pm	14h 37m	10:19pm	3:58am
Sun 10	5:50am	8:35pm	14h 45m	10:30pm	3:54am
Wed 20	5:52am	8:42pm	14h 50m	10:39pm	3:55am
Sun 31	5:59am	8:46pm	14h 47m	10:41pm	4:03am

Days lengthen by about 11 minutes over the month.

Perigee 6 Dec (356,700 km) · Apogee 19 Dec (406,200 km)

Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.

Planet	In	Mag	Rise	Transit	Set	Best
Mercury	Oph	−1.0	5:28am	12:53pm	8:18pm	Hidden
Venus	Sgr	−3.7	7:30am	2:56pm	10:21pm	Hidden
Mars	Vir	1.6	2:56am	9:27am	3:59pm	Morning
Jupiter	Vir	−1.7	2:17am	8:30am	2:43pm	Morning
Saturn	Vir	0.6	2:59am	9:27am	3:54pm	Morning
Uranus	Sgr	5.8	7:10am	2:32pm	9:54pm	Hidden
Neptune	Sgr	8.0	8:09am	3:21pm	10:34pm	Hidden

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 34% 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 2% Moon leaves the sky dark.

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.

Generated automatically from the MPAS sky engine on 30 September 2026.