The Sky for the Month

The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — December 2159

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

3MonMercury in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (1:36pm)
14FriGeminids meteor shower peaks (up to 150/hr). A thin 17% Moon leaves the sky dark.
21FriJupiter and Saturn in conjunction — 1° apart. (5:21am)
22SatSummer solstice.
22SatUrsids meteor shower peaks (up to 10/hr). A bright 90% Moon interferes badly this year.

Date	Sunrise	Sunset	Day length	Astro. dark begins	ends
Sat 1	5:50am	8:27pm	14h 36m	10:19pm	3:59am
Mon 10	5:49am	8:35pm	14h 45m	10:30pm	3:55am
Thu 20	5:52am	8:42pm	14h 50m	10:38pm	3:55am
Mon 31	5:58am	8:46pm	14h 47m	10:41pm	4:02am

Days lengthen by about 11 minutes over the month.

Apogee 13 Dec (406,000 km) · Perigee 26 Dec (357,600 km)

Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.

Planet	In	Mag	Rise	Transit	Set	Best
Mercury	Sgr	−0.9	6:12am	1:43pm	9:15pm	Hidden
Venus	Lib	−3.8	4:05am	11:00am	5:57pm	Hidden
Mars	Aqr	0.5	11:47am	6:21pm	12:57am	Evening
Jupiter	Vir	−1.5	3:23am	10:06am	4:49pm	Morning
Saturn	Vir	0.5	3:30am	10:09am	4:49pm	Morning
Uranus	Sgr	5.8	7:30am	2:50pm	10:10pm	Hidden
Neptune	Sgr	8.0	8:20am	3:31pm	10:42pm	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 thin 17% 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 90% Moon interferes badly this year.

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 1 October 2026.