The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — December 2161
Highlights this month
- 7MonMercury at greatest evening elongation (21° from the Sun, mag −0.4) — best evening apparition. (5:53pm)
- 14MonGeminids meteor shower peaks (up to 150/hr). A thin 9% Moon leaves the sky dark.
- 16WedMercury is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (5:51am)
- 18FriJupiter in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (2:57pm)
- 22TueSummer solstice.
- 22TueUrsids meteor shower peaks (up to 10/hr). A 28% Moon washes out fainter meteors for part of the night.
- 25FriMercury in inferior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (8:09pm)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tue 1 | 5:50am | 8:27pm | 14h 37m | 10:20pm | 3:58am |
| Thu 10 | 5:50am | 8:35pm | 14h 46m | 10:31pm | 3:54am |
| Sun 20 | 5:52am | 8:42pm | 14h 50m | 10:39pm | 3:55am |
| Thu 31 | 5:59am | 8:46pm | 14h 47m | 10:41pm | 4:03am |
Days lengthen by about 10 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- Full MoonThu 3, 7:55am
- Last QuarterThu 10, 2:40pm
- New MoonThu 17, 9:36am
- First QuarterFri 25, 1:00am
Perigee 13 Dec (366,900 km) · Apogee 25 Dec (404,800 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Sgr | 0.1 | 7:10am | 2:34pm | 9:57pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Sgr | −3.8 | 6:11am | 1:36pm | 9:01pm | Hidden |
| Mars | Psc | −0.2 | 1:57pm | 7:56pm | 1:57am | Evening |
| Jupiter | Oph | −1.6 | 6:04am | 1:25pm | 8:46pm | Hidden |
| Saturn | Lib | 0.4 | 4:30am | 11:31am | 6:32pm | Hidden |
| Uranus | Sgr | 5.9 | 8:06am | 3:22pm | 10:38pm | Hidden |
| Neptune | Sgr | 7.9 | 8:38am | 3:47pm | 10:56pm | Evening |
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 28% Moon washes out fainter meteors for part of the night.
The solar system — December 2161
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 2 October 2026.