The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — December 2165
Highlights this month
- 13FriThe Moon passes Jupiter — 3° apart. (9:11pm)
- 14SatGeminids meteor shower peaks (up to 150/hr). A bright 86% Moon interferes badly this year.
- 15SunMercury in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (7:16am)
- 16MonVenus is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (4:34am)
- 20FriJupiter is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (11:30am)
- 22SunSummer solstice.
- 22SunUrsids meteor shower peaks (up to 10/hr). A bright 79% Moon interferes badly this year.
- 30MonMars at opposition — closest and brightest of the year, up all night in Gemini (mag −1.6). (6:51pm)
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 | 3:55am |
| Tue 31 | 5:59am | 8:46pm | 14h 47m | 10:41pm | 4:03am |
Days lengthen by about 10 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- New MoonWed 4, 3:05am
- First QuarterWed 11, 4:54am
- Full MoonWed 18, 2:55am
- Last QuarterThu 26, 12:32am
Perigee 12 Dec (369,700 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 | Oph | −1.1 | 5:47am | 1:15pm | 8:44pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Lib | −4.5 | 4:24am | 11:23am | 6:21pm | Hidden |
| Mars | Gem | −1.4 | 10:12pm | 2:51am | 7:24am | Morning |
| Jupiter | Psc | −2.4 | 3:40pm | 9:15pm | 2:55am | Evening |
| Saturn | Sgr | 0.4 | 7:04am | 2:22pm | 9:41pm | Hidden |
| Uranus | Cap | 5.9 | 9:23am | 4:27pm | 11:31pm | Evening |
| Neptune | Cap | 7.9 | 9:20am | 4:22pm | 11:24pm | 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 bright 86% Moon interferes badly this year.
- Ursids — peaks 22 December, radiant in Ursa Minor (up to 10/hr). A circumpolar northern shower whose radiant never rises from Victoria. A bright 79% Moon interferes badly this year.
The solar system — December 2165
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 5 October 2026.