The Sky for the Month

The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — December 2166

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

6SatThe Moon passes Jupiter — 3° apart. (9:59pm)
13SatMars in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (6:13pm)
14SunGeminids meteor shower peaks (up to 150/hr). A 51% Moon washes out fainter meteors for part of the night.
22MonSummer solstice.
22MonUrsids meteor shower peaks (up to 10/hr). A thin 0% Moon leaves the sky dark.

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

Days lengthen by about 11 minutes over the month.

Perigee 6 Dec (360,400 km) · Apogee 18 Dec (405,500 km)

Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.

Planet	In	Mag	Rise	Transit	Set	Best
Mercury	Sgr	−0.8	6:33am	2:05pm	9:38pm	Hidden
Venus	Sgr	−3.7	7:33am	2:58pm	10:23pm	Hidden
Mars	Oph	1.3	5:48am	1:12pm	8:37pm	Hidden
Jupiter	Tau	−2.6	6:53pm	11:49pm	4:49am	Evening
Saturn	Sgr	0.4	7:50am	3:07pm	10:23pm	Hidden
Uranus	Cap	5.9	9:44am	4:44pm	11:44pm	Evening
Neptune	Cap	7.9	9:31am	4:32pm	11:32pm	Evening

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 51% 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 0% 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 6 October 2026.