The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — December 2167
Highlights this month
- 2WedThe Moon passes Mars — 5° apart. (5:17am)
- 14MonGeminids meteor shower peaks (up to 150/hr). A thin 6% Moon leaves the sky dark.
- 18FriMercury at greatest evening elongation (21° from the Sun, mag −0.5) — best evening apparition. (6:02am)
- 22TueSummer solstice.
- 22TueUrsids meteor shower peaks (up to 10/hr). A bright 78% Moon interferes badly this year.
- 26SatMercury is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (2:03am)
- 27SunThe Moon passes Jupiter — 0.4° apart. (4:57am)
- 28MonMars is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (4:56am)
- 30WedThe Moon passes Mars — 0.1° apart. (4:54am)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tue 1 | 5:50am | 8:27pm | 14h 36m | 10:19pm | 3:58am |
| Thu 10 | 5:49am | 8:35pm | 14h 45m | 10:30pm | 3:54am |
| Sun 20 | 5:52am | 8:42pm | 14h 50m | 10:38pm | 3:55am |
| Thu 31 | 5:58am | 8:46pm | 14h 47m | 10:41pm | 4:03am |
Days lengthen by about 11 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- Last QuarterThu 3, 11:35pm
- New MoonSat 12, 12:31am
- First QuarterSun 20, 1:17am
- Full Moon SupermoonSat 26, 5:05pm
Apogee 11 Dec (406,300 km) · Perigee 26 Dec (357,300 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Sgr | −0.5 | 7:13am | 2:43pm | 10:12pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Lib | −3.8 | 4:06am | 11:03am | 6:00pm | Hidden |
| Mars | Leo | −0.2 | 12:28am | 5:38am | 10:48am | Morning |
| Jupiter | Gem | −2.5 | 9:52pm | 2:42am | 7:27am | Morning |
| Saturn | Sgr | 0.5 | 8:40am | 3:51pm | 11:02pm | Evening |
| Uranus | Cap | 5.9 | 10:04am | 5:00pm | 12:01am | Evening |
| Neptune | Cap | 7.9 | 9:43am | 4:41pm | 11:40pm | 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 6% 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 78% Moon interferes badly this year.
The solar system — December 2167
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 6 October 2026.