The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — December 2171
Highlights this month
- 4WedThe Moon passes Saturn — 2° apart. (9:05pm)
- 14SatGeminids meteor shower peaks (up to 150/hr). A bright 97% Moon interferes badly this year.
- 21SatThe Moon passes Mars — 5° apart. (5:17am)
- 22SunSummer solstice.
- 22SunUrsids meteor shower peaks (up to 10/hr). A 29% Moon washes out fainter meteors for part of the night.
- 27FriMercury in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (11:49pm)
- 30MonThe Moon passes Venus — 4° apart. (9:17pm)
- 31TueThe Moon passes Saturn — 4° apart. (11:36pm)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun 1 | 5:50am | 8:27pm | 14h 36m | 10:19pm | 3:58am |
| Tue 10 | 5:49am | 8:35pm | 14h 45m | 10:30pm | 3:54am |
| Fri 20 | 5:52am | 8:42pm | 14h 50m | 10:38pm | 3:55am |
| Tue 31 | 5:58am | 8:46pm | 14h 47m | 10:41pm | 4:03am |
Days lengthen by about 11 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- First QuarterWed 4, 6:02pm
- Full MoonThu 12, 10:40pm
- Last QuarterFri 20, 5:36pm
- New MoonFri 27, 9:13am
Apogee 10 Dec (406,200 km) · Perigee 26 Dec (359,400 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Oph | −0.9 | 5:22am | 12:44pm | 8:07pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Cap | −3.9 | 8:54am | 4:10pm | 11:25pm | Evening |
| Mars | Vir | 1.2 | 2:07am | 8:12am | 2:17pm | Morning |
| Jupiter | Lib | −1.5 | 3:32am | 10:19am | 5:06pm | Morning |
| Saturn | Aqr | 0.9 | 12:15pm | 6:44pm | 1:17am | Evening |
| Uranus | Aqr | 5.9 | 11:21am | 6:00pm | 12:43am | Evening |
| Neptune | Cap | 7.9 | 10:25am | 5:16pm | 12:10am | 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 97% 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 29% Moon washes out fainter meteors for part of the night.
The solar system — December 2171
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 7 October 2026.