The Sky for the Month

The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — December 2172

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

6SunMercury in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (1:43am)
14MonGeminids meteor shower peaks (up to 150/hr). A thin 3% Moon leaves the sky dark.
21MonSummer solstice.
22TueThe Moon passes Saturn — 4° apart. (12:38am)
22TueUrsids meteor shower peaks (up to 10/hr). A 50% Moon washes out fainter meteors for part of the night.

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	3:56am
Thu 31	5:59am	8:46pm	14h 47m	10:41pm	4:03am

Days lengthen by about 10 minutes over the month.

Apogee 3 Dec (406,100 km) · Perigee 16 Dec (357,300 km) · Apogee 31 Dec (406,300 km)

Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.

Planet	In	Mag	Rise	Transit	Set	Best
Mercury	Sgr	−1.0	6:07am	1:38pm	9:09pm	Hidden
Venus	Oph	−3.7	5:03am	12:19pm	7:35pm	Hidden
Mars	Cap	1.0	9:30am	4:35pm	11:40pm	Evening
Jupiter	Sco	−1.6	4:44am	11:55am	7:05pm	Hidden
Saturn	Psc	1.0	1:10pm	7:26pm	1:44am	Evening
Uranus	Aqr	5.9	11:38am	6:12pm	12:50am	Evening
Neptune	Cap	7.9	10:33am	5:21pm	12:14am	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 thin 3% 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 50% Moon washes out fainter meteors for part of the night.

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 7 October 2026.