The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — December 2175
Highlights this month
- 3SunMercury is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (12:30am)
- 12TueMercury in inferior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (8:58pm)
- 14ThuGeminids meteor shower peaks (up to 150/hr). A thin 1% Moon leaves the sky dark.
- 18MonThe Moon passes Jupiter — 2° apart. (9:17pm)
- 22FriSummer solstice.
- 22FriUrsids meteor shower peaks (up to 10/hr). A bright 64% Moon interferes badly this year.
- 22FriMercury is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (6:48pm)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fri 1 | 5:50am | 8:27pm | 14h 36m | 10:19pm | 3:58am |
| Sun 10 | 5:49am | 8:35pm | 14h 45m | 10:30pm | 3:54am |
| Wed 20 | 5:52am | 8:42pm | 14h 50m | 10:38pm | 3:55am |
| Sun 31 | 5:58am | 8:46pm | 14h 47m | 10:41pm | 4:03am |
Days lengthen by about 11 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- Last QuarterTue 5, 2:23pm
- New MoonWed 13, 7:18pm
- First QuarterThu 21, 9:38am
- Full MoonThu 28, 12:58am
Apogee 10 Dec (405,800 km) · Perigee 25 Dec (362,600 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Oph | 4.1 | 5:39am | 12:48pm | 7:57pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Lib | −3.8 | 4:08am | 11:05am | 6:03pm | Hidden |
| Mars | Vir | 1.6 | 3:17am | 10:00am | 4:43pm | Morning |
| Jupiter | Cap | −1.9 | 10:36am | 5:26pm | 12:20am | Evening |
| Saturn | Ari | 0.1 | 4:25pm | 9:54pm | 3:27am | Evening |
| Uranus | Aqr | 5.9 | 12:38pm | 6:58pm | 1:22am | Evening |
| Neptune | Aqr | 7.9 | 11:08am | 5:50pm | 12:35am | 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 1% 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 64% Moon interferes badly this year.
The solar system — December 2175
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 9 October 2026.