The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — December 2180
Highlights this month
- 4MonThe Moon passes Mars — 5° apart. (12:34am)
- 5TueThe Moon passes Saturn — 4° apart. (11:25pm)
- 8FriJupiter is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (10:01pm)
- 14ThuGeminids meteor shower peaks (up to 150/hr). A thin 10% Moon leaves the sky dark.
- 14ThuMars at opposition — closest and brightest of the year, up all night in Taurus (mag −1.8). (1:12pm)
- 16SatUranus is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (6:32am)
- 20WedMercury at greatest evening elongation (20° from the Sun, mag −0.5) — best evening apparition. (4:08am)
- 21ThuSummer solstice.
- 22FriUrsids meteor shower peaks (up to 10/hr). A 34% Moon washes out fainter meteors for part of the night.
- 27WedMercury is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (8:13pm)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fri 1 | 5:50am | 8:28pm | 14h 37m | 10:20pm | 3:58am |
| Sun 10 | 5:50am | 8:35pm | 14h 46m | 10:31pm | 3:54am |
| Wed 20 | 5:52am | 8:42pm | 14h 50m | 10:39pm | 3:56am |
| Sun 31 | 5:59am | 8:46pm | 14h 47m | 10:41pm | 4:03am |
Days lengthen by about 9 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- Full MoonSat 2, 4:56pm
- Last QuarterSun 10, 3:51pm
- New MoonSun 17, 8:10am
- First QuarterSun 24, 6:35am
Apogee 2 Dec (406,200 km) · Perigee 16 Dec (357,600 km) · Apogee 29 Dec (406,000 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Sgr | −0.6 | 7:11am | 2:41pm | 10:11pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Oph | −3.7 | 5:05am | 12:21pm | 7:38pm | Hidden |
| Mars | Tau | −1.8 | 8:33pm | 1:11am | 5:43am | All night |
| Jupiter | Leo | −2.1 | 12:09am | 5:24am | 10:38am | Morning |
| Saturn | Gem | −0.4 | 10:11pm | 3:04am | 7:54am | Morning |
| Uranus | Psc | 5.8 | 2:12pm | 8:07pm | 2:07am | Evening |
| Neptune | Aqr | 7.9 | 11:59am | 6:28pm | 1:02am | 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 10% 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 34% Moon washes out fainter meteors for part of the night.
The solar system — December 2180
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 11 October 2026.