The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — December 2181
Highlights this month
- 1SatThe Moon passes Jupiter — 4° apart. (2:50am)
- 3MonMercury at greatest evening elongation (22° from the Sun, mag −0.4) — best evening apparition. (1:52am)
- 11TueVenus is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (12:54am)
- 11TueMercury is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (9:53pm)
- 14FriGeminids meteor shower peaks (up to 150/hr). A bright 61% Moon interferes badly this year.
- 20ThuUranus is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (11:20am)
- 21FriSummer solstice.
- 21FriMercury in inferior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (1:57pm)
- 22SatUrsids meteor shower peaks (up to 10/hr). A bright 98% Moon interferes badly this year.
- 24MonThe Moon passes Saturn — 5° apart. (5:22am)
- 28FriThe Moon passes Jupiter — 5° apart. (5:25am)
- 31MonMercury is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (7:44pm)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat 1 | 5:50am | 8:27pm | 14h 37m | 10:20pm | 3:58am |
| Mon 10 | 5:50am | 8:35pm | 14h 46m | 10:31pm | 3:54am |
| Thu 20 | 5:52am | 8:42pm | 14h 50m | 10:39pm | 3:55am |
| Mon 31 | 5:59am | 8:46pm | 14h 47m | 10:41pm | 4:03am |
Days lengthen by about 10 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- New MoonFri 7, 12:00am
- First QuarterThu 13, 2:46pm
- Full MoonFri 21, 11:23am
- Last QuarterSat 29, 3:00pm
Perigee 8 Dec (358,800 km) · Apogee 23 Dec (406,200 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Sgr | 1.5 | 6:50am | 2:10pm | 9:30pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Lib | −4.7 | 4:09am | 11:03am | 5:57pm | Hidden |
| Mars | Oph | 1.4 | 5:26am | 12:48pm | 8:10pm | Hidden |
| Jupiter | Leo | −1.8 | 1:29am | 7:18am | 1:07pm | Morning |
| Saturn | Cnc | −0.2 | 11:07pm | 4:09am | 9:06am | Morning |
| Uranus | Psc | 5.8 | 2:33pm | 8:23pm | 2:17am | Evening |
| Neptune | Aqr | 7.9 | 12:11pm | 6:38pm | 1:08am | 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 61% 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 bright 98% Moon interferes badly this year.
The solar system — December 2181
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.