The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — December 2182
Highlights this month
- 5ThuMercury in inferior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (9:28pm)
- 14SatGeminids meteor shower peaks (up to 150/hr). A bright 84% Moon interferes badly this year.
- 14SatMars is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (1:38pm)
- 15SunThe Moon passes Saturn — 5° apart. (5:15am)
- 15SunMercury is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (1:33pm)
- 20FriThe Moon passes Jupiter — 4° apart. (5:19am)
- 22SunSummer solstice.
- 22SunUrsids meteor shower peaks (up to 10/hr). A thin 14% Moon leaves the sky dark.
- 24TueMercury at greatest morning elongation (22° from the Sun, mag −0.4) — best morning apparition. (1:04pm)
- 24TueUranus is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (4:00pm)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun 1 | 5:50am | 8:27pm | 14h 37m | 10:20pm | 3:58am |
| Tue 10 | 5:49am | 8:35pm | 14h 46m | 10:30pm | 3:54am |
| Fri 20 | 5:52am | 8:42pm | 14h 50m | 10:39pm | 3:55am |
| Tue 31 | 5:59am | 8:46pm | 14h 47m | 10:41pm | 4:03am |
Days lengthen by about 10 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- First QuarterTue 3, 8:49am
- Full MoonTue 10, 1:18pm
- Last QuarterWed 18, 3:24pm
- New MoonThu 26, 1:29am
Perigee 1 Dec (368,400 km) · Apogee 16 Dec (405,100 km) · Perigee 28 Dec (363,100 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Sco | 0.3 | 4:58am | 12:00pm | 7:03pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Sgr | −3.7 | 7:39am | 3:03pm | 10:28pm | Hidden |
| Mars | Cnc | −0.6 | 11:48pm | 4:47am | 9:42am | Morning |
| Jupiter | Vir | −1.6 | 2:35am | 8:57am | 3:19pm | Morning |
| Saturn | Cnc | 0.1 | 11:55pm | 5:09am | 10:18am | Morning |
| Uranus | Psc | 5.8 | 2:53pm | 8:39pm | 2:28am | Evening |
| Neptune | Aqr | 7.9 | 12:23pm | 6:47pm | 1:15am | 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 84% 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 thin 14% Moon leaves the sky dark.
The solar system — December 2182
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 12 October 2026.