The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — December 2183
Highlights this month
- 6SatThe Moon passes Saturn — 3° apart. (5:18am)
- 7SunMercury at greatest morning elongation (20° from the Sun, mag −0.5) — best morning apparition. (9:17am)
- 14SunSaturn is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (4:24am)
- 14SunGeminids meteor shower peaks (up to 150/hr). A thin 1% Moon leaves the sky dark.
- 22MonSummer solstice.
- 22MonUrsids meteor shower peaks (up to 10/hr). A 51% Moon washes out fainter meteors for part of the night.
- 28SunUranus is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (8:37pm)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 1 | 5:50am | 8:27pm | 14h 36m | 10:19pm | 3:58am |
| Wed 10 | 5:49am | 8:35pm | 14h 45m | 10:30pm | 3:54am |
| Sat 20 | 5:52am | 8:42pm | 14h 50m | 10:38pm | 3:55am |
| Wed 31 | 5:58am | 8:46pm | 14h 47m | 10:41pm | 4:03am |
Days lengthen by about 11 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- Last QuarterSun 7, 10:15am
- New MoonMon 15, 11:24am
- First QuarterMon 22, 2:00pm
- Full MoonMon 29, 11:26am
Apogee 9 Dec (404,900 km) · Perigee 24 Dec (369,400 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Sco | −0.6 | 4:47am | 11:56am | 7:04pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Lib | −3.8 | 4:09am | 11:07am | 6:06pm | Hidden |
| Mars | Sgr | 1.3 | 6:25am | 1:52pm | 9:18pm | Hidden |
| Jupiter | Lib | −1.5 | 3:41am | 10:32am | 5:23pm | Hidden |
| Saturn | Leo | 0.4 | 12:41am | 6:04am | 11:28am | Morning |
| Uranus | Psc | 5.8 | 3:14pm | 8:54pm | 2:39am | Evening |
| Neptune | Aqr | 7.9 | 12:34pm | 6:56pm | 1:22am | 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 51% Moon washes out fainter meteors for part of the night.
The solar system — December 2183
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 13 October 2026.