The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — December 2186
Highlights this month
- 5TueNeptune is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (12:28am)
- 5TueThe Moon passes Mars — 5° apart. (3:16am)
- 6WedThe Moon passes Saturn — 4° apart. (3:42am)
- 14ThuGeminids meteor shower peaks (up to 150/hr). A thin 10% Moon leaves the sky dark.
- 14ThuThe Moon passes Jupiter — 2° apart. (9:12pm)
- 22FriSummer solstice.
- 22FriUrsids meteor shower peaks (up to 10/hr). A bright 80% Moon interferes badly this year.
- 30SatMercury at greatest evening elongation (20° from the Sun, mag −0.6) — best evening apparition. (1:56pm)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fri 1 | 5:50am | 8:27pm | 14h 37m | 10:20pm | 3:58am |
| Sun 10 | 5:49am | 8:35pm | 14h 46m | 10:30pm | 3:54am |
| Wed 20 | 5:52am | 8:42pm | 14h 50m | 10:39pm | 3:55am |
| Sun 31 | 5:59am | 8:46pm | 14h 47m | 10:41pm | 4:03am |
Days lengthen by about 10 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- Last QuarterSun 3, 11:07pm
- New MoonMon 11, 8:43am
- First QuarterTue 19, 1:59pm
- Full MoonTue 26, 5:38pm
Apogee 16 Dec (405,600 km) · Perigee 28 Dec (359,800 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Sgr | −0.7 | 6:46am | 2:18pm | 9:51pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Lib | −4.2 | 3:31am | 10:12am | 4:54pm | Morning |
| Mars | Vir | 1.0 | 1:52am | 7:48am | 1:44pm | Morning |
| Jupiter | Sgr | −1.8 | 8:35am | 3:47pm | 10:59pm | Evening |
| Saturn | Vir | 0.8 | 2:18am | 8:26am | 2:34pm | Morning |
| Uranus | Ari | 5.8 | 4:14pm | 9:39pm | 3:09am | Evening |
| Neptune | Psc | 7.9 | 1:06pm | 7:20pm | 1:37am | 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 bright 80% Moon interferes badly this year.
The solar system — December 2186
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 14 October 2026.