The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — December 2188
Highlights this month
- 4ThuMercury is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (7:09pm)
- 9TueNeptune is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (12:48am)
- 14SunGeminids meteor shower peaks (up to 150/hr). A thin 21% Moon leaves the sky dark.
- 14SunMercury in inferior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (2:24pm)
- 15MonThe Moon passes Saturn — 3° apart. (4:01am)
- 21SunSummer solstice.
- 22MonUrsids meteor shower peaks (up to 10/hr). A thin 19% Moon leaves the sky dark.
- 24WedMercury is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (2:16pm)
- 25ThuThe Moon passes Jupiter — 4° apart. (9:19pm)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 1 | 5:50am | 8:28pm | 14h 37m | 10:20pm | 3:58am |
| Wed 10 | 5:50am | 8:36pm | 14h 46m | 10:31pm | 3:54am |
| Sat 20 | 5:52am | 8:42pm | 14h 50m | 10:39pm | 3:56am |
| Wed 31 | 5:59am | 8:46pm | 14h 47m | 10:41pm | 4:03am |
Days lengthen by about 9 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- Full MoonThu 4, 11:16am
- Last QuarterThu 11, 11:49pm
- New MoonThu 18, 4:12pm
- First QuarterFri 26, 1:58am
Perigee 16 Dec (363,300 km) · Apogee 28 Dec (405,100 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Oph | 6.3 | 5:54am | 1:05pm | 8:17pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Oph | −3.7 | 5:08am | 12:24pm | 7:41pm | Hidden |
| Mars | Vir | 1.4 | 2:27am | 8:45am | 3:03pm | Morning |
| Jupiter | Psc | −2.2 | 1:33pm | 7:40pm | 1:50am | Evening |
| Saturn | Vir | 0.6 | 3:14am | 9:49am | 4:24pm | Morning |
| Uranus | Ari | 5.7 | 4:53pm | 10:09pm | 3:29am | Evening |
| Neptune | Psc | 7.8 | 1:26pm | 7:34pm | 1:47am | 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 21% 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 thin 19% Moon leaves the sky dark.
The solar system — December 2188
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.
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Generated automatically from the MPAS sky engine on 19 October 2026.