The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — January 1973
Highlights this month
- 1MonThe Moon passes Mars — 4° apart. (12:19pm)
- 4ThuQuadrantids meteor shower peaks (up to 110/hr). A thin 0% Moon leaves the sky dark.
- 10WedJupiter in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (8:29pm)
- 16TueThe Moon passes Saturn — 4° apart. (8:52am)
- 27SatUranus is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (5:58pm)
- 29MonMercury in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (7:13am)
- 30TueThe Moon passes Mars — 2° apart. (11:48am)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun 1 | 6:00am | 8:47pm | 14h 47m | 10:42pm | 4:04am |
| Tue 10 | 6:08am | 8:46pm | 14h 38m | 10:39pm | 4:15am |
| Fri 20 | 6:18am | 8:43pm | 14h 24m | 10:31pm | 4:30am |
| Tue 31 | 6:31am | 8:35pm | 14h 04m | 10:18pm | 4:47am |
Days shorten by about 43 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- New MoonFri 5, 2:41am
- First QuarterFri 12, 4:34pm
- Full MoonFri 19, 8:27am
- Last QuarterFri 26, 5:02pm
Apogee 1 Jan (405,900 km) · Perigee 17 Jan (362,500 km) · Apogee 29 Jan (405,200 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Sgr | −0.8 | 5:27am | 12:53pm | 8:19pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Sgr | −3.7 | 4:38am | 12:00pm | 7:22pm | Hidden |
| Mars | Oph | 1.5 | 3:01am | 10:18am | 5:35pm | Morning |
| Jupiter | Sgr | −1.7 | 5:57am | 1:14pm | 8:30pm | Hidden |
| Saturn | Tau | −0.4 | 5:42pm | 10:34pm | 3:30am | Evening |
| Uranus | Vir | 5.5 | 12:41am | 7:09am | 1:38pm | Morning |
| Neptune | Sco | 8.0 | 2:55am | 10:03am | 5:11pm | Morning |
Meteor showers
- Quadrantids — peaks 4 January, radiant in Boötes (up to 110/hr). Radiant stays below the horizon from Victoria — essentially a no-show this far south. A thin 0% Moon leaves the sky dark.
The solar system — January 1973
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 24 August 2026.