The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — January 1974
Highlights this month
- 2WedVenus is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (2:44am)
- 3ThuThe Moon passes Mars — 3° apart. (10:07pm)
- 4FriQuadrantids meteor shower peaks (up to 110/hr). A bright 76% Moon interferes badly this year.
- 7MonThe Moon passes Saturn — 0.9° apart. (7:37pm)
- 9WedMercury in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (7:08pm)
- 24ThuVenus in inferior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (8:26am)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 1 | 6:00am | 8:46pm | 14h 47m | 10:42pm | 4:04am |
| Wed 10 | 6:08am | 8:46pm | 14h 39m | 10:39pm | 4:15am |
| Sat 20 | 6:18am | 8:43pm | 14h 25m | 10:31pm | 4:29am |
| Wed 31 | 6:31am | 8:35pm | 14h 05m | 10:18pm | 4:47am |
Days shorten by about 42 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- First QuarterWed 2, 5:15am
- Full Moon SupermoonTue 8, 11:36pm
- Last QuarterTue 15, 5:59pm
- New MoonWed 23, 10:06pm
- First QuarterThu 31, 6:48pm
Perigee 8 Jan (356,700 km) · Apogee 22 Jan (406,200 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Sgr | −1.2 | 6:25am | 1:46pm | 9:07pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Cap | −4.1 | 7:36am | 2:21pm | 9:06pm | Hidden |
| Mars | Ari | −0.0 | 2:52pm | 8:04pm | 1:19am | Evening |
| Jupiter | Cap | −1.8 | 8:08am | 3:04pm | 9:59pm | Hidden |
| Saturn | Tau | −0.5 | 6:53pm | 11:39pm | 4:30am | Evening |
| Uranus | Vir | 5.5 | 12:53am | 7:28am | 2:02pm | Morning |
| Neptune | Oph | 8.0 | 3:03am | 10:13am | 5:23pm | 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 bright 76% Moon interferes badly this year.
The solar system — January 1974
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 24 August 2026.