The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — January 1977
Highlights this month
- 1SatThe Moon passes Jupiter — 0.8° apart. (1:26pm)
- 4TueQuadrantids meteor shower peaks (up to 110/hr). A bright 98% Moon interferes badly this year.
- 6ThuMercury in inferior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (7:03pm)
- 16SunJupiter is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (5:05am)
- 17MonMercury is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (5:52pm)
- 23SunThe Moon passes Venus — 3° apart. (8:18pm)
- 24MonVenus at greatest evening elongation (47° from the Sun, mag −4.4) — best evening apparition. (10:31pm)
- 28FriThe Moon passes Jupiter — 1° apart. (9:06pm)
- 29SatMercury at greatest morning elongation (25° from the Sun, mag −0.1) — best morning apparition. (10:55am)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fri 1 | 6:00am | 8:47pm | 14h 47m | 10:42pm | 4:04am |
| Sun 10 | 6:08am | 8:46pm | 14h 38m | 10:39pm | 4:15am |
| Wed 20 | 6:18am | 8:43pm | 14h 24m | 10:31pm | 4:30am |
| Sun 31 | 6:31am | 8:35pm | 14h 04m | 10:18pm | 4:47am |
Days shorten by about 43 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- Full MoonWed 5, 11:15pm
- Last QuarterThu 13, 7:00am
- New MoonThu 20, 1:09am
- First QuarterThu 27, 4:16pm
Perigee 16 Jan (366,200 km) · Apogee 28 Jan (404,800 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Sgr | 0.8 | 5:06am | 12:14pm | 7:23pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Aqr | −4.3 | 10:07am | 4:35pm | 11:02pm | Evening |
| Mars | Sgr | 1.3 | 5:04am | 12:28pm | 7:53pm | Hidden |
| Jupiter | Ari | −2.3 | 3:51pm | 8:57pm | 2:07am | Evening |
| Saturn | Cnc | −0.2 | 9:45pm | 2:54am | 8:00am | Morning |
| Uranus | Lib | 5.6 | 1:29am | 8:19am | 3:09pm | Morning |
| Neptune | Oph | 8.0 | 3:25am | 10:39am | 5:52pm | 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 98% Moon interferes badly this year.
The solar system — January 1977
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 23 August 2026.