The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — January 1979
Highlights this month
- 4ThuQuadrantids meteor shower peaks (up to 110/hr). A 37% Moon washes out fainter meteors for part of the night.
- 14SunThe Moon passes Jupiter — 4° apart. (8:40pm)
- 18ThuThe Moon passes Saturn — 2° apart. (1:44am)
- 18ThuVenus at greatest morning elongation (47° from the Sun, mag −4.4) — best morning apparition. (6:14pm)
- 20SatMars in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (11:33pm)
- 25ThuJupiter at opposition — closest and brightest of the year, up all night in Cancer (mag −2.5). (2:06am)
- 25ThuThe Moon passes Venus — 2° apart. (9:04am)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun 1 | 5:59am | 8:46pm | 14h 47m | 10:42pm | 4:04am |
| Tue 10 | 6:07am | 8:46pm | 14h 39m | 10:39pm | 4:14am |
| Fri 20 | 6:18am | 8:43pm | 14h 25m | 10:31pm | 4:29am |
| Tue 31 | 6:30am | 8:35pm | 14h 05m | 10:19pm | 4:47am |
Days shorten by about 42 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- First QuarterFri 5, 10:13pm
- Full MoonSat 13, 6:08pm
- Last QuarterSun 21, 10:30pm
- New MoonSun 28, 5:23pm
Apogee 15 Jan (406,200 km) · Perigee 28 Jan (356,700 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Sgr | −0.5 | 4:58am | 12:23pm | 7:49pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Sco | −4.5 | 3:07am | 10:10am | 5:12pm | Morning |
| Mars | Sgr | 1.1 | 6:18am | 1:35pm | 8:52pm | Hidden |
| Jupiter | Cnc | −2.4 | 9:16pm | 2:17am | 7:15am | All night |
| Saturn | Leo | 0.5 | 11:08pm | 4:48am | 10:23am | Morning |
| Uranus | Lib | 5.6 | 1:57am | 8:56am | 3:56pm | Morning |
| Neptune | Oph | 8.0 | 3:43am | 10:58am | 6:13pm | 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 37% Moon washes out fainter meteors for part of the night.
The solar system — January 1979
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 23 August 2026.