The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — January 1988
Highlights this month
- 4MonQuadrantids meteor shower peaks (up to 110/hr). A bright 100% Moon interferes badly this year.
- 25MonThe Moon passes Jupiter — 4° apart. (9:40am)
- 27WedMercury at greatest evening elongation (19° from the Sun, mag −0.6) — best evening apparition. (4:03am)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thu 1 | 5:59am | 8:46pm | 14h 47m | 10:42pm | 4:03am |
| Sat 10 | 6:07am | 8:46pm | 14h 39m | 10:39pm | 4:14am |
| Tue 20 | 6:18am | 8:43pm | 14h 25m | 10:32pm | 4:29am |
| Sat 31 | 6:30am | 8:36pm | 14h 05m | 10:19pm | 4:46am |
Days shorten by about 42 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- Full MoonMon 4, 12:41pm
- Last QuarterTue 12, 6:08pm
- New MoonTue 19, 4:31pm
- First QuarterTue 26, 8:52am
Apogee 7 Jan (406,000 km) · Perigee 20 Jan (357,500 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Cap | −1.0 | 7:17am | 2:28pm | 9:39pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Aqr | −3.8 | 9:07am | 3:53pm | 10:38pm | Hidden |
| Mars | Sco | 1.5 | 2:43am | 9:54am | 5:07pm | Morning |
| Jupiter | Psc | −2.2 | 1:25pm | 7:05pm | 12:47am | Evening |
| Saturn | Sgr | 0.4 | 4:14am | 11:32am | 6:50pm | Hidden |
| Uranus | Sgr | 5.8 | 4:16am | 11:38am | 7:01pm | Hidden |
| Neptune | Sgr | 8.0 | 5:03am | 12:21pm | 7:38pm | Hidden |
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 100% Moon interferes badly this year.
The solar system — January 1988
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 20 August 2026.