The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — January 1989
Highlights this month
- 4WedQuadrantids meteor shower peaks (up to 110/hr). A thin 15% Moon leaves the sky dark.
- 9MonMercury at greatest evening elongation (19° from the Sun, mag −0.6) — best evening apparition. (1:40pm)
- 15SunThe Moon passes Mars — 3° apart. (5:57am)
- 16MonMercury is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (1:40am)
- 21SatJupiter is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (12:16am)
- 25WedMercury in inferior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (11:05am)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat 1 | 6:00am | 8:46pm | 14h 47m | 10:42pm | 4:04am |
| Mon 10 | 6:08am | 8:46pm | 14h 38m | 10:39pm | 4:15am |
| Thu 20 | 6:18am | 8:43pm | 14h 24m | 10:31pm | 4:30am |
| Mon 31 | 6:31am | 8:35pm | 14h 04m | 10:18pm | 4:48am |
Days shorten by about 43 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- New MoonSun 8, 6:27am
- First QuarterSun 15, 12:56am
- Full MoonSun 22, 8:35am
- Last QuarterMon 30, 1:06pm
Perigee 11 Jan (366,200 km) · Apogee 27 Jan (405,400 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Cap | 0.1 | 7:41am | 2:38pm | 9:34pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Sgr | −3.7 | 4:43am | 12:05pm | 7:28pm | Hidden |
| Mars | Psc | 0.3 | 1:57pm | 7:23pm | 12:51am | Evening |
| Jupiter | Tau | −2.4 | 4:15pm | 9:16pm | 2:22am | Evening |
| Saturn | Sgr | 0.4 | 4:55am | 12:13pm | 7:32pm | Hidden |
| Uranus | Sgr | 5.8 | 4:30am | 11:53am | 7:16pm | Hidden |
| Neptune | Sgr | 8.0 | 5:10am | 12:27pm | 7:44pm | 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 thin 15% Moon leaves the sky dark.
The solar system — January 1989
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.