The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — January 1998
Highlights this month
- 2FriThe Moon passes Jupiter — 3° apart. (8:29am)
- 4SunQuadrantids meteor shower peaks (up to 110/hr). A 35% Moon washes out fainter meteors for part of the night.
- 5MonThe Moon passes Saturn — 0.2° apart. (11:17pm)
- 7WedMercury at greatest morning elongation (23° from the Sun, mag −0.3) — best morning apparition. (1:04am)
- 16FriVenus in inferior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (10:28pm)
- 20TueNeptune in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (9:15am)
- 29ThuUranus in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (6:59am)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wed 1 | 6:00am | 8:46pm | 14h 47m | 10:42pm | 4:04am |
| Fri 10 | 6:08am | 8:46pm | 14h 39m | 10:39pm | 4:15am |
| Mon 20 | 6:18am | 8:43pm | 14h 24m | 10:31pm | 4:29am |
| Fri 31 | 6:31am | 8:35pm | 14h 04m | 10:18pm | 4:47am |
Days shorten by about 43 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- First QuarterTue 6, 1:18am
- Full MoonTue 13, 4:24am
- Last QuarterWed 21, 6:44am
- New MoonWed 28, 5:05pm
Perigee 4 Jan (368,900 km) · Apogee 19 Jan (405,000 km) · Perigee 31 Jan (363,800 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Sgr | −0.3 | 4:34am | 11:56am | 7:18pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Sgr | −3.6 | 6:43am | 1:34pm | 8:25pm | Hidden |
| Mars | Cap | 1.2 | 8:28am | 3:21pm | 10:13pm | Hidden |
| Jupiter | Cap | −1.8 | 8:46am | 3:34pm | 10:21pm | Hidden |
| Saturn | Psc | 0.6 | 12:47pm | 6:38pm | 12:33am | Evening |
| Uranus | Cap | 5.9 | 7:20am | 2:24pm | 9:29pm | Hidden |
| Neptune | Sgr | 8.0 | 6:40am | 1:49pm | 8:57pm | 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 35% Moon washes out fainter meteors for part of the night.
The solar system — January 1998
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 16 August 2026.