The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — January 2011
Highlights this month
- 4TueQuadrantids meteor shower peaks (up to 110/hr). A thin 0% Moon leaves the sky dark.
- 9SunVenus at greatest morning elongation (47° from the Sun, mag −4.4) — best morning apparition. (1:38am)
- 10MonMercury at greatest morning elongation (23° from the Sun, mag −0.3) — best morning apparition. (1:12am)
- 27ThuSaturn is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (5:35pm)
- 30SunThe Moon passes Venus — 3° apart. (3:10pm)
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 39m | 10:39pm | 4:14am |
| Thu 20 | 6:18am | 8:43pm | 14h 25m | 10:31pm | 4:29am |
| Mon 31 | 6:31am | 8:35pm | 14h 04m | 10:18pm | 4:47am |
Days shorten by about 42 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- New MoonTue 4, 8:08pm
- First QuarterWed 12, 10:34pm
- Full MoonThu 20, 8:23am
- Last QuarterWed 26, 11:58pm
Apogee 10 Jan (405,100 km) · Perigee 22 Jan (363,100 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Sgr | −0.3 | 4:31am | 11:51am | 7:12pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Oph | −4.4 | 3:06am | 10:10am | 5:13pm | Morning |
| Mars | Sgr | 1.2 | 6:35am | 1:50pm | 9:04pm | Hidden |
| Jupiter | Psc | −2.0 | 11:32am | 5:39pm | 11:47pm | Evening |
| Saturn | Vir | 0.6 | 12:35am | 6:51am | 1:07pm | Morning |
| Uranus | Psc | 5.9 | 11:26am | 5:34pm | 11:41pm | Evening |
| Neptune | Cap | 7.9 | 8:57am | 3:41pm | 10:24pm | 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 0% Moon leaves the sky dark.
The solar system — January 2011
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 15 July 2026.