The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — January 2012
Highlights this month
- 3TueThe Moon passes Jupiter — 5° apart. (10:52am)
- 4WedQuadrantids meteor shower peaks (up to 110/hr). A bright 77% Moon interferes badly this year.
- 25WedMars is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (12:16pm)
- 30MonThe Moon passes Jupiter — 4° apart. (11:06pm)
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 QuarterSun 1, 5:16pm
- Full MoonMon 9, 6:33pm
- Last QuarterMon 16, 8:14pm
- New MoonMon 23, 6:40pm
- First QuarterTue 31, 3:09pm
Apogee 3 Jan (404,900 km) · Perigee 18 Jan (369,500 km) · Apogee 31 Jan (404,700 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Sgr | −0.5 | 5:02am | 12:28pm | 7:54pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Aqr | −3.9 | 9:15am | 3:59pm | 10:42pm | Hidden |
| Mars | Leo | −0.1 | 11:37pm | 5:23am | 11:06am | Morning |
| Jupiter | Ari | −2.2 | 2:13pm | 7:40pm | 1:12am | Evening |
| Saturn | Vir | 0.5 | 1:06am | 7:36am | 2:06pm | Morning |
| Uranus | Psc | 5.9 | 11:46am | 5:49pm | 11:51pm | Evening |
| Neptune | Aqr | 7.9 | 9:09am | 3:50pm | 10:31pm | 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 77% Moon interferes badly this year.
The solar system — January 2012
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.