The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — January 2017
Highlights this month
- 2MonThe Moon passes Venus — 2° apart. (7:18pm)
- 3TueThe Moon passes Mars — 0.3° apart. (5:37pm)
- 4WedQuadrantids meteor shower peaks (up to 110/hr). A 33% Moon washes out fainter meteors for part of the night.
- 8SunMercury is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (8:44pm)
- 13FriVenus at greatest evening elongation (47° from the Sun, mag −4.4) — best evening apparition. (12:09am)
- 19ThuThe Moon passes Jupiter — 3° apart. (6:12pm)
- 19ThuMercury at greatest morning elongation (24° from the Sun, mag −0.2) — best morning apparition. (8:40pm)
- 24TueThe Moon passes Saturn — 4° apart. (9:50pm)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun 1 | 6:00am | 8:46pm | 14h 46m | 10:42pm | 4:04am |
| Tue 10 | 6:08am | 8:46pm | 14h 38m | 10:39pm | 4:15am |
| Fri 20 | 6:19am | 8:42pm | 14h 24m | 10:31pm | 4:30am |
| Tue 31 | 6:31am | 8:35pm | 14h 03m | 10:18pm | 4:48am |
Days shorten by about 43 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- First QuarterFri 6, 6:51am
- Full MoonThu 12, 10:35pm
- Last QuarterFri 20, 9:17am
- New MoonSat 28, 11:07am
Perigee 10 Jan (363,400 km) · Apogee 22 Jan (405,100 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Sgr | −0.1 | 4:33am | 11:48am | 7:03pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Aqr | −4.5 | 10:10am | 4:36pm | 11:01pm | Evening |
| Mars | Aqr | 1.0 | 10:49am | 5:05pm | 11:22pm | Evening |
| Jupiter | Vir | −1.8 | 12:41am | 7:07am | 1:32pm | Morning |
| Saturn | Oph | 0.4 | 3:54am | 11:11am | 6:27pm | Morning |
| Uranus | Psc | 5.9 | 1:19pm | 6:57pm | 12:39am | Evening |
| Neptune | Aqr | 7.9 | 9:59am | 4:28pm | 10:57pm | Evening |
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 33% Moon washes out fainter meteors for part of the night.
The solar system — January 2017
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 15 July 2026.