The Sky for the Month

The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — January 2087

Computed for The Briars, Mt Martha. Times are local (Melbourne).

Highlights this month

  • 4SatJupiter is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (3:51am)
  • 4SatQuadrantids meteor shower peaks (up to 110/hr). A thin 1% Moon leaves the sky dark.
  • 21TueMercury at greatest evening elongation (19° from the Sun, mag −0.6) — best evening apparition. (6:05am)
  • 27MonMercury is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (9:02am)

Sun & twilight

DateSunriseSunsetDay lengthAstro. dark beginsends
Wed 16:00am8:46pm14h 46m10:42pm4:04am
Fri 106:08am8:46pm14h 38m10:38pm4:15am
Mon 206:19am8:42pm14h 24m10:30pm4:30am
Fri 316:31am8:34pm14h 03m10:17pm4:48am

Days shorten by about 43 minutes over the month.

The Moon

  • New MoonSun 5, 9:15am
  • First QuarterSun 12, 9:36am
  • Full MoonSun 19, 9:11am
  • Last QuarterMon 27, 7:00am

Perigee 12 Jan (369,900 km) · Apogee 26 Jan (404,800 km)

The planets

Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.

PlanetInMagRiseTransitSetBest
MercuryCap−0.87:37am2:42pm9:46pmHidden
VenusCap−3.78:17am3:13pm10:10pmHidden
MarsTau−1.17:08pm11:36pm4:08amEvening
JupiterLeo−2.111:14pm5:02am10:46amMorning
SaturnPsc0.41:31pm7:11pm12:55amEvening
UranusAqr6.08:59am3:42pm10:25pmHidden
NeptuneCnc7.89:49pm3:04am8:16amMorning

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 1% Moon leaves the sky dark.

The solar system — January 2087

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 28 August 2026.