The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — January 2172
Highlights this month
- 4SatQuadrantids meteor shower peaks (up to 110/hr). A bright 62% Moon interferes badly this year.
- 19SunThe Moon passes Mars — 5° apart. (1:15am)
- 20MonThe Moon passes Jupiter — 3° apart. (5:44am)
- 20MonVenus and Saturn in conjunction — 1° apart. (9:15pm)
- 31FriMercury at greatest evening elongation (18° from the Sun, mag −0.6) — best evening apparition. (12:49am)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wed 1 | 5:59am | 8:46pm | 14h 47m | 10:41pm | 4:04am |
| Fri 10 | 6:07am | 8:46pm | 14h 39m | 10:38pm | 4:14am |
| Mon 20 | 6:18am | 8:42pm | 14h 25m | 10:31pm | 4:29am |
| Fri 31 | 6:30am | 8:35pm | 14h 05m | 10:18pm | 4:47am |
Days shorten by about 42 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- First QuarterFri 3, 11:54am
- Full MoonSat 11, 5:13pm
- Last QuarterSun 19, 4:00am
- New MoonSat 25, 8:47pm
Apogee 7 Jan (405,700 km) · Perigee 23 Jan (364,200 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Cap | −1.0 | 7:04am | 2:18pm | 9:31pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Aqr | −4.2 | 9:58am | 4:29pm | 11:00pm | Evening |
| Mars | Vir | 0.7 | 12:43am | 7:04am | 1:25pm | Morning |
| Jupiter | Lib | −1.6 | 1:45am | 8:37am | 3:29pm | Morning |
| Saturn | Aqr | 1.0 | 10:24am | 4:50pm | 11:17pm | Evening |
| Uranus | Aqr | 6.0 | 9:25am | 4:03pm | 10:41pm | Hidden |
| Neptune | Cap | 7.9 | 8:28am | 3:18pm | 10:07pm | 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 62% Moon interferes badly this year.
The solar system — January 2172
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 7 October 2026.