The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — January 2174
Highlights this month
- 3MonMercury is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (10:01pm)
- 4TueQuadrantids meteor shower peaks (up to 110/hr). A thin 1% Moon leaves the sky dark.
- 9SunThe Moon passes Saturn — 4° apart. (9:21pm)
- 13ThuMercury in inferior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (8:18am)
- 24MonMercury is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (9:41am)
- 31MonThe Moon passes Jupiter — 5° apart. (5:44am)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat 1 | 6:00am | 8:46pm | 14h 46m | 10:41pm | 4:04am |
| Mon 10 | 6:08am | 8:46pm | 14h 38m | 10:38pm | 4:15am |
| Thu 20 | 6:18am | 8:42pm | 14h 24m | 10:30pm | 4:30am |
| Mon 31 | 6:31am | 8:34pm | 14h 04m | 10:17pm | 4:47am |
Days shorten by about 43 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- New MoonTue 4, 2:52am
- First QuarterMon 10, 6:21pm
- Full MoonTue 18, 11:27am
- Last QuarterWed 26, 4:44pm
Perigee 5 Jan (360,400 km) · Apogee 21 Jan (406,100 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Sgr | 4.6 | 6:03am | 1:05pm | 8:07pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Oph | −4.6 | 3:15am | 10:16am | 5:17pm | Morning |
| Mars | Lib | 1.2 | 1:26am | 8:11am | 2:56pm | Morning |
| Jupiter | Sgr | −1.6 | 4:48am | 12:09pm | 7:30pm | Hidden |
| Saturn | Psc | 0.8 | 12:16pm | 6:15pm | 12:17am | Evening |
| Uranus | Aqr | 6.0 | 10:01am | 4:30pm | 10:58pm | Evening |
| Neptune | Cap | 7.9 | 8:47am | 3:32pm | 10:17pm | 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 1% Moon leaves the sky dark.
The solar system — January 2174
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 8 October 2026.