The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — January 2180
Highlights this month
- 4TueQuadrantids meteor shower peaks (up to 110/hr). A 44% Moon washes out fainter meteors for part of the night.
- 6ThuJupiter at opposition — closest and brightest of the year, up all night in Gemini (mag −2.6). (8:50am)
- 7FriMercury at greatest evening elongation (19° from the Sun, mag −0.6) — best evening apparition. (12:46am)
- 11TueThe Moon passes Saturn — 3° apart. (9:20pm)
- 12WedThe Moon passes Jupiter — 4° apart. (9:20pm)
- 13ThuMercury is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (6:15pm)
- 23SunMercury in inferior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (4:06am)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat 1 | 5:59am | 8:46pm | 14h 47m | 10:41pm | 4:04am |
| Mon 10 | 6:07am | 8:46pm | 14h 39m | 10:38pm | 4:14am |
| Thu 20 | 6:18am | 8:42pm | 14h 25m | 10:31pm | 4:29am |
| Mon 31 | 6:30am | 8:35pm | 14h 04m | 10:18pm | 4:47am |
Days shorten by about 42 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- First QuarterWed 5, 8:48am
- Full MoonThu 13, 8:18am
- Last QuarterThu 20, 7:52am
- New MoonThu 27, 8:10am
Apogee 6 Jan (404,800 km) · Perigee 20 Jan (369,900 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Cap | 0.8 | 7:31am | 2:28pm | 9:24pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Aqr | −4.2 | 9:59am | 4:30pm | 11:01pm | Evening |
| Mars | Oph | 1.5 | 3:57am | 11:21am | 6:45pm | Morning |
| Jupiter | Gem | −2.5 | 7:56pm | 12:46am | 5:31am | All night |
| Saturn | Gem | −0.5 | 6:59pm | 11:45pm | 4:36am | Evening |
| Uranus | Psc | 5.9 | 11:56am | 5:56pm | 11:55pm | Evening |
| Neptune | Aqr | 7.9 | 9:53am | 4:24pm | 10:55pm | 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 44% Moon washes out fainter meteors for part of the night.
The solar system — January 2180
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 10 October 2026.