The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — January 2181
Highlights this month
- 1MonThe Moon passes Saturn — 3° apart. (11:54pm)
- 4ThuQuadrantids meteor shower peaks (up to 110/hr). A bright 90% Moon interferes badly this year.
- 6SatMercury in inferior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (7:31am)
- 7SunSaturn at opposition — closest and brightest of the year, up all night in Gemini (mag −0.6). (6:42am)
- 17WedMercury is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (3:10am)
- 19FriMars is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (10:24am)
- 28SunMercury at greatest morning elongation (25° from the Sun, mag −0.1) — best morning apparition. (2:47pm)
- 29MonThe Moon passes Saturn — 4° apart. (3:27am)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 1 | 6:00am | 8:46pm | 14h 46m | 10:41pm | 4:04am |
| Wed 10 | 6:08am | 8:46pm | 14h 38m | 10:38pm | 4:15am |
| Sat 20 | 6:19am | 8:42pm | 14h 23m | 10:30pm | 4:30am |
| Wed 31 | 6:31am | 8:34pm | 14h 03m | 10:17pm | 4:48am |
Days shorten by about 43 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- Full MoonMon 1, 12:11pm
- Last QuarterTue 9, 3:32am
- New MoonMon 15, 7:15pm
- First QuarterTue 23, 1:59am
- Full MoonWed 31, 5:52am
Perigee 13 Jan (361,300 km) · Apogee 25 Jan (405,300 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Sgr | 0.7 | 5:03am | 12:11pm | 7:20pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Sgr | −3.8 | 5:48am | 1:08pm | 8:28pm | Hidden |
| Mars | Tau | −0.9 | 5:56pm | 10:30pm | 3:08am | Evening |
| Jupiter | Leo | −2.3 | 9:58pm | 3:13am | 8:25am | Morning |
| Saturn | Gem | −0.5 | 8:00pm | 12:52am | 5:40am | All night |
| Uranus | Psc | 5.9 | 12:12pm | 6:07pm | 12:06am | Evening |
| Neptune | Aqr | 7.9 | 10:01am | 4:29pm | 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 bright 90% Moon interferes badly this year.
The solar system — January 2181
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 11 October 2026.