First Quarter
- Rise
- 1:36 PM
- Set
- 12:22 AM
Moon Phases January 2031 in Sydney, New South Wales
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Daily moon phases, illumination, moonrise and moonset for Sydney, in local time (Australia/Sydney). Next full moon: Wolf Moon on Thursday, January 9.
Sydney · Wednesday, January 1, 2031 Today
First Quarter
- Illumination
- 54.9%
- Moon age
- 7.3 days
- Distance
- 392,666 km
- Moonrise
- 1:36 PM
- Moonset
- 12:22 AM
- Highest
- 7:18 PM
First Quarter at 12:36 AM. Next: Full Moon on Thu, Jan 9 at 5:25 AM. Wolf Moon in 8 days.
At first quarter the Moon has completed a quarter of its orbit, and exactly half of the visible disc is lit: the right half in the northern hemisphere, the left in the southern.
Click any day in the calendar or pick a date above to see its details here.
January 2031 calendar
Waxing Gibbous
65%
- Rise
- 2:34 PM
- Set
- 12:55 AM
Waxing Gibbous
74%
- Rise
- 3:30 PM
- Set
- 1:30 AM
Waxing Gibbous
81%
- Rise
- 4:25 PM
- Set
- 2:07 AM
Waxing Gibbous
88%
- Rise
- 5:18 PM
- Set
- 2:48 AM
Waxing Gibbous
94%
- Rise
- 6:08 PM
- Set
- 3:33 AM
Waxing Gibbous
97%
- Rise
- 6:54 PM
- Set
- 4:22 AM
Waxing Gibbous
99%
- Rise
- 7:37 PM
- Set
- 5:14 AM
Wolf Moon
- Rise
- 8:16 PM
- Set
- 6:08 AM
Waning Gibbous
98%
- Rise
- 8:52 PM
- Set
- 7:03 AM
Waning Gibbous
95%
- Rise
- 9:25 PM
- Set
- 7:59 AM
Waning Gibbous
90%
- Rise
- 9:56 PM
- Set
- 8:56 AM
Waning Gibbous
83%
- Rise
- 10:28 PM
- Set
- 9:53 AM
Waning Gibbous
75%
- Rise
- 10:59 PM
- Set
- 10:51 AM
Waning Gibbous
66%
- Rise
- 11:32 PM
- Set
- 11:50 AM
Last Quarter
- Rise
- —
- Set
- 12:52 PM
Waning Crescent
45%
- Rise
- 12:09 AM
- Set
- 1:55 PM
Waning Crescent
34%
- Rise
- 12:50 AM
- Set
- 3:01 PM
Waning Crescent
23%
- Rise
- 1:38 AM
- Set
- 4:07 PM
Waning Crescent
14%
- Rise
- 2:33 AM
- Set
- 5:11 PM
Waning Crescent
7%
- Rise
- 3:35 AM
- Set
- 6:11 PM
Waning Crescent
2%
- Rise
- 4:43 AM
- Set
- 7:04 PM
New Moon
- Rise
- 5:54 AM
- Set
- 7:52 PM
Waxing Crescent
1%
- Rise
- 7:04 AM
- Set
- 8:33 PM
Waxing Crescent
5%
- Rise
- 8:13 AM
- Set
- 9:11 PM
Waxing Crescent
11%
- Rise
- 9:19 AM
- Set
- 9:46 PM
Waxing Crescent
19%
- Rise
- 10:23 AM
- Set
- 10:20 PM
Waxing Crescent
28%
- Rise
- 11:24 AM
- Set
- 10:54 PM
Waxing Crescent
38%
- Rise
- 12:23 PM
- Set
- 11:29 PM
First Quarter
- Rise
- 1:21 PM
- Set
- —
Waxing Gibbous
57%
- Rise
- 2:17 PM
- Set
- 12:06 AM
Times are local to Sydney (Australia/Sydney). A dash means the moon does not rise or set on that date.
Moon phases in January 2031
| Phase | Local date and time | UTC |
|---|---|---|
| First Quarter | Wed, Jan 1 at 12:36 AM | Dec 31, 13:36 |
| Full Moon · Wolf Moon | Thu, Jan 9 at 5:25 AM | Jan 8, 18:25 |
| Last Quarter | Thu, Jan 16 at 11:47 PM | Jan 16, 12:47 |
| New Moon | Thu, Jan 23 at 3:31 PM | Jan 23, 04:31 |
| First Quarter | Thu, Jan 30 at 6:43 PM | Jan 30, 07:43 |
About the First Quarter
At first quarter the Moon has completed a quarter of its orbit, and exactly half of the visible disc is lit: the right half in the northern hemisphere, the left in the southern. It rises around midday, is highest at sunset and sets around midnight, which makes it the most convenient phase for evening observing.
Along the terminator, the line between light and dark, the low Sun casts long shadows that make craters and mountains stand out sharply in binoculars.
Lore and folklore
Half moons stood for balance and decision in many traditions: half light, half dark. Farmers' almanacs treated the first quarter as a strong growing time, good for planting crops that bear seed inside the fruit, such as beans, peppers and tomatoes.
Weather lore held that a sharp, clear half moon foretold fine weather, while a blurred one meant rain.
Trivia
- The name is about the orbit, not the appearance: a quarter of the way around, half of the face lit.
- The straight-looking terminator is a great circle seen edge-on.
- At first quarter the Moon is about 90 degrees east of the Sun, which is why it is high overhead as the Sun goes down.
- The Apollo landing sites are easiest to study near the terminator, when shadows reveal the terrain.
Select any day in the calendar to read about its phase.
This month's full moon: the Wolf Moon
The first full moon of the year, named for the wolves heard howling through the long, cold January nights.
The name is usually traced to Native American and early colonial almanacs, which tied each full moon to what was happening in nature. Midwinter hunger and mating season made wolves unusually vocal in January. Other names for the same moon include the Old Moon, Ice Moon and, in some Anglo-Saxon traditions, the Moon after Yule.
Lore
In parts of Europe the January moon was the Moon after Yule, and in Celtic tradition the Quiet Moon, a time for staying close to the hearth. The howling wolves of the name were once a real winter hazard in North America and Europe, and the name kept that memory alive long after the wolves were gone.
Trivia
- The Wolf Moon is the highest-riding full moon of the year in the northern hemisphere, opposite the low January Sun.
- In 2018 the Wolf Moon was a supermoon and the first of two full moons that month, making January 31 a Blue Moon.
- Names differ by tradition: the Cree called the January moon the Cold Moon.
Gardening by the Moon in January 2031
- Jan 1 to Jan 8 · Fruiting crops: Sow above-ground crops whose seeds form inside the fruit: beans, peas, tomatoes, peppers, squash, cucumbers, melons. Graft, repot and sow lawns.
- Jan 9 to Jan 16 · Root crops: Plant root crops and anything that overwinters: carrots, beets, potatoes, onions, garlic, bulbs, perennials, trees and shrubs. Prune to slow growth.
- Jan 17 to Jan 22 · Rest and tend: Rest days for the soil: weed, cultivate, turn compost, harvest crops for storage, prune to discourage regrowth, prepare beds. Avoid sowing.
- Jan 23 to Jan 29 · Leafy crops: Sow leafy crops and above-ground annuals whose seeds form outside the fruit: lettuce, spinach, cabbage, broccoli, celery, herbs. Transplant seedlings. Mow to encourage growth.
- Jan 30 to Jan 31 · Fruiting crops: Sow above-ground crops whose seeds form inside the fruit: beans, peas, tomatoes, peppers, squash, cucumbers, melons. Graft, repot and sow lawns.
Full planting calendar for January › · How gardening by the moon works
How to read this moon calendar
Each day shows the Moon as it looks from Sydney at midday local time, with the illuminated percentage, moonrise and moonset. Days with a principal phase show the exact local time the phase occurs. Because the Moon moves about 50 minutes later each day, roughly once a month there is a date with no moonrise or no moonset at all.
From the southern hemisphere the Moon appears flipped: a waxing moon is lit on the left. The icons on this page follow that view.
The eight phases of the Moon
New Moon
The Moon sits between Earth and the Sun. Its lit side faces away from us, so it is invisible in the night sky. A new lunar month begins.
Waxing Crescent
A thin sliver grows each evening after sunset. Look low in the west shortly after dusk.
First Quarter
Half the disc is lit. The Moon rises around midday and sets around midnight, so it is high in the sky at sunset.
Waxing Gibbous
More than half lit and growing. It rises in the afternoon and shines most of the night.
Full Moon
The whole face is lit. It rises at sunset and sets at sunrise. Each full moon carries a traditional name.
Waning Gibbous
The lit portion shrinks. It rises after sunset and is still up in the morning sky.
Last Quarter
Half lit again, on the opposite side. It rises around midnight and is best seen in the early morning.
Waning Crescent
A thinning sliver before dawn in the east, fading toward the next new moon.