The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — October 1970
Highlights this month
- 3SatUranus in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (5:20am)
- 4SunThe Moon passes Venus — 0.7° apart. (12:42pm)
- 21WedVenus is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (1:41am)
- 21WedOrionids meteor shower peaks (up to 20/hr). A 58% Moon washes out fainter meteors for part of the night.
- 27TueMercury in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (7:25pm)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thu 1 | 5:56am | 6:24pm | 12h 27m | 7:53pm | 4:27am |
| Sat 10 | 5:43am | 6:32pm | 12h 49m | 8:03pm | 4:12am |
| Tue 20 | 5:28am | 6:42pm | 13h 13m | 8:16pm | 3:54am |
| Sat 31 | 5:14am | 6:53pm | 13h 39m | 8:32pm | 3:36am |
Days lengthen by about 72 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- New MoonThu 1, 12:35am
- First QuarterThu 8, 2:47pm
- Full MoonThu 15, 6:20am
- Last QuarterThu 22, 12:48pm
- New MoonFri 30, 4:32pm
Perigee 13 Oct (361,900 km) · Apogee 25 Oct (405,300 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Vir | −1.2 | 5:22am | 11:36am | 5:51pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Lib | −4.6 | 6:39am | 2:09pm | 9:39pm | Evening |
| Mars | Vir | 1.8 | 4:42am | 10:37am | 4:32pm | Hidden |
| Jupiter | Lib | −1.5 | 6:34am | 1:22pm | 8:11pm | Hidden |
| Saturn | Ari | −0.3 | 8:51pm | 2:07am | 7:18am | Morning |
| Uranus | Vir | 5.6 | 5:12am | 11:25am | 5:37pm | Hidden |
| Neptune | Lib | 8.0 | 7:33am | 2:36pm | 9:39pm | Evening |
Meteor showers
- Orionids — peaks 21 October, radiant in Orion (up to 20/hr). Also from Halley's Comet; Orion rides high after midnight from the south, giving a fair show. A 58% Moon washes out fainter meteors for part of the night.
The solar system — October 1970
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 24 August 2026.