The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — October 1971
Highlights this month
- 1FriThe Moon passes Mars — 4° apart. (3:32am)
- 8FriUranus in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (7:14am)
- 9SatMercury in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (12:34am)
- 21ThuOrionids meteor shower peaks (up to 20/hr). A thin 4% Moon leaves the sky dark.
- 23SatThe Moon passes Jupiter — 5° apart. (5:38am)
- 29FriThe Moon passes Mars — 4° apart. (6:56am)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fri 1 | 5:57am | 6:23pm | 12h 27m | 7:53pm | 4:28am |
| Sun 10 | 5:43am | 6:32pm | 12h 49m | 8:03pm | 4:12am |
| Wed 20 | 5:29am | 6:42pm | 13h 13m | 8:16pm | 3:55am |
| Sun 31 | 6:15am | 7:53pm | 13h 39m | 9:31pm | 4:37am |
Days lengthen by about 72 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- Full Moon SupermoonMon 4, 10:22pm
- Last QuarterMon 11, 3:28pm
- New MoonTue 19, 6:03pm
- First QuarterWed 27, 3:57pm
Perigee 5 Oct (356,700 km) · Apogee 18 Oct (406,200 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Vir | −1.1 | 5:51am | 12:24pm | 6:58pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Vir | −3.7 | 6:13am | 12:56pm | 7:39pm | Hidden |
| Mars | Cap | −1.3 | 1:17pm | 8:19pm | 3:24am | Evening |
| Jupiter | Sco | −1.6 | 7:51am | 3:02pm | 10:14pm | Evening |
| Saturn | Tau | −0.3 | 10:04pm | 3:07am | 8:06am | Morning |
| Uranus | Vir | 5.6 | 5:24am | 11:42am | 6:00pm | Hidden |
| Neptune | Sco | 8.0 | 7:41am | 2:46pm | 9:50pm | 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 thin 4% Moon leaves the sky dark.
The solar system — October 1971
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.
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Generated automatically from the MPAS sky engine on 24 August 2026.