The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — October 1973
Highlights this month
- 6SatThe Moon passes Jupiter — 3° apart. (3:06pm)
- 17WedUranus in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (8:46am)
- 17WedSaturn is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (1:54pm)
- 17WedThe Moon passes Saturn — 0.8° apart. (9:33pm)
- 19FriMercury at greatest evening elongation (25° from the Sun, mag −0.1) — best evening apparition. (8:17am)
- 21SunOrionids meteor shower peaks (up to 20/hr). A 25% Moon washes out fainter meteors for part of the night.
- 25ThuMars at opposition — closest and brightest of the year, up all night in Aries (mag −2.5). (1:21pm)
- 30TueThe Moon passes Venus — 3° apart. (4:39pm)
- 31WedMercury is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (2:14am)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 1 | 5:56am | 6:24pm | 12h 28m | 7:54pm | 4:27am |
| Wed 10 | 5:42am | 6:32pm | 12h 50m | 8:04pm | 4:11am |
| Sat 20 | 5:28am | 6:42pm | 13h 14m | 8:17pm | 3:54am |
| Tue 31 | 6:14am | 7:54pm | 13h 40m | 9:32pm | 4:36am |
Days lengthen by about 72 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- First QuarterThu 4, 8:36pm
- Full MoonFri 12, 1:17pm
- Last QuarterFri 19, 8:31am
- New MoonFri 26, 1:15pm
Apogee 4 Oct (404,800 km) · Perigee 16 Oct (367,500 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Lib | −0.1 | 6:30am | 1:36pm | 8:43pm | Evening |
| Venus | Sco | −4.1 | 7:37am | 3:03pm | 10:28pm | Evening |
| Mars | Ari | −2.4 | 7:30pm | 1:02am | 6:29am | Morning |
| Jupiter | Cap | −2.2 | 11:56am | 7:06pm | 2:19am | Evening |
| Saturn | Gem | −0.2 | 12:20am | 5:08am | 9:55am | Morning |
| Uranus | Vir | 5.6 | 5:44am | 12:13pm | 6:42pm | Hidden |
| Neptune | Sco | 8.0 | 7:54am | 3:01pm | 10:09pm | 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 25% Moon washes out fainter meteors for part of the night.
The solar system — October 1973
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.