The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — October 1977
Highlights this month
- 5WedThe Moon passes Jupiter — 5° apart. (6:09am)
- 19WedMercury in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (8:58am)
- 21FriOrionids meteor shower peaks (up to 20/hr). A bright 69% Moon interferes badly this year.
- 24MonJupiter is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (8:10pm)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat 1 | 5:56am | 6:24pm | 12h 28m | 7:54pm | 4:27am |
| Mon 10 | 5:42am | 6:32pm | 12h 50m | 8:04pm | 4:11am |
| Thu 20 | 5:28am | 6:42pm | 13h 14m | 8:17pm | 3:54am |
| Sun 31 | 6:14am | 7:54pm | 13h 40m | 9:32pm | 4:36am |
Days lengthen by about 72 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- Last QuarterWed 5, 7:23pm
- New MoonThu 13, 6:33am
- First QuarterWed 19, 10:41pm
- Full MoonThu 27, 9:40am
Apogee 4 Oct (405,000 km) · Perigee 15 Oct (363,800 km) · Apogee 31 Oct (405,700 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Vir | −1.4 | 5:34am | 11:58am | 6:21pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Vir | −3.7 | 4:44am | 10:39am | 4:35pm | Hidden |
| Mars | Gem | 0.5 | 1:45am | 6:33am | 11:21am | Morning |
| Jupiter | Gem | −2.2 | 12:28am | 5:13am | 9:58am | Morning |
| Saturn | Leo | 0.5 | 3:28am | 8:47am | 2:06pm | Morning |
| Uranus | Lib | 5.7 | 6:30am | 1:20pm | 8:10pm | Hidden |
| Neptune | Oph | 8.0 | 8:24am | 3:37pm | 10:50pm | 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 bright 69% Moon interferes badly this year.
The solar system — October 1977
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 23 August 2026.