The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — October 1978
Highlights this month
- 1SunMercury in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (1:05am)
- 5ThuThe Moon passes Mars — 4° apart. (1:21am)
- 18WedVenus is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (12:01pm)
- 21SatOrionids meteor shower peaks (up to 20/hr). A bright 75% Moon interferes badly this year.
- 25WedThe Moon passes Jupiter — 4° apart. (1:36am)
- 27FriThe Moon passes Saturn — 3° apart. (8:41pm)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun 1 | 5:56am | 6:24pm | 12h 27m | 7:53pm | 4:27am |
| Tue 10 | 5:43am | 6:32pm | 12h 49m | 8:04pm | 4:11am |
| Fri 20 | 5:28am | 6:42pm | 13h 14m | 8:16pm | 3:54am |
| Mon 31 | 6:14am | 7:53pm | 13h 39m | 9:32pm | 4:36am |
Days lengthen by about 72 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- New MoonMon 2, 4:41pm
- First QuarterMon 9, 7:40pm
- Full MoonMon 16, 4:11pm
- Last QuarterTue 24, 10:33am
Perigee 11 Oct (369,000 km) · Apogee 24 Oct (404,700 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Vir | −0.7 | 6:01am | 12:44pm | 7:27pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Lib | −4.6 | 6:32am | 2:00pm | 9:28pm | Evening |
| Mars | Lib | 1.5 | 6:46am | 1:46pm | 8:46pm | Evening |
| Jupiter | Cnc | −1.8 | 2:23am | 7:23am | 12:22pm | Morning |
| Saturn | Leo | 0.8 | 4:03am | 9:35am | 3:07pm | Hidden |
| Uranus | Lib | 5.7 | 6:43am | 1:38pm | 8:32pm | Evening |
| Neptune | Oph | 8.0 | 8:33am | 3:47pm | 11:01pm | 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 75% Moon interferes badly this year.
The solar system — October 1978
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.