The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — October 1981
Highlights this month
- 6TueSaturn in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (2:12pm)
- 6TueMercury is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (8:54pm)
- 14WedJupiter in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (2:55pm)
- 18SunMercury in inferior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (8:28pm)
- 21WedOrionids meteor shower peaks (up to 20/hr). A 38% Moon washes out fainter meteors for part of the night.
- 23FriThe Moon passes Mars — 1° apart. (3:43am)
- 27TueMercury is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (8:22am)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thu 1 | 5:56am | 6:24pm | 12h 28m | 7:54pm | 4:27am |
| Sat 10 | 5:42am | 6:32pm | 12h 50m | 8:04pm | 4:11am |
| Tue 20 | 5:28am | 6:42pm | 13h 14m | 8:17pm | 3:54am |
| Fri 31 | 6:14am | 7:54pm | 13h 40m | 9:32pm | 4:36am |
Days lengthen by about 72 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- First QuarterTue 6, 5:45pm
- Full MoonTue 13, 10:58pm
- Last QuarterTue 20, 1:39pm
- New MoonWed 28, 7:13am
Apogee 3 Oct (405,500 km) · Perigee 15 Oct (360,300 km) · Apogee 31 Oct (406,100 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Vir | 4.0 | 5:45am | 12:30pm | 7:13pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Sco | −4.1 | 7:38am | 3:04pm | 10:30pm | Evening |
| Mars | Leo | 1.5 | 3:26am | 8:43am | 2:00pm | Morning |
| Jupiter | Vir | −1.5 | 5:40am | 12:05pm | 6:30pm | Hidden |
| Saturn | Vir | 0.7 | 5:28am | 11:40am | 5:53pm | Hidden |
| Uranus | Lib | 5.7 | 7:22am | 2:29pm | 9:36pm | Evening |
| Neptune | Oph | 7.9 | 8:57am | 4:13pm | 11:29pm | 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 38% Moon washes out fainter meteors for part of the night.
The solar system — October 1981
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.