The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — October 1987
Highlights this month
- 4SunMercury at greatest evening elongation (26° from the Sun, mag 0.0) — best evening apparition. (8:08pm)
- 8ThuThe Moon passes Jupiter — 4° apart. (11:36am)
- 17SatMercury is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (6:30am)
- 19MonJupiter at opposition — closest and brightest of the year, up all night in Pisces (mag −2.8). (1:20am)
- 21WedOrionids meteor shower peaks (up to 20/hr). A thin 2% Moon leaves the sky dark.
- 28WedMercury in inferior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (6:46pm)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thu 1 | 5:57am | 6:24pm | 12h 27m | 7:53pm | 4:27am |
| Sat 10 | 5:43am | 6:32pm | 12h 49m | 8:03pm | 4:12am |
| Mon 20 | 6:29am | 7:42pm | 13h 13m | 9:16pm | 4:55am |
| Fri 31 | 6:14am | 7:53pm | 13h 39m | 9:32pm | 4:36am |
Days lengthen by about 72 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- Full MoonWed 7, 2:15pm
- Last QuarterThu 15, 4:07am
- New MoonFri 23, 4:30am
- First QuarterFri 30, 4:12am
Perigee 4 Oct (366,400 km) · Apogee 16 Oct (404,800 km) · Perigee 30 Oct (369,900 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Lib | 0.4 | 6:21am | 1:26pm | 8:31pm | Evening |
| Venus | Vir | −3.7 | 6:16am | 1:00pm | 7:45pm | Hidden |
| Mars | Vir | 1.8 | 4:59am | 11:04am | 5:09pm | Hidden |
| Jupiter | Psc | −2.8 | 6:45pm | 12:25am | 6:01am | All night |
| Saturn | Oph | 0.4 | 8:36am | 3:51pm | 11:06pm | Evening |
| Uranus | Oph | 5.7 | 8:56am | 4:19pm | 11:41pm | Evening |
| Neptune | Sgr | 7.9 | 9:52am | 5:10pm | 12:32am | 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 2% Moon leaves the sky dark.
The solar system — October 1987
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 20 August 2026.