The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — October 1990
Highlights this month
- 9TueThe Moon passes Mars — 5° apart. (4:31am)
- 13SatThe Moon passes Jupiter — 0.9° apart. (4:59am)
- 20SatMars is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (10:29pm)
- 21SunOrionids meteor shower peaks (up to 20/hr). A thin 7% Moon leaves the sky dark.
- 22MonMercury in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (2:03pm)
- 26FriThe Moon passes Saturn — 1° apart. (3:47am)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 1 | 5:56am | 6:24pm | 12h 28m | 7:53pm | 4:27am |
| Wed 10 | 5:43am | 6:32pm | 12h 50m | 8:04pm | 4:11am |
| Sat 20 | 5:28am | 6:42pm | 13h 14m | 8:16pm | 3:54am |
| Tue 31 | 6:14am | 7:54pm | 13h 39m | 9:32pm | 4:36am |
Days lengthen by about 72 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- Full MoonThu 4, 10:09pm
- Last QuarterThu 11, 1:31pm
- New MoonFri 19, 1:36am
- First QuarterSat 27, 6:27am
Perigee 7 Oct (363,100 km) · Apogee 23 Oct (405,800 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Vir | −1.3 | 5:30am | 11:49am | 6:09pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Vir | −3.8 | 5:31am | 11:51am | 6:12pm | Hidden |
| Mars | Tau | −1.2 | 10:48pm | 3:40am | 8:29am | Morning |
| Jupiter | Cnc | −1.8 | 2:36am | 7:39am | 12:42pm | Morning |
| Saturn | Sgr | 0.4 | 10:51am | 6:08pm | 1:29am | Evening |
| Uranus | Sgr | 5.8 | 9:49am | 5:12pm | 12:38am | Evening |
| Neptune | Sgr | 7.9 | 10:20am | 5:37pm | 12:58am | 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 7% Moon leaves the sky dark.
The solar system — October 1990
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.
Looking for an earlier month? Browse all past monthly guides →
Generated automatically from the MPAS sky engine on 19 August 2026.