The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — October 2006
Highlights this month
- 17TueThe Moon passes Saturn — 2° apart. (2:04am)
- 17TueMercury at greatest evening elongation (25° from the Sun, mag −0.1) — best evening apparition. (2:03pm)
- 21SatOrionids meteor shower peaks (up to 20/hr). A thin 1% Moon leaves the sky dark.
- 22SunMercury and Jupiter in conjunction — 4° apart. (10:42pm)
- 23MonMars in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (5:03pm)
- 24TueThe Moon passes Mercury — 1° apart. (4:50pm)
- 28SatVenus in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (3:16am)
- 29SunMercury is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (10:56am)
- 29SunNeptune is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (3:50pm)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun 1 | 5:56am | 6:24pm | 12h 28m | 7:54pm | 4:27am |
| Tue 10 | 5:42am | 6:32pm | 12h 50m | 8:04pm | 4:11am |
| Fri 20 | 5:28am | 6:42pm | 13h 14m | 8:17pm | 3:54am |
| Tue 31 | 6:14am | 7:54pm | 13h 40m | 9:32pm | 4:36am |
Days lengthen by about 72 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- Full Moon SupermoonSat 7, 1:15pm
- Last QuarterSat 14, 10:23am
- New MoonSun 22, 3:18pm
- First QuarterMon 30, 8:31am
Perigee 7 Oct (357,400 km) · Apogee 19 Oct (406,000 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Lib | −0.1 | 6:30am | 1:37pm | 8:45pm | Evening |
| Venus | Vir | −3.8 | 5:34am | 11:56am | 6:18pm | Hidden |
| Mars | Vir | 1.6 | 5:45am | 12:16pm | 6:48pm | Hidden |
| Jupiter | Lib | −1.5 | 7:03am | 2:02pm | 9:01pm | Evening |
| Saturn | Leo | 0.4 | 3:14am | 8:28am | 1:42pm | Morning |
| Uranus | Aqr | 5.8 | 3:09pm | 9:37pm | 4:08am | Evening |
| Neptune | Cap | 7.8 | 1:09pm | 8:03pm | 3:01am | 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 1% Moon leaves the sky dark.
The solar system — October 2006
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 15 July 2026.