The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — October 2106
Highlights this month
- 1FriVenus in inferior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (7:44am)
- 1FriThe Moon passes Mars — 2° apart. (7:46am)
- 4MonThe Moon passes Saturn — 3° apart. (4:13pm)
- 7ThuMercury is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (4:15pm)
- 15FriThe Moon passes Jupiter — 1° apart. (3:13am)
- 19TueMercury in inferior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (5:37pm)
- 20WedVenus is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (1:10am)
- 21ThuOrionids meteor shower peaks (up to 20/hr). A 35% Moon washes out fainter meteors for part of the night.
- 28ThuMercury is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (4:17am)
- 30SatThe Moon passes Mars — 4° apart. (8:54am)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fri 1 | 5:56am | 6:24pm | 12h 27m | 7:53pm | 4:27am |
| Sun 10 | 6:43am | 7:32pm | 12h 49m | 9:04pm | 5:12am |
| Wed 20 | 6:28am | 7:42pm | 13h 14m | 9:16pm | 4:54am |
| Sun 31 | 6:14am | 7:53pm | 13h 39m | 9:32pm | 4:36am |
Days lengthen by about 72 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- First QuarterTue 5, 2:24pm
- Full MoonWed 13, 10:15am
- Last QuarterWed 20, 7:54am
- New MoonWed 27, 9:32am
Apogee 6 Oct (404,700 km) · Perigee 18 Oct (369,300 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Vir | 3.4 | 6:49am | 1:36pm | 8:22pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Vir | −4.3 | 5:19am | 11:39am | 5:58pm | Hidden |
| Mars | Lib | 1.3 | 8:26am | 3:39pm | 10:52pm | Evening |
| Jupiter | Ari | −2.7 | 9:10pm | 2:31am | 7:47am | Morning |
| Saturn | Sgr | 0.4 | 10:33am | 5:52pm | 1:15am | Evening |
| Uranus | Ari | 5.7 | 9:46pm | 2:56am | 8:02am | Morning |
| Neptune | Vir | 8.0 | 5:53am | 11:53am | 5:52pm | Hidden |
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 35% Moon washes out fainter meteors for part of the night.
The solar system — October 2106
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 4 September 2026.