The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — October 2172
Highlights this month
- 1ThuThe Moon passes Saturn — 4° apart. (6:55pm)
- 3SatMercury is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (5:37am)
- 15ThuMercury in inferior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (1:38pm)
- 19MonThe Moon passes Jupiter — 4° apart. (9:05pm)
- 21WedOrionids meteor shower peaks (up to 20/hr). A thin 17% Moon leaves the sky dark.
- 22ThuThe Moon passes Mars — 4° apart. (8:16pm)
- 23FriMercury is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (11:12pm)
- 28WedThe Moon passes Saturn — 1° apart. (8:23pm)
- 31SatMercury at greatest morning elongation (19° from the Sun, mag −0.6) — best morning apparition. (3:51am)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thu 1 | 5:55am | 6:25pm | 12h 30m | 7:54pm | 4:25am |
| Sat 10 | 6:41am | 7:33pm | 12h 52m | 9:05pm | 5:10am |
| Tue 20 | 6:27am | 7:43pm | 13h 16m | 9:18pm | 4:53am |
| Sat 31 | 6:13am | 7:54pm | 13h 41m | 9:33pm | 4:35am |
Days lengthen by about 72 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- Full MoonFri 2, 12:48pm
- Last QuarterSat 10, 12:45pm
- New MoonSun 18, 3:03am
- First QuarterSat 24, 8:35pm
Apogee 9 Oct (404,900 km) · Perigee 21 Oct (365,800 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Vir | 7.4 | 6:29am | 1:03pm | 7:36pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Vir | −3.7 | 5:33am | 11:25am | 5:17pm | Hidden |
| Mars | Oph | 0.8 | 9:49am | 5:18pm | 12:48am | Evening |
| Jupiter | Lib | −1.5 | 8:01am | 3:00pm | 10:00pm | Evening |
| Saturn | Psc | 0.7 | 5:16pm | 11:30pm | 5:48am | Evening |
| Uranus | Aqr | 5.8 | 3:37pm | 10:12pm | 4:50am | Evening |
| Neptune | Cap | 7.8 | 2:31pm | 9:20pm | 4:12am | 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 17% Moon leaves the sky dark.
The solar system — October 2172
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 7 October 2026.