The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — October 2177
Highlights this month
- 18SatMercury at greatest evening elongation (25° from the Sun, mag −0.1) — best evening apparition. (1:55pm)
- 21TueOrionids meteor shower peaks (up to 20/hr). A thin 1% Moon leaves the sky dark.
- 23ThuThe Moon passes Mercury — 5° apart. (8:56pm)
- 28TueJupiter at opposition — closest and brightest of the year, up all night in Aries (mag −2.8). (4:38am)
- 30ThuMercury is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (11:05am)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wed 1 | 5:55am | 6:24pm | 12h 29m | 7:54pm | 4:26am |
| Fri 10 | 6:41am | 7:33pm | 12h 51m | 9:04pm | 5:10am |
| Mon 20 | 6:27am | 7:43pm | 13h 15m | 9:17pm | 4:53am |
| Fri 31 | 6:13am | 7:54pm | 13h 41m | 9:33pm | 4:35am |
Days lengthen by about 72 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- Full MoonWed 8, 6:58am
- Last QuarterWed 15, 7:39am
- New MoonWed 22, 5:48am
- First QuarterThu 30, 3:30am
Apogee 1 Oct (404,900 km) · Perigee 16 Oct (369,800 km) · Apogee 29 Oct (404,800 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Lib | −0.1 | 7:30am | 2:38pm | 9:46pm | Evening |
| Venus | Vir | −3.7 | 6:19am | 12:34pm | 6:49pm | Hidden |
| Mars | Vir | 1.8 | 6:08am | 12:20pm | 6:32pm | Hidden |
| Jupiter | Ari | −2.7 | 8:37pm | 2:04am | 7:27am | Morning |
| Saturn | Tau | −0.3 | 11:07pm | 4:09am | 9:07am | Morning |
| Uranus | Psc | 5.8 | 5:19pm | 11:28pm | 5:42am | Evening |
| Neptune | Aqr | 7.8 | 3:27pm | 10:04pm | 4:45am | 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 2177
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 9 October 2026.