The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — October 2178
Highlights this month
- 1ThuMercury at greatest evening elongation (26° from the Sun, mag 0.1) — best evening apparition. (12:57am)
- 3SatThe Moon passes Jupiter — 3° apart. (3:45am)
- 4SunSaturn is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (1:16pm)
- 4SunJupiter is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (7:29pm)
- 13TueMercury is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (5:41pm)
- 21WedOrionids meteor shower peaks (up to 20/hr). A bright 75% Moon interferes badly this year.
- 23FriMars at opposition — closest and brightest of the year, up all night in Aries (mag −2.6). (3:28am)
- 25SunMercury in inferior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (12:04pm)
- 30FriThe Moon passes Jupiter — 3° apart. (5:46am)
- 31SatThe Moon passes Saturn — 4° apart. (12:16am)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thu 1 | 5:56am | 6:24pm | 12h 29m | 7:54pm | 4:26am |
| Sat 10 | 6:42am | 7:33pm | 12h 51m | 9:04pm | 5:11am |
| Tue 20 | 6:28am | 7:42pm | 13h 15m | 9:17pm | 4:53am |
| Sat 31 | 6:13am | 7:54pm | 13h 40m | 9:32pm | 4:35am |
Days lengthen by about 72 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- Last QuarterMon 5, 3:28am
- New MoonSun 11, 6:11pm
- First QuarterSun 18, 11:34pm
- Full MoonTue 27, 2:58am
Perigee 10 Oct (360,800 km) · Apogee 22 Oct (405,400 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Lib | 0.9 | 7:11am | 2:12pm | 9:13pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Leo | −4.7 | 4:45am | 10:35am | 4:25pm | Hidden |
| Mars | Ari | −2.5 | 8:13pm | 1:50am | 7:21am | All night |
| Jupiter | Tau | −2.4 | 11:51pm | 4:44am | 9:33am | Morning |
| Saturn | Tau | −0.2 | 12:21am | 5:11am | 10:01am | Morning |
| Uranus | Psc | 5.8 | 5:40pm | 11:44pm | 5:52am | Evening |
| Neptune | Aqr | 7.8 | 3:40pm | 10:14pm | 4:52am | 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 bright 75% Moon interferes badly this year.
The solar system — October 2178
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 10 October 2026.