The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — October 2181
Highlights this month
- 3WedThe Moon passes Saturn — 5° apart. (5:21am)
- 6SatUranus at opposition — closest and brightest of the year, up all night in Pisces (mag 5.8). (12:01am)
- 18ThuMercury in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (8:50am)
- 21SunOrionids meteor shower peaks (up to 20/hr). A bright 98% Moon interferes badly this year.
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 1 | 5:55am | 6:25pm | 12h 29m | 7:54pm | 4:26am |
| Wed 10 | 6:41am | 7:33pm | 12h 51m | 9:05pm | 5:10am |
| Sat 20 | 6:27am | 7:43pm | 13h 15m | 9:17pm | 4:53am |
| Wed 31 | 6:13am | 7:54pm | 13h 41m | 9:33pm | 4:35am |
Days lengthen by about 72 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- Last QuarterMon 1, 5:33am
- New MoonTue 9, 1:05am
- First QuarterMon 15, 9:32pm
- Full MoonTue 23, 12:37am
- Last QuarterWed 31, 2:06am
Apogee 1 Oct (404,700 km) · Perigee 13 Oct (368,600 km) · Apogee 29 Oct (405,100 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Vir | −1.4 | 6:35am | 1:00pm | 7:25pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Sco | −4.7 | 8:05am | 3:39pm | 11:13pm | Evening |
| Mars | Vir | 1.6 | 7:09am | 1:52pm | 8:37pm | Hidden |
| Jupiter | Leo | −1.6 | 5:06am | 10:46am | 4:25pm | Hidden |
| Saturn | Cnc | 0.1 | 3:10am | 8:08am | 1:06pm | Morning |
| Uranus | Psc | 5.8 | 6:40pm | 12:32am | 6:21am | All night |
| Neptune | Aqr | 7.8 | 4:12pm | 10:38pm | 5:09am | 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 98% Moon interferes badly this year.
The solar system — October 2181
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 11 October 2026.