The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — October 2185
Highlights this month
- 6ThuMercury is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (5:02am)
- 18TueMercury in inferior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (8:42am)
- 21FriOrionids meteor shower peaks (up to 20/hr). A thin 5% Moon leaves the sky dark.
- 22SatUranus at opposition — closest and brightest of the year, up all night in Aries (mag 5.7). (4:25am)
- 26WedMercury is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (6:58pm)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat 1 | 5:55am | 6:25pm | 12h 29m | 7:54pm | 4:26am |
| Mon 10 | 6:41am | 7:33pm | 12h 51m | 9:05pm | 5:10am |
| Thu 20 | 6:27am | 7:43pm | 13h 16m | 9:17pm | 4:53am |
| Mon 31 | 6:13am | 7:54pm | 13h 41m | 9:33pm | 4:35am |
Days lengthen by about 72 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- First QuarterSun 2, 5:26am
- Full MoonSun 9, 6:45pm
- Last QuarterSun 16, 11:17am
- New MoonSun 23, 8:20pm
Perigee 12 Oct (365,100 km) · Apogee 28 Oct (405,500 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Vir | 4.5 | 6:42am | 1:25pm | 8:08pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Vir | −3.8 | 6:20am | 12:36pm | 6:52pm | Hidden |
| Mars | Sco | 1.3 | 8:28am | 3:42pm | 10:57pm | Evening |
| Jupiter | Oph | −1.7 | 9:41am | 5:01pm | 12:24am | Evening |
| Saturn | Leo | 1.0 | 5:33am | 11:21am | 5:09pm | Hidden |
| Uranus | Ari | 5.7 | 8:02pm | 1:34am | 7:02am | All night |
| Neptune | Aqr | 7.8 | 4:57pm | 11:12pm | 5:32am | 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 5% Moon leaves the sky dark.
The solar system — October 2185
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 14 October 2026.