The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — May 1972
Highlights this month
- 3WedThe Moon passes Jupiter — 2° apart. (10:56pm)
- 6SatEta Aquariids meteor shower peaks (up to 50/hr). A 53% Moon washes out fainter meteors for part of the night.
- 16TueThe Moon passes Mars — 1° apart. (6:01am)
- 16TueThe Moon passes Venus — 2° apart. (6:10am)
- 19FriVenus and Mars in conjunction — 3° apart. (5:12am)
- 25ThuNeptune at opposition — closest and brightest of the year, up all night in Scorpius (mag 7.8). (9:45am)
- 27SatVenus is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (10:45am)
- 31WedThe Moon passes Jupiter — 2° apart. (1:06am)
- 31WedSaturn in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (6:09pm)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 1 | 7:01am | 5:32pm | 10h 31m | 7:02pm | 5:32am |
| Wed 10 | 7:09am | 5:23pm | 10h 13m | 6:53pm | 5:39am |
| Sat 20 | 7:18am | 5:14pm | 9h 56m | 6:46pm | 5:46am |
| Wed 31 | 7:26am | 5:08pm | 9h 42m | 6:42pm | 5:53am |
Days shorten by about 49 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- Last QuarterSat 6, 10:31pm
- New MoonSat 13, 2:09pm
- First QuarterSat 20, 11:20am
- Full MoonSun 28, 2:28pm
Perigee 13 May (357,000 km) · Apogee 25 May (406,100 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Ari | −0.3 | 5:25am | 10:56am | 4:26pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Gem | −4.6 | 10:31am | 2:58pm | 7:24pm | Evening |
| Mars | Gem | 1.7 | 10:17am | 2:55pm | 7:34pm | Evening |
| Jupiter | Sgr | −2.3 | 7:59pm | 3:23am | 10:43am | Morning |
| Saturn | Tau | −0.0 | 8:18am | 1:13pm | 6:09pm | Hidden |
| Uranus | Vir | 5.4 | 3:24pm | 9:42pm | 4:04am | Evening |
| Neptune | Sco | 7.8 | 5:50pm | 1:00am | 8:06am | All night |
Meteor showers
- Eta Aquariids — peaks 6 May, radiant in Aquarius (up to 50/hr). Debris of Halley's Comet and one of the best showers of the year from the south — swift meteors in the pre-dawn eastern sky. A 53% Moon washes out fainter meteors for part of the night.
The solar system — May 1972
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.
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Generated automatically from the MPAS sky engine on 24 August 2026.