The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — May 1974
Highlights this month
- 5SunMercury in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (2:41am)
- 6MonEta Aquariids meteor shower peaks (up to 50/hr). A bright 100% Moon interferes badly this year.
- 24FriThe Moon passes Saturn — 0.6° apart. (1:39pm)
- 25SatThe Moon passes Mars — 4° apart. (5:49pm)
- 30ThuNeptune at opposition — closest and brightest of the year, up all night in Ophiuchus (mag 7.8). (10:17am)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wed 1 | 7:01am | 5:33pm | 10h 32m | 7:02pm | 5:31am |
| Fri 10 | 7:09am | 5:23pm | 10h 14m | 6:54pm | 5:38am |
| Mon 20 | 7:18am | 5:15pm | 9h 57m | 6:47pm | 5:45am |
| Fri 31 | 7:26am | 5:08pm | 9h 42m | 6:42pm | 5:52am |
Days shorten by about 50 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- Full MoonMon 6, 6:53pm
- Last QuarterTue 14, 7:30pm
- New MoonWed 22, 6:38am
- First QuarterTue 28, 11:00pm
Apogee 13 May (404,900 km) · Perigee 24 May (364,700 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Tau | −1.3 | 8:18am | 1:05pm | 5:52pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Psc | −4.0 | 3:41am | 9:35am | 3:29pm | Morning |
| Mars | Gem | 1.6 | 11:14am | 3:55pm | 8:36pm | Evening |
| Jupiter | Aqr | −2.0 | 1:26am | 7:52am | 2:17pm | Morning |
| Saturn | Gem | −0.0 | 10:16am | 3:01pm | 7:46pm | Evening |
| Uranus | Vir | 5.4 | 3:50pm | 10:20pm | 4:55am | Evening |
| Neptune | Oph | 7.8 | 6:07pm | 1:21am | 8:30am | Morning |
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 bright 100% Moon interferes badly this year.
The solar system — May 1974
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 23 August 2026.