The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — May 1975
Highlights this month
- 6TueEta Aquariids meteor shower peaks (up to 50/hr). A thin 23% Moon leaves the sky dark.
- 15ThuThe Moon passes Saturn — 4° apart. (8:33pm)
- 17SatMercury at greatest evening elongation (22° from the Sun, mag 0.4) — best evening apparition. (9:44am)
- 24SatVenus and Saturn in conjunction — 3° apart. (7:18pm)
- 30FriMercury is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (6:00am)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thu 1 | 7:01am | 5:33pm | 10h 32m | 7:02pm | 5:31am |
| Sat 10 | 7:09am | 5:23pm | 10h 15m | 6:54pm | 5:38am |
| Tue 20 | 7:17am | 5:15pm | 9h 57m | 6:47pm | 5:45am |
| Sat 31 | 7:26am | 5:08pm | 9h 43m | 6:42pm | 5:52am |
Days shorten by about 50 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- Last QuarterSat 3, 3:47pm
- New MoonSun 11, 5:07pm
- First QuarterSun 18, 8:31pm
- Full MoonSun 25, 3:51pm
Apogee 5 May (405,100 km) · Perigee 21 May (368,300 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Tau | 0.2 | 9:09am | 1:46pm | 6:23pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Gem | −4.0 | 10:43am | 3:17pm | 7:51pm | Evening |
| Mars | Psc | 0.9 | 2:23am | 8:36am | 2:49pm | Morning |
| Jupiter | Psc | −1.9 | 3:53am | 9:42am | 3:31pm | Morning |
| Saturn | Gem | 0.0 | 11:10am | 3:56pm | 8:43pm | Evening |
| Uranus | Vir | 5.4 | 4:03pm | 10:40pm | 5:20am | Evening |
| Neptune | Oph | 7.8 | 6:16pm | 1:31am | 8:42am | 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 thin 23% Moon leaves the sky dark.
The solar system — May 1975
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.