The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — May 1976
Highlights this month
- 6ThuEta Aquariids meteor shower peaks (up to 50/hr). A 40% Moon washes out fainter meteors for part of the night.
- 10MonMercury is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (2:12am)
- 13ThuMars and Saturn in conjunction — 1° apart. (1:52am)
- 20ThuMercury in inferior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (10:11pm)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat 1 | 7:01am | 5:32pm | 10h 31m | 7:02pm | 5:32am |
| Mon 10 | 7:09am | 5:23pm | 10h 13m | 6:53pm | 5:39am |
| Thu 20 | 7:18am | 5:14pm | 9h 56m | 6:46pm | 5:46am |
| Mon 31 | 7:26am | 5:08pm | 9h 42m | 6:42pm | 5:53am |
Days shorten by about 49 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- First QuarterFri 7, 3:25pm
- Full MoonFri 14, 6:02am
- Last QuarterFri 21, 7:22am
- New MoonSat 29, 11:52am
Perigee 12 May (358,800 km) · Apogee 25 May (405,800 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Tau | 5.0 | 7:58am | 12:49pm | 5:41pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Ari | −3.7 | 6:27am | 11:40am | 4:53pm | Hidden |
| Mars | Cnc | 1.4 | 12:06pm | 4:55pm | 9:44pm | Evening |
| Jupiter | Ari | −1.9 | 6:11am | 11:27am | 4:42pm | Hidden |
| Saturn | Gem | 0.1 | 11:56am | 4:48pm | 9:40pm | Evening |
| Uranus | Vir | 5.4 | 4:13pm | 10:55pm | 5:41am | Evening |
| Neptune | Oph | 7.8 | 6:22pm | 1:37am | 8:49am | 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 40% Moon washes out fainter meteors for part of the night.
The solar system — May 1976
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.