The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — May 1980
Highlights this month
- 6TueMars and Jupiter in conjunction — 0.7° apart. (4:24am)
- 6TueEta Aquariids meteor shower peaks (up to 50/hr). A bright 67% Moon interferes badly this year.
- 13TueMercury in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (7:29pm)
- 14WedUranus at opposition — closest and brightest of the year, up all night in Libra (mag 5.5). (2:53pm)
- 22ThuThe Moon passes Jupiter — 0.5° apart. (6:10am)
- 22ThuThe Moon passes Mars — 0.4° apart. (3:52pm)
- 23FriSaturn is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (3:07pm)
- 23FriThe Moon passes Saturn — 0.1° apart. (8:18pm)
- 25SunVenus is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (4:46am)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thu 1 | 7:01am | 5:32pm | 10h 31m | 7:02pm | 5:32am |
| Sat 10 | 7:09am | 5:23pm | 10h 13m | 6:53pm | 5:39am |
| Tue 20 | 7:18am | 5:14pm | 9h 56m | 6:46pm | 5:46am |
| Sat 31 | 7:26am | 5:08pm | 9h 42m | 6:42pm | 5:53am |
Days shorten by about 49 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- Last QuarterThu 8, 6:57am
- New MoonWed 14, 9:58pm
- First QuarterThu 22, 5:23am
- Full MoonFri 30, 7:35am
Perigee 12 May (361,800 km) · Apogee 24 May (405,300 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Tau | −2.1 | 7:25am | 12:24pm | 5:22pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Gem | −4.6 | 10:25am | 2:52pm | 7:18pm | Evening |
| Mars | Leo | 0.4 | 1:47pm | 7:11pm | 12:38am | Evening |
| Jupiter | Leo | −1.9 | 1:37pm | 7:00pm | 12:26am | Evening |
| Saturn | Leo | 0.8 | 2:31pm | 8:14pm | 2:01am | Evening |
| Uranus | Lib | 5.5 | 5:08pm | 12:15am | 7:18am | All night |
| Neptune | Oph | 7.8 | 6:56pm | 2:15am | 9:31am | 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 67% Moon interferes badly this year.
The solar system — May 1980
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.