The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — May 1981
Highlights this month
- 6WedEta Aquariids meteor shower peaks (up to 50/hr). A thin 7% Moon leaves the sky dark.
- 14ThuThe Moon passes Jupiter — 3° apart. (2:38pm)
- 14ThuThe Moon passes Saturn — 2° apart. (8:01pm)
- 19TueUranus at opposition — closest and brightest of the year, up all night in Libra (mag 5.5). (1:56pm)
- 27WedMercury at greatest evening elongation (23° from the Sun, mag 0.4) — best evening apparition. (1:49pm)
- 28ThuJupiter is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (5:07pm)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fri 1 | 7:01am | 5:32pm | 10h 31m | 7:02pm | 5:32am |
| Sun 10 | 7:09am | 5:23pm | 10h 14m | 6:54pm | 5:38am |
| Wed 20 | 7:18am | 5:14pm | 9h 56m | 6:47pm | 5:46am |
| Sun 31 | 7:26am | 5:08pm | 9h 42m | 6:42pm | 5:53am |
Days shorten by about 49 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- New MoonMon 4, 2:22pm
- First QuarterMon 11, 8:26am
- Full MoonTue 19, 10:05am
- Last QuarterWed 27, 7:06am
Perigee 4 May (356,700 km) · Apogee 18 May (406,200 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Tau | −0.6 | 8:52am | 1:31pm | 6:11pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Tau | −3.7 | 8:04am | 12:57pm | 5:50pm | Hidden |
| Mars | Ari | 1.3 | 6:28am | 11:38am | 4:48pm | Hidden |
| Jupiter | Vir | −2.0 | 2:54pm | 8:52pm | 2:55am | Evening |
| Saturn | Vir | 0.7 | 3:05pm | 9:04pm | 3:06am | Evening |
| Uranus | Lib | 5.5 | 5:24pm | 12:35am | 7:42am | All night |
| Neptune | Oph | 7.8 | 7:06pm | 2:26am | 9:42am | 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 7% Moon leaves the sky dark.
The solar system — May 1981
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.