The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — May 1982
Highlights this month
- 4TueThe Moon passes Mars — 3° apart. (5:46pm)
- 6ThuThe Moon passes Saturn — 2° apart. (12:29am)
- 6ThuEta Aquariids meteor shower peaks (up to 50/hr). A bright 97% Moon interferes badly this year.
- 7FriThe Moon passes Jupiter — 3° apart. (9:26am)
- 9SunMercury at greatest evening elongation (21° from the Sun, mag 0.3) — best evening apparition. (10:15am)
- 13ThuMars is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (1:53pm)
- 20ThuThe Moon passes Venus — 3° apart. (2:53pm)
- 21FriMercury is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (8:04pm)
- 24MonUranus at opposition — closest and brightest of the year, up all night in Scorpius (mag 5.5). (12:29pm)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat 1 | 7:01am | 5:33pm | 10h 32m | 7:02pm | 5:31am |
| Mon 10 | 7:09am | 5:23pm | 10h 14m | 6:54pm | 5:38am |
| Thu 20 | 7:18am | 5:15pm | 9h 57m | 6:47pm | 5:45am |
| Mon 31 | 7:26am | 5:08pm | 9h 42m | 6:42pm | 5:52am |
Days shorten by about 50 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- Full MoonSat 8, 10:42am
- Last QuarterSun 16, 3:15pm
- New MoonSun 23, 2:47pm
- First QuarterSun 30, 6:05am
Apogee 12 May (405,800 km) · Perigee 24 May (358,300 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Tau | 1.1 | 8:59am | 1:38pm | 6:17pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Psc | −4.0 | 3:43am | 9:36am | 3:29pm | Morning |
| Mars | Vir | −0.6 | 2:53pm | 8:52pm | 2:55am | Evening |
| Jupiter | Vir | −2.3 | 4:16pm | 10:53pm | 5:36am | Evening |
| Saturn | Vir | 0.4 | 3:39pm | 9:53pm | 4:11am | Evening |
| Uranus | Sco | 5.5 | 5:41pm | 12:56am | 8:07am | All night |
| Neptune | Oph | 7.8 | 7:16pm | 2:36am | 9:53am | 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 97% Moon interferes badly this year.
The solar system — May 1982
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.