The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — May 1986
Highlights this month
- 4SunThe Moon passes Jupiter — 3° apart. (6:26am)
- 6TueEta Aquariids meteor shower peaks (up to 50/hr). A thin 6% Moon leaves the sky dark.
- 23FriMercury in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (11:12am)
- 27TueThe Moon passes Mars — 3° apart. (1:58pm)
- 28WedSaturn at opposition — closest and brightest of the year, up all night in Scorpius (mag −0.1). (9:44am)
- 31SatThe Moon passes Jupiter — 2° apart. (8:13pm)
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 14m | 6:54pm | 5:38am |
| Tue 20 | 7:18am | 5:15pm | 9h 57m | 6:47pm | 5:45am |
| Sat 31 | 7:26am | 5:08pm | 9h 42m | 6:42pm | 5:52am |
Days shorten by about 50 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- Last QuarterThu 1, 1:21pm
- New MoonFri 9, 8:14am
- First QuarterSat 17, 11:04am
- Full Moon SupermoonSat 24, 6:44am
- Last QuarterFri 30, 10:55pm
Apogee 11 May (406,200 km) · Perigee 24 May (356,800 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Ari | −1.4 | 6:25am | 11:39am | 4:53pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Tau | −3.7 | 9:36am | 2:15pm | 6:55pm | Hidden |
| Mars | Sgr | −1.0 | 8:50pm | 4:17am | 11:41am | Morning |
| Jupiter | Aqr | −2.0 | 1:47am | 8:07am | 2:27pm | Morning |
| Saturn | Sco | −0.0 | 6:04pm | 1:15am | 8:22am | Morning |
| Uranus | Oph | 5.6 | 6:49pm | 2:14am | 9:35am | Morning |
| Neptune | Sgr | 7.8 | 7:53pm | 3:15am | 10:32am | 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 6% Moon leaves the sky dark.
The solar system — May 1986
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 21 August 2026.