The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — May 1988
Highlights this month
- 3TueJupiter in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (7:01am)
- 6FriEta Aquariids meteor shower peaks (up to 50/hr). A bright 79% Moon interferes badly this year.
- 9MonThe Moon passes Mars — 0.7° apart. (4:32pm)
- 19ThuMercury at greatest evening elongation (22° from the Sun, mag 0.4) — best evening apparition. (11:59am)
- 22SunVenus is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (10:40pm)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun 1 | 7:01am | 5:32pm | 10h 31m | 7:02pm | 5:32am |
| Tue 10 | 7:10am | 5:22pm | 10h 13m | 6:53pm | 5:39am |
| Fri 20 | 7:18am | 5:14pm | 9h 56m | 6:46pm | 5:46am |
| Tue 31 | 7:27am | 5:08pm | 9h 42m | 6:42pm | 5:53am |
Days shorten by about 49 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- Full MoonMon 2, 9:47am
- Last QuarterMon 9, 11:30am
- New MoonMon 16, 8:09am
- First QuarterTue 24, 2:48am
- Full MoonTue 31, 9:02pm
Perigee 11 May (368,900 km) · Apogee 23 May (404,700 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Tau | −0.0 | 9:09am | 1:46pm | 6:23pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Tau | −4.6 | 10:18am | 2:45pm | 7:11pm | Hidden |
| Mars | Cap | 0.1 | 11:49pm | 6:41am | 1:33pm | Morning |
| Jupiter | Ari | −1.9 | 6:30am | 11:41am | 4:53pm | Hidden |
| Saturn | Sgr | 0.1 | 7:35pm | 2:56am | 10:14am | Morning |
| Uranus | Sgr | 5.6 | 7:24pm | 2:51am | 10:14am | Morning |
| Neptune | Sgr | 7.9 | 8:11pm | 3:32am | 10:49am | 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 bright 79% Moon interferes badly this year.
The solar system — May 1988
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 20 August 2026.