The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — May 1989
Highlights this month
- 1MonMercury at greatest evening elongation (21° from the Sun, mag 0.2) — best evening apparition. (12:50pm)
- 6SatEta Aquariids meteor shower peaks (up to 50/hr). A thin 1% Moon leaves the sky dark.
- 9TueThe Moon passes Mars — 3° apart. (11:19am)
- 13SatMercury is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (8:28am)
- 24WedMercury in inferior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (7:34am)
- 24WedThe Moon passes Saturn — 4° apart. (2:44pm)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 1 | 7:01am | 5:32pm | 10h 31m | 7:02pm | 5:32am |
| Wed 10 | 7:09am | 5:23pm | 10h 13m | 6:53pm | 5:38am |
| Sat 20 | 7:18am | 5:14pm | 9h 56m | 6:47pm | 5:46am |
| Wed 31 | 7:26am | 5:08pm | 9h 42m | 6:42pm | 5:53am |
Days shorten by about 49 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- New MoonFri 5, 9:44pm
- First QuarterSat 13, 12:25am
- Full MoonSun 21, 4:23am
- Last QuarterSun 28, 2:06pm
Perigee 4 May (359,300 km) · Apogee 16 May (405,700 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Tau | 3.4 | 8:20am | 1:07pm | 5:54pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Tau | −3.7 | 8:07am | 12:59pm | 5:52pm | Hidden |
| Mars | Gem | 1.7 | 10:53am | 3:32pm | 8:11pm | Evening |
| Jupiter | Tau | −1.8 | 8:45am | 1:34pm | 6:23pm | Hidden |
| Saturn | Sgr | 0.2 | 8:28pm | 3:48am | 11:05am | Morning |
| Uranus | Sgr | 5.6 | 7:44pm | 3:11am | 10:34am | Morning |
| Neptune | Sgr | 7.9 | 8:22pm | 3:42am | 10:59am | 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 1% Moon leaves the sky dark.
The solar system — May 1989
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.