The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — May 1990
Highlights this month
- 4FriMercury in inferior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (9:45am)
- 5SatSaturn is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (12:53pm)
- 6SunEta Aquariids meteor shower peaks (up to 50/hr). A bright 89% Moon interferes badly this year.
- 15TueThe Moon passes Saturn — 1° apart. (6:29pm)
- 16WedMercury is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (4:51pm)
- 27SunThe Moon passes Jupiter — 2° apart. (12:14pm)
- 31ThuMercury at greatest morning elongation (25° from the Sun, mag 0.5) — best morning apparition. (12:22pm)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tue 1 | 7:01am | 5:33pm | 10h 32m | 7:02pm | 5:31am |
| Thu 10 | 7:09am | 5:23pm | 10h 14m | 6:54pm | 5:38am |
| Sun 20 | 7:18am | 5:15pm | 9h 57m | 6:47pm | 5:46am |
| Thu 31 | 7:26am | 5:08pm | 9h 42m | 6:42pm | 5:52am |
Days shorten by about 49 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- First QuarterWed 2, 6:20am
- Full MoonThu 10, 5:32am
- Last QuarterFri 18, 5:50am
- New MoonThu 24, 9:50pm
- First QuarterThu 31, 6:15pm
Apogee 10 May (406,300 km) · Perigee 24 May (356,900 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Ari | 2.6 | 5:52am | 11:16am | 4:40pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Psc | −3.9 | 3:45am | 9:38am | 3:30pm | Morning |
| Mars | Aqr | 0.7 | 1:45am | 8:08am | 2:31pm | Morning |
| Jupiter | Gem | −1.7 | 10:47am | 3:30pm | 8:14pm | Evening |
| Saturn | Sgr | 0.3 | 9:23pm | 4:39am | 11:52am | Morning |
| Uranus | Sgr | 5.6 | 8:05pm | 3:31am | 10:53am | Morning |
| Neptune | Sgr | 7.9 | 8:33pm | 3:53am | 11:09am | 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 89% Moon interferes badly this year.
The solar system — May 1990
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 19 August 2026.