The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — May 2003
Highlights this month
- 5MonThe Moon passes Saturn — 3° apart. (6:15pm)
- 6TueEta Aquariids meteor shower peaks (up to 50/hr). A thin 19% Moon leaves the sky dark.
- 7WedMercury in inferior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (5:14pm)
- 9FriThe Moon passes Jupiter — 4° apart. (6:04am)
- 16FriNeptune is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (8:39am)
- 20TueMercury is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (12:12am)
- 22ThuThe Moon passes Mars — 3° apart. (7:50am)
- 27TueMercury and Venus in conjunction — 2° apart. (3:19am)
- 29ThuThe Moon passes Mercury — 2° apart. (10:30am)
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
- New MoonThu 1, 10:15pm
- First QuarterFri 9, 10:01pm
- Full Moon SupermoonFri 16, 1:37pm
- Last QuarterFri 23, 10:31am
- New MoonSat 31, 2:24pm
Apogee 1 May (406,300 km) · Perigee 15 May (357,100 km) · Apogee 28 May (406,100 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Ari | 3.8 | 6:14am | 11:32am | 4:50pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Psc | −3.7 | 5:04am | 10:38am | 4:11pm | Morning |
| Mars | Cap | −0.3 | 10:51pm | 5:57am | 1:01pm | Morning |
| Jupiter | Cnc | −1.8 | 12:41pm | 5:42pm | 10:44pm | Evening |
| Saturn | Tau | −0.0 | 9:53am | 2:39pm | 7:26pm | Evening |
| Uranus | Aqr | 5.9 | 12:32am | 7:10am | 1:48pm | Morning |
| Neptune | Cap | 7.9 | 10:53pm | 5:54am | 12:51pm | 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 19% Moon leaves the sky dark.
The solar system — May 2003
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 15 July 2026.