The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — May 2005
Highlights this month
- 3TueThe Moon passes Mars — 2° apart. (3:06am)
- 6FriEta Aquariids meteor shower peaks (up to 50/hr). A thin 5% Moon leaves the sky dark.
- 6FriThe Moon passes Mercury — 3° apart. (5:20pm)
- 20FriThe Moon passes Jupiter — 0.3° apart. (8:02am)
- 20FriNeptune is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (10:54am)
- 31TueThe Moon passes Mars — 0.4° apart. (7:50pm)
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 | 7:09am | 5:23pm | 10h 13m | 6:53pm | 5:39am |
| Fri 20 | 7:18am | 5:14pm | 9h 56m | 6:47pm | 5:46am |
| Tue 31 | 7:26am | 5:08pm | 9h 42m | 6:42pm | 5:53am |
Days shorten by about 49 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- Last QuarterSun 1, 4:30pm
- New MoonSun 8, 6:49pm
- First QuarterMon 16, 6:55pm
- Full MoonTue 24, 6:23am
- Last QuarterMon 30, 9:52pm
Apogee 14 May (405,000 km) · Perigee 26 May (364,600 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Ari | −0.4 | 5:30am | 11:00am | 4:29pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Tau | −3.7 | 8:13am | 1:05pm | 5:56pm | Hidden |
| Mars | Aqr | 0.5 | 1:05am | 7:38am | 2:11pm | Morning |
| Jupiter | Vir | −2.1 | 3:15pm | 9:24pm | 3:38am | Evening |
| Saturn | Gem | 0.1 | 11:37am | 4:27pm | 9:16pm | Evening |
| Uranus | Aqr | 5.9 | 1:09am | 7:38am | 2:06pm | Morning |
| Neptune | Cap | 7.9 | 11:13pm | 6:10am | 1:03pm | 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 5% Moon leaves the sky dark.
The solar system — May 2005
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.