The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — May 2006
Highlights this month
- 2TueThe Moon passes Mars — 4° apart. (9:24pm)
- 4ThuThe Moon passes Saturn — 4° apart. (8:45pm)
- 5FriJupiter at opposition — closest and brightest of the year, up all night in Libra (mag −2.4). (12:38am)
- 6SatEta Aquariids meteor shower peaks (up to 50/hr). A bright 60% Moon interferes badly this year.
- 12FriThe Moon passes Jupiter — 5° apart. (10:45pm)
- 19FriMercury in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (5:50am)
- 23TueNeptune is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (12:10am)
- 24WedThe Moon passes Venus — 4° apart. (3:02pm)
- 31WedThe Moon passes Mars — 3° apart. (2:59pm)
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 14m | 6:54pm | 5:38am |
| Sat 20 | 7:18am | 5:14pm | 9h 57m | 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
- First QuarterFri 5, 3:14pm
- Full MoonSat 13, 4:58pm
- Last QuarterSat 20, 7:28pm
- New MoonSat 27, 3:24pm
Apogee 7 May (405,100 km) · Perigee 23 May (368,500 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Ari | −1.8 | 6:50am | 11:58am | 5:05pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Psc | −3.9 | 3:49am | 9:41am | 3:32pm | Morning |
| Mars | Gem | 1.6 | 11:27am | 4:09pm | 8:51pm | Evening |
| Jupiter | Lib | −2.3 | 4:41pm | 11:30pm | 6:23am | Evening |
| Saturn | Cnc | 0.2 | 12:24pm | 5:22pm | 10:19pm | Evening |
| Uranus | Aqr | 5.9 | 1:29am | 7:53am | 2:17pm | Morning |
| Neptune | Cap | 7.9 | 11:24pm | 6:19am | 1:10pm | 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 60% Moon interferes badly this year.
The solar system — May 2006
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.