The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — May 2015
Highlights this month
- 6WedThe Moon passes Saturn — 2° apart. (2:27am)
- 6WedEta Aquariids meteor shower peaks (up to 50/hr). A bright 95% Moon interferes badly this year.
- 7ThuMercury at greatest evening elongation (21° from the Sun, mag 0.3) — best evening apparition. (2:47pm)
- 19TueMercury is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (8:30pm)
- 23SatSaturn at opposition — closest and brightest of the year, up all night in Scorpius (mag −0.1). (11:01am)
- 24SunThe Moon passes Jupiter — 5° apart. (2:41pm)
- 31SunMercury in inferior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (2:53am)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fri 1 | 7:01am | 5:33pm | 10h 32m | 7:02pm | 5:31am |
| Sun 10 | 7:09am | 5:23pm | 10h 14m | 6:54pm | 5:38am |
| Wed 20 | 7:18am | 5:15pm | 9h 57m | 6:47pm | 5:46am |
| Sun 31 | 7:26am | 5:08pm | 9h 42m | 6:42pm | 5:53am |
Days shorten by about 50 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- Full MoonMon 4, 1:48pm
- Last QuarterMon 11, 8:45pm
- New MoonMon 18, 2:12pm
- First QuarterTue 26, 3:20am
Perigee 15 May (365,700 km) · Apogee 27 May (404,900 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Tau | 1.5 | 8:53am | 1:33pm | 6:13pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Gem | −4.1 | 10:51am | 3:25pm | 7:58pm | Evening |
| Mars | Tau | 1.5 | 7:57am | 12:49pm | 5:42pm | Hidden |
| Jupiter | Cnc | −1.8 | 12:53pm | 5:58pm | 11:04pm | Evening |
| Saturn | Sco | −0.1 | 5:47pm | 12:54am | 7:57am | All night |
| Uranus | Psc | 5.9 | 4:19am | 10:00am | 3:40pm | Morning |
| Neptune | Aqr | 7.9 | 1:07am | 7:36am | 2:06pm | 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 95% Moon interferes badly this year.
The solar system — May 2015
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.
Looking for an earlier month? Browse all past monthly guides →
Generated automatically from the MPAS sky engine on 15 July 2026.