The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — May 2042
Highlights this month
- 4SunThe Moon passes Saturn — 3° apart. (3:25pm)
- 6TueMercury is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (2:16am)
- 6TueEta Aquariids meteor shower peaks (up to 50/hr). A bright 99% Moon interferes badly this year.
- 6TueThe Moon passes Jupiter — 4° apart. (7:13pm)
- 16FriMercury in inferior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (6:03pm)
- 18SunJupiter at opposition — closest and brightest of the year, up all night in Libra (mag −2.4). (9:38am)
- 22ThuThe Moon passes Venus — 3° apart. (9:51am)
- 26MonThe Moon passes Mars — 3° apart. (1:15pm)
- 29ThuMercury is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (12:20am)
- 31SatThe Moon passes Saturn — 3° apart. (7:07pm)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thu 1 | 7:01am | 5:32pm | 10h 31m | 7:02pm | 5:32am |
| Sat 10 | 7:10am | 5:23pm | 10h 13m | 6:53pm | 5:39am |
| Tue 20 | 7:18am | 5:14pm | 9h 56m | 6:47pm | 5:46am |
| Sat 31 | 7:27am | 5:08pm | 9h 42m | 6:42pm | 5:53am |
Days shorten by about 49 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- Full MoonMon 5, 4:52pm
- Last QuarterTue 13, 5:28am
- New MoonMon 19, 8:54pm
- First QuarterTue 27, 4:20am
Apogee 1 May (405,900 km) · Perigee 17 May (362,100 km) · Apogee 29 May (405,200 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Tau | 7.9 | 7:26am | 12:25pm | 5:24pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Tau | −3.8 | 9:55am | 2:33pm | 7:10pm | Hidden |
| Mars | Leo | 0.8 | 1:19pm | 6:31pm | 11:43pm | Evening |
| Jupiter | Lib | −2.4 | 5:25pm | 12:32am | 7:36am | All night |
| Saturn | Vir | 0.2 | 4:16pm | 10:48pm | 5:24am | Evening |
| Uranus | Cnc | 5.5 | 12:33pm | 5:34pm | 10:34pm | Evening |
| Neptune | Ari | 7.9 | 5:53am | 11:15am | 4:36pm | Hidden |
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 99% Moon interferes badly this year.
The solar system — May 2042
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.