The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — May 2073
Highlights this month
- 3WedThe Moon passes Venus — 3° apart. (1:24pm)
- 5FriThe Moon passes Mars — 3° apart. (3:42am)
- 6SatEta Aquariids meteor shower peaks (up to 50/hr). A thin 1% Moon leaves the sky dark.
- 11ThuThe Moon passes Jupiter — 4° apart. (7:19pm)
- 12FriSaturn at opposition — closest and brightest of the year, up all night in Libra (mag −0.1). (4:19pm)
- 18ThuVenus at greatest morning elongation (46° from the Sun, mag −4.3) — best morning apparition. (4:12am)
- 21SunThe Moon passes Saturn — 3° apart. (4:32am)
- 29MonMercury at greatest evening elongation (23° from the Sun, mag 0.4) — best evening apparition. (2:04am)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 1 | 7:02am | 5:32pm | 10h 30m | 7:01pm | 5:32am |
| Wed 10 | 7:10am | 5:22pm | 10h 12m | 6:53pm | 5:39am |
| Sat 20 | 7:19am | 5:14pm | 9h 55m | 6:46pm | 5:46am |
| Wed 31 | 7:27am | 5:08pm | 9h 41m | 6:42pm | 5:53am |
Days shorten by about 49 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- New MoonSun 7, 4:23pm
- First QuarterMon 15, 5:04am
- Full MoonSun 21, 8:00pm
- Last QuarterMon 29, 4:05am
Apogee 3 May (405,900 km) · Perigee 19 May (362,300 km) · Apogee 31 May (405,200 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Tau | −0.8 | 8:47am | 1:27pm | 6:08pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Psc | −4.4 | 3:25am | 9:21am | 3:16pm | Morning |
| Mars | Psc | 1.2 | 4:45am | 10:20am | 3:54pm | Morning |
| Jupiter | Gem | −1.7 | 10:44am | 3:28pm | 8:11pm | Evening |
| Saturn | Lib | −0.1 | 5:11pm | 12:09am | 7:03am | All night |
| Uranus | Sgr | 5.6 | 7:47pm | 3:14am | 10:36am | Morning |
| Neptune | Gem | 7.9 | 11:04am | 3:53pm | 8:42pm | Evening |
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 1% Moon leaves the sky dark.
The solar system — May 2073
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 19 August 2026.