The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — May 2074
Highlights this month
- 4FriThe Moon passes Jupiter — 0.9° apart. (2:22am)
- 5SatThe Moon passes Mars — 0.5° apart. (12:20pm)
- 6SunEta Aquariids meteor shower peaks (up to 50/hr). A bright 70% Moon interferes badly this year.
- 10ThuMercury at greatest evening elongation (21° from the Sun, mag 0.3) — best evening apparition. (10:03pm)
- 12SatThe Moon passes Saturn — 2° apart. (10:17am)
- 23WedMercury is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (8:21am)
- 24ThuSaturn at opposition — closest and brightest of the year, up all night in Scorpius (mag −0.1). (10:44pm)
- 29TueThe Moon passes Venus — 4° apart. (6:18pm)
- 31ThuThe Moon passes Jupiter — 0.3° apart. (3:08pm)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tue 1 | 7:02am | 5:32pm | 10h 30m | 7:01pm | 5:32am |
| Thu 10 | 7:10am | 5:22pm | 10h 13m | 6:53pm | 5:39am |
| Sun 20 | 7:18am | 5:14pm | 9h 56m | 6:47pm | 5:46am |
| Thu 31 | 7:27am | 5:08pm | 9h 41m | 6:42pm | 5:53am |
Days shorten by about 49 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- First QuarterFri 4, 6:58pm
- Full Moon SupermoonFri 11, 12:21pm
- Last QuarterFri 18, 6:45am
- New MoonSat 26, 8:46am
Perigee 11 May (356,700 km) · Apogee 24 May (406,200 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Tau | 0.9 | 9:04am | 1:41pm | 6:19pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Tau | −3.8 | 10:05am | 2:42pm | 7:19pm | Evening |
| Mars | Leo | 0.7 | 1:30pm | 6:47pm | 12:07am | Evening |
| Jupiter | Cnc | −1.8 | 12:25pm | 5:23pm | 10:22pm | Evening |
| Saturn | Sco | −0.1 | 5:52pm | 1:01am | 8:05am | All night |
| Uranus | Sgr | 5.6 | 8:08pm | 3:34am | 10:55am | Morning |
| Neptune | Gem | 7.9 | 11:13am | 4:03pm | 8:53pm | 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 bright 70% Moon interferes badly this year.
The solar system — May 2074
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 20 August 2026.