The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — May 2081
Highlights this month
- 2FriThe Moon passes Saturn — 1° apart. (2:16pm)
- 3SatMercury at greatest evening elongation (21° from the Sun, mag 0.2) — best evening apparition. (12:25am)
- 4SunThe Moon passes Jupiter — 0.7° apart. (2:26pm)
- 5MonThe Moon passes Venus — 0.9° apart. (9:05am)
- 6TueEta Aquariids meteor shower peaks (up to 50/hr). A thin 7% Moon leaves the sky dark.
- 14WedUranus is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (4:32am)
- 14WedMercury is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (9:03pm)
- 15ThuVenus at greatest morning elongation (46° from the Sun, mag −4.3) — best morning apparition. (6:36pm)
- 25SunMercury in inferior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (9:40pm)
- 30FriThe Moon passes Saturn — 0.9° apart. (12:09am)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thu 1 | 7:02am | 5:32pm | 10h 30m | 7:01pm | 5:32am |
| Sat 10 | 7:10am | 5:22pm | 10h 12m | 6:53pm | 5:39am |
| Tue 20 | 7:19am | 5:14pm | 9h 55m | 6:46pm | 5:46am |
| Sat 31 | 7:27am | 5:08pm | 9h 41m | 6:42pm | 5:53am |
Days shorten by about 48 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- Last QuarterThu 1, 7:25am
- New MoonFri 9, 8:17am
- First QuarterFri 16, 9:26am
- Full MoonFri 23, 6:23am
- Last QuarterSat 31, 1:36am
Apogee 2 May (405,000 km) · Perigee 17 May (369,200 km) · Apogee 30 May (404,700 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Tau | 2.8 | 8:30am | 1:14pm | 5:59pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Psc | −4.3 | 3:25am | 9:21am | 3:16pm | Morning |
| Mars | Tau | 1.7 | 9:34am | 2:14pm | 6:54pm | Hidden |
| Jupiter | Psc | −2.0 | 2:04am | 8:19am | 2:34pm | Morning |
| Saturn | Cap | 0.7 | 11:55pm | 6:45am | 1:31pm | Morning |
| Uranus | Cap | 5.8 | 10:30pm | 5:37am | 12:39pm | Morning |
| Neptune | Cnc | 7.9 | 12:07pm | 5:06pm | 10:04pm | 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 7% Moon leaves the sky dark.
The solar system — May 2081
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 25 August 2026.