The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — May 2103
Highlights this month
- 6SunEta Aquariids meteor shower peaks (up to 50/hr). A thin 0% Moon leaves the sky dark.
- 10ThuThe Moon passes Venus — 2° apart. (12:56pm)
- 10ThuMercury at greatest morning elongation (27° from the Sun, mag 0.4) — best morning apparition. (4:54pm)
- 13SunVenus at greatest evening elongation (46° from the Sun, mag −4.3) — best evening apparition. (9:45am)
- 16WedJupiter is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (12:04am)
- 21MonSaturn at opposition — closest and brightest of the year, up all night in Libra (mag −0.1). (12:30am)
- 26SatThe Moon passes Jupiter — 1° apart. (11:18am)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tue 1 | 7:01am | 5:33pm | 10h 32m | 7:03pm | 5:31am |
| Thu 10 | 7:09am | 5:23pm | 10h 15m | 6:54pm | 5:38am |
| Sun 20 | 7:18am | 5:15pm | 9h 57m | 6:47pm | 5:45am |
| Thu 31 | 7:26am | 5:09pm | 9h 43m | 6:42pm | 5:52am |
Days shorten by about 50 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- New MoonSun 6, 8:31pm
- First QuarterMon 14, 1:30pm
- Full MoonTue 22, 9:29am
- Last QuarterTue 29, 7:18am
Perigee 2 May (367,500 km) · Apogee 15 May (404,800 km) · Perigee 28 May (369,700 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Psc | 0.2 | 5:01am | 10:39am | 4:17pm | Morning |
| Venus | Gem | −4.3 | 11:00am | 3:32pm | 8:03pm | Evening |
| Mars | Psc | 1.1 | 3:42am | 9:34am | 3:26pm | Morning |
| Jupiter | Sgr | −2.2 | 9:33pm | 4:49am | 12:01pm | Morning |
| Saturn | Lib | −0.1 | 5:39pm | 12:44am | 7:45am | All night |
| Uranus | Ari | 5.9 | 5:41am | 11:02am | 4:24pm | Hidden |
| Neptune | Leo | 7.9 | 2:32pm | 8:19pm | 2:11am | 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 0% Moon leaves the sky dark.
The solar system — May 2103
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 3 September 2026.