The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — May 2106
Highlights this month
- 6ThuEta Aquariids meteor shower peaks (up to 50/hr). A thin 9% Moon leaves the sky dark.
- 7FriUranus in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (6:09am)
- 21FriThe Moon passes Saturn — 3° apart. (3:14pm)
- 28FriMercury at greatest evening elongation (23° from the Sun, mag 0.4) — best evening apparition. (5:18am)
- 30SunThe Moon passes Jupiter — 2° apart. (9:58pm)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat 1 | 7:01am | 5:33pm | 10h 32m | 7:02pm | 5:31am |
| Mon 10 | 7:09am | 5:23pm | 10h 14m | 6:54pm | 5:38am |
| Thu 20 | 7:18am | 5:15pm | 9h 57m | 6:47pm | 5:46am |
| Mon 31 | 7:26am | 5:09pm | 9h 42m | 6:42pm | 5:53am |
Days shorten by about 50 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- New MoonTue 4, 4:15am
- First QuarterMon 10, 7:20pm
- Full MoonTue 18, 9:17am
- Last QuarterWed 26, 1:04pm
Perigee 6 May (362,000 km) · Apogee 21 May (405,900 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Tau | −0.7 | 8:48am | 1:29pm | 6:09pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Tau | −3.8 | 10:13am | 2:50pm | 7:26pm | Evening |
| Mars | Leo | 0.5 | 1:45pm | 7:07pm | 12:32am | Evening |
| Jupiter | Ari | −1.9 | 5:11am | 10:41am | 4:10pm | Morning |
| Saturn | Sgr | 0.1 | 7:56pm | 3:17am | 10:35am | Morning |
| Uranus | Ari | 5.9 | 6:38am | 11:46am | 4:55pm | Hidden |
| Neptune | Vir | 7.9 | 2:47pm | 8:43pm | 2:42am | 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 9% Moon leaves the sky dark.
The solar system — May 2106
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 4 September 2026.