The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — May 2146
Highlights this month
- 4WedThe Moon passes Mars — 5° apart. (9:14am)
- 6FriEta Aquariids meteor shower peaks (up to 50/hr). A thin 20% Moon leaves the sky dark.
- 7SatUranus at opposition — closest and brightest of the year, up all night in Libra (mag 5.4). (4:09pm)
- 18WedMercury at greatest evening elongation (22° from the Sun, mag 0.4) — best evening apparition. (7:36am)
- 19ThuThe Moon passes Jupiter — 3° apart. (2:59pm)
- 31TueMercury is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (1:02am)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun 1 | 7:01am | 5:32pm | 10h 31m | 7:02pm | 5:32am |
| Tue 10 | 7:09am | 5:23pm | 10h 13m | 6:54pm | 5:39am |
| Fri 20 | 7:18am | 5:15pm | 9h 56m | 6:47pm | 5:46am |
| Tue 31 | 7:27am | 5:09pm | 9h 42m | 6:42pm | 5:53am |
Days shorten by about 49 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- Last QuarterTue 3, 6:54pm
- New MoonWed 11, 5:04am
- First QuarterThu 19, 8:34am
- Full MoonThu 26, 11:46am
Apogee 15 May (405,600 km) · Perigee 27 May (359,800 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Tau | 0.1 | 9:09am | 1:46pm | 6:23pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Gem | −3.9 | 10:25am | 3:00pm | 7:36pm | Evening |
| Mars | Aqr | 0.2 | 12:06am | 6:54am | 1:41pm | Morning |
| Jupiter | Leo | −1.9 | 1:38pm | 7:01pm | 12:27am | Evening |
| Saturn | Ari | 0.3 | 5:51am | 11:14am | 4:37pm | Hidden |
| Uranus | Lib | 5.4 | 4:47pm | 11:43pm | 6:42am | All night |
| Neptune | Sgr | 7.8 | 7:17pm | 2:38am | 9:54am | Morning |
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 20% Moon leaves the sky dark.
The solar system — May 2146
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 17 September 2026.