The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — May 2159
Highlights this month
- 6SunEta Aquariids meteor shower peaks (up to 50/hr). A bright 87% Moon interferes badly this year.
- 7MonThe Moon passes Mars — 2° apart. (6:36am)
- 20SunMars is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (11:51pm)
- 21MonMercury at greatest evening elongation (22° from the Sun, mag 0.4) — best evening apparition. (9:47am)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tue 1 | 7:01am | 5:33pm | 10h 31m | 7:02pm | 5:32am |
| Thu 10 | 7:09am | 5:23pm | 10h 14m | 6:54pm | 5:39am |
| Sun 20 | 7:18am | 5:15pm | 9h 57m | 6:47pm | 5:46am |
| Thu 31 | 7:27am | 5:09pm | 9h 42m | 6:42pm | 5:53am |
Days shorten by about 49 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- Full MoonWed 2, 9:10pm
- Last QuarterFri 11, 1:39am
- New MoonFri 18, 3:08am
- First QuarterThu 24, 6:13pm
Apogee 7 May (405,700 km) · Perigee 19 May (359,200 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Tau | −0.2 | 9:05am | 1:43pm | 6:20pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Gem | −4.5 | 10:56am | 3:26pm | 7:56pm | Evening |
| Mars | Sgr | −1.3 | 7:48pm | 3:19am | 10:47am | Morning |
| Jupiter | Vir | −2.1 | 3:05pm | 9:09pm | 3:18am | Evening |
| Saturn | Vir | 0.3 | 3:56pm | 10:18pm | 4:45am | Evening |
| Uranus | Sgr | 5.7 | 8:36pm | 4:00am | 11:19am | Morning |
| Neptune | Sgr | 7.9 | 9:28pm | 4:42am | 11:52am | 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 bright 87% Moon interferes badly this year.
The solar system — May 2159
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.
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Generated automatically from the MPAS sky engine on 30 September 2026.