The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — May 2160
Highlights this month
- 2FriMercury at greatest evening elongation (21° from the Sun, mag 0.2) — best evening apparition. (11:17am)
- 6TueEta Aquariids meteor shower peaks (up to 50/hr). A thin 0% Moon leaves the sky dark.
- 14WedMercury is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (3:31am)
- 18SunThe Moon passes Jupiter — 5° apart. (9:58pm)
- 25SunMercury in inferior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (2:16am)
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 56m | 6:47pm | 5:46am |
| Sat 31 | 7:27am | 5:08pm | 9h 41m | 6:42pm | 5:53am |
Days shorten by about 49 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- New MoonTue 6, 5:08pm
- First QuarterTue 13, 1:16pm
- Full MoonTue 20, 3:51pm
- Last QuarterWed 28, 5:11pm
Perigee 11 May (368,800 km) · Apogee 26 May (405,000 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Tau | 3.0 | 8:26am | 1:11pm | 5:56pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Tau | −3.8 | 7:38am | 12:36pm | 5:33pm | Hidden |
| Mars | Tau | 1.7 | 9:38am | 2:19pm | 6:59pm | Hidden |
| Jupiter | Lib | −2.3 | 4:25pm | 11:08pm | 5:56am | Evening |
| Saturn | Vir | 0.1 | 4:26pm | 11:04pm | 5:45am | Evening |
| Uranus | Sgr | 5.7 | 8:53pm | 4:15am | 11:33am | Morning |
| Neptune | Sgr | 7.9 | 9:36pm | 4:48am | 11:57am | 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 0% Moon leaves the sky dark.
The solar system — May 2160
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 2 October 2026.