The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — May 2166
Highlights this month
- 6TueEta Aquariids meteor shower peaks (up to 50/hr). A 43% Moon washes out fainter meteors for part of the night.
- 8ThuJupiter in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (6:39am)
- 13TueMercury at greatest evening elongation (21° from the Sun, mag 0.3) — best evening apparition. (9:53am)
- 14WedNeptune is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (1:12am)
- 19MonThe Moon passes Saturn — 3° apart. (11:05pm)
- 20TueUranus is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (2:52am)
- 25SunMercury is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (8:35pm)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thu 1 | 7:01am | 5:32pm | 10h 31m | 7:02pm | 5:32am |
| Sat 10 | 7:10am | 5:23pm | 10h 13m | 6:54pm | 5:39am |
| Tue 20 | 7:18am | 5:15pm | 9h 56m | 6:47pm | 5:46am |
| Sat 31 | 7:27am | 5:09pm | 9h 42m | 6:42pm | 5:53am |
Days shorten by about 49 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- First QuarterWed 7, 10:40am
- Full MoonThu 15, 3:00pm
- Last QuarterFri 23, 2:53am
- New MoonThu 29, 6:01pm
Apogee 11 May (405,800 km) · Perigee 27 May (362,700 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Tau | 0.6 | 9:07am | 1:44pm | 6:22pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Psc | −3.7 | 4:36am | 10:16am | 3:56pm | Morning |
| Mars | Cnc | 1.3 | 12:26pm | 5:20pm | 10:14pm | Evening |
| Jupiter | Ari | −1.9 | 6:48am | 11:56am | 5:04pm | Hidden |
| Saturn | Sgr | 0.2 | 8:56pm | 4:15am | 11:29am | Morning |
| Uranus | Cap | 5.8 | 10:59pm | 6:00am | 12:58pm | Morning |
| Neptune | Cap | 7.9 | 10:43pm | 5:45am | 12:43pm | 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 43% Moon washes out fainter meteors for part of the night.
The solar system — May 2166
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 6 October 2026.