The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — May 2173
Highlights this month
- 5WedMercury at greatest evening elongation (21° from the Sun, mag 0.2) — best evening apparition. (12:01pm)
- 6ThuEta Aquariids meteor shower peaks (up to 50/hr). A 33% Moon washes out fainter meteors for part of the night.
- 9SunThe Moon passes Saturn — 3° apart. (4:32am)
- 17MonMercury is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (9:34am)
- 28FriMercury in inferior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (11:47am)
- 29SatNeptune is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (9:37pm)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat 1 | 7:02am | 5:32pm | 10h 30m | 7:02pm | 5:32am |
| Mon 10 | 7:10am | 5:23pm | 10h 13m | 6:53pm | 5:39am |
| Thu 20 | 7:19am | 5:14pm | 9h 56m | 6:47pm | 5:46am |
| Mon 31 | 7:27am | 5:08pm | 9h 42m | 6:42pm | 5:53am |
Days shorten by about 49 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- Last QuarterWed 5, 4:02am
- New MoonWed 12, 8:44am
- First QuarterThu 20, 10:10am
- Full MoonThu 27, 7:05pm
Perigee 2 May (368,200 km) · Apogee 18 May (405,100 km) · Perigee 29 May (363,000 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Tau | 2.0 | 8:43am | 1:25pm | 6:06pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Tau | −3.7 | 9:15am | 1:57pm | 6:39pm | Hidden |
| Mars | Tau | 1.5 | 8:06am | 12:57pm | 5:48pm | Hidden |
| Jupiter | Oph | −2.3 | 6:34pm | 1:55am | 9:11am | Morning |
| Saturn | Psc | 0.9 | 3:32am | 9:27am | 3:23pm | Morning |
| Uranus | Aqr | 5.9 | 1:19am | 7:45am | 2:11pm | Morning |
| Neptune | Cap | 7.9 | 12:02am | 6:45am | 1:28pm | 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 33% Moon washes out fainter meteors for part of the night.
The solar system — May 2173
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 7 October 2026.