The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — May 2179
Highlights this month
- 6ThuEta Aquariids meteor shower peaks (up to 50/hr). A thin 0% Moon leaves the sky dark.
- 9SunThe Moon passes Saturn — 5° apart. (6:19pm)
- 11TueThe Moon passes Mars — 3° apart. (5:51pm)
- 16SunMercury at greatest evening elongation (22° from the Sun, mag 0.3) — best evening apparition. (11:37am)
- 29SatMercury is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (1:56am)
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat 1 | 7:01am | 5:32pm | 10h 31m | 7:02pm | 5:32am |
| Mon 10 | 7:10am | 5:23pm | 10h 13m | 6:54pm | 5:39am |
| Thu 20 | 7:18am | 5:15pm | 9h 56m | 6:47pm | 5:46am |
| Mon 31 | 7:27am | 5:09pm | 9h 42m | 6:42pm | 5:53am |
Days shorten by about 49 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- New MoonFri 7, 7:22am
- First QuarterFri 14, 6:35pm
- Full MoonFri 21, 9:54am
- Last QuarterFri 28, 8:03pm
Apogee 3 May (405,700 km) · Perigee 18 May (363,500 km) · Apogee 30 May (405,100 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Tau | 0.2 | 9:09am | 1:46pm | 6:23pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Ari | −3.7 | 6:09am | 11:26am | 4:44pm | Hidden |
| Mars | Gem | 1.6 | 11:14am | 3:55pm | 8:36pm | Evening |
| Jupiter | Tau | −1.8 | 9:20am | 2:06pm | 6:51pm | Hidden |
| Saturn | Tau | −0.0 | 9:23am | 2:11pm | 7:00pm | Hidden |
| Uranus | Psc | 5.9 | 3:14am | 9:11am | 3:08pm | Morning |
| Neptune | Aqr | 7.9 | 1:08am | 7:37am | 2:06pm | 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 2179
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 10 October 2026.