The Sky for the Month

The Sky over the Mornington Peninsula — May 2187

Computed for The Briars, Mt Martha. Times are local (Melbourne).

Highlights this month

  • 1TueMercury is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (9:13am)
  • 2WedThe Moon passes Jupiter — 3° apart. (6:32am)
  • 6SunEta Aquariids meteor shower peaks (up to 50/hr). A thin 6% Moon leaves the sky dark.
  • 11FriMercury in inferior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (8:26pm)
  • 13SunMars is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (5:03pm)
  • 18FriThe Moon passes Saturn — 3° apart. (7:28pm)
  • 24ThuMercury is stationary — resumes direct (eastward) motion. (4:20am)
  • 29TueThe Moon passes Jupiter — 3° apart. (11:54pm)

Sun & twilight

DateSunriseSunsetDay lengthAstro. dark beginsends
Tue 17:01am5:32pm10h 31m7:02pm5:32am
Thu 107:10am5:23pm10h 13m6:54pm5:39am
Sun 207:18am5:15pm9h 56m6:47pm5:46am
Thu 317:27am5:09pm9h 42m6:42pm5:53am

Days shorten by about 49 minutes over the month.

The Moon

  • New MoonTue 8, 10:29pm
  • First QuarterTue 15, 10:47pm
  • Full MoonTue 22, 8:31pm
  • Last QuarterWed 30, 6:05pm

Apogee 2 May (404,900 km) · Perigee 16 May (369,800 km) · Apogee 29 May (404,800 km)

The planets

Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.

PlanetInMagRiseTransitSetBest
MercuryAri6.06:46am11:55am5:03pmHidden
VenusAri−3.76:12am11:29am4:45pmHidden
MarsVir−0.52:53pm8:52pm2:55amEvening
JupiterAqr−2.012:16am6:57am1:39pmMorning
SaturnVir0.73:09pm9:10pm3:14amEvening
UranusAri5.95:44am11:04am4:24pmHidden
NeptunePsc7.92:34am8:42am2:50pmMorning

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 6% Moon leaves the sky dark.

The solar system — May 2187

Evening sky Morning sky Up much of the night Lost in the Sun’s glare

Generated automatically from the MPAS sky engine on 15 October 2026.