In Manx skies... May 2008 ~ compiled by Dave Storey

Moon

New
5^th at 12.18h

First Quarter
12^th at 03.47h

Full
20^th at 02.11h

Last Quarter
28^th at 02.57h

There are no Lunar or Solar Eclipses this month.

Graphic © Copyright CalculatorCat.com

Note: All times are Universal Time (UT)
BST is currently in force. Add 1 hr. to any quoted times to get local IoM time.

Mercury

Reaches greatest eastern elongation on 14^th when it will be 22 degrees to the left of the sun. It will therefore be visible soon after sunset in the west. Wait until the sun has set and then use a pair of binoculars to pick out the planet in the twilight sky. Through a telescope, a 72% gibbous phase may be seen, shining at magnitude -0.8 at the start of the month and as the planet moves further away from the sun, the phase shrinks to 50% by the 8^th / 9^th. The magnitude will have dropped to -0.1 by then and as the planet continues moving around the sun, the phase continues to shrink, showing a crescent phase. The planet continues to get ever fainter on consequently more difficult to find in the bright twilight sky by months end.

Venus

The planet is not visible this month as it is on the far side of the sun.

Mars

Resides in Gemini at the beginning of the month shinning at magnitude +1.2. It is moving prograde ( right to left in the sky ) and crosses into the constellation of Cancer on 5^th. One interesting alignment of Mars with the two bright stars of Castor and Pollux occurs on this date also. The planet is now too far away to see any details upon its surface. Mars passes across the open star cluster M44 (The Beehive) between 21^st and 24^th and will be a lovely sight through a pair of binoculars and a photo opportunity!

Click here for a larger resolution graphic. Image based on Guide8 data.

Jupiter

Rises at 01.20hrs at the beginning of the month in the constellation Sagittarius and rises at 22.20 by the end of the month. The planet should be easily identified in the dawn sky, low in the south east, shinning at a bright magnitude of -2.4 to -2.6. As seen through a telescope, the parallel equatorial belts should easily be seen along with the four bright moons that change positions night after night, either side of the planet.

Saturn

Can be found near the bright star Regulus in Leo at the beginning of the month. The planet moves towards Regulus until the 3^rd, when it will appear to stop its left to right motion (retrograde motion) and then revert to a right to left motion (prograde motion). From this date, the planet will draw away from Regulus, heading towards Cancer. Through a telescope, the rings will still look impressive, tilted at an angle of 9.9 to 9.5 degrees towards the earth. Note the southern face of the rings will be pointed in our direction.
The bright moon Titan can be seen west of Saturn on 1^st ,2^nd , 16^th ,17^th ,18^th and east of the planet on 8^th,9^th ,10^th ,24^th ,25^th ,26^th.

Uranus

Is poorly placed on the far side of the sun for observing this month.

Neptune

Is poorly placed on the far side of the sun for observing this month.

Meteors

Eta-Aquarids are active during the last week of April to the 20^th May with a maximum peak on May 4^th, when 40 meteors per hours can be seen in ideal conditions. It is of interest to note that when you see an Eta-Aquarid meteor, you are seeing a piece of the famous Halley's Comet that is currently over 31 AU distant. (4.6 billion km / 2.9 billion miles)
Alpha-Scorpiids is a weak shower that is active between 20^th April through 19^th May. There are two maximum dates on 27^th April and 12^th May when 5 meteors per hour can be seen in ideal conditions.

Algol

This star drops from magnitude +2.1 to +3.4 in about 5 hours. Minimum of this star is reached on the following date as seen from the IoM: 1^st at 02.06h.
Click here for star chart

Comet

There are no predicted bright comets.

The Stars

Galaxies Galore are found in the night sky between Leo and Boötes. If you want to see galaxies, then now is a good time to find the numerous Messier galaxies that lie to to north of Virgo and the faint constellation of Coma Berenices.

Click Here for a high Resolution View.

The North Galactic Pole (NGP) lies within Coma Berenices and looking in this direction, we are looking out 90 degrees away from our own galaxy. This allows an unobstructed view into deep space, away from the dusty spiral arms that make up the Milky Way. You will need a very dark sky and a good sized telescope to see the galaxies. They are very faint and diffuse objects. Only photography or CCD images will reveal their true nature. Do remember to let your eyes become dark adapted before you start hunting down these fuzzy objects.