In Manx skies... September 2018 ~ compiled by Dave Storey

Moon	New 9^th at 18.03h First Quarter 16^that 23.16h Full 25^th at 02.54h Last Quarter 3^rdat 02.39h	© Copyright CalculatorCat.com Note: All times are Universal Time (UT) British Summer Time is now in force. Remember to add 1 hour to any times quoted here to get local IoM time. Autumn Equinox occurs on 23^rd at 01.55h. There are no solar or lunar eclipses this month.
Sun	Solar activity is low with solar cycle 24 now in force. WARNING: NEVER DIRECTLY OBSERVE THE SUN WITH YOUR NAKED EYES AND/OR OPTICAL INSTRUMENTATION: YOU WILL BE BLINDED! Carrington's Solar Rotation number 2208 starts on the 2nd at 07h29m05s.
Mercury	Is in the morning skies during the first week of the month shining at magnitude -0.8. On the 1^st, it will rise at 03.41h which is about 1hour 40 minutes before sunrise. On the morning of the 6^th, Mercury passes 1° north of the star Regulus in Leo. Mercury will be the brighter of the two, shining at magnitude -1.1compared to Regulus at +1.4. From this date, Mercury moves even close to the sun and it will become lost in the bright dawn sky. It goes through superior conjunction (far side of the Sun) on the 21^st when it will pass 1.5° north of the Sun.
Venus	Will be very low soon after sunset during the month, shining at magnitude -4.6. The planet is not well place for viewing from northern latitudes this month due to the angle of the ecliptic being at a shallow angle with the horizon. The planet will always be low down when darkness falls. By the end of the month, Venus will be setting at the same time as the Sun.
Mars	Now well pass opposition, will be found low in the south after sunset. It will be bright at magnitude -2.1 on the 1^st and fading to -1.3 by months end. The disc of the planet will be getting smaller as it draws away from Earth, from an apparent diameter of 20.8 arc seconds to 15.6 arc seconds. Any view as seen through a telescope from the Isle of Man will be degraded due to the low altitude of the planet.
Jupiter	Will be very low in the south west after sunset at the start of the month. It will be poorly placed for viewing this month.
Saturn	Is in Sagittarius this month, low in the south after sunset. It shines at magnitude +0.4 to +0.5 and as seen through a telescope, the rings of the planet are well presented towards the Earth at an angle of +26°. The bright moon Titan (magnitude +8.7) can be seen west of the planet on the 9^th ,10^th ,11^th ,12^th ,25^th ,26^th ,27^th and 28^th . It will be found east of the planet on 1^st ,2^nd ,3^rd ,17^th ,18^th and 19^th .
Neptune	Is at opposition on the 7^th in Aquarius, shining at magnitude +7.8 so a telescope will be required to see the planet. It will have an apparent disc diameter of 2.4 arc seconds. At this time, the planet is at a distance of 28.9 astronomical units (4,328,000,000 km). Use the star charts below to locate this planet. The red boxes show the next higher scale map. Numbers in charts are Flamsteed Star Catalogue numbers. Wide Field View. Medium Field View Narrow Field View
Meteors	Piscid meteors are active during September and October. There are three nights of peak activity; 9^th ,21^st September and one on 13^th October. The rate is low with 10 meteors (ZHR) on the 9^th and 5 per hour on the 21^st . Radiants for 9^th and 21^st are RA 00h36m Dec. +07° and 00h24m Dec. 00° respectively.
Lunar Occultations (Stars Brighter than Magnitude +6.0)	Date Time ZC# SAO# Magnitude. P.A. Type of event. Notes 21st 20.19:26 3171 164560 +3.7 116° DD gamma Cap. D* 23rd 21.38:08 3425 146620 +4.4 070° DD psi1 Aqr. D* 27th 21.20:38 364 110543 +4.3 268° RD xi2 Cet. 28th 23.15:12 491 93416 +6.0 116° RD D* 30th 02.06:58 650 93900 +5.6 292° RD 63 Tau. D* For very detailed list of occultations visible this month, click here. Data from Occult Software. Times are UT as seen from IoMAS Observatory. Start to observe these events about 20 minutes before the above times to allow for differences in your latitude and longitude. This will give you time to locate the star that is about to be occulted. ZC = Zodiacal Catalogue. Type of Event DD = disappearance at dark limb, RD = Reappearance at dark limb. RB = Reappearance on bright limb. PA = Position Angle around limb of the Moon, where 0 degrees is north, 90 degrees is east, 180 degrees is south and 270 degrees is west. D* = Double Star M* = Multiple Star. The above predictions were calculated from Occult software by David Herald. More information regarding this software may be found at the lunar-occultations.com web site.
Algol	This star drops from magnitude +2.1 to +3.4 in about 5 hours. Suitable events visible from the Isle of Man this month occur on 7^th at 02.42h, 9^th at 23.30h and 30^th at 01.18h. Click here for a star chart for Algol.
Comet	Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner will grace the northern sky this month, starting the month at magnitude +7.2 and brightens slightly to +7.0 by the 10^th. After this date, it will start to fade and be down to magnitude +7.6 by the end of month. It will passes very close to the bright star Capella in Auriga on the night of the 2^nd at less than 1° separation. It will be low down in the north after sunset but gets better for viewing as it rises higher into the north eastern sky by the early morning hours. Use the chart below to track down this this fuzzy comet. You will need the use of either binoculars or telescope to see it plus a nice dark sky. Click here for an ephemeris of this comet.
ISS	The international Space Station crosses the Manx skies on a regular basis. For the latest information on when the ISS is due to pass across the sky over the next ten days, visit the link below. ISS transit Information from Heavens Above.com
	Bibliography for Manx Night Skies The Handbook of the British Astronomical Association 2018. BAA. 2017 2018 Stargazing. Heather Couper & Nigel Henbest. Philip's 2017 2018 Guide to the Night Sky. Storm Dunlop & Wil Tirion. Collins 2017 Yearbook of Astronomy 2018. Brian Jones/Richard Pearson. Pen & Sword White Owl. 2017 Observer's Handbook Meteors. Neil Bone. Philip's 1993 Atlas of the Night Sky. Storm Dunlop. Collins. 2005 Constellations. Josef Klepešta and Antonin Rükl. Hamlyn. 1979 Brilliant Stars. Patrick Moore. The Book People Ltd. 1996 Complete Guide to Stargazing. Robin Scagell. Phillip's. 2006 Turn Left at Orion. Guy Consolmango and Dan M. Davis. Cambridge U.P. 2008 Norton's 2000.0 Edited Ian Ridpath. Longman Scientific & Technical. 1989 Planetary data derived from Guide 9 Software. Picture graphics derived from Stellarium and Guide 9 Software.