In Manx skies... July 2008 ~ compiled by Dave Storey
Moon	New 3^rd at 02.19h First Quarter 10^that 04.35h Full 18^th at 07.59h Last Quarter 25^that 18.42h 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 western elongation of 22 degrees on 1^st and superior conjunction on the 29^th . The planet is a morning object but is well south and will be poorly placed for observation this month.
Venus	Has moved into the evening sky and will be a difficult object to see from Manx shores. The planet will gradually move away from the sun's glare and will be better placed for viewing next month.
Mars	Is in Leo and at the start of the month, close to the north of Regulus. The planet is moving prograde (west to east) and will be seen to catch up the the planet Saturn also in Leo on the 10^th when it passes about 2/3 degree below Saturn. Of the two, Saturn will be the brighter at mag. +0.8 compared to Mars' mag. of +1.7 This conjunction will be best seen in binoculars as it occurs in a bright sky low in the west after sun down. As the month progresses, the planet will eventually be lost in the evening twilight sky.
Jupiter	Remains in the constellation Sagittarius throughout the month, shining at a bright -2.7 It reaches opposition on the night of the 9^th and will rise in the east when the sun sets. As the planet is low down in the south during late evening, the view as seen through a telescope will be degraded by the turbulence within the earth's atmosphere. You will be able to watch the four Galilean change positions either side of the planet night after night. You will also be able to see the eclipses of the moons as they pass behind and into the Jovian shadow. Also, with careful observation, you may see some of the moon shadow transits across Jupiter's disc.
Saturn	Is in Leo and found in the west after sunset. It is joined by Mars this month. See above. Through a telescope, the rings will be seen tilted at an angle of 8.5 to 7.0 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 3^rd , 4^th ,5^th ,19^th ,20^th21^st and east of the planet on 11^th,12^th ,13^th ,27^th ,28^th ,29^th.
Uranus	Rises at 23.30hrs at the beginning of the month and will become better placed towards the end of the month when it will rise at 21.25hrs. You will need a good pair of binoculars as a minimum requirement see this stellar object, shining at magnitude +5.8 It will be low in the south in the constellation of Aquarius. Click here for close field of view within red box shown above. Guide8 Graphic
Neptune	Rises at 22.40hrs at the start of the month and rising at 20.35hrs at months end. It will be seen through a telescope at a faint +7.8 in Carpricornus. Click here for close field of view within red box shown above. Guide 8 Graphic
Meteors	Alpha-Cygnids are active during July through August with a maximum on 21 July and 21 August. It is a weak shower with best rates at only 5 per hour. Capricornids are active throughout July and August and again has a low rate of 5 per hour. There are three nights when activity peaks; 8^th, 15^th and 26^th July. These meteors have be recorded as yellow-blue in colour. Perseids become active this month on the 23^rd and these meteors will become more common towards the end of the month as the shower heads towards its peaks on the 11^th August.
Algol	This star drops from magnitude +2.1 to +3.4 in about 5 hours. Minimum of this star is reached on the following dates as seen from the IoM: 6^th at 00.54h, 26^th at 02.36h and 28^th at 23.24h. Click here for star chart
Comet	Comets being unpredictable with regards their brightness may give a good opportunity of seeing a comet this month. Comet Boattini C/2007 W1 is crawling its way up into the northern skies and may be a naked eye object in the early morning sky. It is certainly likely to be visible in a pair of binoculars. You need to be up at 1 am and search the east horizon for this comet. See graphic left.
The Stars	Click on either above graphic for a larger view. Hercules rides high in the sky,due south in mid July. The constellation lies between Corona Borealis and Lyra. The central section forming a key stone shaped asterim. To the right side of this key stone is the brightest globular star cluster in the northern hemisphere. Shining at magnitude +5.8, it is just visible to the naked eye from a dark observing site. It looks like a fuzzy ball through a pair of binoculars. A small telescope will show this much better and when using a large telescope, the view is spectacular as you see over hundred thousand stars compactly squeezed into a small patch of sky. The angular size on the sky extends to 23.2 arc minutes which is about ¾ the diameter of the moon. There are two other globular cluster in Hercules that are just as impressive and usually overlooked. Using the chart, track down M92 which is only slightly fainter than M13 and about half the size. (Magnitude +6.4 diameter 12.2 arc minutes) NGC 6229 is smaller still and consequently fainter. Magnitude +9.4 with a diameter of 3.8 arc minutes. South of the keystone, a faint and more difficult object to find with a telescope is the planetary nebula NGC 6210. It is very small in size, only 0.23 arc minutes. Planetary Nebulae are stars that are old and have shed part of their outer atmospheres. Using high telescopic magnifications, planetary nebulae look like small faint planets. The variable star AC Hercules is shown in the chart above in the box. This box is reproduced right and shows the variable star with a cross upon it. Around the star are red lettered stars with a key showing the identified stars with their known magnitudes. Use these comparison stars to estimate how bright AC Hercules is. Over time, you will be able to draw a light curve changing brightness from +6.8 to fainter +9.0 The star is a semiregular variable with a rough period of 75 days.