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

Moon	New 13^th at 19.44h First Quarter 20^that 10.52h Full 28^th at 04.54h Last Quarter 6^that 18.33h	© 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. Summer Solstice occurs 21st at 10h08m. There are no Lunar or Solar 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 2205 starts on the 12^th at 15h53m22s.
Mercury	Is at superior conjunction on the 6^th when it passes less than 1° north of the Sun. It will therefore not be visible during the first half of the month being so close to the Sun. It may be possible to locate the planet in the bright twilight sky, low down in the west using a pair of binoculars during the second half of the month. On the evening of the 27^th, Mercury will be in a line that joins the two bright stars of Gemini, namely Castor and Pollux.
Venus	Will be easily visible in the western sky after sunset, shining at magnitude -3.9 to -4.1. A crescent Moon (14% illuminated) will be 6° to the left of Venus on the evening of the 16^th and should be a nice view through binoculars. See the open star cluster Messier 44 upper right of the Moon on the same night. You will need to use binoculars to see the cluster due to the bright twilight sky.
Mars	Is in the constellation Capricornus throughout the month, shining at magnitude -1.2 to -2.2. The disc of the planet as seen through a telescope will increase in apparent diameter from 15.3 to 21.0 arc seconds. The planet is low down in Manx skies and the image as seen through a telescope will be somewhat degraded due to poor seeing conditions. You may however glimpse some of the dusky shadings on the planet.
Jupiter	Rises at 17.58h (in daylight) on the 1^st, shining at magnitude -2.5 in the constellation Libra. By the end of the month, the planet will rise mid afternoon and will be past the meridian by the time darkness falls. The Great Red Spot may be seen using a telescope in good seeing conditions. Using a light blue filter with an eyepiece will help. Opportunities to see the Great Red Spot from Mann occur on a regular basis. Click here for suitable dates and times. As the moons orbit Jupiter, there are occasions when the shadow of the moons can be seen upon the surface of Jupiter and the moons can transit across Jupiter's disc. Also, the moons can be seen to be occulted or eclipsed by Jupiter. There are many events throughout the month. See periodicals such as the BAA Handbook, Astronomy Now and Sky at Night magazines for listings. To help you identify the moons at any particular time, Sky and Telescope have a Java tool that will plot the moon positions. Click Here.
Saturn	Is at opposition this month on the 27^th in Sagittarius. It will be shining at magnitude -0.0 On the 28^th, the very near Full Moon is 2.8° upper right of Saturn. The brightest moon of Saturn, Titan will be east of the planet on 13^th ,14^th ,15^th 16^th ,29^th and 30^th . It will be west of the planet on 6^th ,7^th ,8^th ,22^nd ,23^rd and 24^th . A telescope will be required to see this moon, shining at magnitude +8.5.
Meteors	Ophiuchid meteors are active from May to July with two peaks of activity on the 10^th and 20^th this month. The shower is weak with only 5 meteors per hour at best (ZHR). Radiant for the peak on the 10^th is at RA 17h56m Dec. -23° and the radiant for the 20^th is at RA 17h20m Dec. -20°.
Lunar Occultations (Stars Brighter than Magnitude +6.0)	Date Time ZC# SAO# Magnitude. P.A. Type of event. Notes 24 23.23:07 2247 159466 5.4 099° DD eta Libra 28 22.39:26 2779 187643 3.8 231° RD omicron Sgr. D* For a 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.
Noctilucent Clouds	June is a month where noctilucent clouds may be seen in the northern skies. They appear as glowing electric blue clouds in the middle of the night and some displays can be vary bright. These clouds are at very high altitudes, around 80 km high and it is this high altitude that makes them glow with sunlight illuminating them from below the northern horizon. On the Spaceweather.com web site, there is a graphic showing showing latest observations from AIM satellite, sent up to investigate these mysterious clouds.
Algol	This star drops from magnitude +2.1 to +3.4 in about 5 hours. There are no suitable dates for observing this month. Click here for a star chart for Algol.
Comet	There are no predicted bright comets this month.
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.