1. MOON TO PASS IN FRONT OF VENUS! As announced in our June magazine, for the first time in 3 years the Moon will pass in front of ("occult") the planet Venus on Monday June 18 as seen from Ireland. Back on May 21st, 2004 it was cloudy from Dublin at Astronomy Ireland's office and Shop so it's been a long time since such an amazing sight has been seen. It will be daytime when the event happens but with binoculars and telescopes everyone should be able to see it. First a warning, DO NOT LOOK AT THE SUN WITH YOUR EYES, BINOCULARS OR TELESCOPES! YOU WILL BE BLINDED. Try to stand in the shadow of a building so the Sun is just covered by the building. The exact time that the Moon passes in front of Venus will vary by up to 6 minutes depending on where you are located around Ireland. The Moon will pass in front of Venus from between 2:47pm and 2:53pm with those on the West coast seeing it earlier, and those in the East see it those few minutes later. Starting around 2pm to 2:30pm, with the naked eye, look 45 degrees to the left of the Sun and about 10 degrees lower than the Sun and you should be able to see the thin crescent Moon (14% of its diameter will be sunlit). Now aim your binoculars at the Moon (being very careful never to look near the Sun!) and you should easily see Venus just to the lower left of the Moon in broad daylight with even the smallest binoculars. 10x50s are ideal. If it's a good clear day you should be able to see Venus with the naked eye next to the Moon! This will be a remarkable sight with the naked eye or binoculars and we want you to email us to tell us if you could see this or not: observe@astronomy.ie Now for the occultation itself: If you have even a small telescope you'll get an amazing view of the occultation at the times above (2:47pm-2:53pm)! The disk of Venus is about 26 arc seconds wide and 44% sunlit so it will appear almost 'half full'. The dark (invisible) edge of the Moon will begin to cover Venus' brilliant disk and it may take a few seconds for you to realise the occultation has begun. It will take 72 seconds for the Moon's edge to cross Venus' full diameter, but because only 44% of Venus is sunlit you'll only see the sunlit side of Venus passing behind the Moon for roughly half that time i.e. about 36 seconds. Try to time this if you can. It should be one of the most remarkable 36 seconds of your life. This "disappearance" happens slightly left of the bottom edge of the Moon's (dark and therefore invisible) edge. See link to diagram below. Then you have to wait an hour and a quarter until Venus reappears from behind the Moon. Again, the times vary depending on where you are around Ireland but it will be between 4:03pm and 4:12pm, again, with those in the West seeing it first. As Venus will "reappear" from behind the bright (sunlit) edge of the Moon a telescope will be better than binoculars to get the first glimpse of this occurring. Again try to time how long it takes and email us your report. Venus will reappear from behind the right hand edge of Moon so have your telescope or binoculars trained there. For naked eye observers we want to know how soon after Venus begins to reappear from behind the Moon can you see it? Send us your location and the exact time (dial 1191 to get the speaking clock which is very accurate). WEATHER: Both the disappearance and the reappearance happen high in Irish skies so let's hope for clear weather or at least some breaks in any clouds. Don't give up just because it's looking dismal. We saw the Saturn occultation on May 22nd when the clouds miraculously parted just minutes before the event! And remember, for several hours after the event you will still get a chance to locate Venus in the daytime sky with the naked eye by using the Moon as signpost, an observation well worth performing. After dark, the Moon will be spectacularly close to Venus all evening also. Don't miss this! See the diagram at www.astronomy.ie/press/Venus_Occ.jpg. There are more details of all this in the Sky Diary pages of the June issue of our magazine on page 27 and diagrams too (but note the times on the diagram "15:10" and "16:00" should read "16:10" and "17:00"). Click on www.astronomy.ie/sub if you don't already get our magazine, there are lots of other things to see, all for only 5euro incl postage. We await your reports (and photos?) so please email observe@astronomy.ie and we'll report your sighting for posterity in our magazine. 2. Lots More To See I.S.S.+Shuttle: record numbers called our Newslines to get the time to see these last week and hear the latest news. They are no longer visible from Ireland but you can still follow the story until Atlantis lands around 7pm June 21 at www.nasa.gov/shuttle. I.S.S. is next visible in Irish skies August 4th-16th. Hundreds more beginners joined this emailing list as a result - welcome! If you want to get our magazine or if you know anyone else interested in space please get them to sign up at www.astronomy.ie/sub Venus: blazing in the West until after midnight until mid July. View it with a telescope in strong twilight when it's highest and glare against a dark sky is less of a problem. Telescope owners will now see its disk swell up to over 40 arc second wide crescent by mid July - a rare sight. Saturn: easy to find every evening as Venus is a getting close (closest on June 30 just 0.7 degree apart!). Glorious sight in a telescope with its rings and its main moons on view (see Titan diagram in our magazine's Sky Diary). Only a few more weeks to see it well so get your telescope out. Jupiter: the 'star' of the summer. Now closest to Earth and visible all night in the South sky as the brightest 'star' (after Venus). Brilliant sight in a telescope with some or all of its 4 main moons visible every night even in binoculars. Times to see its Great Read Spot amongst its impressive cloud belts are in our magazine's Sky Diary pages. It's the main attraction at Star-B-Q on Sept. 8 (book now and get 10euro off www.astronomy.ie/sbq) Moon: This is always a fantastic sight in a telescope and over the next 2 weeks it will be a specially glorious sight in evening skies giving lots to see. Try 'snapping' it at your telescope's eyepiece with even your camera phone and email us any good results. Sun: Remember, new sunspots can break out any time. As they did last month. NEVER LOOK DIRECTLY AT THE SUN - use AstroSolar Filter sheets available from our Shop. Call the number below. Great Summer Planet Viewing: Don't let the late evenings put you off observing when there is so much planetary viewing to do, you can even observe Venus in daylight remember! So get your telescopes out and keep sending in those reports and photos to observe@astronomy.ie this summer. Telescopes: If you don't have a telescope yet you can get advice 6 days a week from our Shop staff on (01) 847 0777 and remember they are there for the rest of your life to help you use the telescope to its best so please do call for advice - you can get an impressive telescope for just a few euros per week e.g. the new NexStar SE range which were featured on the insert in the latest magazine (www.astronomy.ie/NexStarSE.doc) and which are a real price breakthrough, and our Shop will match or beat any price in the world. Ask for a free catalogue when you call or download it here www.astronomy.ie/AItelescopes.pdf (most models are in stock now). And email observe@astronomy.ie with a brief note of everything you see. Astronomy Ireland Society · Magazine · Telescopes www.astronomy.ie Tel (01) 847 0777