MANX SKY AT NIGHT - JULY 2020

Manx Sky at Night

In this edition of the Manx Sky At Night, astronomer Howard Parkin looks at the skies over the Island and explains how to find all the planets - Saturn, Jupiter, Mars and Venus - which will all be on display if we get some clear nights during the month of August.
The Perseid Metor Shower will also be another feature in the coming weeks.
The music break this week is - very appropriately - Life on Mars by David Bowie - as there are now three separate missions on their way to explore the planet, all due to arrive on Mars in February 2021. Howard speculates on what the missions may discover - and looks forward to the return of the Dragon SpaceX from its trip to the International Space Station.
And as you might imagine, Howard has plenty to say about that amazing comet - Neowise - so named because it was discovered in March this year by NASA's Near Earth Object Widefield Infrared Survey Explorer! It's been putting on a dazzling display, but once it disappears, the comet won't be seen again for another 6,800 years!