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THE ASTRONOMER Electronic Circular No 2496      2008 Nov 05 07.43UT
Ed:Guy M Hurst, 16,Westminster Close, Kempshott Rise,  Basingstoke,
Hants, RG22 4PP,England.Telephone/FAX(01256)471074Int:+441256471074
INTERNET: GUY@TAHQ.DEMON.CO.UK      Backup: gmh@wdcc1.bnsc.rl.ac.uk
WORLD WIDE WEB                         http://www.theastronomer.org
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GRAZING OCCULTATION OF NEPTUNE, 2008 NOV 6
The PLANOCCULT bulletins report:
Early on 2008 Nov 6 the UK has a comparatively rare opportunity to 
image, or simply observe, the remote planet Neptune close to the 
southern limb of the moon if you live in the south and east of the 
country. North and west UK observers enjoy a full occultation. The most 
interesting place to be is on the graze line, which crosses the country 
from SW to NE, from north Cornwall and north Devon, via south Wales to 
Stoke on Trent. From there the graze line heads towards Whitby on the 
North Sea coast, via Barnsley and York. In the grazing zone you may 
expect to see the planet dim and blink out several times as it is 
successively hidden and then reappears behind mountains on the moon's 
dark southern limb. After leaving England, the graze line continues 
towards the NE following the coastline of Norway.
A graphic showing the graze line, crossing the country, and another 
showing the position of the m(v) +7.9 planet in relation to the gibbous 
waxing moon's dark limb at the time can be found on the Popular 
Astronomy website at:
http://www.popastro.com/sections/occ.htm

Or directly at:
http://asteroccuk.x10hosting.com/lunarocc.htm.

Approximate times (UT) of the grazing event for various UK places on the 
line are as follows, but remember it is always a good idea to set up and 
locate Neptune 15 minutes or more before the predicted times of the 
event:

Lizard point: 18h 44, Barnstaple: 18h 46, Lynmouth: 18h 48, St Brides 
(S.Wales coast):18h 49, Brecon: 18h 50, Stoke on Trent: 18h 51, 
Barnsley: 18h 52, York: 18h 53, Whitby: 18h 54.

The approximate altitude and azimuth of the event is around: 22° & 183°, 
and the moon's age: 8.8 days

The next UK lunar occultation of Neptune is in just under 8 years time, 
on 2016 June 25 at around 23h 55m UT.

Guy M Hurst