THE Isle of Man's first Pie in the Sky event has been declared a success by organisers after they sold all 192 places.
The event, organised by Isle of Man Railways, combined a trip to Snaefell on the mountain railway, an evening meal and star gazing with members of the Isle of Man Astronomical Society.
Passengers on Friday, October 8, were greeted at the summit by glorious views as the sun set on the horizon.
The lack of light pollution revealed perfect star gazing conditions and Howard Parkin, chairman of the Isle of Man Astronomical Society, was able to point out the Milky Way, various constellations, satellites and at least one meteor. With the aid of a telescope the planet Jupiter could be seen with its atmospheric bands and Galilean moons.
Howard said: "We really were fortunate with the weather the skies seemed to clear at about 6pm and with little wind at the summit viewing conditions really were ideal.
"The lack of light pollution on the summit meant that the Milky Way was really prominent and we spent nearly an hour showing everyone the sights and explaining the various features and the mythology of many of the constellations."
Poor weather on Saturday, October 9, saw Howard presenting an informative and entertaining set of videos and images detailing what could be seen in clear weather.
This also included video footage of the live link up with the International Space Station held last October with NASA astronaut Nicole Stott at the Manx Museum as well as two Manx Space exploits - the Cregneash Apollo mission and the MEA space programme.
Community, Culture and Leisure Minister David Cretney MHK said: "I thoroughly enjoyed Friday night's Pie in the Sky event. Conditions were perfect and it is amazing just how much of the night sky you can see from the Snaefell summit.
"Having Howard and his team there to point out specific constellations, planets and stars and the satellites passing overhead was very educating.
"This has been another hugely successful event by Isle of Man Railways and something I hope to repeat next year."
