THE HEAVENS IN FEBRUARY 



265 



thus we know that although it appears 

 to us to about equal our near neighbor, 

 Sirius, it must in reality be almost in- 

 conceivably brighter. 



Unfortunately, this beautiful object 

 lies so far below the celestial Equator 

 that it cannot be seen from points on 

 the earth of a higher north latitude 

 than thirty seven degrees. By obser- 

 vers in this latitude it will be seen to 

 just rise above the south horizon at 

 nine o'clock in the evening of February 

 6 .while throughout Texas. Lower, Cali- 



Venus has been mounting upward in 

 the southwest and how it has contin- 

 ually increased in brightness until now; 

 it is more than seven times brighter 

 than even the Dog Star itself. The very 

 favorable position of this beautiful ob- 

 ject is, in fact, the most striking char- 

 acteristic of the present month. We 

 will have to wait until September, 1914, 

 before we will again see our sister 

 world shine so brightly as an evening 

 star. 



Venus will reach its farthest distance 



NDH" 



.soi_i-r^ 



Figure 1 — The Constellations. February 1, 9 P. M. (If facing south hold the map upright. If 

 facing East below; if facing west, hold West below. If facing north hold the map upright.) 



fornia. Arizona, and the Gulf states it will 

 this month be a conspicuous object. 



Above Argo there will be seen the 

 Lesser Dog, the Crab, with its remark- 

 able cluster at P, the Lynx, and the 

 Giraffe, all of which interesting faint 

 groups may be well traced out during 

 the early evenings of the present 

 month. 



THE PLANETS IN FECRIWRY. 



No one who during the past month 

 has looked at the sky at all. can have 

 failed to notice how the very brilliant 



east of the sun on February 12, at 

 which time it will appear exactly half 

 full if viewed in a small telescope. 

 From this time it will begin to draw 

 apparently nearer the sun and will rap- 

 idly assume the crescent shape, but as 

 it is also moving rapidly northward 

 among the stars its time of setting will 

 be but very little altered. Throughout 

 the entire month it will remain visible 

 each evening until nearly four hours 

 after sunset, and the study of its beau- 

 tiful disc as it grows rapidly larger with 



