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aspect of tbe Ibcavene: 



January, ffebritavy, anD /ll^arcb, 1890. 



By a. Graham, M.A., etc., Cambridge Observatory 



THE Sun will be at its least distance from the earth 

 (90,831,000 miles) on January 2, at seven in the after- 

 noon ; and at mean distance (92,385,000 miles), on April 

 I, at seven in the afternoon. These numbers, though not far from 

 the truth, can only be looked upon as provisional, until all the 

 reliable observations available for determining the sun's parallax 

 shall be carefully discussed. Of this fact we are certain, that we 

 are more than a million and a-half miles farther from the sun on 

 April I than on January i. The meridian altitude of the sun 

 will be 27 degrees 38 minutes greater on x\pril i than on January 

 I ; and this corresponds to an increase in the length of the day, 

 in the latitude of Greenwich, from y/^, 56;;/. on January i to 

 12/1. ^Sm. on April i, reckoning from sunrise to sunset. The sun 

 will cross the equator northward on March 20 at 4 aft., and the 

 spring quarter commences. 



The equation of time goes on increasing, from 3;//. 54^. on 

 January i until February 11, w^hen the clock ought to be 14m. 2Ss. 

 in advance of a good sun-dial ; it afterwards decreases until April 

 I, when the clock is again 3;//. 54^". fast. 



Phases of the Moon. 



I^u/l Moon — Jan. 6th, 5/^. 37;;^. morn ; Feb. 5th, \h. 13W. 

 morn ; March 6th, 6//. 48/;/. aft. 



Last Quarter — Jan. 14th, 6h. 33///. morn; Feb. 12th, 6h. 51///. 

 aft. ; March 14th, 4/1. 5;;/. morn. 



New Moo7i — Jan. 20th, \\h. 4gm. aft.; Feb. 19th, lo/i. 28;//. 

 morn ; March 20th, g/i. \m. aft. 



First Quarter — Jan. 27th, Zh. i6ni. aft. ; Feb. 26th, 2/1. 6ni. 

 aft. ; March 28th, 9//. 33W. morn. 



Moon i?i Apogee — Jan. 6th, noon ; Feb. 2nd, 2/1. aft. ; March 

 2nd, 3^. morn; March 29th, loh. aft. 



Moon in Perigee — Jan. 20th, 3//. aft.; Feb. i8th, 2//. morn; 

 March i8th, 3/^. morn. 



