Mar., 1904.] 



KNOWLEDGE cS: SCIENTIFIC NEWS. 



39 



The Face of the Sky for 

 MarcK. 



By \\. Shackleton, F.K.A.S. 



The Si'N. — On the ist the Sun rises at 6.4S, and sets 

 at 5.3S: on the 31st he rises at 5.4.1, and sets at 6.2q. 



The vernal equinox occurs on the 21st, when the Sun 

 enters the Sign of Aries at i a.m. and Spring commences. 



Sunspots may frequently be observed, and for plotting 

 their posiiions the following table may be used. 



Date. 



Mar. I 



.. II 

 .. 21 

 .. 31 



Axis inclined to \V. from 

 N. point. 



21'' 48' 



24^ o' 



25° 31' 

 26" 21' 



Centre of disc, S of 

 Sun's equator. 



7' 14' 

 7" 12' 

 f>' 57' 

 6 30' 



II. M. 



2 48 a.m. 



I r am 



5 39 am 



9 37P-m- 



o 44 p.m. 



The Zodiacal light should be looked for in the west for 

 a few hours after sunset. 

 The Moo.v : — 



The Moon is in perigee on the 1st and 29th and in 

 apogee on the 14111. 



Occulta-tions. 



The following 'are the more interesting occultations 

 \-isible at Greenwich during convenient hours ; it will be 

 seen that on the 22nd the Moon is in the Hyades : — 



Saturn is a morning star rising a little more than ,in 

 hour before the sun. 



Uranus rises after midnight and is situated rather low 

 down in the sky near the star 4 Sagittarii. 



Neptune, as will he seen on reference to the chart in the 

 January number, is about midway and 10' south of the 

 line joining the stars v and u Geminorum. 



Telescopic Objects: — 



Double Stars. — y Leonis, X.'' 14'", N. 20' 22', mags. 2, 

 4; separation 3"-8. In stead\'air, the prime reciuisite for 

 double star observations, tliis double inav he well feen in 

 a 3-in. telescope with an eyepiece magnifying about 30 to 

 the inch of aperture, hut on most nights one with a 

 power of 40 is better. 



The brighter component is of a bright orange tint, 

 whilst the fainter is more yellow. 



1 Leonis, XI.'' 19'", N. 115', mags. 4^, 7A ; separa- 

 tion 2"-2. A pretty double of different coloured stars 

 the brighter being yellow, the other blue. This object 

 requires a favourable night and a fairly high power on 

 small telescopes. 



a Leonis {I\ff;iiliis) has a small attem'ant about i ScV 

 distant, and of the >^'5 magnitude, and easily seen in a 

 3-inch telescope. 



u. Canum X'enat. (Co;- Cai'oli), XII.'' 52", N. 38' 50', 

 mags. 2-5, 6-5, separation 20" ; easy double, can be seen 

 with moderately low powers, even in 2-in. telescopes. 



Meteor Showers : — • 



The Stars. — About the middle of the month at 9 p.m. 

 the positions of the principal constellations are as follows : 



Disappearance. 



Reappearance. 



Date. 



Star's 

 Name. 



Magni- 

 tude. 



.Vngle from .^ngle from 



Mean Time. Mean Time. 



\. point \'ertex N. point Vertex 



e' Tauri 

 75 Tauri 

 D.M. 4- 

 B.A.C. 1391 

 1 1 T Tauri . . 



ij 



fi33 



10.41 p.m. 

 10,35 P "1- 

 II. I p m. 

 11.39 p.m. 

 I ! . I p.m. 

 10. II p m. 



223 



324' 

 270 



274 

 293 



272" 



184° 

 28.5 

 232 

 238 



252'' 

 236 



Moon's 

 Age. 



\(< 

 If) 

 ifi 



17 

 16 



15 



The Planets. — ^lercury is in superior conjunction 

 with the Sun on the 26th, and throughout the month is 

 too near the Sun for observation. 



Venus is an inconspicucus morning star during the 

 month ; also, as she only precedes sunrise by about an 

 hour, she is badly placed for observation, and is becom- 

 ing more unfavourably situated as she is approaching 

 conjunction with the Sun. 



Mars sets about 2 hours after the Sun on the ist, 

 and about i^ hours on the 31st ; on account of his small 

 angular diameter, he is an insignificant object in the 

 western sky shortly after sunset. 



Jupiter is in conjunction with the Sun on the 27th, 

 and therefore is only visible during the early part of the 

 month after sunset. 



Ze.mth . No bright constellations in the zenith. 



South . Cancer and Hydra on the meridian ; 

 Gemini high up, Procyon and Siriiis, all a litlle to 

 the \y. Orion is to the S.W., and Leo (AVi';////s) 

 to the S.E. high-up. 



West . Taurus, Aries near setting, Auriga 

 {CapcUa) high up. To the N.W. Perseus, also 

 Andromeda low down. 



East . N'irgo (Spied rising), Bootes (Anttirus). 



To the N.L. I'rsa .Major liigh up, (^orcjna, Her- 

 cules, and Vega low down. 



North . /Wfov's ; to the right, Ursa Minor, Draco; 

 below, Cygnus, Cepheus ; to the left, Cassiopeia. 



Minima of Algol inay be observed on the i'')th at 

 o h. 7 m. a.m., i8th at 8.56 p.m., and 21st at 5.45 p.m. 



