136 



KNOWLEDGE & SCIENTIFIC NEWS. 



[June, 1904. 



The Face of the Sky for 

 June. 



By \V. Shackleton, F.R.A.S. 



The Sun. — On the ist the Sun rises at 3.51, and sets 

 at 8.5 ; on the 30th he rises at 348, and sets at 8.18. 



The sun enters the sign of Cancer on the 21st at 9 p.m., 

 when summer commences. 



The equation of time is negligible on the 14th. 



Sunspots have been very conspicuous of late, whilst in 

 addition spectroscopic observations of the Sun's hmb have 

 shown many fine prominences. 



The positions of the spots with respect to the equator 

 and a.\is may be derived from the following table : — 



On the 1st Saturn rises about midnight, and on the 

 30th about 10.15 P-™- The northern surface of the ring 

 plane is presented to us. 



Uranus is in opposition on the 19th, hence about this 

 date he is on the meridian at midnight. The apparent 

 diameter of the planet is 4". In consequence of his low 

 altitude, it is rather difficult to see the planet with the 

 naked eye, but any slight optical aid renders him easily 

 visible. The appended chart shows his position in 

 Sagittarius. 



The Moon :- 



Occulta-tions. 



The particulars of the only occultation likely to be 

 observed during the month are as follows : — 



Date. 



Star's Name. 



June 24 



Magni- 

 tude. 



Disappear- 

 ance. 



Reappear- 

 ance. 



d Librae 



43 I 11.55 pm. 10 30 a.m. (25th) 



The Planets. — Mercury is a morning star in Taurus, 

 he is at greatest westlerly elongation on the 8th, when 

 he rises about an hour in advance of the sun. 



Venus is a morning star, but too near the Sun for 

 observation. 



Mars is in conjunction with \'enus on the 19th, and 

 therefore also out of range. 



Ceres. — The minor planet Ceres is in opposition on 

 the 5th, when the magnitude is 7-4. On this date the 

 asteroid has the same declination as the star 4 Ophiuchi 

 but is oh 1 8m 41s west of the star. 



Jupiter is a morning star, rising about i a.m. near the 

 middle of the month. 



Saturn is in the eastern portion of Capricornus near 

 the star 3 ; the planet is at the stationary point on the 

 1st, after which date his motion is retrograde. 



Path ok Uranu.s in Sagittarius : — 



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

 and consequently is unobservable. 



Comet a 1904. About the middle of April the first 

 comet of the year was discovered in Hercules by Brooks, 

 at Geneva, N.Y., U.S.A. It is a faint telescopic object, 

 diminishing in brightness, and is slowly moving along 

 the borders of Draco into Ursa Major. Early in June, 

 it should be near the star i Ursae Majoris. 



The Stars : — 



Positions of the stars about lo p.m. : — 

 Great Bear, Cor Caroli. 

 Ursa Minor, Cepheus, Cassiopeia. 

 Lyra, .Vquila, Saggittarius, Cygnus. 

 Hercules, Ophiuchus, Corona, Libra, 



Zenith 

 North 

 East 

 South 



Scorpio. 

 West 



~N.\V. 



-S.W. : \'irgo and Bootes. 



Quadruple star. 

 The star can be 

 (mags. 4-6, 4-5: 



Leo, Cancer.- 

 : Capelhi. 



Telescopic Objects: — 



Double Stars: — ,3 Scorpii, XM-i^o™, S. 19' ^i', mags. 

 2-0, 4-0; separation i3"-i. 



( Lyra-, XVIII." 41'", N.39'^ 32'. 

 better known as the " double-double.' 

 divided into two components «' and 

 separation 207") with the slightest optical aid and under 

 favourable conditions the naked eye alone is able to 

 effect separation; using a power of about 150 on a 3 or 

 4-inch telescope, each of these can again be divided, t^ 

 mags. 47, 6-3 ; separation 3"-o; f'^ 4-9, 5-2, 2"-^. 



f Lyrre, XVHI." 41'", N. 37° 30', mags. 4-3, 5-9; 

 separation 44". \'ery easy double ; power 20. 



i Lyra', .XVni.''5i'", N. 36" 49 ', mags. 5-5, 5-9; naked 

 eye double. Glorious field for low powers (I Ff 66). 



S Serpentis, XX'III.'" 51'", N. 4^ 4', mags. 3-9, 4-2; 

 separation 22". Fine pair in small telescopes. 



Clusters and Nebula-. — M80 (Scorpio). A compact 

 globular cluster half way between a and 3 Scorpii ; looks 

 like a nebula in small telescopes. 



M57 (Ring Nebula in Lyra). Easily found by setting 

 the telescope J of the distance from jS towards y. Rather 

 faint object, but readily seen as a small ring in a 3-inch ; 

 it is the only annular nebula visible in small telescopes. 



