October, 1903.] 



KNOWLEDGE. 



239 



THE FACE OF THE SKY FOR OCTOBER. 



By W. Shackleton, f.r.a.s. 



The Sun. — On the 1st the sun rises at 6.0 and sets at 

 6.39 ; on the 31st he rises at 6.51 and sets at 4.35. 



Sunspots and faculie may frequently be observed on the 

 solar disc. 



The Moon : — 



The moon is in perigee on the 16th, and in apogee on 

 the 28th. 



There is a partial eclipse of the moou on the 6tb, but 

 as the moon at the time of rising has left the umbra and 

 is well advanced into the penumbra, the phenomenon will 

 scarcely be noticeable in this country. Some of the 

 particulars are as follow : — 



Moon rises at Greenwich ... ... 5.32 p.m. 



Middle of Eclipse Oct. 6. 3.18 p.m. 



Last Contact with the Shadow ... „ 4.55 p.m. 



Last Contact with the Penumbra ,, 6.7 p.m. 



Occultations : — 



The somewhat rare occurrence of an occultation of a 

 first magnitude star takes place on the 10th, when 

 Aldebaran suffers occultation about half an hour after 

 the moon rises ; disappearance takes place at the bright 

 limb, and reappearance at the dark limb, as shown in the 

 diagram below : — 



Occultation of Aldebaran, October 10. 



is a morning star in Virgo, and on the 19th he is at a 

 favourable morning elongation, attaining a separation of 

 18' 13' W. from the sun, aud rises at 4.42 a.m., or nearly 

 two hoars in advance of the sun. 



Venus is a morning star in Leo, rising on the 1st at 

 4.28 a.m., and on the 31st at 2.61 a.m. She attains her 

 greatest brilliancy on the 24th, the disc then having a 

 diameter of about 39", and a little more than one^fourth 

 being illuminated, thus answering to the moon five 

 days old. 



Mars is practically unobservable, being very low down 

 in the south-west shortly after sunset. 



Jupiter is in a mott convenient position for easy obser- 

 vation, being on the meridian on the 1st at 10.32 p.m., 

 16th at 9.32 p.m., 31st at 8.26 p.m., aud having an altitude 

 of about 31°. About the middle of the month the polar 

 and equatorial diameters are 46"'3 and 48"4 respectively. 

 Jupiter is near the moou on the evenings of the 4th and 

 31st. 



The configurations of the satellites as seen in an 

 inverting telescope at 9.30 p.m. are as follow : — 



The Planets. — Mercury is in inferior conjunction with 

 the sun on the 3rd. Towards the middle of the mimth he 



The circle (O) represents Jupiter; signifies that the satellite is 

 on the disc ; • signifies that the satellite is behind the disc, or in tlie 

 shadow. Tlie numbers are the numbers of the satellites. 



Saturn is on the meridian about H hours after sunset ; 

 although rather low down he well repays observation. He 

 is stationary on the 8th, after which his motion is again 

 direct or easterly. About the middle of the month the 

 diameter of the ball is 16", whilst the diameters of the 

 outer major aud minor axes of the outer ring are 40" and 

 14" respectively ; we are looking down on the northern 

 surface of the ring at an angle of 20^, it therefore appears 

 widely open. 



Uranus is practically out of range, being very low down 

 in the south-west, and setting shortly after simset. 



Neptune rises about 9.45 p.m.. at the lieginning of the 

 month ; he is situated in Gemini near the star/*, as shown 

 on the chart given in the January number. 



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

 the following constellations may be observed : — 

 Zenith . Cygnus, Cepheus, Cassiopeia. 

 South . Pegasus, Aquarius, Capricornns, Fomalhaut. 

 West . Lvra. Hercules, Ophiuchns. Corona ; Bootes 



to the N.W. : A<iuila to the S.W. 

 East . Andromeda, Perseus. Aries, Pleiades ; Auriga 



to the N.E.; Cetus lo the S.E. 

 Nokth Ursa Major, Ursa Minor, Draco. 



Minima of Algol may l>e observed on the 7th at 10.26 

 P.M.. 10th at 7.14 p.m., 28th at 0.8 a.m.. and 30th at 

 8.66 P.M. 



