364 



KNOWLEDGE & SCIENTIFIC NEWS. 



[February, 1906. 



The Face of the Sky for February. 



By W. Siiackli;ton, I'.K.A.S. 



The Sun. On the ist the Sun rises at 7.42 and sets at 

 4.46 ; on the 28th he rises at 6.51 and sets at 5-35. 



Solar activity is well maintained, and on almost any 

 day spots and prominences may be observed. 



The position of the Sun's axis and equator is shown in 

 the followint' table : — 



There is a partial eclipse of the Sun on the 23rd, in- 

 visible in this country, but visible in the Antarctic and 

 S. Australia. 



The Moon : — 



Apogee 

 Perigee 



I 6 p.m. 

 I 10 12 p.m. 



There is a total eclipse of the Moon on the gth, but it 

 takes place in the early morning shortly before sunrise, 

 and is only partly visible in this country, the Moon set- 

 ting totally eclipsed. The particulars are as follows : — 



h. m. 

 First Contact with Shadow, Feb. Q, 

 Beginning of Totality, ,, ,, 



End of Totality, „ ,, 



Moon Sets, ,, ,, 



Magnitude of eclipse (Aloon's diameter = i) i'632, 



OCCULTATIONS : 



5.57 a.m. 



6.58 „ 

 8.36 „ 

 7-30 



The Planets. — Mercury (Feb. i, R.A. 20'' 4™; 

 Dec. S. 22" 3'. Feb. 28, R.A. 23I' ym ; Dec. S. 6" 48'). 

 The planet is in conjunction with the Sun on the 20th, 

 and is practically unobservable throughout the month. 



Venus (Feb. i, R.A. 20'' 45™; Dec. S. ig° 10'. 

 Feb. 28, R.A. 22I1 57"! ; Dec. S. 8° 13') is in conjunction 

 with the Sun on the 14th ; towards the end of the month 

 the planet is an evening star in Aquarius, but not well 

 placed for observation. 



Mars (Feb. I, R.A. 231151m; Dec. S. r 31'. Feb. 28, 

 R.A. i'' 5"!; Dec. N. 6' 46') may be observed, shining 

 like a reddish star, in the exening sky looking S.W. 

 The planet is situated in the constellation Pisces and 

 sets about 9 p.m. throughout the month. On account of 



his small angular diameter he is not a very suitable 

 object for observation in small telescopes. 



Jupiter (Feb. i, R.A. 3I' 38m ; Dec. N. 18^42'; Feb. 28, 

 R.A. 3'' 47'"; Dec. N. 19° 17') is a very conspicuous 

 object in the evening sky ; near the middle of the month 

 the planet is due south about 6 p.m., and is both well 

 placed and easy of observation. 



The equatorial diameter of the planet on the i3th is 

 4o"'8, whilst the polar diameter is 2"-f) smaller. 



The following table gives the satellite phenomena 

 observable before midnight : — 



" Oc. D." denotes the disappearance of the Satellite behind the disc, and 

 " Oc. R." its re-appearance ; " Tr. I." the ingress of a transit across the disc, 

 and " Tr. E." its egress ; " Sh. I." the ingress of a transit of the shadow across 

 the disc, and " Sh. E." its egress. 



Saturn (Feb. i, R.A. 22'i 21™; Dec. S. 11° 58'. 

 Feb. 28, R.A. 22ti 33"; Dec. S. 10° 47') is in conjunc- 

 tion with the Sun on the 24th, and practically unobserv- 

 able throughout the month. 



Uranus (Feb. 2, R.A. 18'' 29m; Dec. S. 23° 33') 

 is a morning star, rising about 5 a.m., near the middle of 

 the month. 



Neptune (Feb. 14, R.A. 6'i 34"'; Dec. N. 22 16') is 

 due south at 8-58 p.m. on the 14th. The planet is situ- 

 ated in Gemini, but is difficult to identify among the 

 numerous small stars in the same field, when viewed in a 

 3-inch telescope. 



Meteor Showers : — 



Algol may be observed at minimum on the 7th at 9.36 

 p.m., loth at 6.25 p.m., and 27th at 11. 18 p.m. 



Double Stars. — Casta/', separation 5"'8, mags. 2-7, 

 3-7. Excellent object for small telescopes. The 

 brightest pair to be observed in this country ; can 

 always be relied upon as a good show object. 



K Geminorum, separation 6"-^, mags. 4, 8'j ; very 

 pretty double. 



J Cancri, separation i"'i, 5"'3, mags. 5'0, 5'7, 5-5 ; with 

 small telescopes the wider component is readily seen. 



'' Draconis, separation 61 •;, mags. 4-6, 4-6 ; a pretty 

 and easy double, can be separated by observing with a 

 pair of opera glasses. 



