598 



KNOWLEDGE & SCIENTIFIC NEWS. 



TNOVEMBER, 1906. 



The Face of the Sky 

 for November. 



By W. Sh.\ckleton, F.R.A S. 



The Sun. — On the ist the Sun rises at 6.55 and sets at 

 4.33 ; on the 30th he rises at 7.44 and sets at 3.53. Sun- 

 spots have lately been comparatively scarce. 



The position of the Sun's axis and of the centre of 

 the disc are given in the appended table : — 



The Moon : — 



OccuLTATioKS. — The following table gives particulars 

 of the principal occultations visible at Greenwich before 

 midnight : — 



The Planets. — Mercury (Nov. i, R.A. i5'' 47™; 

 Dec. S. 22° 28' ; Nov. 30, R.A. 16^ 21™ ; Dec. S. 20= 18') 

 is an evening star, reaching its greatest easterly elonga- 

 tion of 23 on the gth, and passing through inferior con- 

 junction on the 30th. The elongation, however, is by 

 no means favourable for observations of the planet after 

 sunset, on account of the southerly declination. 



Venus (Nov. i, R.A. i6b 45"; Dec. S. 27° 50'; 

 Nov. 30, R.A. 16'' 19" ; Dec. S. 22° 47') remains 

 an evening star until the 30th, when she reaches inferior 

 conjunction with the Sun. On the ist the planet sets at 

 5.26, or only 53 minutes after the Sun, and on the 30th, 

 of course, the planet practically sets with the Sun. In 

 the telescope the planet will present a thin crescent, 

 0-07 of the disc being illuminated on the 15th. 



Mars (Nov. i, R.A. 12" 7"; Dec. N. 0° 32'; Nov. 30, 

 R.A. \^ 14"; Dec. S. 6^ 33') is a morning star, in 

 Virgo, but is still too far from the earth for useful tele- 

 scopic observation. The planet rises on the ist at 3.21 

 a.m. and on the 30th at 3.10 a.m. 



Jupiter (Nov. i, R.A. 6''48" ; Dec. N. 22° 47'; Nov.30, 



R.A. 6'' 41"' ; Dec. N. 22° 57') may now be well 

 observed before midnight, rising on the ist at 7.54 p.m., 

 and on the 30th at 5.51 p.m. During the month the 

 planet traverses a short retrograde path in Gemini, 

 his apparent polar diameter increasing from 39"'6 

 to 42"-4. 



The following table gives the satellite phenomena 

 visible in this country 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 (Nov. i, R.A. 22'' 43""; Dec. S. 10° 19'; 

 Nov. 30, R.A. ■2^^ 4+*"; Dec. S. 10" 11'), in Aquarius, 

 remains in a favourable position for observation, cross- 

 ing the meridian at 8.3 p.m. on the ist and at 6.9 p.m. 

 on the 30th. The motion of the plant is retrograde 

 until the stationary point is reached on the 13th, after 

 which it is direct. At the middle of the month the outer 

 major and minor axes of the ring are respectively 4i"'3 

 and 4"-6, while the polar diameter of the globe is i6"'4. 

 At 4 p.m. on the 23rd, the planet is in conjunction with 

 the Moon. 



Uranus (Nov. 15, R.A. iSh 27"" ; Dec. S. 23'' 37'), 

 is unfavourably placed for observation, on account of its 

 southerly declination and proximity to the Sun. The 

 planet is in Sagittarius, setting at 7.35 p.m. on the ist 

 and at 5.47 p.m. on the 30th. 



Neptune (Nov. 15, R.A. b^ 54" ; Dec. N. 21° 5S'), rises 

 shortly after 7 p.m. and crosses the meridian at 3.16 a.m. 

 on the 15th. The planet is situated about 1^" N.W. 

 of f Geminorum. 



Meteors. — The principal meteor showers during the 

 month are the Leonids and Andromedids ; the Moon 

 will be near new, and should therefore not interfere with 

 observations this year. 



Algol will be at minimum at 9.34 p.m. on the 15th, 

 and at 6.23 p.m. on the iSth. 

 Telescopic Objects: — 



Double stars: 7; Cassiopeiae o^ 43"", N. 57° 17', mags. 

 32> 72 ; separation 5"7. Binary star. 



"x Arietis i'' 52", N. 23^ 6', mag. 4, 8; separation, 

 37". Components white and blue ; easy with power 20. 



,, Persei 2'' 44™, N. 55° 28', mags. 4, 8 ; separation 28". 

 The brighter component is orange, the other blue. 

 There are also several other fainter stars very near. 



