432 



KNOWLEDGE. 



November, loll. 



The latitude of the planet's centre is — 10% hence the 

 southern hemisphere is inclined towards the earth, and is in the 

 best position for observation ; but little of the snow cap is 

 visible as it has dwindled to small dimensions in the advancing 

 summer of the Martian Southern Hemisphere. The dark 

 markings, according to Lowell, should, during the summer of 

 the hemisphere under observation, be increased in intensity. 

 In telescopes of 3 or 4 inches aperture the dusky markings on 

 the disc are observable when the seeing is good. The time of 

 rotation is 24'' 37" 23^ appro.ximating to that of the earth, so 

 that the same regions may be scrutinized on successive 

 evenings. The well-known marking of the Syrtis Major is 

 visible on the 12th about 10 p.m., and the Soils Lacus on the 

 2Sth at 9 p.m. The two small satellites, Phobos and Deimos, 

 are only visible in the largest telescopes. 



The moon appears near the planet on the morning of the 

 Sth, 



JUPITER: — 



Jupiter is in conjunction with the Sun on the ISth, after 

 which he becomes a morning star: during November, however, 

 he is practically unobservable, being lost in the Sun's rays, 



Saturn : — 



The apparent diameters of the outer major and minor axes 

 of the ring system are respectively 47" and 17". and we are 

 looking on the Southern surface at an angle of 21°, so that the 

 ring appears open. The diameter of the ball is IS". The 

 ring is visible with a power of about 50, and the belts with a 

 power of iSO. The moon appears near the planet on the 

 evening of the 6th. 



Ur.^nus : — 



Saturn is a very conspicuous object in the evening sky, 

 rising E.N.E, immediately after sunset. The planet is about 

 15' to the West of Mars, and the two bright planets form a 

 striking pair, 



Saturn is in opposition to the Sun on the lOth. and thus is 

 due South at midnight about this date. 



The telescopic view is splendid, as the rings and belts are 

 readily seen even when seeing is comparatively poor. In 

 addition to the ring, the belts on the disc and also some of 

 the numerous satellites may be observed. A telescope of 

 three inches aperture is sufficient to show the four larger 

 satellites, namely, Titan, Japetns, Rhea, and Tethys, Titan 

 is generally to be looked for at a considerable distance from 

 Saturn, not only to the sides, but also apparently above and 

 below the planet. 



The division in the ring may be seen in a good telescope of 

 two inches aperture; whilst the dark ring requires an aperture 

 of four inches, with good atmospheric conditions. 



Uranus is unfavourably placed for observation on account 

 of his low altitude. He is situated low down in the S,\\', 

 portion of the sky at Sunset, and sets at 8,30 p,m, on the 15th, 

 The planet appears in Sagittarius, in a part of the sky devoid 

 of good reference stars, though the star f Sagittarii is about 

 5° to the N.lv. 



Neptune rises about 8.30 p.m. near the middle of the 

 month and crosses the meridian about 4 a.m. Thus he will 

 be in a better position for observation a few months later. 

 The planet is located in Gemini, nearly midway between 

 68 Geminorum and 'P' Cancri. 



Meteors. — The principal meteor showers during the month 

 are the Leonids and Androinedids : — 



.Algol will be at miniinum on Nov. 1st at 11 p.m.. 4th at 8 

 p.m., 7th at 5 p.m., 24th at 9 p.m, and 27th at 6 p,m. The 

 period is 2'' 20"^ 49"' from which other minima may be deduced. 



Telescopic Objects : — 



Double Stars, — rj Cassiopeiae O'' 43'", N, 57° 17', mags, 

 32, 7i ; separation 6"-l. Binary star, 



\ Arietis l" bl"', N, 23° 6', mags, 4, 8: separation 37". 

 Components white and blue; easy with power 20. 



') Persei 2" 44'", N. 55° 2s', mags. 4, S: separation 28", 

 The brighter component is orange, the other blue. There are 

 also several other fainter stars very near. 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 



Readers arc invited tu send in Questions and to ansiver the Queries which are printed here. 



QUESTIONS. 



54. I have a copy of the Nautical Almanac for 1911, and 

 monthly compare the results given in '" The Face of the Sky '' 

 supplied by Mr, Shacklefon, F,R,.-\.S.. and have often wished 

 that I could so correct the tables as to make them applicable 

 to any place other than Greenwich. 



Will you kindly enlighten me through your columns on the 

 following : — 



Url What is the formulae to obtain the inclination of the 



Sun's axis from the W. point ? 

 (/)! \\ h.it is the fonimlae to obtain the heliographic 

 latitude of the centre of the Sun's disc : 



