April 1, 1901. 



KNOWLEDGE. 



05 



travelliiis; thivugli Ouu-or ami Caiiis Minor, mul ili-iiijiiiwii-ing iu llu- 

 Tioiiiitv of Orion. Thi> lu'iglit of tlio olijrct wns froiM about. lOii 

 iniles oviT tlic Xortli Soa to 57 niilos over Stroiisa, Orknoy Islos, ami its 

 lengtli of )wth about 12t) inilvs. '1 he radiant point was at ahoni 

 ICo"" + li\ so the ini'toor was one of the r Leonids which form a very 

 .ii'tivo >hower durinj tlie first few nights of J[areh. 



Large ni>-teor» are aNo reported as observed on the nijht of Febrnary 

 18th. ou KeVuarv 20th at ll.i.") |i.ni.. and on .Marcli o'lh at 7.20 p.m., 

 but very few< descrijnions liave eomo to liand. Reports conic from 

 America tiiat on Friday afternoon. December 7tli, 1900. a brilliant 

 fireball, rivalling the sun in the iutcusity of its light, passed above 

 Colorado and Wyoming, frightening horses and cattle, and giving n 

 loud detonaiion. 



Tub Armi. Ltrids. — This periodical shower will recur under 

 favourable eireumstauces in lilOl. ti»e moon being new on April IStli. 

 so that observations may be mide between about .Vpril lotb iiml 2.5th. 

 This system rarely furnishes a conspicuous display, but it is very 

 interesting from its connection with Comet I., IStil. The radiant of 

 the shower is at 271" + 3S^ between Hercules and Lyra, and this 

 point proliiibly shifts somewhat rapidly to thn eastward. Observations 

 should be specially made to elucidate this feature. Tlie immediate 

 region of the radiant sliould be watclietl for long periods on several 

 night* before and after the maximum (April 20tli),and the exact 

 place of radiation should be determined separately for eacli night. 



THE FACE OF THE SKY FOR APRIL. 



By A. Fowler, f.r.a.s. 



The Srx. — On the 1st tbe sun rises at 5.38 a.m., and 

 sets at 6.30 p.m ; ou the 30th he rises at 4.37 a.m , and 

 sets at 7.17 p.m. Sunspots are not likely to be eithei" 

 large or numerous. 



The Moon'. — The moon will ho full on the Ith at 

 1.20 A.M.. will enter list quarter ou the 12th at 3. ,57 a.m., 

 will be new ou the 18th at 9.37 p.m., and will enter first 

 quarter on the S.Sth at 4.15 p.m. The following are among 

 the oecultations which occur during the month : — 



6 I 



3 

 I 



a 



o . 





a 



Apr. 4 



„ 8 



.. 8 



22 



B.A.C. 4531 

 u' Scorpii ... 



0.' ., 



X' Orionis ,. 

 19 Sextantis 



b-7 



41 

 5!> 

 60 



U..iO P.M. 



:S..=>9i.a. 



45 A.M. 

 10.25 P.M. 



7.40 p.m. 



97 

 81 

 10 

 71 

 168 



104 



71 



5 



32 



170 







1.18 



5,19 



• 4.20 



nil 



S.31 



1 28S 

 366 

 305 

 2t7 



304 

 267 

 .342 

 269 

 2.3S 



d. h. 

 IS 11 



1815 

 18 15 

 4 1 



[On May 3rd there will be a penumbral eclipse of the 

 moon, from 4.6 p.m. to 8.55 p.m. As the moon does not 

 rise until 7. 28 p.m., the eclipse is only partly visible at 

 Greenwich.] 



The Planets. — Mercury is at greatest westerly elonga- 

 tion of 27^ 48' on the 4th. and is a morning star throughout 

 the mouth. He is not well placed for observation iu our 

 latitudes. 



Venus is nominally a morning star, but is too near 

 the sun for observation. She will be in superior con- 

 i unction at the end. of the month. 



Mars remains in Leo and may be observed throughout 

 most of the night, setting on the' 30th at 2.45 a.m. At 

 the middle of the month he crosses the meridian at 

 8.15 P.M., and the illuminated part of the disc is 0924. 

 The apparent diameter diminishes from ll"-4 to 9"0 

 during the month. 



Jupiter is a morning star, iu Sagittarius, rising on the 

 1st at 2.19 A..M., and on the 30th at 12 29 a.m. He is in 

 quadrature with the sun ou the morning of the 2nd, and 

 stationary on the 30th. 



Saturn is also in Sagittarius, a little to the east of 

 Jupiter. He rises on the 1st at 2.32 A.iM.,and on the 30th 

 at 12.40 A.M. He is in quadrature with the .sun on the 

 Gth, and stationary On the 26th. 



Uranus is in the most soutlierly [)art of Ophiuchus, 



4'' to the north-west of nbout the middle of the moiilli. 

 The planet rises on the Isr at 12.31 a.m.. iiiul ou the 

 oOth at 10.35 P.M. 



Neptune remains in the most easterly l>art of Taurtis 

 setting on the 1st soon after 1 a.m., ;iud on the 31st soon 

 after 11 V.m. During tlie mouth he describes a short 

 eastcrlv path almost midwav between y' Orionis and 

 132 Tauri 



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

 Leo will be on the meridian ; Gemini iu the south-west ; 

 Orion in the west ; Virgo iu the south-east ; Hercules in 

 the north-east, and Ursa Major almost overhead. 



Minima of Algol will occur on the 2ud at 8.23 p.m., 

 and on the 22nd at 10.6 p.m. 



C!)css Column. 



By C. D. LococK, b.a. 



Communications for this column should be addressed 

 to C. D. LococK, Netherfield, Camberley, and be posted 

 by the lOth of each month. 



Solutions of March Problems. 



(C. D. Lococli.) 



No. 1. 



I. Q to Bl, and mates next move. 



No. 2. 



1. R (R3) to Rsq. 



No. 3. 



1. BxQP. 



[This has been rather ambiguouslv desi-ribed as " a 

 talcing key." The P at R6 was left on the board liy 

 mistake. In a former version of the problem' it was 

 necessary to prevent a solution by 1. R, to Q7cli, and 

 2. Q to R6.] 



C, L. Massey.--T can find no trace of any statement in 

 Knowled'IE to the effect that problems known to have 

 more than one key would not be printed. While agreeing 

 with you that the seaich for a second key is generally 

 profitless, and sometimes vexatious, 1 may, perhaps, jioint 

 out that such search often disckises the hidden art. of the 

 coiupo.ser in avoiding " cooks," which might otherwise 

 have escaped the solver's notice. But the prin<'i])al reason 

 for allowing an extra jioint for a second sohition lies in 

 the fact that, without some such device for <lilferentiating 

 skilful solvers, the prizes and credit would probably have 

 to be divided among some twenty or thirty solvers at the 

 end of the year, a result which would hardly lie regarded 

 as satisfactory. As it is, comjiet iters are at least spared 

 the necessity of looking for a tiiird or fourth key after a 

 second has been found, au obviously time- wasting con<litiou 

 which holds good in most solution tournaments. 



/. Baddeley. — I have written to enquire into tlie cause. 



W. Jay. — No. 2, as you ])oint out, would be impossible 

 in actual play. The dual you mention in No. 3 seemed 

 unavoidable. 



B. Harleij. — The Pawn at B2 in No. 3 prevents a dual 

 which would exist if flic Bbirk Pawn which it blo(];s were 

 allowed to move. 



N. L. GiUegpie.—No. 1. If 1. K to Kt4, P to Kt I- (, r 

 K moves). No. 2. 1. P x P, B x Pch. 



A. W. Tyer. —T^o. 1. If 1. B to B7, B to B5, No 2. 

 See previous answer. 



