Ma&ch 27, 1885.J 



♦ KNOWLEDGE ♦ 



267 



THE FACE OF THE SKY. 



From March 27 to Ai'KIl 10. 



By F.K.A.S. 



THE San mar, as usual, be examined for spots; but the opocU 

 of maximum has now certainly passed, and no such splemlid 

 groups as rewarded the observer duriuR the years 1S83 and ISS-t 

 can now be expected. The zodiacal li.i^ht is conspicuous at the 

 snnset on clear evenings now. Map IV. of " The Stars in their 

 Seasons'* shows the face of the Xipbt Sky. Mercury is an evening 

 star, and may during the greater part of the time covered by these 

 notes (and notably towards the end of it) be caught with the 

 naked eye after sunset over the W.X.W. part of the horizon. At 

 2 a.m. on April 8th, he attains his greatest eastern elongation from 

 the Sun (iy° lo). Venus is a morning star in a most indifferent 

 position for obser\'ation. Mars is invisible. Jupiter is still the 

 most conspicrous object in the sky, and may be well seen during 

 the greater part of the night. He will depart but little from a 

 |X>int not far to the north and west of Uegulus (" The Stars in their 

 Seasons," Map IV.) during the next fortnight. During that time 

 the phenomena of bis Satellites will present much to interest the 

 observer. To-morrow night (28th) Satellite I. will be occulted at 

 lOh. 25m. On the 29th, the transit of Satellite I. will begin at 

 7h. Urn. ; and that of its shadow at 8h. 35m. The Satellite will 

 leave Jupiter's opposite limb at lOh. 4ni. ; its shadow at lOh. 55m. 

 On the 30th Satellite I. reappears from eclipse at Sh. Om. 5 Is. p.m., 

 and the transit of Satellite II. begins G minutes after midnight. • 

 On the Slst, if the twilight be not too strong, perhaps Satellite 

 III. may be seen to reappear from occultation at 7h. 13m. 

 in the evening, only to plunge into the shadow of 

 the planet in eclipse a minute and twenty-seven seconds 

 later. It will reappear from eclipse at lOh. 41m. 50s. 

 On April 1st, Satellite II. will be occulted at 7h. 11m., 

 reappearing from eclipse at llh. 53m. lis. p.m. On the 

 ■ith Satellite I. will be occulted thirteen minutes after midnight. 

 On the 5th the transit of Satellite I. begins at Dh. 32ni., and that 

 of its shadow at lOh. 31m. The egress of the satellite happens at 

 llh. 52m., and that of the shadow at 12h. 50m. p.m. On the 6th 

 .Satellite I. will be occulted at Gh. -10m. in the evening, to reappear 

 from eclipse later at 9h. 55m. 35s. On the 7th Satellite III. will 

 bo occulted at 7h. 7m. p.m. ; the shadow of Satellite I. will leave 

 tte face of the planet at 7h. 19m.; Satellite III. will reappear 

 from occultation at lOh. 45m., to disappear afterwards in eclipse 

 at llh. 13m. 553. On the 8th Satellite II. will be occulted at 

 ;'h. 34m. While, lastly, on the 10th, the egress of the shadow of 

 Satellite H. happens at 8h. 40m., and Satellite IV. will be eclipsed 

 at lOh. 13m. Sis. Saturn is now leaving ns for the season, but 

 may still be observed for a short time after dark in the west and 

 west-north-west. He still forms a rude isosceles triangle with (i 

 and Z Tauri (" The Stars in their Seasons," Map I.), and the very 

 slight motion he has is in the direction of t. Uranus continues in an 

 <Mcellent position, and may be found ronglily on a line joining r] 

 and /? Virginia (" The Stars in their Seasons," Map. V.), towards 

 which last-named star he is travelling. As we have previously said, 

 he may be picked np to the west of >j Virginis with the naked eye 

 by any sharp-sighted observer who knows where to look for him. 

 The moon is full at 4h. 40m. in the afternoon of the 30th, and enters 

 her last quarter at 2h. 42m. Ss. p.m. on April 7th. There will be a 

 I>artial eclipse of the moon on March 30th, but it will be practically 

 in-er before she rises ; inasmuch as the last contact with the true 

 e^iadow of the earth happens at 6h. 9m. 7s., and she does not rise at 

 (ireenwich until Gh. 30m., when a part of her western limb will be 

 Irat faintly obscured by the penumbra. One occultation only will 

 be visible during the period our notes cover. It happens on the 

 mght of March 31, when the 6th mag. star B.-\.C., 4,591, will dis- 

 .-ippearat the moon's bright limb at 9h. 20m., at an angle from her 

 *-«rtei of 18°, reappearing at her dark limb at lOh. 2Gm , at an 

 angle of 240' from her vertex. At noon to-day the moon is in Leo, 

 but descends into Sextans at 1 o'clock to-morrow morning ; to re- 

 enter I>eo at noon to-morrow. At 11 a.m., on the 29th, she finally 

 <iuit8 Leo for Virgo, across which great constellation it occupies her 

 •uitil 3 p.m. on March 1 to travel. At this hour she crosses into 

 Libra, and in forty-tight hours' time (i.e., at 3 p.m. on the 3rd) 

 :«crivcs on the western boundary of the narrow northern strip of 

 Scorpio. She has crossed this by one o'clock in the morning of the 

 4th, and entered Ophiuchus. At midnight on March 5 she quits 

 (I'phiuchns for Sa^ttarius, out of which, at one p.m. on the 8th, she 

 passes into Capricomus. At 8 a.m. on the 9th she crosses the 

 boondary sejiarating Capricomus and Aquarius, and is still in the 

 Itst-named constellation when our notes terminate. 



THE INVENTIONS EXHIBITION. 



THE arrangements for the lighting of the buildings and the 

 grounds are being pn)ceodod with. Some 18,000 incandescent 

 lamps will take the place of the coloured oil-lamps for the illumi- 

 nation of the grounds and the roof of the largo conservatory. 

 Within the building there are to be 4GI arc and 5,530 incandescent 

 lamp.'!, or more than double the number used last year. Twenty- 

 one systems of electric lighting will bo shown, equal to an illumi- 

 nation of 533,000 candles. The lighting committee is composed of 

 Sir Frederick Bramwoll, the Marquis of Hamilton, Sir Frederick 

 -Vbcl, Mr. W. H. Prcece, Professor Dewar, Colonel Sir Francis 

 Bolton, and Colonel Festing. The wiring will bo executed by 

 Messrs. Glover A Co. The steam-power which is to keep in motion 

 the generators will again be provided by Messrs. Davey, Paxman. 

 A Co. 



1 1 is announced that the Council of the Society of Arts are prepared 

 to award the following Gold Medals in couucction with the 

 International Inventions Kxhibition : — 



Jonx Stock Prize. — Under the John Stock Trust, one Gold 

 Medal, for the best application of Photography to a Permanent 

 Printing Process, Group X.WI., Class 140; Group XXIX., Class 

 159. 



Howard Prizes. — Under the Howard Trust, five Gold Medals, 

 for the best exhibits (coming within the terms of the Trust*) in 

 the following Classes : — One for the best exhibit in Group IV., 

 " Prime Movers," Class 26. Steam-engines and Boilers. One for 

 the best exhibit in Group IV., Class 27. Gas and Air Engines. 

 One for the best exhibit in Group IV., Class 28. Means of Utilising 

 Natural Forces. One for the best exhibit in Group XI., Classes 59 

 to G2. One for the best e.xhibit in Group XIII., "Electricity," 

 Class 72. Distribution and Utilisation of Power. 



FoTHERGiLL Pkize.— Under the Fothergill Trust, one Gold Medal 

 for the most novel and best exhibit in Group XXVIII., " Philo- 

 sophical Instruments and Apparatus," Classes 148 to 158. 



Alfred Davi.s Prize.— Under the Alfred Davis Trust, three 

 Gold Medals to be awarded in Division II. of the Exhibition 

 (Music), Groups XXXII. to XXXIV., Classes ICG to 180. 



The Council propose to ask the Juries in each Class to recom- 

 mend for their consideration either two or three exhibits which 

 they might consider deserving a prize. It will not be necessary 

 for any special application to bo made in respect of these prizes. 



Messrs. M.areiott & Coopee have taken premises in London at 

 (m, Holbom Viaduct, opposite the Viaduct Station, where all the 

 l>attenui of their celebrated Hnmber machines will shortly be on sale 



A RETURN- recently laid before the Legislative Assembly of New 

 South Wales gives the cost of first-class American saloon-cai-s on 

 the railways in that colony as £1,045 each, and second-class of the 

 same pattern £805 each. 



OcR excellent contemporary the City Press credits "Mr. J. 

 Brown, Chairman of the London Tricycle Club," with the author- 

 ship of the article " How to Ride a Tricycle," in these columns. 

 Of course, this is a slip (probably of the printer) for Mr. John 

 Browning. 



We have received from Messrs. Marion &. Co. a photograph of 

 the Duchess of Albany and the infant Duke, which may fairly be 

 regarded as a triumph of baby portraiture. The way in which the 

 eyes are rendered is particularly successful. We are assured that 

 the likenesses are excellent. The photographers are Messrs. 

 Byrne & Co., of Hill-street, Richmond. 



U.NDER the heading " Scientific Ballast," an American paper 

 says: — "Some years ago a most interesting find of fossils was 

 made at the Portland, U.S., stone-quarries. They were of high 

 scientific value, and it was decided to send them to Yale College 

 for preservation and study. They were accordingly loaded upon a 

 flat car at Middletown and sent on their way, a car-load of them. 

 It was at that time that the fine stone bridge of the consolidated 

 road was being built across the Farmington River at Windsor. 

 After the arch of the bridge was set, the space was filled in on top 

 with quantities of broken trap rock from the companies' quarries 

 at Meriden. This broken stone at just this time was being drawn 

 to Windeor by the cars for this purpose. The conductor of one 

 train discovered the car load of fossils side-tracked at Berlin, and 

 felt sure it was a lot of ballast for the Windsor Bridge which had 

 been accidentally left behind. With commendable zeal he fastened 

 to it at once, and drew it on to the bridge. There the rare fossils 

 were dumped with the other stones, and there to-day they lie in 

 the solid flooring of the massive bridge." — limjineer. 



* The Trust was left " for the purpose of presenting periodically 

 a prize or medal to the author of a treatise on the properties of 

 steam generally, or any of them particularly, as applied to motive- 

 power, or it may be of air or permanent gases, or vapours, or other 

 agents so applied, or to the inventor of some new and valuable 

 process relating thereto." - j 



