286 



KNOWLEDGE. 



[December 2, 1895. 



are fixed. By turning the wheel the design reTolves. This action 

 produces bands of colour in jtlacc of the blaek lines, and when the 



motion is rcvirsed the colours of the Lauds ehuut;*,. The chronio- 

 scope is being produced bv Messrs. George Philip and Son, of Fleet 

 Street, E.G. ' 



THE 



FACE OF THE SKY FOR DECEMBER. 



By Herbert Sadler, F.E.A.S. 



SUNSPOTS and faculie are slowly but surely decreasing 

 in number and magnitude. Conveniently observable 

 minima of Algol occur at lOh. 58m. p.m. on the 

 2nd ; at 7h. 47m. p.m. on the 5th ; at 9h. 29m. p.m. 

 on the 25th ; and at 6h. 18m. p.m. on the 28th. 

 A maximum of Omicron (Mira) Ceti is due on the 9th. 



Venus is a morning star, and is still a resplendent object 

 in the eastern sky. On the 1st she rises at 3h. 17m. a.m., 

 with a southern declination of 6° 59', and an apparent 

 diameter of 23J", tVo^^'S of ^^^ ^'^^'^ being illuminated. 

 On the 7th she rises at 3h. 27m. a.m., with a southern 

 declination of 9^ 0', and an apparent diameter of 221", 

 ^%ths of the disc being illuminated. On the 17th she 

 rises at 3h. 47m. a.m., with a southern declination of 

 12° 24', and an apparent diameter of 20^", xV'irtts of the 

 disc being illuminated. On the 24th she rises at 4h. 2m. 

 A.M., with a southern declination of 14° 40', and an 

 apparent diameter of 19 ", VVo'^^ of ^^^ "^isc being 

 illuminated. On the 31st she rises at 4h. 19m. a.m., or 

 three and three-quarter hours before the Sim, with a 

 southern declination of 16° 47', and an apparent diameter 

 of 18-0", t5b''1is of the disc being illuminated. She is in 

 conjunction with Saturn at 9h. a.m. on the 22nd, 33' to 

 the north. During the month she passes from Virgo, 

 through part of Libra, to the confines of Scorpio. 



Mercury, Mars, Saturn, and Uranus are all, for the 

 observer's purposes, invisible. 



Jupiter is an evening star. On the 1st he rises at 8h. 21m. 

 P.M., with a northern declination of 18 30 , and an apparent 

 equatorial diameter of 421 , the phase amounting to y^ . 

 On the 6th he rises at 8h. p.m., with a northern declination of 

 18 88\ and an apparent equatorial diameter of 43| . On 

 the 16th he rises at 7h. I8m. p.m., with a northern declination 

 of 18° 43', and an apparent equatorial diameter of 44^". 

 On the 20th he rises at 6h. 32m. p.m., or two and a half hours 

 after sunset, with a northern declination of 18" 58', and an 

 apparent equatorial diameter of 45^''. On the 31st he rises 

 at 6h. 10m. P.M. with a northern declination of 19° 7', and an 

 apparent equatorial diameter of 4ot". During the month 

 he describes a short retrograde path in Cancer, being about 

 i° NE. of S Cancri at the end of the month. The 



following phenomena of the satellites occur while the 

 planet is more than 8° above and the Sun 8"^ below the 

 horizon. On the 1st an occultation reappearance of the 

 first satellite at 3h. Om. a.m. ; an eclipse disappearance of 

 the second satellite at 4h. 18m. 423. am.; a transit ingress 

 of the first satellite at 9h. 58m. p.m., and a transit egress 

 of its shadow at lib. 12m. p.m. ; an eclipse reappearance 

 of the fourth satellite at lib. 58m. 34s. p.m. On the 2nd 

 a transit egress of the first satellite at Oh. 18m. a.m. ; an 

 occultation disappearance of the fourth satellite at 5h. 58m. 

 A.M. ; an occultation reappearance of the first satellite at 

 9h. 27m. P.M. ; a transit ingress of the shadow of the 

 second satellite at lOh. 36m. p.m. On the 3rd a transit 

 ingress of the second satelhte at Oh. 47m. a.m., a transit 

 egress of its shadow at Ih. 39m. a.m., and a transit egress 

 of the satellite at 3h. 42m. a.m. On the 4th an occultation 

 reappearance of the second satellite at lOh. 39m. p.m. On 

 the 6th a transit ingress of the shadow of the third 

 satellite at lOh. 29m. p.m. On the 7th a transit egress of 

 the shadow of the third satellite at 2h. 3m. a.m., a transit 

 ingress of the satellite at 2h. 35m. a.m., a transit ingress of 

 the shadow of the first satellite at 4h. 18m. a.m., a transit 

 ingress of the satellite at 5h. 19m. a.m. ; a transit egress 

 of the third satellite at 6h. 15m. a.m. ; a transit egress of 

 the shadow of the first satellite at 6h. 37m. a.m. On the 

 8th an eclipse disappearance of the first satellite at 

 Ih. 29m. 31s. a.m., its occultation reappearance at 4h. 48m. 

 A.M. ; an eclipse disappearance of the second satellite at 

 6h. 54m. 36s. a.m. ; a transit ingress of the shadow of the 

 first satellite at lOh. 46m. p.m., and of the satellite at 

 llh. 46m. P.M. On the 9th a transit egress of the shadow of 

 the first satellite at Ih. 6m. a.m., of the satellite at 2h. 6m. 

 A.M., and its occultation reappearance at llh. 15m. a.m. 

 On the lOth a transit ingress of the shadow of the 

 second satelhte at Ih. 10m. a.m., of the satellite at Sh. 9m. 

 A.M., an egress of the shadow at 4h. 3m. a.m., a transit 

 ingress of the shadow of the fourth satellite at 4h. 6m. 

 A.M., a transit egress of the second satellite at Oh. 4m. a.m. 

 On the 12th an occultation reappearance of the second 

 satelhte at lb. 2m. a.m. On the 14th a transit ingress of 

 the shadow of the third satellite at 2h. 20m. a.m., and 

 its egress at 6h. 2m. a.m.; and a transit ingress of the 

 satellite at 6h. 7m. a.m., a transit ingress of the shadow of 

 the first satellite at Oh. 11m. a.m. On the 15th an eclipse 

 disappearance of the first satellite at 3h. 22m. 51s. a.m.; an 

 occultation reappearance of the first satellite at Oh. 35m. 

 a.m. On the 16th a transit ingress of the shadow of the 

 first satellite at Oh. 40m. a.m., of the satellite at Ih. 33m. a.m. 

 an egress of the shadow at 3h. Om. a.m., of the satellite at 

 3h. 53m. A.M., its eclipse disappearance at 9h. 51m. lis. 

 P.M. On the 17th an occultation reappearance of the first 

 satellite at lb. Im. a.m., a transit ingress of the shadow 

 of the second satellite at 3h. 43m. a.m., a transit ingress of 

 the satellite at 5h. 28m. a.m., an egress of its shadow at 

 Oh. 37m. a.m., a transit egress of the shadow of the first 

 satellite at 9h. 28m. p.m., its egress at lOh. 20m. p.m. ; an 

 occultation reappearance of the third satellite at llh. 24m. 

 p.m. On the I8th an occultation disappearance of the 

 fourth satellite at 9h. 33m. p.m., an eclipse disappearance 

 of the second satellite at lOh. 47m. 57s. p.m. On the 19th 

 an occultation reappearance of the fourth satelhte at 

 2h. 16m. A.M., an occultation reappearance of the second 

 satellite at 3h. 23m. a.m. On the 20th a transit egress of 

 the second satellite at 9h. 33m. p.m. On the 21st a transit 

 ingress of the shadow of the third satellite at Oh. 20m. a.m. 

 On the 22nd an echpse disappearance of the first satellite 

 at 6h. 10m. 18s. a.m. On the 23rd a transit ingress of the 

 shadow of the first satellite at 2h. 34m. a.m., of the 

 satellite at 3h. 19m. a.m. ; an egress of the shadow at 



