December 1, 1899 ] 



KNOWLEDGE 



287 



a minute or two, aud radiated from the constellatiou Lea. At 

 Brown University fifty- five Leonids were counted. 



On the whole the shower seems to have been decidedly poor, 

 and goes far to prove that the earth has not yet encountered 

 the really dense section of the cometiirv meteor-stream. It 

 will be remembered that there were fine displays in each of the 

 years 18(i6, 18fi7, and 18fl8. The next two years 1900 and 1901 

 may well be expected to witness their recurrence. But the 

 parent comet of the meteors (Tempel I., 186(5) passed through 

 its perihelion last spring, and the earth must have recently 

 travelled through a part of the .irbit much nearer the comet 

 tlian tlie sections it will encounter in the next two years. 



THE FACE OF THE SKY FOR DECEMBER. 



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



THE SUN. — On the Ist the Sun rises at 7.44, and 

 sets at 3.54 ; on the 31st he rises at 8.8 and sets 

 at 3.58. Winter commences at 1 a.m. ou the 

 22nd, when the Sun enters Capricoruus. There 

 will be an annular eclipse of the Sun on the 2-3rd, 

 invisible at Greenwich ; the annular phase will only be 

 visible in the Antarctic regions, liut a small partial eclipse 

 will be seen in New Zealand, Tasmania, and South-western 

 Australia. 



The Moox. — The Moon will be new on the 3rd, at 

 12. 18 A.M. ; will enter first quarter at 9.3 p.m. on the 9th; 

 will be full at 1.31 a.m. on the 17th ; and will enter last 

 quarter at •1.57 a.m. on the 28th. 



There are no striking occultations at convenient hours 

 during the month, but it may be mentioned that Neptune 

 will be occulted on the morning of the 17th; disappearance 

 at 3.30 A.M., at 150° from the north point (IIH^ from the 

 vertex) ; reappearance at 4.11 A.^r., at 222 from the north 

 point (IHO from the vertex). 



There will be a partial eclipse of the Moon commencing 

 just before midnight on the 16th. The magnitude of the 

 eclipse is 0-995, so that it is very nearly total. The 

 contacts are as follow, Greenwich mean time ; — • 



Fir<t contact with penumbra, Dec. 16tli, lUli. 33'7m. P.M. 



„ „ shadow „ nil. 44'6m. „ 



Middle of Eclipse ... De.-. 17th, Hi. 25-9m. a.m. 

 Last contact with sliadow 3h. 7'2m. 



,, penumbra .. 4h. IS-Im. „ 



The first contact with the shadow occurs at C>Cj' from 

 the north point of the Moon's limb towards the east, the 

 last 59° towards the west ; in each case for direct image. 



Diagram showing the Moon's path thvougli tlic Earth's shadow, 

 Dec. l(i-17th, and the phase of eclipse at midniglit. 



The path of the Moon through the shadow of the Earth is 



illustrated in the accompanying diagram, in which the scale 



indicates the position of the Moon's centre at corresponding 



times. 



I. The I'lanets. — Mercury is in inferior conjunction on 



the morning of the 6th. and is afterwards a morning star, 



reaching greatest western elongation of 22° 5' on the 25th. 

 On account of his southerly declination, however, he will 

 not be well placed for observation in our latitudes. 



Venus is an evening star, but is still badly placed for 

 observation. 



Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus may all be considered 

 unobservable. 



Neptune is in opposition on the 17th, and during the 

 month describes an arc nearly a degree in length, with a 

 westerly motion. His path lies ahnost midway between 

 ^ Tauri and ^ Gemiuorum. 



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

 Cancer, Gemini, and (!anis Minor will be towards the 

 east ; Auriga high up towards the east ; Taurus and Orion 

 towards the south-east ; Perseus and Cassiopeia nearly 

 overhead ; Aries and the head of Cetus on the meridian ; 

 Andromeda high up towards the north-west ; Pegasus a 

 little south of west ; Cygnus and Lyra towards the north- 

 west ; and Ursa Major a little east of north. 



Convenient minima of Agol occur on the 12th at 9.3 p.m. 

 and on the 15th at 5.">2 p.m. 



C1^(00 Column. 



By C. D. LococK, b.a. 



Communications for this column should be addressed to 

 C. D. LooocK, Netherfield, Camberley, and be posted 

 by the 10th of each month. 



Solutions of November Problemx. 



(J. K. Macmeikan.) 



No. 1. 



1. P to K4, and mates next move. 



No. 2. 

 1. Pi to B7, and mates next move. 

 There is an unfortunate dual after 1. ... K to B3.] 



Correct Solutions of both problems received from 

 E. Servante, Alpha, W. de P. Crousaz, H. S. Brandreth, 

 G. C. (Teddington), J. Baddeley, Captain G. A. Forde, 

 K. W., H. Le .Teune, F. B. L. (Devonport), Rev. H. J. 

 Riddelsdale, Gerald F. Todd, J. E. LeUiott, W. d'A. 

 Barnard, J. Neville. 



'/. F. Todd. — If you would send the key you gave, we 

 shall be glad to point out Black's defence. We fancy it 

 was Kt to Kt5, or a move v/ith the Bishop. 



J. 7'. Blakemcre. — Too late to acknowledge last month. 

 You will have seen that your second attempt at the four- 

 mover was quite correct. It seems that ten only, out of 

 the thirty regular solvers of the " B. C. M." problems, 

 proved equal to this very difficult production. 



E. Servante. — The game enclosed shows that you are 

 cultivating a brilliant style, but your opponent's play is too 

 weak to enable any correct idea of your strength to be 

 formed. At move 16 it would have been prettier to mate 

 with the Bishop instead of the Queen. 



J. Baddeleij. — Certainly it is better to solve from the 

 diagram if possible. In the case of two-movers there is no 

 excuse for not doing so, and the same may apply to fairly 

 simple positions in three or four moves, especially those in 

 which the Black King is confined. It is doubtful, however, 

 whether the majority of solvers can really appreciate the 

 beauties of a complicated three-mover or four-mover without 

 setting up the position and moving the pieces, but, of 

 course, the problem may previously be solved from the 

 diagram alone. 



Gustav V. Broecker. — Many thanks lor the programme. 



