38 



KNOWLEDGE 



[Februaky 1, 1893. 



Comets, of course, were considered as special messengers, 

 foreboding changes and disturbances- on tlie earth at lai'ge. 

 But they had nothing to do with ordinary folk — 



" When beggars die, there are uo comets seeu ; 

 The heavens themselves blaze forth the death of priuues." 



Then we hear elsewhere of a " comet of revenge." 



A quaint tradition, that about Christmas time the planets 



could exert no baneful influence, is embodied in the 



following passage from Hamlet — 



" Some say, that ever 'gainst tliat season comes 

 MHierein our Saviour's birth is celebrated, 

 The bird of dawning singeth all night long ; 

 And then, thcv say, uo spirit can walk abroad: 

 The nights are wholesome ; then no planets strike, 

 ^S'o fairy takes, nor witch hath power to charm, 

 So hallowed and so gracious is the time." 



Lastly, we may refer to the " man in the moon." 

 Stephano tells Caliban he is the man in the moon, and 

 Caliban then says — 



" I have seen tliee in her, and I do adore thee ; my mistress showed 

 thee me, and thy dog and thy bush." 



And Moonshine, in the interlude of MidsitmiiuT Niyht'n 

 Dream, says — 



" All that I have tu say is, to tell you, that the lantern is the 

 moon ; I, the man in the moon ; this thorn-bush, my thorn-bush ; and 

 this dog, my dog." 



If Shakspeare's astronomy is largely clouded by 

 astrology, in that very respect does he hold the mirror up 

 to Nature and reflect the isrevailing ideas of his time. 

 Yet these scattered allusions are, as it were, mere drops 

 in the ocean of his works, which are not for an age, but 

 for all time. 



THE FACE OF THE SKY FOR FEBRUARY. 



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



SUNSPOTS show little diminution in size and number. 

 Conveniently observable minima of Algol occur on 

 February 3rd, 5h. 55m. p.m. ; February 20th, 

 lOh. 48m. p.ji. ; February 23rd, 7h. 87m. p.m. ; 

 February 2(jth, -Ih. 26m. p.m. 

 Mercm-y is innsible during the first half of February, 

 being too near the Sun. He is in superior conjunction on 

 the 16th. On the 25th he sets at 6h. 10m. p.m., or 40m. 

 after the Sun, with a southern declination of 7° 9', and an 

 apparent diameter of 5f", xj^jths of the disc being 

 illuminated. On the 28th he sets at 6h. 32m. p.m., or 

 56m. after the Sun, with a southern declination of 4^ 31', 

 and an apparent diameter of 6^", y oVt^s of the disc being 

 illuminated. During the last four days of the month he 

 describes a direct path through part of Aquarius to the 

 borders of Pisces. 



Venus is too near the Sun to be observed after the first 

 part of February. On the 1st she rLses at Oh. 39m. a.m., 

 or Ih. 2m. before the Sun, with a .southern declination of 

 21' 51', and an apparent diameter of lOf", Ymj'^i'* t)f the 

 disc being illuminated. On the 11th she rises at 6h. 40m. 

 A.M., or jh. before the Sun, with a southern declination of 

 19° 46', and an appa;ciit diameter of 10|", about r^'ijths 

 of the disc being illuminated. After this she is too near 

 the Sun to be observed. While visible she pursues a rapid 

 direct path through Capricornus. 



Mars is an evening star, but is rapidly getting fainter 

 and smaller in size. On the 1st he sets at lib. 30m. p.m., 

 with a northern declination of 9'" 33', and an apparent 

 diameter of 7-6". On the 19th he sets at the same time, 

 with a northern dechnation of 14° 0', and an apparent 

 diameter of (if, about x^J'^ths of the disc being illuminated. 

 On the 28th he sets at the same time, with a northern 



declination of 16° 0', and an apparent diameter of G^". 

 During the montii he describes a direct path from the 

 borders of Pisce.s through a great part of Aries. He is 

 occulted by the Moon on the afternoon of the 21st, but the 

 phenomenon is not visible in these latitudes. 



The minor planet .Juno comes into opposition on the 

 14th, when she is distant from the earth aboitt 141,400,000 

 miles, and appears as bright as an 8i- magnitude star. 

 She sinks on the 24th at llh. 14m. p.m., with a northern 

 declination of 5° 64'. During February she describes a 

 retrograde path through part of Sextans on to the confines 

 of Hydra and Leo, but without approaching any naked 

 eye star. 



Jupiter is still the most conspicuous object in the evening 

 sky, but as he is rapidly approaching the west he shoitld 

 be looked for as soon after sunset as possible. He sets on 

 the 1st at llh. 3m. p.m., with a northern declination of 

 6° 36', and an apparent equatorial diameter of 37". On 

 the 20th he sets at lOh. 8m. p.m., with a northern declina- 

 tion of 7° 55', and an apparent equatorial diameter of 35J". 

 On the 28th he sets at 9h. 46m. p.m., with a northern 

 declination of 3° 32', and an apparent equatorial diameter 

 of 34-6". During the month he describes a direct path in 

 Pisces. At 8 P.M. on the 14th he is 10s. and 5j' north of 

 the 6th magnitude star LI 2677. At 8h. 45m. p.m. on the 

 22nd a 9th magnitude star will be 52" north of the planet. 

 .Jupiter is occulted by the Moon in broad daylight on the 

 20th. The disappearance takes place at 2h. 16m. p.m., at 

 an angle of 15° from the northern point of the lunar disc, 

 and reappears at 3h. 21m. p.m., at an angle of 263°. The 

 planet will be just on the meridian at the time of re- 

 appearance. The following phenomena of the satellites 

 occur while Jupiter is more than 8° above and the Sun 8° 

 below the horizon. On the 1st a transit egress of the 

 shadow of the second satellite at 7h. 3m. p.m. On the 

 3rd an occupation disappearance of the first satellite at 

 8h. 42m. P.M. On the 4th a transit ingress of the first 

 satellite at 5h. 50m. p.m., of its shadow at 7h. 4m. p.m. ; 

 a transit egress of the satellite at 8h. 5m. p.m., and of its 

 shadow at 9h. 17m. p.m. On the 5th an eclipse reappear- 

 ance of the first satellite at 6h. 35m. Is. p.m. On the 6th 

 an occultation disappearance of the second satellite at 

 9h. 35m. P.M. On the 7th a transit egress of the third 

 satellite at 7h. 57m. p.m. On the 8th a transit ingress of 

 the shadow of the second satellite at 7h. 14m. p.m. ; a 

 transit egress of the satellite at 7h. 22m. p.m., and of its 

 shadow at 9h. 40m. p.m. On the 11th a transit ingress of 

 the first satellite at 7h. 50m. p.m., and of its shadow at 

 9h. P.M. On the 12th an eclipse reappearance of the first 

 satellite at 8h. 30m. 33s. p.m. On the 15th a transit 

 ingress of the second satellite at 7h. 34m. p.m. On the 

 17th an eclipse reax^pearance of the second satellite at 

 6h. 22m. 51s. p.m. On the 18th an eclipse reappearance 

 of the third satellite at 6h. 19m. 3s. p.m. On the 19th 

 an occultation disappearance of the first satellite at 

 7h. 12m. p.m. On the 20th a transit egress of the first 

 satellite at 6h. 35m. p.m., and of its shadow at 7h. 37m. 

 p.m. On the 24th an echpse reappearance of the second 

 satellite at 9h. Om. 31s. p.m. On the 25th an occultation 

 reappearance of the third satellite at 6h. 44m. p.m., and 

 its eclipse disappearance at 8h. 39ui. 18s. p.m. On the 

 27th a transit ingress of the first satellite at 6h. 22m. p.m., 

 a transit ingress of its shadow at 7h. 20m. p.m., and a 

 transit egress of the satellite at 8h. 36m. p.m. On the 

 28th an eclipse reappearance of the first satellite at 

 6h. 50m. lis. P.M. The following are the times of superior 

 and inferior coiijuuctions of the fourtli satellite : — Superior, 

 February 12th, 6h. 34in. a.m. Inferior, February 3rd, 

 lOh. 28m. P.M. ; February 20th 6h. 22m. p..m. 



