FxBSCAKv 1, 1900.] 



KNOWLEDGE. 



47 



b«red that displavs took jilacc in 002, 1002, 1101, 1202 and tr.02, 

 80 that we need not despair of sceini; tlie meteors until after 

 the return of 1W2, for exactly three periodical revolutions of 

 the meteor jroup are completed in a century*. 



Bright Mkteiir of Novkmbeu I'.i, IS'.tO.— At 8h. oini. a 

 meteor, equal to Jupiter in ap]>.arent lustre, w.as seen by Mr. 

 T. W. Backhouse at Siiiulerland, and hy Mr. C. L. Brook at 

 Meltham, near Iludderstield. It moved slowly and was yellowish- 

 white in colour. The paths indicate a radiant at (io" + 28*^ on 

 the northern boundary of Taurus, near the star Psi. At its 

 first appearance the meteor was about 8') miles high, over a 

 point in the sea 40 miles east of Hornsea, on the Yorkshire 

 coast. When it disappeared it was 42 miles over Driffield, and 

 had completed a path of 08 miles in three seconds. 



FiRKUAI.l. VISIBLK IN SlNSllINE, J.\Nt'Al!Y 9, 1900. — At 



2h. 55m, p.m. on Januarj' 9 last, when the sun was shining 

 brightly in a cloudless sky, a fireball of remarkable size and 

 lustre was seen at many places in England. Descriptions of its 

 appearance have been received from Brighton, Eastbourne, 

 Lewes, and Worthing (Sussex), Penshurst and Beckenham 

 (Kent), Guildford and Reigate (Surrey), and other places. All 

 the observations come from the S.E. region of England. A 

 preliminary reduction of the materials indicates that the radiant 

 was situated between Aquila and Sagittarius, and that the fire- 

 ball descended from 59 to 27 miles iluring its fiight of about 

 140 miles over the English Channel. Its motion was very rapid, 

 and the general direction of its observed course from S.W. to 

 N.E. This phenomenon reminds us of the large meteor which 

 passed over Lancashire and Yorkshire on February 8, 1894, at 

 28 minutes after noon. 



The Meteors of Biel.^'.s Comet. — In our last month's 

 " Notes " it was mentioned that the astronomers of the Vienna 

 . Observatory counted i)7 meteors, most of which were from 

 Andromeda, on the evening of November 2;)rd. From a 

 communication in .Int. Ndch. 3612, it appears that obsei-vations 

 were continued on Xoveml)er 24th, when 240 meteors were seen 

 in the five hours ending lOh. .'iOm. The maximum occurred 

 at 8h., when the horary rate of apparition was about 80. 



The January Qcadrantids.— Prof. A. S. Herschel, of 

 Slough, obtaiaed a very successful observation of these meteors 

 on the night following January 2nd, 1900. Between lib. and 

 16Jh. he saw 130 meteors, and registered the jiaths of 80 of 

 them. The Quadrantids furnished about four-fifths of the total 

 number seen. During the night two very fine meteors were 

 recorded as follows : — 



Time 14h. 5Hm., Mag. 3 x ?., Path 95° -f ."-O" to 87' + 38°. 

 „ 16h. 17m., „ =?., „ 35 '^-1-52° to 45° + 40°. 



Mr. W. E. Besley, of Clapliam Common, S.W., also watched 

 the progress of this shower on January 2nd. Between llh. 38m. 

 and 13h. he counted about thirty meteors, and nearly half of 

 these were Quadrantids, with a radiant at 230° + 54°. At 

 llh. 59m. he registered a 1st magnitude meteor, which was also 

 seen by Prof. Herschel at Slough. From a projection of the 

 combined paths the radiant comes out at 228° + 53°, so that it 

 was a true Quadrantid. The meteor fell from 57 to 40 miles, 

 and had a length of path of about 44 mile?, which it traversed 

 in 2 seconds. 



THE FACE OF THE SKY FOR FEBRUARY. 



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



The Sun. — On the 1st the sun rises at 7.41 and sets 

 at 4.47; on the 28th he rises at 6.50 and sets at 5.36. 

 Few sun spots are likely to be observed. Observers 

 interested in the Zodiacal Light should keep a watch 

 for it in the west during the early evenings. 



The Moon. — The moon will enter first quarter at 

 4.23 P.M. on the 6th, will be full at 1.50 p.m. on the 

 14th, and will enter last quarter at 4.44 p.m. on the 

 22nd. There is no new moon this month, according to 

 the ordinaiy civil reckoning. Kappa Piscium, mag. 5.0, 

 will be occulted on the 2nd ; disappearance at 6.56 p.m. 

 at lOl*' from the north point (65° from the vertex), 

 reappearance at 7.43 p.m. at 210° from the north point 



(172° from the vertex). Delta Arietis, mag. 4.5, will be 

 occulted on the 6th; disappearance at 8.36 p.m. at 127° 

 from the north point (93° from the vertex), reappear- 

 ance at 9.24 p.m. at 211° from the north point (17.5° 

 from the vertex). 



The Planets. — Mercury will bo in superior con- 

 junction with the sun at p.m. on tho 9th, and will 

 afterwards bo an evening star. Towards the end of 

 the month he will come into a favourable position for 

 observation, setting on tho 28th an hour and twcnty- 

 fhrco minutes after tho sun. Ho will then be in tho 

 south-western part of Pisces, away from bright stars, 

 at 6.30 P.M. he will be about 8 degrees above the horizon 

 and 6 degrees south of west. 



Venus is an evening star, and will be a striking object 

 in the western sky after sunset. At the middle of tho 

 month tho planet crosses tho equator and will then 

 set about 8.30 p.m., eight^tenths of the disc being il- 

 luminated. The planet enters Pisces in the early part 

 of the month and approaches the eastern part of that 

 constellation towards the end. 



Mars is too near the sun for observation. 



Jupiter is a brilliant object in the morning sky. On 

 the 23rd, at 4 a.m., he is in conjunction with the moon, 

 and 1° 31min. to the north, the moon then being at 

 nearly half phase. He is in quadrature with the sun 

 at 6 P.M. on the 28th. About the middle of the month 

 he rises shortly before 3 a.m. During the month he 

 describes a short direct path in the most southerly part 

 of Ophiuchus. 



Saturn is also a morning star, rising on the 14th at 

 about 4.37 a.m. During the month he describes a short 

 direct path in the western part of Sagittarius. 



Uranus is also a morning star, rising at the middle of 

 the month about 3.6 a.m. He is in the southern part 

 of Ojjhiuchus, nearly midway between Antares and Eta 

 Opliiuchi and about 4° east of Jupiter at the middle of 

 the month. 



Neptune is an evening star, setting at the middle of 

 the month about midnight. His path is a short 

 westerly one through the Milky Way in Taurus; at 

 the middle of the month he is 1° north of Zeta Tauri 

 and three-quarters of a degree following that star. 



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

 month, Ursa Major will be in the north-east, Arcturus 

 rising in the north-east, Leo will be a little south of 

 east, Cancer and Hydra in the south-east, Gemini and 

 Auriga nearly overhead, Canis Minor and Canis Major 

 near the meridian, Orion a little west of south, Taurus 

 in the south-west, Aries and Perseus in the west, and 

 Andromeda and Cassiopeia towards the north-west. 



Convenient minima of Algol will occur at 10. .57 p.m. 

 on the 13th, and 7.46 p.m. on the 16th. 



C^fss Column. 



By C. D. LococK, b.a. 



Communications to this column should bo addressed 

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

 bv the 10th of each month. 



Solutions for January Problems. 

 (J. T. Blakemore.) 



No. 1. 

 1. Q to KB2, and mates next move. 

 [There is unfortunately another solution by 1. 



