April 2, 1900.] 



KNOWLEDGE. 



95 



at Slouch ;unl Mr. A. Kiiiir ;it Leiiesier. Its radiiiut was at 

 SS dei;ret?s minus 10 defjiees. and it 'ell from 57 to 45 miles, ending! 

 almost vertically over Leicester. These doubly observed meteors 

 are valuable as affording' distinct evidence of feeble radiant imints 

 which have not been previously observeil at the same period of tlie 

 year. Hence there is great utility in maintaining simultaneous 

 watches, for a pair of accur.ite obser\-ations of a meteor will enabk 

 the radiant point of a scanty shower to be exactly determined. 

 though such a shower may be too feeble to be ever recognised 

 by isolated observation. 



L.\RGK Mkteors. — On Xovenilier 27tli. 9h. 20ni., a remarkable 

 bolide was seen by Mr. C. X. Xeuotf at Solia. It tra' died fnmi the 

 square of Pegasus towards CapeUa. and broke into two parts. On 

 February 11th, 8h. 19m.. Mr. A. C. I'anfield, of Tenbuiy, observed 

 a meteor brighter than Sirius. It passed from Kridanus to 20 

 degrees S.E. from Sirius. and was visible for about 13 seconds 



St.\tion.\ry K.\diaxts. — In Ast. Xach. 3625. M. liredlkhiiie 

 gives the orbits of a number of showers composing the long en- 

 during radiants near Beta Persei and Zeta Draconis. The dilfercnces 

 in. the elements induces him to believe that stationary radiation is 

 brought about by a series of distinct streams supplementing each 

 other from the same apparent directions. This exjilanation has 

 been previously offered but it is quite inadequate to satisfy the ob- 

 servations. The accidental grouping of radiants would not enable 

 them to cluster at certain centres to the exclusion of surrounding 

 spaces. A number of different showers succeeding each other from 

 the vicinity of a fixed star would give radiants round about the 

 far, being sometimes E.. W., N. and S. of it, but a stati'inary 

 nadiant retains a constant position relatively to that of the star 

 near which it may be placed. This fact is of great signilicance, 

 and negatives the idea that mere chance grouping is responsible 

 for the production of stationary radiants. 



April Ltrids. — The moon will be full on A|iril 15th this year, 

 so that the shower can be best observed in its later stages. As 

 1900 is not a leap year the maximum will probably occur on Apri' 

 21st, when the moon rises at 13h. 23m. But in 1884 the writer 

 observed a very active return of the shower on April 19th, lib. to 

 12h. It seems necessary therefore to maintain a watch both on 

 the nights of April 20th and 21st before moonrisa. The shower is 

 visible for about a week (April 17-24). and its radiant is a moving 

 one like that of the August Perseids. but the Lyrids are usu.nlly sj 

 rare that this feature in regard to them has never been sufficiently 

 investigated. Observers should carefully ascertain the position 

 of the radiant on successive nights, and in this connection the 

 meteors moving in declination will be very valuable as serving 

 to indicate the R.A. accuratelv. 



THE FACE OF THE SKY FOR APRIL. 



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



The Scn'. — On the 1st the sun rises at 5.37 and sets 

 at 6.31 ; on the 30th he rises at 4.36 and sets at 7.18. 

 Occasional small spots may occur, but large outbursts 

 are not to be expected. The sun is at its mean distance 

 from the earth on the 1st. 



The Moon. — The moon will enter first quarter on the 

 6th at 8.55 p.m.; will be full on the 15th at 1.2 a.u.; 

 will enter last quarter on the 22nd at 2.33 p.m. ; and 

 will be new on the 29th at 5.23 a.m. 



The following are the most notable occultations visible 

 at Greenwich : — 



B.A.C. 1-373 



Tauri 

 a Cancri 

 ^ Sa^ttarii 

 c' Capricomi 



57 

 ♦•8 

 4-:i 

 3-5 

 5-2 

 6-2 



53 

 110 



45 

 116 



The Planets. — Mercury is the morning star through- 

 out the month, but though he reaches an elongation of 

 over 27° on the 24th, he is badly placed for observation 

 in otir latitude. Only in the tropics and in the southern 



beniispberc do western elongations in our Spring provide 

 favourable opportunities for the observation of this 

 planet. 



Venus will bo a very brilliant object throughout the 

 month. On the 28th, at midnight, she will be at 

 greatest eastern elongation, 45° 30'. During the month 

 she travels from near the western boundary of Taurus 

 to near the eastern limit of that constellation ; on the 

 8tli and 9th the planet will be nearly midway between 

 the Pleiades and Aldcbaran, and on the 28th between 

 Zeta Tauri and Beta Tauri. The apparent diameter 

 increases from 18' on the 1st to 24" on the 30th. At 

 the middle of the month a little less than six-tenths of 

 the disc will be illuminated. 



Mars is a morning star, rising about 4.45 a.m. at the 

 middle of the month, but with his apparent diameter 

 of 4". 2 is of little interest to observers. During the 

 month he describes a long direct path through the lower 

 part of Pisces. 



.lupiter rises just before midnight at the beginning 

 of the month, and a little before 10 p.m. at the cud. 

 During the month the apparent diameter increases from 

 38". to 41". 0. The planet has a slow westerly motion 

 in the south-western part of Ophiucbus, about .5° north- 

 east of Antares. 



Saturn rises about 1.45 a.m. at the beginning of the 

 mouth, and about 11.45 p.m. towards the end. His path 

 is very short, but 2 degrees north of Lambda 

 Sagittarii. The planet is stationary on the 14th. 



Uranus traverses a short retrograde path in the south- 

 western part of Ophiuchus. At the middle of the 

 month the planet will be nearly 2 degrees east and 1 

 degree south of Jupiter, lying nearly midway between 

 Antares and Eta Ophiuchi throughout the month. 



Neptune sets about 1 a.m. at the beginning and about 

 11 p.m. at the end of the month. His path is a short 

 easterly one to the north-east of Zeta Tauri ; the planet 

 is 1 degree north of that star, 4m. lis. following on the 

 1st, and 6m. 55s. following on the 30th. 



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

 Leo will be on the meridian, Gemini in the south-west, 

 Orion in the west, Virgo in the south-east, Hercules 

 in the north-east, and Ursa Major almost overhead. 



Algol may be conveniently observed at minimum 

 on the 20th at 9.45 p.m. 



C^sss Column. 



By C. D. LococK, b.a. 



Communications for this column should be addressed 

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

 by the 10th of each month. 



Solution of March Problem. 

 (J. K. Macmeikan.) 



Key-move — 1. B to K5. 



If 1 ... K to K4, 2, R to B8, etc. 

 1 . . K to Kt6, 2. Q to KKsq. 



Correct Solution received from J. Baddeley, Capb. 

 Forde, H. S. Brandreth, W. Nash, J. \V. Meyjes, Alpha, 

 W. de P. Crousaz, K. W. 



K. W. — The majority of the Knowledge corps of 

 solvers will not try sui-mates. One or two short ones 

 will be inserted from time to time, in notation, as yoa 

 suggest. 



