August 1, 1900.] 



KNOWLEDGE. 



191 



which it CMiii>leted in 2i seconds. The direction seemed slightly 

 curved to X.W. The nucleus was stellar, and it left a, short train 

 On Sunday, July lath, lOh. ISm., a very lirdliant meteor was seen at 

 Bristol, Leeds, and Melthan, near Uuddei-sfield. It exceeded Venus 

 in histre and was directed from a rndiaut at 297'' — 11". It fell from 

 a heiglit of ol to 21 miles from over Warrington to Ravenglass, on the 

 coa^t of Cumberland. Length of observed path "8 miles, and velocity 

 IG miles per second. 



AvGrsT Perskids. — The moon being full on August 10 the 

 splendour of this yeivr's display will no doubt be greatly moderated. 

 Notwithstanding moonlight, however, the shower may be expected 

 to be sutJiciently strong to enable its radiant to be determined on 

 every fine night during the first 13 nights of the month. During 

 the opening week of August the moon will not oli'er .a serious 

 impediment, and the shower may be watched to advantage in the 

 morning hours. The exact place of the radiant on each of the first 

 few nights of the month would be valuable, as very few determina- 

 tions have ever been made at this early period of the shower's 

 manifestation. 



ArGUST Draconids. — Between August 21 and 25 a well defined 

 and rich shower of Draconids, observed at Bristol in 1879, should 

 be looked for. It is probablj- of periodical character, and does not 

 appe^ir to have been re-observed since the year referred to. The 

 radiant is at I'SH" + GO', ueur the small star I'raconis, and the 

 meteors are bright and move slowly. In addition to these 

 Draconids there are a large number of interesting showers visible 

 during the last ten nights of August. 



THE FACE OF THE SKY FOR AUGUST. 



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



The Sun. — On the 1st the sun rises at 4.24 and sets 

 at 7.48; on the 31st he rises at 5.12 and sets at 6.48. 

 Conspicuous sun spots are not to be expected, but small 

 ones may occasionally be seen. 



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

 3rd at 4.46 p.m.; will be full on the 10th at 9.30 p.m ; 

 will enter last quarter on the 17th at 11.46 a.m.; and 

 will be new on the 25th at 3.53 a.m. The brightest star 

 occulted during the month is Iota Tauri, mag. 4.7 ; the 

 disappearance takes place at 0.42 on the morning of the 

 19th, at an angle of 41° from the north point (81° from 

 the vertex), and the reajjpearance at 1.24 a.m., at an 

 angle of 304° from the north point (346° from the 

 vertex). 



The Planets. — Mercury is a morning star in Cancer, 

 well placed for observation for a few days before and 

 after the 20th, when he reaches greatest western elonga^ 

 tion of 18° 32 . On the 15th he rises an hour and a 

 half before the sun, on the 20th an hour and three- 

 quarters before the sun, and on the 25th an hour and 

 forty minutes before the sun. 



Venus is a morning star, at greatest brilliancy on the 

 14th, nearly three-tenths of the disc being then illu- 

 minated. The path of the planet is easterly, from near 

 Gamma Geminorum on the 1st to near 68 Geminorum 

 on the 31st. The apparent diameter of the planet 

 diminishes from 45". 6 to 29 '.2 during the month. At 

 the beginning of the month the planet rises shortly 

 after 2 a.m., and at the end a little before 1.30 a.m. 



Mars rises between midnight and 1 a.m. during the 

 month. He is in the constellation Taurus (near Zeta 

 on the 1st) until the 8th, when he passes into Gemini. 

 The distance of the planet is so great, however, that the 

 disc only subtends an angle of 4". 6 to 5".0. At the 

 middle of the month a little more than nine-tenths of 

 the disc is illuminated. 



Jupiter may still be observed for a short time in 

 the evening; setting about 11.30 p.m. on the 1st and 

 about 9.40 p.m. on the 31st. He is in the constellation 

 Scorpio, his path being a short easterly one a little south 

 of Beta Scorpii. On the 25th the planet is in quad- 

 rature with the sun. The satellite phenomena are most 



interesting— on the 3rd (9.59), 4th (8.48), 11th (9.6), 

 12th (8.34), 19th (8.14), 20th (8.56), and 29th (8.33). 



Saturn may be observed up to about midnight througli 

 the first half of the month. The path of the planet 

 is a very short westerly one in the western part of 

 Sagittarius. On the 18th the apparent polar diameter 

 of the planet is IG ".2, and the outer major and iniiior 

 axes of the outer ring 40'. 7 and IS". 4 respectively, the 

 northern surface being visible. 



Uranus remains in Ophiuchus, near to the star Omcgv 

 in that constellation, a few degrees to the cast of 

 Jupiter; and may be observed only during tlic early 

 evening. The planet is stationary on the 17th. 



Neptune docs not rise until after midnight during 

 the greater part of the month. He is in the mo.st 

 easterly part of Taurus, one and a half degrees souUi 

 of Mars on the 7th. 



The Stars. — About 10 p.m. at the beginning of the 

 month, Perseus and Cassiopeia will be in the north- 

 east; Pegasus, Andromeda, Aries and Pisces towards 

 the east; Aquarius and Capricornus in the south-easr ; 

 Cygnus and Lyra nearly overhead ; Aquila due south ; 

 Hercules and Ophiuchus towards the south-west; 

 Corona and Bootis in the west; and Ursa Major in the 

 north-west. 



Minima of Algol will occur on the 4th at 11.55, on 

 the 7th at 8.43, and on the 27th at 10.26. 



Cl^rss Column. 



By C. D. LococK, b.a. 



Communications for this column should be addressed 

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

 by (he 10th of each month. 



Solutions of July Problems. 



No. 1. 



(B. G. Laws.) 



Key-move— 1. Kt to B6. 



B to K4ch, etc. 

 Q to K4eh, etc. 

 Q X Pch, etc. 

 P to Kt4ch, etc. 

 B to E5 etc. 



No. 2. 



If 1 

 1 

 1 

 1 



(W. H. Gundry.) 



Key-move — 1. Kt to Q4. 



. K"x Kt, 2. Q to Q6, etc. 



. P to R5, 2. Q to H2ch, etc. 



. K to Kt5, 2. Q to QGch, etc. 



. Kt moves, 2. Q to QBOch, etc. 



Correct Solutions of both the above received from 

 H. Le Jeune, H. S. Brandreth, G. A. Forde (Capt.), 

 G. W. M., W. de P. Crousaz, J. Baddeley. 



Of No. 1 only from K. W. 

 Of No. 2 only from Alpha. 



Mr. Macmeikan's sui-mate is solved as follows: — 



1. B to QR2, P moves. 



2. R to K6, P moves. 



3. B to B6, P moves. 



4. R to K3, P moves. 



5. Kt (Q3) to K5ch, R to Q6. 



6. B X P, R X R. 



7. B to Ksqch, R X B mate. 



