August 1, 1898.] 



KNOWLEDGE. 



191 



THE FACE OF THE SKY FOR AUGUST. 



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



SUNSPOT activity is apparently approaching a mini- 

 mum, so that perhaps few spots of considerable 

 magnitude may be expected. Still, abnormal 

 conditions have been noted in the past, and careful 

 observation may not go unrewarded. Bright 

 faculie and coarse granulation of the general surface have 

 been recently noted. 



Mercury will be an evening star, reaching its greatest 

 easterly elongation of 27° 22' at 3h. a.m. on the 9th. On 

 that day he sets at 8h. 13tn. p.m. — that is, only forty 

 minutes after sunset — so that the planet is not particularly 

 well situated for observation in this country. The 

 apparent diameter on the 1st is 6-6" ; on the 9th, 7'4" ; 

 on the 15th, 8 1'. At noon on the 1st the horizontal 

 parallax is 8 8", the distance of the planet from the Earth 

 thus being identical with that of the Sun. 



Orbital Morements of Earth, Tenus, and Mercury during August, 

 189S. (The dotted lines represent the parts below the ecliptic.) 



Venus is an evening star throughout the month, but 

 the southerly movement will render her appearance less 

 striking to the naked eye than might be expected. During 

 the month her declination changes from 4° 49' N. to 

 10' 10' S., and her apparent diameter increases from 15'6 " 

 to 20 ". On the 19th at 6h. p.m. she will be in conjunc- 

 tion with Jupiter, 1' 51' to the south; on the 21st at 

 8h. A.M. she wiU be in conjunction with the Moon, the 

 planet being 5° 3' to the north. The planet will set at 

 8h. .j2m. P.M. on the 9th, seventy-nine minutes after sunset, 

 and at 8h. 2m. p.m. on the 29th, seventy minutes after 

 sunset. At the middle of the month 0-G5 of the disc will 

 be illuminated. 



Mars is atill so distant that only large instruments are 

 likely to reveal any detaO. As a matter of comparison it 

 may be of interest to note that at the favourable opposition 

 of 1892 his horizontal parallax was 'ioi ', corresponding 

 to a distance from the Earth of 31,935,000 miles, while at 

 the middle of August it will be 5-6 ', corresponding to a 

 distance of 115,980,000 mUes. At the middle of August 

 his apparent diameter is only 6-0". On the 1st he will 

 be 5° north of Aldebaran, and will travel eastwards, until 

 on the 23rd he will be about 2° north of :; Tanri. He 



will rise shortly before midnight in the earlier part of the 

 month, and about llh. p.m. towards the end. 



•Jupiter may be observed shortly after sunset during the 

 early part of the month. He passes eastward from near 

 1) Yirginis on the 1st, through a point less than 2" sonth 

 of '/ Virginis on the 20th. The polar diameter diminishes 

 from :!0'6'' to 2'.I0". 



Saturn, in Scorpio, may still be observed in the early 

 evening. On the 9th he sets at llh. 21m. p.m., and on 

 the 29th at loh. 8m. p.m. He will be stationary on the 

 9th and in quadrature on the 29th. The outer major 

 and minor axes of the outer ring vary respectively from 

 40-02" to 38-71' and 17-37" to 16-87' from the 8th to the 

 28th ; during the same period the corresponding dimensions 

 of the inner bright ring vary from 25-47 " to 24-64 " and 

 11-06" to 10-74" respectively: and the apparent polar 

 diameter of the planet diminishes from KiO" to 15-4 " 

 between the same dates. The northern surface of the 

 ring is visible. 



Uranua remains a little east of \ Librir, forming an 

 almost equilateral triangle with p and J Scorpii. The 

 planet is very low in the sky, and even at the beginning of 

 the month sets before midnight. The apparent diameter 

 diminishes from 3-s'' to 3-6 ' during the month. 



Neptune describes a short eastward path in Taurus, 

 from about 1' to H^ north-east of J Tauri. At the 

 beginning of the month he does not rise until after mid- 

 night, but towards the end he will rise shortly before 



11 P.M. 



The Moon will be full on the 2nd at 4h. 29m. a.m.; she 

 will enter the last quarter at 6h. 13m. a.m. on the 9th ; 

 will be new at lOh. 35m. a.m. on the 17th ; enter the first 

 quarter at 8h. 82m. p.m. on the 24th ; and will again be 

 full at 12h. 51m. p.m. on the 31st. 



A conveniently observable minimum of Algol is due 

 about 9h. 44m. p.m. on the 23rd. Other minima, at less 

 convenient times, will occur on the 3rd at 8h. 2tn. p.m., 

 and on the 20th at 12h. 55m. p.m. 



Ctjtss (l^olttmn. 



By C. D. LooooK, b.a. 



Gommonioationa for this column should be addressed to 

 C. D. LococK, Burwash, Sussex, and posted on or before 

 the lOth of each month. 



Solutions of July Froblems. 



No. 1. 



(By A. G. Fellows. I 



1. Kt to Q7, and mates next move. 



Correct Solutions received from Alpha, W. de P. 



Crousaz, H. S. Brandreth, J. M'Robert. 



No. 2. 

 (By A. C. Challenger.) 

 Speaking from memory we beheve that the author's in- 

 tended solution was 1. R to B6. Oar trustworthy cor- 

 respondent " Alpha " claims that this attempt is frustrated 

 by 1. . . . B X P. We must apologize for our inability to 

 verify this, having unfortunately mislaid the current 

 number of Knowledge. W. de P. Crousaz also claims 

 " no solution." 



B. G. Laws. — Many thanks for the problem, a copy of 

 which shall be sent you nest month. We congratulate 

 the problem department of the British Chess Mag(i::ine. 



