SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



359 



ASTRONOMY, 



CONDUCTED BY FRANK C. DENNETT. 



' 



Rises. 

 ft.m. 



4.31 a.m 

 4-M 



1 



: ... 4.1 

 Rises. 

 h.m. 



:.yt p.m. 

 0.55 a.m. 

 448 



Souths. 



Sets. 

 h.m. 



-■-:. pj 

 ... 73s 



... 7.5; 



Souths, 

 h.m. 



■ 5-39 a.m. ., 

 . 1.31 p.m. . 



Semi 



h 



1. ... 2.39 



... 3-7 



... 3-57 



Sets. 



h.m. 



. 2.30 a.m. 

 1035 

 10.12 p.m. 



Position .U Noon. 

 R.A . 



Dec. 

 13 28' N. 



18-' 13' 



May. h. m. Diameter. 



Uacury... 2 ... 11.50a.m. ... 6" o 



12 ... 1056 ... 5" 6 



. 10.27 ... 4" 6 



. 1. 14 p.m. ... 5" 3 



. 1.26 ... 5 - , 



• '-39 ... 5" 6 



. g.ig a.m. ... 2" 4 



. 9.24 p.m. ...19' 6 



. 8-42 ...Ul" I 



. 3-2 ...IS" 6 



. 1.17 a.m. ... s * 5 



. 0.40 ... 1" 9 



1 f j p.m. ... i" 3 



Agent S'eott. 

 it. h.m. 



" 13 39 

 21 13 39 

 1 23 2 

 Position at Noon. 

 R.A. 



Venus 



\l.„s 



Jupiter 



S.iturn ... 12 



Urarna ... -.2 



Sepiur.e... 12 



h.m. 

 2.31 

 217 

 2.27 . 



Dec. 



15° I3'N. 

 II 3 15' 

 10° 49' 



3.55 - 20° 4 2'N. 



.23° 9' 



24= 30' 



r 3'N- 

 o 3 54' N. 

 1° 6' 



... 4-17 



... 540 . 



... 0\|0 . 



... 12.7 . 



... 12-5 



... 124 , 



... 16.36 . 



... 15-59 ■ 



... 5-22 . 



20° 6' S. 

 20° 24' S. 



21° 52' N. 



Moon's Phases. 



h.m. h.m. 



May 6 ... 6.34 a.m. ir,t Qr. ... May 12 ... 9.36 p.m. 

 Sew 20 ... 0.5S p.m. 13* Qr , 28 ... 5.14 ,, 



In perigee May yih. at 9 p.m., distant 224,700 

 miles ; and in apogee on 23rd, at 9 a.m, distant 

 252.300 miles. 



Conjunctions op Planets with the Moon : 



May 3 



Jupiter* 



9 a.m. . 



.. planet 6° 58' 



N 



7 



Scorn 



. 12 p.m. . 



,. 5° / 



N 





Mars* 



J a. in. . 



„ 6° 4S' 



S 



18 



Mercttrj 



. 9 p.m. . 



,. 8° 33' 



S 



22 



Veni • 



6 p.m. . 



., o°5i' 



s 





Jopiti 



. j p.m. . 



„ 7° 1' 



N 



• Ilclow English horizon. t Daylight. 



CDLTATIONS AND NEAR All ROACH : 



Anele Re- Annie 



/fin appall:, 

 lute. h.m. Witex. h.m. 



■ ma 6.54 p.m. ...1 «5° ... 7.32 p.m. ... 1S4 



" !,</,ni» ...5 ...11.37 340' ... Near approach. 



1 ...10.17 116 ... 11.16 p.m. ... 235° 



The Sun still continues at intervals to exhibit 

 considerable disturbances upon his surface. 



ojunt tion with tl 1 

 and then I 

 ■ the month, reaching it. greatest 

 •ion west ' .5 p.m. on 2-ih, on 



fo 

 minutes earlier than the sun. 



Vexcs is an evening star all the month, 

 an hour and tbn 



ad two and a quarter ii'mr-i ,-it the 

 month, litnated In Taurus until 14th, 

 then in Gemini, in i; 

 occultaiion on 2.:rul shoul ed. 



Mr, rising little nv.re than 



an bow the end ol '>»■ 



month 





R.A. 



h. 111. 



Dec. 



MnRiii 

 tude. 



a Scorpii 



16.23 



26° 12' S. 



1 



0. Uerculis 



S 



T .. 



P xviii. 51 Herculis 



17.10 

 16.46 

 185 

 18.15 



14° 30' N. 

 15° 9' N. 

 31° o' N. 

 29° 38' N. 



3'5 

 6—12 

 7—12 



6'5 



B. 448, Lyraj 



18.28 



36° 54' N. 



8'5 



Vesta is in opposition on May 6th, so is at its 

 best for observation, though it is in a very un- 

 favourable part of the sky ; its R.A., on April 25th, 

 was 15b. 17m. and its S. Dec. 6° 20' ; on May 25th 

 it is in R.A. 14b. 49m., S. Dec. 5°42', the retrograde 

 path passing through a barren part of Libra. 



Jupiter is still favourably placed for observation, 

 pursuing a retrograde path near the 4th-magnitude 

 star ij Virginis. 



Saturn comes into opposition at 10 a.m. on 30th, 

 but its great south declination does not favour very 

 successful observation; its ring is still beautifully 

 open. On 20th its major and minor axes are 

 respectively 42"76 and i8"'69, whilst the planet's 

 diameter is but 17'', so that the rings extend beyond 

 its poles. 



Uranus, unfavourably placed just south of 

 $ Scorpii, is in opposition on May 22nd. 



Neptune is too near the sun for observation. 



Meteors may be looked for specially on May 

 2nd, 4th, 15th and 31st. 



Red Stars in position during May and June : 



Fiery 

 Orange 

 Variable 

 Variable 

 Orange red 

 J Var., deep 

 t crimson 



Perrine's Comet b, 1S9S, was discovered at the 

 Lick Observatory on March 20th, situated R.A. 

 2ih. 19m., N. Dec, 16 43'. It was about equal to a 

 7th-magnitude star, had a diameter of 2' with con- 

 siderable central condensation, and a nucleus, with 

 a tail 1 ' long. Its direction was north-east across 

 Pegasus, Lacerta, Andromeda and Cassiopeia. 

 According to Prof. Schaeberle and Dr. Ristenpart 

 it had passed perihelion on March iSth at adistance 

 of 110 — earth's mean distance= 10. It has been 

 slowly decreasing in size almost ever since its 

 discovery. 



Sunspot group of March. — The largest spot in 

 this group, according to Mr. Evershed, at the British 

 Astronomical Association Meeting, March 30th, 

 showed unusual activity in the spectroscope, dis- 

 turbing the C (hydrogen) line in an extraordinary 

 manner, particularly on March 15th, when the line 

 was strongly reversed. On the same day, as Mr. 

 Maunder pointed out, there was a remarkable 



1 lie disturbance, and in the evening magnifi- 

 1 enl displays of aurora borcalis were seen in various 

 parts of Scotland and the north of England. 



The Lick Observatory is to be under the 

 directorate of Professor J. E, Kceler. 



I in: Yerkes Observatory is to have a 10-inch 

 plioi .graphic teles. <.pe, the gift of Miss Catherine 

 W. I'.rucc, of New York. 



1 .1 1 sham C01.1 1 ' .1 I 431 Hires on Astronomy will 

 In: delivered I. , I '1 "I I lev E. Ledger, M A,, .111 



May toth, nth, t2th and [3th ; they will be an 

 Introduction to the study of the constellations. 

 'ill'- dr. 1 two dealing with the distances and 

 charting ol thi itai .Hie precessional motion and 

 1 tatoi , and the origin ol the 



. I 11 lli. "III. 1 I "... III. . Ont lellal I- .us 



1 i ■ ill I..- . onsldered, ".1st 1 



the subject ..I variable .i.e. in general Thesi 



..Mi' 1 ■ ini 1 in j ..I.- .I'M-, ored 



at ih. .... ham ! itreet, at <. p m , and 



are free to ail 



