SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



163 





CONDUCTED BY FRANK C. DENNETT. 



Nov. 



Sun ... 8 ., 



18 ., 



2S .. 



Moon ... S ., 

 28 .. 



Mercury. 



Venus 



Mars 



. 8 



i8 



28 

 , 8 



18 



28 , 



Jupiter ... 18 

 Saturn ... 18 

 Uranus ... S 



Neptune... 8 



Rises, 

 h.m. 



7.9 a.m. 

 7.25 

 7.42 



Rises. 

 11.34 ''•™- 

 2.43 p.m. 



Souths. 



h. m. 

 10.59 a.m. 

 11.22 

 n.47 



1.55 P-m. 



2.10 



2.24 



2.41 a.m. 



1-59 



1.7 



6.49 a.m. 

 11.30 a.m. 



0.15 p.m. 



2.4 a.m. 



Sets. 



h.m. 

 ,.. 4.19 p.m. 

 ... 4.4 

 - 3-54 



Souths. 

 ... 2.58 p.m. 

 ...10.33 

 ... 6.7 a.m. 



Semi 



Diameter. 

 ... 2" 6 

 ... 2" 4 

 ... 2" 3 

 ... 6" 2 

 ... 6" 5 

 ... 6" 8 

 ... 7" 5 

 ... 8" o 

 ... 8" 3 

 ...16" 6 

 ... /' o 



Position at Noo n 

 R.A. 

 h.m. Dec. 



14.57 ••. 16° 49' S. 

 . 15.38 ... 19° 26' 

 . 16.20 ... 21° 28' 



Sets. 

 . 6.24 p.m. 

 . 5.29 a.m. 

 , 0.43 p.m. 



Position at Noon. 

 R.A. 



h.m. Dec. 



14.12 ... 11° 45' S, 

 15.14 ... ly" 37' 

 16.19 .. 



17.8 



18.2 



18.56 



5.56 



5-49 



5.36 



10.41 



15.22 



15.28 , 



5.16 



16' S. 



9' 



48' 

 32' N. 



26' 



25' N. 

 16° 27' S. 

 18° 38' S. 



21" 37' N. 



New 

 Full 



Nov. 



Moon's Phases. 



''■'"• h.m. 



7.27 a.m. ist Qr. ... Nov. 12 ... 5.41 a.m. 



10.25 -, 3rdQr , 28 ... 2.44 ,, 



Su\. — The spots may be expected to be few and 

 small. During September there appeared a slight 

 increase of activity, a group of small spots, having 

 a length of about one-fifth of the sun's diameter, 

 followed by other spots, making the disc interest- 

 ing. But for some two or three days early in 

 October no spots were visible, and then only one 

 small one. 



Mercury is not well placed for observation this 

 month, being in superior conjunction with the sun 

 on November 2Sth. 



Venus is an evening star, somewhat poorly 

 placed, but may be observed towards the end of 

 the month, setting a little after six o'clock. 



Mars, notwithstanding its small angular diameter, 

 may be well observed this month. The principal 

 markings, on a favourable night, may be seen with 

 any good telescope having an object-glass more 

 than three inches in diameter, with powers from 

 120 to 250. 



Jupiter rises about midnight during the month, 

 and may be observed for some hours before 

 sunrise. 



Saturn and Uranus are in conjunction with the 

 sun on November 13th and iGth respectively, and 

 so cannot be observed. 



Neptune is in good position for observation 

 about 5° /., or westward, of ^ Tauri. 



Meteors should be carefully watched for in 

 November, especially about ist, 2nd, 4th, Cth- 

 gth, iith-i5th, 19th and 27th, notably on i^th 

 and 14th. -^ 



Variable Stars. — The following are in good 

 position during November : 



R.A . Magnitude, 



h.m. N.Dec. Max. Mm. Period, 



P Persei 2.56 38° 20' 34 4 



^ Persei {.\lgol) ... 2.57 40=27' 2'3 4 2d. 2oh. 48m. ;os.* 



'^ Tauri 3.53 12° 7' 3-4 4'3 3d. 22h. 52m. 



« Tauri (Aldebaran) 4.29 16° 16' f 

 The 3-5 magnitude quadruple star Persei, R.A. 

 3h. 4Gm., N. Dec. 31"^ 30', is also marked as a 

 variable by the late Kichd. A. Proctor. 



New Comets. — On August 31st, at Randolph, 

 Ohio, Mr. Sperra discovered Comet IV., 1896, 

 which was on later dates observed by Prof. 

 Brooks, of Geneva, New York, and also by the 

 observers at the Lick Observatory. At its 

 perihelion, on July 7th, its distance from the sun 

 was 108,000,000 miles ; when nearest the earth, on 

 September 12th, its distance was no less than 

 163,000,000 miles. It is slowly diminishing in 

 brightness. It was situated near the so-called tail 

 of the Great Bear, and its orbit was greatly 

 inclined to the plane of our own. On September 

 4th, a very faint comet, V. i8g6, was discovered by 

 Signer Giacobini, of the Nice Observatory, in the 

 constellation Ophiuchus. It was calculated to pass 

 its perihelion on October 8-oo3d, Berlin mean time. 

 It appears to be travelling in an elliptical orbit, 

 whose plane is but little inclined to that of the 

 earth. On September 20th, it is announced that 

 Professor Lewis Swift, of the Lowe Observatory, 

 California, discovered a bright comet not moie 

 than 1° to the east of the sun, and on the following 

 evening found it somewhat fainter at a greater 

 distance from the sun, and having a motion north- 

 wards. The observations, however, appear to 

 have met with no confirmation. 



Saturn's Ring System. — M. E. Antoniaci 

 writes: "With reference to the new 'divisions,' 

 I must state that I do not consider them as being 

 real separations, but rather rarefaction zones, more 

 distinct at times than at others. The motion of 

 the lines of absides of the orbits of the corpuscles 

 composing the ring system and the variations of 

 the major axes, both due to the influence of the 

 satellites, must render the appearance of these 

 lines variable. I do not think that these zones are 

 quite free of matter." 



A New Double Star. — In the constellation 

 Scorpio, about R.A. i6h. 41m., S. Dec, 38', there 

 are two stars of 3rd and 4th magnitudes marked 

 respectively /xi and fx^. The former has just been 

 discovered to be a close binary by Mr. Bailey at the 

 Observatory of Arequipa, Peru, a branch of the 

 well-known Harvard College Observatory. The 

 components are so close that it can never be hoped 

 that optical means will be constructed to show 

 them. This notwithstanding, the spectroscope 

 reveals an alternate shifting of the dark lines in its 

 spectrum, showing that it is sometimes advancing 

 towards us, sometimes receding from us, thus 

 indicating orbitual motion, whilst its period is 

 completed in thirty-five hours. 



* .Vlgol, being of considerable northern declination, may 

 be observed during a great part of the year. It remains at 

 its maximum for 2d. i3'5h., then for 3'5h. grows fainter, 

 remains at its minimum 15m., and then during the nest 3'3h. 

 briglitens to its maximum. Its period since 17S2 is said to 

 have decreased" by 9s. The apparent explanation of the 

 phenomenon is the revolution of a large dark planet round 

 the bright star. The star will be at its minimum on the 

 night of November loth, at thirty-four minutes after mid- 

 night. 



I The variation in this star is in colour from yellow-orange 

 to yellow-red. 



