SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



281 



/iSTRONGMY 







CONDUCTED BY 



FRANK C. 



DENNETT. 











Position at Noon. 







Rises. 



Sets. 



R.A. 





March. 



h.m. 



h.m. 



h.m. Dec. 



Sun 



... 8 .. 



6.31 a.m. 



.. 5-51 P-m. 



.. 23.17 - 4° 40' S. 





18 .. 



6.9 



.. 6.8 



... 23.53 - 0° 44' 





28 .. 



546 



.. 6.24 



... 0.30 ... 3° 12' N. 







Rises. 



Souths. 



Sets. 



Moon 



... 8 .. 



7.36 a.m. 



.. 3.40 p.m. 



... 12.0 p.m. 





18 .. 



6.7 p.m. 



..12.8 



... 5.38 a.m. 





28 .. 



4.7 a.m. 



.. 8.38 a.m. 



... 1.20 p.m. 



Position at Noon. 







Souths. 



Semi 



R.A. 







h. m. Diameter. 



h.m. Dec. 



Mercury 



... 8 .. 



10.59 a-m. 



.. 2" 7 



.. 22.4 ... 14° 2' S. 





18 ... 



11.22 



.. 2" 5 



.. 23.7 ... 8= 4' 





28 ... 



11.50 



.. 2" 5 



.. 0.15 ... 0° 8' 



Venus 



... 8 .. 



2.52 p.m. . 



-15" 3 



.. 1.58 ... 16° 9'N. 





18 .. 



2-39 



..17" 7 



.. 2.24 ... 19° 36' 





28 ... 



2.18 



..20" 6 



.. 2.43 ... 22° 6' 



Mars 



... 8 ... 



6.27 



■• 3" 9 



.. 5.34 — 25= 43' N. 





18 ... 



6.7 



.. 3" 6 



" 5-53 ... 25° 43' 





28 ... 



5.48 



•• 3" 3 



.. 6.14 ... 25° 34' 



Jupiter 



.. 18 ... 



10.32 



..20" 3 



.. 10.20 ... 11° 51' N. 



Saturn 



.. 18 ... 



4.8 a.m. 



.. 8" I 



.. 15.56 ... 18° 9' S. 



Uranus 



.. 18 ... 



3.59 



.. I" 7 



.. 15-47 ... 19° 42' S. 



Neptune 



... 18 ... 



5.21 p.m. 

 Moon 



h.m. 



.. i" 2 



s Phases 



.. 5.7 ... 21" 30' N. 

 h.m. 



New ... 



Mar. 3 



.. 11.56 a.m. 



1st Qr. .. 



. Mar. II... 3.28 p.m. 



Full ... 



„ 18 



.. 9.28 p.m. 



3rd Qr. .. 



. „ 25... 12.0 a.m. 



Sun. — Spots of considerable size are showing 

 themselves at short intervals. Early in January a 

 large spot visible to the naked eye crossed the disc. 

 A large spot was also visible early in February. 



Mercury is a morning star, forming a triangle 

 with 5 and y Capricorni at the commencement of 

 the month, and travelling through Pisces into 

 Aries. Never well situated for observation. It 

 rises 37m. before the sun on March ist. 



Venus is a magnificent evening star, attaining 

 its greatest brilliancy on the evening of the 23rd. 

 Its spots are difficult owing to its brightness. 

 It sets after 10.15 P-m. all the month. 



Mars is still decreasing in apparent diameter, 

 but is still in good position. At the beginning of 

 the month it is a little south of /8 Tauri, 2nd- 

 magnitude, and on the 27th north of 77 and fi Tauri. 

 It sets about 3.19 a.m. on the ist, and about 2.15 

 at the end of the month. 



Jupiter is in splendid position all night, in 

 Leo, retrograding from just north of the 4th- 

 magnitude p to a few degrees east of Regulus, a 

 Leonis. 



Saturn does not rise until near midnight 

 throughout the month, away to the south-east. It 

 is situated a Httle north-west of /3 Scorpii. 



Uranus is nearly close to the 4th-magnitude, A 

 Librae, a little west of yS Scorpii. 



Neptune is in Taurus, almost on a line drawn 

 from 4th-magnitude t to 3rd-magnitude ( Tauri, 

 about one-fourth of the distance from i. 



Meteors may be looked for on March ist, 2nd 

 and 4th. 



The great sunspot of January last, presenting an 

 apparent diameter of about S5", must have really 

 had a length of something very like 74,000 miles. 



Variable Stars in good position during 

 March are : — 



R.A . Magnitude. 



h.m. Dec. Max. Min, Period. 



R Hydras 12.22 22° 36' S. 4'o ii'o 448-0 days. 



T Ursse Majoris 12.30 60° 12' N. 6'5 <i3'o 256'o days. 



K Virginis 12.31 7° 42' N. 6'5 107 145-8 days. 



a Urs» Majoris 10.56 62° 24' N. i"5* 33 days. 



* The variation is in colour from yellowish-white to red. 

 The mean period given is according to Weber. 



Attention should also be given to the principal 

 stars in Corvus, a compact constellation south of 

 Virgo. Ordinarily the brightest star of a con- 

 stellation is marked o. The present order of 

 brightness is usually y, 5, /S, «, tj, a, but variations 

 are frequently used. 



The Rotation of Venus. — At this time, whilst 

 the planet is so well placed for observation, it is 

 interesting to read the following extract from a 

 communication- on "The Work of the Manora 

 Observatory in 1896," contributed to "The 

 English Mechanic " by its director. " Venus was 

 observed seventeen times (14^ hours) and a dozen 

 drawings made, which confirmed her quick rota- 

 tion." This is in confirmation of our own 

 observations in February, 18S1, when sensible 

 movements of spots were observed from east to 

 west, such as quite disposed of the idea that the 

 planet revolved on its axis in 225 days, as 

 some observers have supposed. Herr Leo Brenner 

 has a good instrument, keen eye and fine situation 

 for his work. 



Minor Planets. — During the year 1896 it is 

 believed that no less than twenty of these little 

 bodies were discovered, including three on Decem- 

 ber 31st, found by M. Charlois, of Nice. The 

 total number known is 429. 



"The Astronomical Journal," so long and 

 ably conducted by the late Dr. Gould, will in 

 future be edited by Dr. S. C. Chandler, aided by 

 Professors Asaph Hall and Lewis Boss. 



Mr. Thomas Gwyn Elger, the director of the 

 Lunar Section of the British Astronomical Asso- 

 ciation, has, we regret to say, passed away at the 

 age of fifty-nine years. He has been a Fellow of the 

 Royal Astronomical Society since 1S71, and has long 

 been known as a busy worker. In 1S95 Messrs. Geo. 

 Philip and Son published his work, " The Moon : 

 a full description, and map of its principal physical 

 features," perhaps about the best that the seleno- 

 graphical student can have. The map is to the 

 scale of eighteen inches to the moon's diameter. 

 He is one who will be missed. 



Dr. G. D. E. Weyer, Professor of Mathematics 

 and Astronomy to the University of Kiel, has also 

 died. 



Meteor of November 29TH. — I was out on 

 the night of November 29th last, and saw the 

 brilliant meteor. The time was a few minutes 

 after 9 o'clock. It seemed to me to be about the size 

 of a cricket-ball when I first saw it. It appeared to 

 break into three parts, two following in succession 

 behind the first, and the colour was a brilliant 

 steely blue. It was travelling in a westerly direc- 

 tion, and appeared to be at an angle of 70° 

 with the horizon. It was mentioned in one of our 

 local papers as having been seen by three corres- 

 pondents ; one at Sandgate, one at Putney and 

 one at Hampstead. One of them compared it to 

 a rocket, and another to a ball of lurid fire. I did 

 not see its actual disappearance, as it was hid from 

 my view by a building. — Thomas Edu-ards, Clifton- 

 villc House, Equity Road, Narbovough Road, Leicester ; 

 January 2gih, 1S97. 



