"ASTRONOMY, 
ie 
ala 
CONDUCTED BY F. C. DENNETT. 
Position at Noon. 
1899 Rises. Sets. R.A. Dec. 
Dec. fm. him. hm. Ce 
S7en 3. 7-48ia.m. 2. 3.5zip:m.).. 16:38).. 22.7 1S. 
13 -- 7-59 3:49) ee) Wi7a22) J 23210) 
23 .. 8.6 B52 as HHS as Atay 
Rises Souths Sets Age at Noon. 
Dec. hm. hn. hn. da. h. m1. 
Moon 3 .. 815a.m. .. o.16p.m... 4.13 p.m. o 11 12 
13... 1.19p-M. .. 9.9 P.m. .. 3.57 a.m. 10 11 12 
23 --II1.5 p.M... 4.31 a.m. .. 10.50 a.m. 20 11 12 
Position at Noon. 
Souths Senz- R.A. Dec. 
Dec. him. Diameter h.i1. Oy, 
Mercury Robo Gb ibinbleos Cee oa tS oo Bate) Sh 
13.-- 10.53a.n... 4.4” .. 16.20 .. 18.36 
23... 10.26 be gr4// on) 16.33) =) 29:68 
Venus Sb Boo wong an Gua os Gla on igi © 
TB no Ton Epa! 00 Hehe) oo Hads} 
2Quernn4's +. 5:0" .. 19.52 .. 22.23 
Mars neHQ on OX oe BM on WERE) oo Bong Sh 
Jupiter 113) 6) omg a.m. -- 14.542. 15.41) 2.) 18.477)» 
Saturn dol) bo @auQpNNh co THO on NGI oo BABE 
Uranus soi on Wok Aiton Md! on KOS) oo Bong Ss 
Neptune ..13...° 0.16a.m.:. 1.3”.. 5.42 .. 22.5 N. 
Moon’s PHASES. 
him. 2 hm. 
New .. Dec. 3.. o48a.m. 15s¢Qr. .. Dec. 9.. 9.3 p.m. 
THU 65 wy) SGfos wageeiay SOPs oe 59 2500 Ghy Gkvab 
In perigee, December 7th, at 6 a.m., distant 229,100 
miles; and in apogee on 22nd, at 11 p.m., distant 
251,600 miles. 
CONJUNCTIONS OF PLANETS WITH THE MOON. 
> 0 
Dec. 
I Jupitert . 10 p.m planet 3.7. N. 
o B Mercury” RpyMb on » 0.48 N. 
oo 8 Ceres* 4pm. 3. mm Oe) Ss 
5 8 Marst gp-m. .. 7 0:50) (Se 
4 Saturnt Hens 6 » 0.39 N. 
4 Venus* 2p.m. .. op pt Sh 
29 Jupiter+ 6p ime » 235 N: 
30 Mercury+ .. 11 pem. .. SS ELEGOMING 
31 20 Saturn® - 4pm... » o20 N. 
* Daylight. + Below English horizon. 
OCCULTATIONS AND NEAR APPROACH. 
Dis- Angle Re- Angle 
Magui- appears fron. appears from 
Dec. Star. tude. hme. Vertex. hm. Vertex. 
° 
3-34 p.m. .. 321 
15--K* Tauri .. . 2.48p.m... go.. 
2 3.27 pm. -. 347 
0 EES = 
ious MENS os en eH ae Eb ese aH Ci oo 
17..Neptune .. .. —.. 3.36a.m. ..118.. 4.11 a.m... 180 
19../.Geminorum.. 5.2 .. 6.31a.m. 120.. 7.9 a.m... 198 
'24..eLeonis .. .. 5.1... 7.36a.m... 5 .. Near Approach. 
ECLIPSE OF THE SUN.—On December 2nd there 
will be an annular eclipse of the sun, visible only in 
the very southern latitudes, the central line passing 
within a few degrees of the southern pole. 
ECLIPSE OF THE Moon.—On the night and morn- 
ing of December 16th and 17th there will be a partial 
eclipse of the moon, the phenomena occurring as 
below :— 
hi. Wi. 
16th.—First contact with penumbra..to 34 p.m. 
16th.—First contact with shadow ..11 45 p.m., 66° from N. 
point to E. 
17th.—Middle of eclipse oO 1 26 a.m. 
17th-—Last contact with shadow 37 59s trom N. 
point to W. 
17th.—Last contact with penumbra... 4 18 ,, 
The magnitude of the eclipse is 0°995, the moon’s 
diameter equalling 1:0. 
SCIENCE-GOS SIP. 
THE SuN still remains in a very quiescent state, 
only occasional sun-spots appearing. Winter is said 
to commence when the sun enters the sign Capricorn 
at I a.m. on 22nd of December. 
MERCURY is an evening star at the commencement 
of the month, but at 5 a.m. on 6th is in inferior con- 
junction with the sun, afterwards becoming a moming 
star, reaching its greatest western elongation (22° 5 ) 
at I p.m. on Christmas Day. At 2 p.m. on roth, 
Mercury is in conjunction with and 2° 28’ north of 
Uranus. At 5 a.m. on 23rd Mercury is again in con- 
junction with Uranus, the former being 2° 17’ to the 
north. It is poorly placed for the telescopist. 
VENUS is an evening star all the month in Sagit- 
tarius, not setting until more than two hours after the 
sun at the end of the month, but its great southern 
declination militates against successful observation. 
Maks is an evening star all the month, near Venus 
at the beginning, and also in Sagittarius. At midnight 
on the 6th, Mars is in conjunction with and 1° 48' 
south of Saturn. He is too near the sun for 
observation. 
JUPITER is a morning star in Libra until about 23rd, 
when it enters Scorpio. At the end of the month it 
rises more than three hours before the sun, but its 
great southern declination will be detrimental to 
successful observation. 
SATURN is in conjunction with the sun at 7 p.m. 
on 17th, and is, like Uranus, too near the sun for 
observation. 
NEPTUNE is in opposition to the sum at 5 p.m. on 
17th December, and is well placed for observation in - 
the eastern part of Taurus, a little N.f. (2.e., north- 
east of) the third magnitude star ¢. Its occultation 
by the moon on the morning of the 17th should be 
observed. As a telescopic object it is somewhat 
disappointing. 
METEORS.—Notable days for meteors are Sth, 9th, 
I1th, 12th, and 21st of December. 
BRILLIANT METEOR.—On Sunday, November 
12th, in company with some friends, I observed an 
unusually brilliant meteor. We were coming along 
Westbourne Grove, in the West of London, at 
1oh. tom. p.m., when it appeared, taking a course 
S.S.W. to N.N.E.—Aved. Noal Clark, Paddington 
LInjirmary, London, W. 
THE Lreonrps.—English observers were generally 
unsuccessful in seeing the November Leonids. Next 
month we hope to give fuller details. At Southend, 
in Essex, our Editor saw at intervals of clear sky, on 
the morning of the 15th, nine meteorites only, and 
R 
peo) 
AIRS 
4,55 
CS . 
Q SL5- 
4S 4.8 
4.52 
has furnished a diagram with approximate times of 
some of them. They all came from the radiant point 
in the centre of the sickle in the constellation Leo. 
The short curved path shown on the diagram was the 
most brilliant seen. The earlier part of the night 
was foggy. Although clear, no meteorites were seen 
during a five hours’ watch on the next night. 
