SCIENCE- GOSSIP. 



CONDUCTED BY F. C. DENNETT. 









Position ai 



Noon. 



1901 





Rises. Sets. 



R.A. 



Dec. 



June 





h.m. h.m. 



h.m. s. 



O 1 it 



Sun . . 4 





3.48 a.m. .. 8.S p.m. .. 



4.46.53 .. 



J2.23.13 N. 



14 





3.44 a.m. .. 8.16 p.m. .. 



5.28.13 .. 



23.14.57 N. 



24 





3.45 a.m. .. 8.19 p.m. .. 



6. 9.48 .. 



23.25.52 N. 







Rises. Souths. 



Sets. Age at Noon. 



■June 





h.m. h.m. 



h.m. 



d. h.m. 



Moon . . 4 





9.45 p.m. . . 1.18 a.m. . 



5.36 a.m 



.. 17 6.22 



14 





2.4 a.m. . . 9.55 a.m. . 



5.56 p.m 



.. 27 6.22 



24 





0.59 p.m .. 6.31 p.m. . 



11.55 p.m 



.. 7 22.27 









Position at Noon. 







Souths. Semi- 



R.A. 



Dec. 





June h.m. diameter, h.m.s. 



o i n 



Mercury .. 



4 



.. 1.294 p.m. .. 3-2" . 



. 6.18. 5 . 



.25.30.53 N. 





14 



.. 1.47-1 p.m. .. 3-9" . 



. 7.15.26 . 



23.32.57 N. 





24 



.. 1.38-4 p.m. .. 4-8" . 



. 7.46.17 . 



.20.24. 7 N. 



Yen us 



4 



.. 0.37-7 p.m. .. 4-9" . 



. 5.26.34 . 



.23.42.37 N. 





14 



.. 0.52-0 p.m. .. 5-0" . 



. 6.20.16 . 



24.13. 7 N. 





24 



.. 1. 6-1 p.m. .. 5,T" . 



. 7.13.50 . 



23.32.15 N. 



Mars 



14 



.. 5.35-2 p.m. .. 3-3" . 



.11. 4. 4 . 



6.58.56 N. 



Jupiter . . 



14 



.. 1.17-9 a.m. ..21-5" . 



.18.44.18 . 



.22.59. 9 S. 



Saturn . , 



14 



.. 1.36-7 a.m. .. 8-4" . 



.19. 3.12 . 



. 22. 9.24 S. 



Uranus . . 



14 



..11.22-7 p.m. .. 1-9" . 



.16.53. 1 . 



. 22.34.40 S. 



Neptune . . 



14 



.. 0.26-0 p.m. .. 1-2" . 



. 5.54.25 . 



.22.17.51 N. 







Moon's Phases. 









h.m. 





h.m. 



Full . . June 



2 . 9.53 a.m. 3rd Qi 



. June 9 



. 10. p.m. 



New 





16 .. 1.33 p.m. 1st Qi 



• „ 23 



. 8.59 p.m. 



Iii perigee June 14th at 11 a.m. 

 on 26th at 9 a.m. 



Meteors. 



and in apogee 



Apr. 12 to June 30 

 „ 17 to ., 25 



May 29 to „ 4 



June 10-28 

 „ 13 to July 7 



Coronids Radiant 

 /3 Serpentids „ 

 ■») Pegasids , 



S Cepbeids „ 

 Vulpeculids „ 



h.m. 

 R.A.I 5.40 Dec. 2 

 ., 15.24 

 „ 22.12 

 „ 22.20 

 .. 20. s 



N. 

 17N. 

 27 N. 



Some large meteors sometimes may be seen ap- 

 parently radiating from the constellation Scorpio. 



Conjunctions of Planets with the Moon. 



June 4 

 „ 5 



„ 17 

 „ 18 

 „ 22 



Jupiterf 



Saturn* 



Venus* 



Mercury* 



Marsf 



9 p.m. 

 5 a.m. 

 1 p.m. 



11 a.m. 



12 p.m. 



Planet 3.53 S. 



3.43 S. 



4.44 N. 

 5. 5 N. 



5.45 N. 



Daylight. 



t Below English horizon. 



OCCULTATIONS. 









Angle 





A ngle 





Mag n i- 



Dis- 



from 



Re- 



from 



June 



Star. tude. 



appears. 



Vertex. 



appears. 



Vertex. 







h.m. 



° 



Ii.m. 



° 



1 . 



B.A.C. 5109 5.4 . 



11.49 p.m. 



.. 34 . 



. 0.36 a.m. 



.. 319 



4 . 



/iSagittarii 4-1 



. 2. 4 a.m. 



.. 104 . 



. 3.13 a.m. 



.. 212 



5 . 



B.A.C. 6536 5-5 



. 2.49 a.m. 



.. 95 . 



. 3.59 a.m. 



.. 210 



8 . 



c' Capricomi 5-2 



. 2.59 a.m. 



.. 126 . 



. 3 54 a.m. 



.. 208 



28 . 



u 1 Scorpii 4-1 



..11.15 p.m. 



.. 37 



0.15 a.m. 



.. 291 



28 . 



. co 2 Scorpii 4-6 



.11.30 p.m. 



. 82 . 



. 0.48 a m. 



.. 240 



The Sun has been very free from disturbances of 

 any kind, but should be watched for the outbreak 

 of spots a long way distant from the equator. 



Summer is said to commence at 3 a.m. on June 22nd, 

 when the Sun enters the sign Cancer. 



Mercury, as evening star, reaches its greatest 

 eastern elongation. 24° 39', at 5 a.m. on June 16th, 

 about which time it does not set for more than an 

 hour and three quarters after the Sun. Its nearness 

 to the Moon on 18th should help in finding it above 

 the N.W. horizon. 



Venus is an evening star too near the Sun for 

 good observation. 



Mars is apparently too small for useful observa- 

 tion, situated in Leo. 



Jupiter coming into opposition at 5 p.m. on 

 June 30th is in the best position for observation 

 during the present year. At the beginning of the 

 month the planet rises just before 10 p.m., and at 

 the end a little after eight. From 11.47 p.m. on 

 June 14th to 2.28 a.m. on June loth the transit of 

 satellite I. and its shadow may be observed. On 

 June 28th satellite IV. may be seen in transit from 

 9.47 p.m. until 11.54, the shadow passing off the 

 disc at 11.30. During a considerable portion of 

 the time IV. itself will probably be visible as a 

 dusky spot. The transit of I. and its shadow should 

 be looked for on June 30th. from 10.4 p.m. until 

 12.21 (see next page). 



Saturn is only a few degrees east of Jupiter. 

 It is now a splendid object with widely open rings 

 when the air is good. 



Uranus in Ophiuchus comes to the meridian 

 about two hours earlier than the two last mentioned. 

 Neptune being in conjunction with the Sun at 

 1 a.m. on 21st cannot be observed. 



Stonyhurst College Observatory. — We have 

 received the " Results of Meteorological and Mag- 

 netical Observations, with Report and Notes of the 

 Director, 1900." and have found them to be more 

 than usually interesting. Stonyhurst is celebrated 

 for its excellent work in observing the Sun. An 

 appendix gives the results of the meteorological 

 observations at St. Ignatius' College, Malta. 



The New Star in Perseus continues to de- 

 crease in brightness : its fluctuations have been 

 very regular, having a period of between four and 

 five days. Regular variations have, we understand, 

 been observed in its spectrum. 



Professor Henry Augustus Rowland was 

 born at Honesdale. Pennsylvania, November 27th. 

 1848. After graduating as a civil engineer, he 

 became instructor in natural science at Wooster 

 University, Ohio. He soon became assistant 

 professor of physics in the Rennselaer Polytechnic 

 Institute, Troy, New York. Our own Clerk-Max- 

 well was the first to recognise the immense value 

 of his work at Troy. This was in elaborating a 

 system of absolute units for measuring the exact 

 magnetisation produced in iron and nickel by 

 magnetising forces. He also ascertained the 

 mechanical equivalent of heat. He did splendid 

 work in perfecting the screw, which made it 

 possible for him to elaborate the dividing engine. 

 and at the Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, 

 rule those beautiful diffraction gratings for the 

 study of spectrum analysis. He died April 16th, 

 1901, a worker, who will be missed. 



Dr. Adolph HlRSCH, who had been director of 

 the observatory at Neuchatel since its foundation 

 in 1859, died April 18th. 1901, aged 71. 



Variable Minor Planets. — Reference has 

 already been made on p. 370, vol. vii., to the 



