376 Occultations. — The Earth in Opposition. 



Struve, however, asserts a probable connection froni common 

 proper motion. 



To find our next object we must suppose a line drawn from 

 Cassiopeia between /3 and 7 Andromedce ; this, at an equal dis- 

 tance beyond those stars, points out three stars lying near 

 together, the two to the right being closest, and the small one 

 being furthest in that direction, as well as lower than its neigh- 

 bour. These form the head of Aries, and the small star is — ■ 



68. y Arietis. 8"-8. 359°'8. 4| and 5. Full white and 

 faint blue. Piazzi Smyth made them both of the same colour, 

 either white or light yellow, on the Peak of Teneriffe in 1856 : 

 W. Struve, " egregie albae" in 1830 : Dembowski, both white in 

 1852, 1854, and 1856. A fine pair, stationary, but, as it seems, 

 moving together through space. Discovered by Hook in 1664 

 while following the comet of that year ; ' ' I took notice," he says, 

 1 ' that it consisted of two small stars very near together ; a like 

 instance to which I have not else met with in all the heavens." 

 And in 1837, Struve had catalogued 2787, nearly all much 

 more difficult ! A very small telescope will bring it into view. 

 Smyth found two inches of aperture sufficient for it. 



Of the three stars already mentioned in the head of Aries, 

 the brightest, a, stands to the left. A line from 7 Andromeda? 

 to this star will leave, a little to the left, and above its centre, 

 two stars, /? (4 mag.) and 7 (5 mag.) Trianguli. Another line 

 from 7, the smaller of these, to a Arietis, will pass, at ^ of the 

 distance, the following pretty object, which, though visible to 

 the naked eye, must be sought with some care in the telescope, 

 as there are several other not much smaller stars nearit : — 



69. t Triangidi. 3" "5. 7£°"8. 5 5 and 7. Topaz yellow 

 and green. Secchi, who calls this " a most beautiful object," 

 makes its colours white or yellow and blue. It is stationary. 



OCCULTATIONS. 



Of these, at convenient hours, the month contains only three. 

 December 3rd, 40 Arietis, 6 mag., immerges at 4h. 53m. and 

 emerges at 5h. 35m. ; 9th, 5 Oancri, 6 mag., disappears at 

 9b. 30m. and reappears at lOh. 37m.; 23rd, t 2 Capricorni, 

 5 mag., is concealed from 4h. 48m. to 5h. 52m. It may be 

 well to remind our readers that there will be a total eclipse of 

 the moon in the early morning of December 6, though the 

 circumstances are unfavourable, as it begins about 4h. 32m., 

 and the moon sets a little before 8h., just after the middle of 

 the eclipse. 



THE EAETH IN OPPOSITION. 



It is a curious and a pleasant inquiry, what may be presumed 

 to be the telescopic aspect of our globe from the planet Venus 



