THE YOUNG SCIENTIST. 
11 
The Heavens for January. 
BY BERLIN H. WRIGHT. 
Mebctjrt will be brightest as a morning star, Jan. 
16-19, rising Jan. 17, at 5h. 49m. morning— Ih. 
32m. before sunrise, and about the time twilight be- 
gins. He enters the constellation Sagittarius, the 
Archer, Jan. 14, and on the 17th, when brightest, 
will be 3o in that constellation ; being in the center 
of the Milky Way and 3o north of the fourth mag- 
nitude star in the end of the handle of the Milk- 
maid's Dipper. He will be oo north of the Moon Jan. 
20, and set about 2)^o south of the sunset point. 
Vekus is still unfavorably situated for observa- 
tion; setting Jan. 12, 5h. 31m. eve., and Jan. 31, 6h. 
18m. eve. She will be in the constellation Capricor- 
nus, the Goat, throughout the month, entering 
Aquarius Feb. 2. The first magnitude star, Fomal- 
haut lies 16o south and 15o east of her. Her disc 
will be considerably smaller than at other times, as 
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The Heavens for January. 
she is in the farther part of her orbit from the earth, 
and also farthest from the sun. Her phase will be 
■gibbous, similar to the Moon's, when a few days 
from the full. She will be 2Xo south of the Moon 
Jan. 23, and very close to Jupiter the same evening. 
Mars is a morning star, and is moving eastward 
among the stars of the constellation Scorpio, being 
about 8o nort.h east of the " fiery red " first magni- 
tude star Antares the first of the month. He rises 
as follows : 
Jan. 10, 4h. 46m. morn., Jan. 20, 4h. 40m. morn., 
and Jan. 30, 4h. 33m. morn. He will be 3%o north 
of the Moon Jan. 19, in the morning. 
JupiTBB will be about 2o south of the Moon Jan. 
23. He sets as follows : Jan. 10, 6h. 38m. eve., Jan. 
20, 6h. 12m. eve., and Jan. 30, 5h. 44m. eve. He is- 
too near the sun to be viewed satisfactorily. 
Saturn will be lo south of the Moon Jan. 27. 
On the 26th, he will be exactly upon the equinoctial 
colure, from which right ascension (corresponding^ 
to terrestrial longitude) is reckoned, eastward, and 
2>^o south of the Earth's path, the ecliptic, which \sr 
also the huu'a apparent path. He sets as follows : 
Jan. 10, lOh. 25m. eve., Jan. 20, 9h. 50m. eve., Jan^ 
30, 9h. 15m. eve. A good four-inch telescope will 
show all the satellites, when at their greatest angu- 
lar distance east or west of the planet. 
Uranus passes the meridian as follows : 
Jan. 5, 3h. 26m. morn. Jan. 20, 2h. 26m. morn. 
" 10, 3h. 6m. morn. " 25, 2h. Im. morn. 
" 15, 2h. 46m. morn. " 30, Ih. 41m. morn. 
As he is nearly at greatest brilliancy, we give in 
the annexed figure his position with respect to the 
surrounding stars. A person of good eyesight can 
see him, by thus knowing his exact TX)si- 
tion, without the aid of an opera glass or 
telescope. The observer must, however,, 
choose a moonless night or at least when, 
the moon is very distant from the planet. 
Jan. 7-15 and Feb. 3-11 , will be unfavora- 
ble for observing, because of the nearnesa 
and brightness of the Moon. 
Before attempting to look for him, the- 
eye should become accustomed to perfect 
darkness. It would be well for the observ- 
er to shut himself in a perfectly dark 
room for thirty minutes, keeping the eyes 
wide open^ before making an observation, 
and in passing into the open air the eye 
should not be allowed to encounter artifi- 
cial light. The Sickle is one of the most 
conspicuous figures in the heavens, and 
nearly every school-boy has traced its out- 
line. 
Neptune passes the meridian as follows : 
Jan 10, 7h. Om. eve., Jan. 20, 6h. 21m. 
eve., Jan. 30, 5h. 42m. eve. (For figure 
showing his place among the starfl, see 
YoTiNo Scientist for December, page 160.> 
Meteors. — The following are the dates of the 
star-showers for January. Jan. 1-4, 18, showers of 
falling stars occur with more or less regularity upon 
these dates. It must be remembered that the earth 
may pass through these meteoric streams while it ia 
day to us. In that case the inhabitants of the anti- 
podes would witness the display. The radiant point 
of the last seems to be near the Northern Crown ; of 
the first about 20o north of the same. 
— There will be three eclipses this year ; an annu- 
lar eclipse of the Sun, Jan. 22; annular eclipse of 
the Sun, July 19 ; and partial eclipse of the Moon, 
Dec. 28. All of these will be invisible ui North 
America. 
