THE YOUNG 
Price $1.00. Estes & Lauriet, Publishers, Boston, 
Mass. ) 
Cassell, Petter, Galpin & Co., of London, Paris 
and New York, liave just issued tlieir very pleas- 
ing gift books for children of small and of large 
growth. One of them is entitled " Little Folks," 
and it is really a magazine for the young, consist- 
ing of a new and enlarged series. Another is 
''Sunlight and Shadow," and consists of poems 
and pictures of light and nature. It is worth re- 
marking, however, that very few poets of note 
figure in these pages. The third volume is en- 
titled " Jingles and Joys for Wee Girls and Boys," 
by Mary D. Brine. It fulfils its mission in a very 
desirable manner and is doomed to popularity. 
Astronomy for Amateurs.— December, 
BY BERLIN H. WEIGHT. 
(All Computations are made for the Latitude 
and Meridian of New York City.) 
THE PLANETS.— DEC EMBEE, 1883. 
Mercury will not be visible in December. 
Venus will be five degrees south of the Moon 
on the first, and about seven on the 31st. She is 
moving eastward past the stars of the constella- 
tion Sagittarius. At the beginning of the month 
she will be just above the bowl of the Milk- 
maid's Dipper, and at the close Just below the 
only conspicuous stars in Capricornus— the 
three of the 3d magnitude in tlie head of the 
Goat. She sets as follows : 
December 10th— 5 49 evening. 
20th— 6 9 
30th— 6 33 
Mars' position has changed but little since 
last month, being still near the Sickle in Leo, 
and rising as follows : 
December 10th— 9 17 evening. 
20th -8 41 
30th— 7 59 
Jupiter is keeping company with Mars, being 
about one hour or 15 degrees west of him, and 
rising as follows : 
December 10th— 7 54 evening. 
20th— 7 11 
30th— 6 26 
He will be 5 degrees north of the Moon on 
the 16th. The eclipses of his satellites visible 
this month are : 
Sat. 
D. 
H. M. 
f. 
5 
3 26 
morn. 
Beg. 
I. 
6 
9 54 
eve. 
II. 
8 
9 12 
IV. 
11 
10 43 
eve. 
IV. 
12 
2 37 
morn. 
I. 
13 
11 47 
eve. 
Beg. 
ri. 
15 
11 48 
I. 
21 
1 41 
morn. 
t. 
22 
8 9 
eve. 
II. 
23 
2 25 
morn. 
L 
28 
3 34 
tv. 
28 
8 53 
evo. 
end. 
SCIENTIST. 377 
During December the shadow of Jupiter is 
directed slightly to the right, and as the satel- 
lite passes from right to left, all of the above 
beginnings or disappearances must occur to the 
right or west of the planet, and as Satellite IV. 
is so much further removed than the others, his 
reappearance will be visible, but very close to 
the western limb of the planet. 
Saturn will be in close conjunction with the 
Moon on the 12th, being but one half of one de- 
gree north of that luminarv He passes the 
meridian as follows : 
December 10th— 10 58 evening. 
20th— 10 16 
' " 30th— 9 34 
METEOES OE SHOOTING STAES. 
The month of December is not remarkable for 
meteoric displays, however several quite active 
groups are encountered. 
The Andromedes and Geminides mentioned 
last month, continue into December; the first 
until the 7th, and the last until the 27th. The 
Taurids II., radiating from near the great Crab 
Nebula, 3° S. of Beta Tauri (Aurigas), Dec. 6th— 
12th. The Polarids I., from very near the Pole 
sta.r after the 20th, and a few from near the 
middle star in the handle of the Great Dipper, 
in Ursa Major, are the principal ones visible in 
December. 
SITUATION OF THE PEINCIPAL STAES, CLUS- 
TEES, AND CONSTEIiliATIONS IN DEOEMBEE, 
AT 9 P.M. 
The most beautiful and interesting portion of 
the firmament, is presented to our view in the 
evenings of December, January and February. 
In December the portion lying east of the 
meridian, possesses the greatest array of glo- 
rious objects. 
Mira, the wonderful variable, is near the 
meridian and just below the equator of the 
heavens. This star has a period of 331d. 8h' 
16m. (Peters), and will not be at maximum 
again until next spring, being now on the de- 
cline and almost invisible. It changes from a 3d. 
magnitude star, to invisibility. A south-east 
diagonal through the square of Pegasus, pro- 
duced one and one-half times as far, reaches it, 
To the left 15°, is the 2d. magnitude star, Men- 
kar, in the head of the Whale, and the only 
bright star in that large constellation. The Ram, 
with one bright star in a cluster of dim ones, 
lies 20° N., and the head of Medusa, of which 
cluster the variable Algol is one, is in the 
zenith. 
To the left, or east of the meridian, the zodi- 
acal constellations are, in their order from W. 
to E. : Tauris, Gemini, Cancer and Leo. In 
the first, are the Pleiades, Hyades and Saturn ; 
in Gemini, the bright stars Castor and Pollux 
