Enter 
the world 
of Questers 
nature 
tours . 
When you travel with Questers. you have the 
advantage of our knowledge of the travel world 
And our experience of the natural world We are 
travel professionals And our only tour program is 
Worldwide Nature Tours. 
Under the leadership of an accompanying 
naturalist, we search out the plants and animals 
birds and flowers rain forests, mountains, and 
tundra seashores, lakes, and swamps of the 
regions we explore At the same time, we include 
the more usual attractions in touring — the cities 
archaeological sites, and people 
The current Directory of Worldwide Nature 
Tours describes 29 tours varying from 9 to 36 days 
and going to virtually every part of the world In- 
cluded are The Amazon, Peru, Patagonia. Galapa- 
gos, Hawaii, Alaska, Death Valley, Everglades, 
Ladakh, Sri Lanka. Iceland, Scotland. Greece. 
Australia, and New Zealand Tour parties are small 
the pace leisurely, and itineraries unusual 
Call or write Questers or see your Travel 
Agent today for your free copy of the Directory of 
Worldwide Nature Tours 
QUESTERS 
Questers Tours &. Travel, Inc. 
Dept, NH'181, 257 Park Avenue South 
New York. N.Y. 10010 •( 212) 673-3120 
r 
Share me Thrills , 
3 ^ 
ol Exploring V J 
outer space; 
1» s 279 95 
* f.o.b. 
Hartford, 
Conn. 
$15 Crating 
Charge 
Now it’s easy to join the thousands of serious 
amateurs who have discovered the excitement 
of exploring our mysterious universe. Your en- 
joyment begins right from the start, yet the 
challenges and rewards go on for years! And 
it’s a hobby that can be shared at modest cost. 
Choose From Many DYNASCOPES® 
Picking a telescope to fit your needs and your 
pocketbook is simple when you select a 
DYNASCOPE — the same instruments used by 
more than 150 schools, colleges and observ- 
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FASCINATING GUIDE 
YOURS FREE! 
Read these valuable facts be- 
fore buying any telescope. Mail 
coupon or postcard for your 
complimentary copy of this 
helpful guide. 
Criterion Manufacturing Co 
620 Oalrwood Ave , W Hartford, Conn 06110 
® TM Registered U.S. Pat. Office 
CRITERION MANUFACTURING CO . Dept NH 99 
! 620 Oakwood Avenue . W Hartford, Conn 06110 
j Please send your free Telescope Guide. 
| Name 
| Address 
I City State j 
I 1 
Celestial Events 
by Thomas D. Nicholson 
The Moon Evening moonlight will 
be significant about mid-January and 
again in mid-February, when the moon 
is up for most of the night. The moon 
is a morning object until it is new 
on January 6. The first view of the 
young crescent will be on about Jan- 
uary 9, followed by first-quarter on 
the 13th, full moon on the 20th, and 
last-quarter on the 27th. The moon 
will be new again on February 4, and 
first-quarter on the 13th. Perigee 
moon (nearest the earth) is on January 
15 and February 8; apogee (farthest 
from the earth) on January 27. The 
light cast by the full moon in January 
is exceptionally bright and intense be- 
cause the moon climbs so high in the 
sky during its nightly passage. 
Stars and Planets Only Mercury and 
Mars are evening planets but neither 
is well placed for viewing. The bright 
planets are still morning stars but Ve- 
nus is well past its best. Jupiter and 
Saturn are in good position. Although 
morning objects (above the horizon 
at sunrise), they rise about two hours 
before midnight and are high in the 
south by dawn. The two planets will 
be extremely close to each other this 
winter in the constellation Virgo, not 
far from its brightest star, Spica. Ju- 
piter will be easiest to find because 
of its extreme brightness (surpassed 
at night only by Venus and the - moon). 
The two planets come this close only 
about once every twelve years or so 
when Jupiter passes the slower Saturn. 
But one year in every hundred or more, 
the effects of retrograde motion cause 
Jupiter to pass Saturn three times 
within just a few months. This is the 
year. The first conjunction will occur 
on January 14 (Jupiter moving left 
past Saturn), the second on February 
19 (Jupiter moving to the right-ret- 
rograde), and the third on July 30 
(Jupiter moving to the left again). 
January 1 : The earth is at perihelion 
(nearest the sun) on New Year’s Day, 
approximately 147,093,000 kilometers 
(91,400,000 miles) from the sun, some 
5 million kilometers (3 million miles) 
closer than in July. 
January 4: You can see Venus low 
in the east this morning, rising shortly 
after the waning crescent moon at 
about 4:30 a.m. 
January 6: The latest sunrise of the 
year occurs. Sunset is now fifteen min- 
utes later than it was in December, 
but the time of sunrise changes more 
slowly from mid-December to mid- 
January. 
January 14: Jupiter is in conjunction 
with Saturn, moving from Saturn’s 
right to its left. 
January 16: The bright star near 
the moon is Aldebaran, in Taurus. 
January 19: Saturn begins its ret- 
rograde (westward) motion relative to 
the stars. 
January 20: A penumbral, or par- 
tial, eclipse slightly dims the bright- 
ness of tonight’s full moon. 
January 23-24: The waning gibbous 
moon is close to Jupiter and Saturn 
from the time of rising (about 10:30 
p.m. on the 23rd and 11:30 p.m. on 
the 24th). 
January 25: Jupiter begins its ret- 
rograde motion, and both Jupiter and 
Saturn can be seen shifting slowly 
away (to the right) from Spica. 
January 31: Mercury is at its great- 
est distance (elongation) to the sun’s 
left, leaving it above the horizon after 
sundown. For a week or so before and 
after this date, the planet will be low 
in the west during late twilight. 
February 3: The crescent moon is 
near Venus again this morning, but 
both are probably too low to be seen 
in the dawn. 
February 4: An annular solar eclipse 
(a ring of the sun remains visible 
around the moon at mid-eclipse) oc- 
curs in the South Pacific Ocean. 
February 12: The moon is near the 
star Aldebaran (in Taurus) again to- 
night. 
84 
