TO KNOW THE STARRY HEAVENS 
'73 
In this position we have the line to 
Mercury making the greatest angle 
with the line from the earth to the sun ; 
that is, we see Mercury as far from 
the sun in the sky as possible. After 
this time it draws closer to the sun 
until it is in the same direction as the 
Figure 3. The real motions of the planets. 
sun at inferior conjunction in position 
12, on June 18. 
I have also shown the motion of 
Mercury with respect to Venus. The 
direction of Mercury approaches that 
of Venus until May 20, position 5, after 
which the planets separate. The figure 
also shows the motion relative to one 
of the fixed stars, Pollux. The stars 
are so far away that they appear in the 
same — that is, in parallel — directions 
wherever the earth may be. At first 
both planets are in directions very dif- 
ferent from that of Pollux. Their east- 
ward motions carry them closer to it. 
On June 5, position 9, Mercury is 
closest to Pollux. Venus continues to 
approach Pollux. On June 13, position 
11, it lies in the same direction as Pol- 
lux and passes it. They are not quite 
in the same position as shown in Fig- 
ure 2, as neither Pollux nor Venus lies 
exactly in the plane of the earth’s orbit. 
For a similar reason Mercury does not 
move westward in quite the same ap- 
parent path as it moved eastward, 
Figure 2. 
The positions of the planets in Sep- 
tember are also shown. On September 
15 Venus has reached its greatest east- 
ern elongation and a few days later 
Mercury is also at its greatest eastern 
elongation, after having made a com- 
plete revolution in its orbit and back to 
the given position. It is unusual to 
have the two planets near their elonga- 
tions at the same time. The time of the 
year, however, is unfavorable. 
We have described these planetary 
motions in detail. The value and in- 
terest in the discussion will depend 
upon the faithfulness with which the 
Actual motions in the sky are followed. 
To understand Figure 3, remember 
that you are on the earth. Therefore 
hold the eye at the point on the figure 
'where the earth is at the time and hold 
the line to the sun in such a position 
that it will point to the actual sun. 
Then with the plane of the paper in 
the plane of the ecliptic the planets’ 
positions will be indicated. One could 
scarcely have a better opportunity for 
this study. 
The planets Jupiter and Saturn are in 
good positions, as shown on Figure 1. 
Excepting Venus, Jupiter is the bright- 
est object on the map. Mars is just be- 
low the horizon in the southeast. It 
can be seen later in the evening. Dur- 
ing the month its distance from the 
earth decreases from 59,000,000 miles 
to 45,000,000 miles. Its brightness in- 
creases from — 1 .0 to — 1.9. At the end 
of the month it will be as bright as 
Jupiter. It will be nearest to the earth 
and brightest next month. A fuller dis- 
cussion will be given then. 
Telescopic View of Shooting Star. 
BY THEODORE H. COOPER, BATAVIA, N. Y. 
On November 25 at about six o’clock, 
I saw a “shooting star” through my 
telescope. I had several times tried to 
get a glimpse of such a star but had 
hitherto been unsuccessful. 
I had just left the region of the 
Pleiades, had been trying to count the 
stars in that group visible with my in- 
strument, and was examining one by 
one the stars in the Big Dipper. As 
when using the microscope, I always 
keep both eyes open. When this star 
passed directly beneath Ursa Major I 
was fortunately quick enough to see it 
as it flashed through the field of view. 
Long Distance Shooting. 
The new night-watchman at the 
observatory was watching some one 
using the big telescope. Just then a 
star fell. “Begorra,” he said to himself, 
“that felly sure is a crack shot.” — 
Toronto Goblin. 
