ASTRONOMICAL NOTES FOR MAY

Evening Star, Issue 15480, 30 April 1914, Page 3

ASTRONOMICAL NOTES FOR MAY

[Br the Hon. Director, Wangajtui Observatory.] —The Sunis in the constellation Aries till the 15th, when he passes into Taurus. His declination is now to the north, and increases by rather more than 7deg during the month, his altitude decreasing at noon by the same amount during this period. —Sunspots.— Tli very fine group of spots which developed so rapidly at the beginning |of April presented a remarkable aspect as they passed across the disc. When nearing the edge on the 11th and 12th very marked changes were in progress, but the maximum phase of activity appeared to have been reached about th© 9th. An interesting group of small snots, covering an area of about 60,000 by 25,000 miles, broke out suddenly in north latitude, and near the centre of the disc, on the 26th. There is every indication that a new period of solar activity has now set in. —The Moon,—

in her monthly circuit of the heavens, comes into the vicinity of the planets and some of the brighter stars, and serves as a convenient pointer to them. She will be near Mars on the evening of the 2nd, Jupiter on the morning of the 17th, Mercury on the 26th, Saturn on the same _ date, Venus on the 27th (in the evening), and Mars again on the last day of the month. She may i be seen passing through the constella- ! tions visible in our evening skies as i follows: —In Gemini on the Ist, and | nearest the bright stars Castor and I Pollux on that date; Cancer on the 2nd i and 3rd; Leo on the 4th, oth, and 6th, | and nearest the bright star Regulus on J the 4th ; Virgo on the 7th, Bth, and ■ 9th, and nearest the fine star Spica on | the Bth; Libra on the 10th ; Scorpio on I the 11th and 12th, and nearest the fine i red star Antares on the 11th; Sagit- ! tarius on the 13th and 14th; and Capri- ! corpus on the loth and 16th, after | which she rises late in the evening. ■ —Phases of the Moon, — | in New Zealand mean time:— j i>. H. M. I First quarter ... 3 5 59 p.m. Full moon ... 10 9 1 a.m. Last quarter ... 17 9 42 a.m. New moon ... 25 2 5 p.m. Perigee 9 7 12 a.m. i Apogee 21 3 42 p.m. ] —Mercury—j is a morning star during the first half j of th© month, poes into the Sun's rays ; on the 17th and emerges as an evening I star, as which he passes the remainder 'of the month. He is in perihelion on | the 21st. in lunar conjunction on the I 26th, and in greatest heliocentric north j latitude on the last day of the month. j —Venus—- • is an evening star during the month. \ She may be picked up near the place j of the setting Sun at the beginning of ; the month, and will draw away well ; towards the west during the month. j She will be in conjunction with Saturn on the morning of the 17th, in lunar j conjunction on the evening of the 27th, and in perihelion on the following day. —Mars—is an evening star during the month, moving rapidly from the constellation Gemini, through Cancer. He will be found in lunar conjunction on the evenings of the 2nd and 31st, Mars being i over the Moon in each case. j —Jupiter—is a morning star at the beginning of i the month, but rises before midnight las the month advances. Ho will be I found in lunar conjunction on the 17th, and will be in quadrature or situated I upon the face of the heavens at an angular distance of 90deg at the same time. —Saturn—is an evening' star throughout the month, but rapidly approaching the Sun's place, with which he will be in conjunction at the beginning of June. He will be in conjunction with Venus on the 17th, and in lunar conjunction on the evening of the 27th.

—Uranus—is an evening star in Capricornus during tho month. He is ill quadrature on the 3rd, in lunar conjunction on the 16th, and stationary amongst the stars on the 17th. —Neptune—is also an evening star throughout the month, on the borders of Gemini_ and Cancer. He will be in lunar conjunction on the 2nd and 29th. —The Constellations—visible in our evening skies during the middle of the month are placed as follows: —In the north, nearest the horizon, Leo Minor' and Canes Ven on either side of the meridian, Leo and Coma Berenice higher, and Virgo over the latter, with Hydra reaching over the higher position, with Corvus and Crater close by underneath. Bootes and the fine star Arcturus are in the north-east, with Serpens, Orphiuchus, and Libra away to the east. South of east may be seen the Scorpion, followed bv Sagittarius, with the Centaur high overhead. The Southern Cross and the Pointers, Alpha and Beta Centauri, are now near their highest point in the southern sky, over the Pole. Achernar in Eridanus is now nearing the horizon slightly west of south, the Toucan beingon the southern meridian. Pavo and Hydrus are over Toucan on either side. Canis Major and the brilliant Sirius are getting down towards-their setting in the west, with Argo and the fine star Canopus over him. Cancer and Canis Minor, with the bright star Procyon, are approaching the horizon in. the north nw»t.. , , >