THE HEAVENS IN AUGUST

Evening Star, Issue 19006, 30 July 1925, Page 2

THE HEAVENS IN AUGUST

[By tho Hon. Director Wanganui

OBSERVATORY.]

-The Sun -

is in the constellation Cancer until the Bth, when he moves into Loo, in which ho will have his path during the rest of the month. 11 is northern declination decreases during the month by rather more than ffiieg, and his altitude at all places in Now Zealand will bo so much greater at noon during this period. Sun spots have been fairly in evidence, during the past month, a fine grouping visible in northern solar latitude at time of writing. The, partial eclipse of July 21 was seen very well at this station, clear skies prevailing throughout. —Tho .Moon—

will ho nearest Jupiter on the evening of the 3rd, Uranus on the evening of the 7th, Mercury on tho evening of tho 20tli, Mars on the same evening, Venus on the evening of the 22nd, and Saturn on the evening of the 25th. Eclipse: There will bo a partial eclipse of the Moon on the night of the nth. The Moon will enter the umbra! shadow at 9h o/jniii, middle of the eclipse at Hh 12inin, and leaves tho true shadow at 1.2 h 47min. About 75 per cent, of the Moon will be in the earth’s shadow at central phase. —Mercury—

is an evening star at the beginning and early part, of the month. He will become stationary amongst the stars on tho Hth. and will bp between the Bun and Earth on the 25ih, after which lie will emerge as a morning star. Ho will be in lunar conjunction on the afternoon of the 20th. —Venus—is an evening star now very conspicuous in the western sky at sunset. She will be in lunar conjunction on tho evening of the 22nd. Viewed in the telescope, she presents the phase of the moon nearly full, as she is considerably heyoud the Sun s place at this timo, from which position sho is approaching the Earth till the end of November, when she will be at her greatest elongation from tho Sun and at her most interesting phase.

—Mars—is an evening star during the month, but getting very near the Sun’s place in the heavens. This time last year, it will he remembered, wo were looking to view Mars on the meridian at midnight in the month of August, Now the planet is on the other side of the Sun. _ Next year again we shall have him in our night skies, but farther away than in 1924. He will bo in lunar conjunction on the 20th. —Jupiter—is an evening star, visible at sunset rising in the eastern as Venus sets in the western. sky. Ho is finely placed for telescopic study at this time, Jsis “ belts ” being full of changing forms and markings most varied. He will bo in lunar conjunction on the morning of the ord, lint near the Moon on this and the preceding evening. The most favorable evenings for observing the i eclipses, occultations, and transits r,f lile brighter moons will occur on the 4th, sth, 7th, 11th, 13th, 14th, 18th, 20th, 21st, 22ud, 25th, 28th. —Saturn—is an evening star throughout the month. His fine ring system is now well placed for telescopic observation. Ho will be in lunar conjunction on the evening of the 25th. —Places of Constellations.— The Constellations may bo soon as ; given below at 9 p.m. of the Ist, 8 ! p.m. of the loth, and 7 p.m. of the 1 3(Jth of the month. Looking north we | sec Hercules and Lyra on either side : the meridian, nearest the horizon. The brilliant Vega, in Lyra, being a very ; lino star of the blueish-whito tint, which signifies one having a very high temperature. Just to the east of Lyra j we see Cygnus, the swan, his foremost star Beta (Albiros) being a very line double. Over these lie Aquila (east), and Ophinchus and Serpens to the ; west of the northern meridian, the 1 little Dolphin being cast again of the Swan. Pegasus is rising north of east, and over the eastern point may he seen Aquarius, well up, with Capricoruu.s and Sagittarius reaching up to the point overhead. Celus is just making its appearance south of east, while Phoenix and part of E rid anus, with the brilliant Achornar, may bo seen over the south-east. Canopus is low down, at this time, near the southern meridian, the rest of the lino stars in Argo lying to the right, and Hydras and the Toucan, with Pavo to the cast of the southern meridian. Tho two Clouds of Magellan are east of the southern meridian at this time. Looking west we find Virgo near the horizon, its lino star Spica bringing this constellation into prominence, while nearing its sotting in tho north-west i is Bootes, and its brilliant Arc turns, I with the Northern Crown. The Southern Cross is now getting well over in the western sky, followed by tho Pointers ami tho Soul hern Triangle. The rest of the stars of the Centaur, with Libra, and the Scorpion aro all in tho western section of the heavens , at this time. j —New Stars.— The new star in Pictor, or Nova Pictoris, as it will lie known, Ls not following the ordinary course of those bodies that blaze up suddenly and then rather rapidly and steadily decline. Tho now star has risen, in the last week or so, to more than a magnitude brighter than' it was. This kind of variation presents a problem that is very far from being solved at the present time. It appears that wo have in these stars a change, or a series of changes, in tho temperature of which wo can form no conception. In sonic instances it may reach tho theoretical amount of 50,000 degrees. If there is anything approaching such tremendous beat as this then the theories of Halm and Deslandres, especially the latter, may be seriously concerned in the processes. It may indeed be taking place in that body we see every clear evening lying between tho bright star Canopus and tho Pole. In tnis celestial crucible elements of a complex order may ho rapidly broken up and converted into simpler ones such ns hydrogen, helium, and others of which we know ns yet very illtlo, or nothing. Tho disruptive effects of such temperatures upon matter that had, perhaps, reached a condition of approximate rigidity would bo immense. Tho series of waves of greater brilliancy which break upon our vision may be tho result of layer upon layer of superheated material torn . away from tho parent mass, and rolling out in groat shells of escaping molecular masses to bo dissipated into space. But what is the originating cause of such a cataclysm, or a series of such? It would soora that a collision of some kind must bo postulated. If it were not for the evidence of a more or less uniform material entering into tho composition of all celestial bodies one might postulate a sudden blending, or a series of such wherein tho materials were as a match to magnified a thousandfold or many times such state of liberation as occurs within our terrestrial experience. Professor Bickerion’s theory of grazing impact and the formation of a third body, rapidly expanding, and being dissipated into space by the tremendous velocities , of its particles, is a fensahle explanation for a sudden rise and a rapid and orderly decline, but here we have something which suggest changes of a different order. . In chemical reaction," there are variations of great magnitude, due to temperatures of differoir! orders. We have seen a meteor enter

the atmosphere of the Earth and register such changes through friction. In such cases wo often note the explosive action produces apparent difference of groat magnitude in iho brilliant masses thrown oil . A dark star plunging through a cloud of cosmic matter, at great velocity, in our direction might meet masses of varying density within the cloud of non-lmninous material, and in its meteor-like flight would rise and fall in brilliancy according to the variation in the resistance of the different regions through which it passed.