ASTRONOMICAL NOTES FOR THE MONTH OF OCTOBER, 1879,

Lyttelton Times, Volume LII, Issue 5807, 6 October 1879, Page 3

ASTRONOMICAL NOTES FOR THE MONTH OF OCTOBER, 1879,

, The aspects of the evening and midnight sly are more than those of ab ordinary kind. Mercury will be concealed in the sun’s rays so that, we shall see little of him. Venus will be resplendent in the morning until eclipsed by the more,powerful rays of the sun. Jupiter and Saturn;will be above the horizon at sunset, and wiU remain with us till nearly dawn of morning; and Mars will emerge from his eastern bed' late in the evening, and remain with us till after sunrise. This and the two following months are recommended to astronomers throughout the world tp be most assiduous in their observations of the planet Mars in order to obtain his true parallax. The Sun is in the sign Libra, and will be until the 23rd,; when he enters Scorpio, and has about llideg of south declination. The length of day on the Ist will be about 12h 31m, on the'lOth about 12h 46m, on the 20th about 18h 17m, and on the 30th about 13h 47m. He will be on the meridian, or due north of Christchurch, on the Ist about 10m Sseo before noon; on the 10th about 12m 46sec before noon; on the 20th about 14m 59seo before noon ; and oh the 30th about 16m ll'see before noon. ; The Moon, in her monthly circuit round the earth, will be to the north of Saturn in the evening of Wednesday, thelat; to the north of Mars ih the morning Of Monday, the 6th ; to the north' and: very near to Venus in the morning of Tuesday, the 14th; to the south of. Mercury in the evening of Thursday, the 16th; to. the north ofJupiterat midnight of Saturday, the 26th; and again to the north of Saturn on Tuesday, the 28th. She will be at greatest northern declination on Sunday, the sth, and at her greatest southern on Sunday, the 19th. ;She. vnll cross the equator, coming southward on Sunday, the 12th, tod recross, going northward, on Saturday, the 25th. The Moon’s phases or times of> change will be as ; follows:--- . . Last quarter on the 9th at 14 minutes after Ih in the morning. New Moon on the 16th at 40 minutes after 2h in the morning. First on the 22nd. at 49 minutes after 5h in the evening. . Full Moon on the. 30th at 40 minutes after lb afternoon. The Moon will be at greatest distance from the earth on Saturday, the 4d 8h p.m., and nearest to on Friday, the 17d 4h a.m. Mercury towards the. end of the month may be seen after sunset, otherwise he will be invisible.- On the 6d, Ih p.m., he will be in superior conjunction with the Sun. On the 16d, 5h p.m., in conjunction with the Moon, distant 6deg; 19m north.: On the 17d, 8h a.m.,' in descending node, and on the 27d, Ih p.m.i at greatest distance from the Sun. ■ Venus is a morning star all the month. On the 14<1, 2h a.m., in conjunction with the Moon, distant Odeg 51m south,- and on the 3Td, when she rises about 3h 9m a.m. she will be at greatest brilliancy. Mars is both evening and morning star, and is in greatest northern declination. On the sd, 7h a.m., he will be in conjunction with the Moon, distant Meg 45m south, and on the 6d, 7h p.m., stationary. Jupiter will be an evening star all the month. He will be on the meridian on the Ist, about 9h 43m p.m. On the 10th, about 9h 5m p.m., on the 20th, about 8h 23m p.m., and on the 30th, about 7hi 44m p.m. On the 25th, at noOU, in conjunction with the Moon, distant sdeg 17m south, and on the 29d, llh a.m., stationary. : Saturn will bo both evening and morning star all the month. On the Id, 2h p.m., he will be in conjunction with the Moon, distant 8 deg 22m south. On the 6d, lOh a.m., in opposition to the Sun, and again in conjunction with the Moon 28d, 5h p.m., distant Bdeg 23m south.