ASTRONOMICAL NOTES FOR OCTOBER.

Marlborough Express, Volume XLVI, Issue 233, 1 October 1912, Page 3

ASTRONOMICAL NOTES FOR OCTOBER.

-^ , The SUN is in the constellation ' Virgo during the month. His declina- ■ tion is now south of the equator, increasing from 3.1 deg. on the Ist, ito 14. deg. on the last day of the month.; his altitude at noon will be | greater by the difference of 11 deg. during the same period. The Sun's j surface has been practically free from spots during the past month, but as we are now past the period assigned for its inactivity of this nature, a good look out should be kept,-as large spots may break out now at any time. ECLIPSE.—There will be a total eclipse of the Sun on the 11th, but this will not be visible in New Zealand. The line of central contact passes across South America, and the Southern Ocean,I'but-does not reach ' to our longitude. \ 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 eon-; venient pointer to them. She will be near Mars and Mercury on the i 11th; Venvts on the 13th in the morn- \ ing,, but will be seen near the, bright: evening star on that and the pre- \ ceding evening; near Jupiter' on tho ; 14th and 15th; and near Saturn on the 24th.' Her path through the constellations visible in our evening • skies at about 8 p.m. is as follows:—- ■ As a crescent in Libra on the 13th : -j Scorpio on the 1-lth and 15th, and ; nearest tho bright red star Antares I on the 14th; Sagittarius on the 16fch, !' 17th, and 18th; Capricornus on the ! 19th and 20th; Aquarius on the 21st \ and 22nd: Pisces on tho 23rd, 24th, » and 2oth ;• Aries on the 26th and 27th ; ; Taurus on .the 28th. and 29th: and) nearest the bright red star Aldebaran ! on the 29th; Gemini till the end of > the month. ' I The PHASES OF THE MOON in j New .Zealand mean time are : — I Last Quarter ... 4d. Bh. 18min. a.m. | New Moon .lid. Hi. llmin. a.m. j First Quarter ...18d. lh. 36min. p.m. i Fall Moon 26d. lh. 32min. p.m. j Perigee Bd. 6h. 18min. a.m. t' Apogee 20d. lh. 30min. a.m. j MERCURY is a morning, star at; the beginning of the month, in Virgo. | He is in 'superior conjunction on the | 4th. after which he will be east of j the Sun. He will be in j with the Moon on the 11th; in con-, junction arid very close to Mars on the ■ 14th; in his descending node on the : 16th; and in aphelion on the,26th. j VENUS is now an evening star, j shining brightly in the western even- • ing sky. She is in her descending j node on the 9th; in conjunction with j the Moon on the 13th, and sotting f later night by night as the month I advances. j MARS is still east of the sun, but too close to our luminary to be ob- > served at this time. He will be in I conjunction with the Moon on the j 11th. and will make a close corijunc- | tion with the planet Mercury on the ; evening of the 14th. I JUPITER is still an attractive jobject in ih» evening sky, in Scorpio, j and well over to the west of tho | Meridian in the early evening hours.-] He is in conjunction with the Moon I on the evening of the 15th, and may j be seen near our satellite on that and \ the preceding evening. His "belts" \ still form a very attractive spectacle j when the planet has not got too nsar the horizon, in the early evening, and ' the most interesting eclipses, transits, and occultations of his satellites may be viewed on the following evenings: —Ist, 2nd, 7th, Bth, ,9th, 10th, 12th, 16th. 17th, 18th, 19th, 25th, 26th, and 28th. ' : SATURN is now an evening star in Taurus, rising in the north-east before midnight. He presents a fine spectacle in the early morning, when well above the mists of the horizon. ' He will be in conjunction with the Moon on the Ist, being about 6.5 deg. south, or above the Moon, when they rise. He is again in conjunction with the same body on the evening of the 28th, and j at about the same distance. j UIIANUS is an evening star, in j Capricornus. and is stationary on tha j 10th. He is in conjunction with the Moon on the evening of the 18th. and in quadrature on the evening of tho 23rd. \ NEPTUNE is in Gemini. He will be in conjunction with the Moon on the oth. ' The CONSTELLATIONS for tho middle of the month, at about 8 p.m., j are placed as follows:—The Groat}' Square of Pegasus is promin-nt in the north, with Aquarius and Caprioornus over it. Pisces Australia is over these again, the fine star Tomalhant being near the zenith. In the east Ceifcus. the Sea Monster, is now j well above the horizon, while Pisces \ is more to the north, with Aries, j rising under the- Fishes. Towards the ; smith-east the long trailing shape of Eridanus and the fine star Achernar are seen. East of south is Argo. and the groat Canopus, now rising well imj in the sky. Tho Cross and "Pointers" j are well down in the south-west, with j tho Triangle anil Pavo over them. J The Scorpion is getting down in the j western sky, followed by Sagittarius, while the' last of Ophinchus and Serpe-ns are over the western point. Cygnus and Lyra are moving down, to fcheir setting in the north-west, with Aauila over them, and the Dolphin. The ZODIACAL LIGHT has been seen very finely on several evenings during the Past month, but cloudy evenings and oftentimes bright moonlight make the opportunities few and far between. THE HON. DIRECTOR. Wanganui Observatory.