ASTRONOMICAL NOTES FOR AUGUST

Nelson Evening Mail, 3 August 1916, Page 2

ASTRONOMICAL NOTES FOR AUGUST

L.HE SUN is in the constellation Cancer till the Bth, when ho enters Leo. His northerly declination is now decreasing: ir, becomes more- apparent now and hi;- altitude at noon is noticeably higher, day by day, inerea.siug Ky about 9 cleg, during the month. Sunspots have been fairly plentiful, during the past mouth, "several fine groups appearing in both north and south solar 'latitude, -with brilliant faenluo near the limb. THE -MOON, in her monthlv circuit of the heavens:, passes the planets and some of the brighter stars, and serves as a. convenient pointer to them. She will be nearest ro Mars on the evening of the 4th: .Jupiter on the 19th: Venus on the mo'Tninio; of the 25th : Saturn on the evening of the same day; Mercury i.n the evening of the.' 3Ut. Her path iJoAimh the constellations' visible in our early evening .skies is as follows : —On the 2nd as a. Crescent, in the West, in Ylrcjo. through whicli she passes on that and the two following evenings, being i k'sest to the bright star Spied- on the sth; in Libra on the 6th and' 7th: Scorpio on the Bth and 9th. and nearest the bright red' star An tares—the Heart of the Scorpion—o« the Blh : in Sa-sit-tarius on tlie ICth. and' till the earlv part of the 12tli : 'Caprieornu.s on the" 12th and' the 13th : Aquarius* on the 14th and 15th : and' P'isces on the 16th, after which slip rises later in the ovenrinar. THE PHASES OF THE MOON in New Zealand Mean Time: IX IT. M. First Quarter . 7 g 35 a.m. Full 'Moon- 13 11 30 p.m. Last Quarter ... 21 12 23 a.m. New Moon 29 4 55 a.m. Periaeo 12 8 48 p.m. Aposic? 25 4 30 a.m. MERCURY is an evenina star throughout Ai-gus.t. He will l>e well away from the 'S'un's pla.-o towards the end of the month, and rp-avi then be seen, towards the north. He is in conjunction with, the Moon on the last dnv of the month. VE'N[ : .S i- a morning star during Ae.'ust. in the constellation 'Gemini. She cs at greatest brilliancy o;i the morning r.f the 10th. and at this 'time mav be f'".md a".d held by the naked eye, during 'the time she is above the horizon, in fui] dav'ight-. She will he in lunar ccnjnnc-tic-i on the mornin-o- of tho 25th.

.MAES is a>i evening star during the month. In Virgo moving .slowly towards ihe east dining the whole of that period. He will be in lunar conjunction 'on the 4th. and in his desecndincr node on ihe evening of the. 23rd:.

•7UPTTER is now an evening- star, but ri-in._r lute. He -passes the Meridian ar about 4.30 a.m. He is in lunar conjunction on the morn ins of the 19th. and wi';l appeal - stationary amongst the 4fars on the 26th of the mionth.

SATUIRN is a- morning star in Gemini irovinir towards the east amongst the stars of that constellation. Tie will be in conjunction with the Moon on the evening of the 25th, but below our horizon at the time. TJRANTTS is- 'an evening star during August, ;i". ClnpiricornuS;. He will lie come to the Meridian at midnight, beinn then in opposition, on the 11th, and will lie in lunar conjunction on the evening cf the 13th.

NEIPTUNT! is a morning star throughout the month. He is in conjunction on the 25th, "being then very close to the Moon, but unfortunately for those telescopic obschivars who would use this means to identify; him, the phenomenon takes -place in davligh-t. THE CONSTELLATIONS fev the early evening hours, and at the middle of the month, are idaced as follows ; for the earlier or 'later part of the month look an hour later or earlier for the beginning'or end of the same:—Lyra and the bright star Viga are low down on the eastern side *of 'the Meridian, with Hercules on the west; over these are Anuria, and the bright star Altair, and Ophinehus and- 'Serpens in the same order. Cygnus is now up u'n the northeast and Pe eras a? rising more towards the <ast. Aquarius. Capricornns-, and Tagittarins stretch from the eastern horizon to the zenith. Eridanus, and the bright •'Achernar is coming up in the south-east, and Pho.-nix, Hydnis. Pavo, and the Toucan are in tin's portion of the sky. Argo and' the brilliant Canopus r : s now getting low down in the south-west and over these again, are the Cross and the Pointers. Alpha and Beta Oentauri. followed by the Southern Triangle. Part cf 'Hydra—the Water Snake, is still visible In the we=t. with Corvus and 'Crater following. V'irgo is nearing the horizon, and Bootes with the fine star Areturns- is about the same distance from its setting in the north-west. The stream of the Milkv Way is very rich from the zenith towards the south-west, in which are many beautiful cl'usters and nebulous regions well seen in a good field <dass. and not by any means insignificant in an opera, gla=s of good ounlitv.

THE IiOX. DIRECTOR. Wiangaaini 'Observatory. Julv 28th. 1916.