GLORY OF THE STARS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXX, Issue 21663, 1 December 1933, Page 8

GLORY OF THE STARS

HEAVENS IN DECEMBER RECENT METEORIC DISPLAY, CONNECTION WITH COMET BT CRUX AUSTRALIS The month of October was marked by one of the most awe-inspiring displays of shooting stays that has been witnessed in this century. Quite unexpectedly on the night of October 0 all over Europe where clear skies prevailed the inhstbitants were able to witness the falling of countless meteors. The spectacle was seen in Russia, Poland, Germany, Belgium, France and Portugal, as many as 100 meteors a minute being counted by astronomers in those localities. The spectacle was soon over, however, and by the time night had fallen in America the shower was not one meteor from the region being sieen. The radiant-point from which all the meteors appeared to diverge wag in the constellation Draco, close to the utar Nu. As Draco is a circumpoja'r star group, it was impossible for any person situated in the Southern Hemisphere to witness the display. Apart altogether from the spectacular nature of the display, it was welcomed by astronomers as affording further proof, if suoh were needed, that the destinies of comets and meteors are inextricably linked. The belief had been held for many years that meteors were the debris scattered in the wake of comets, and pursuing similar orbits through space. In support of this belief the meteor streams furnishing several prominent showers of meteors visible each year were known to travel in orbits closely agreeing with those of various comets—notable among which Elalley's comet furnished the fine displays seen every May, and Temple's comet provided a brilliant meteoric shower once in- every 33 years, tha period of the comet's revolution.

Be turn of Comet In 1900 a comet was discovered by M. Giacobini, of Paris, which circled its orbit in a period of seven years, and at that time approached within 5,500,000 miles of the Earth's orbit. At its next return the comet was 110b seen, but it was rediscovered in 1913 by M. Zinner, and calculations revealed that its orbit had been so altered that the comet passed sufficiently close to the Earth's orbit to enable a meteoric display to be seen when the Earth passed through the meteoric debris in the rear of the comet, which would occur about October 10. For the 1926 return of the comet it was known that its orbit would exactly intersect the Earth's, but that the Earth would be at the crossing point two months before the comet reached that position. A slight meteor display occurred in which 36 shooting star 3 were seen in a period of three hours. The corner was first detected this year by Professor Schorr, of Bergedorf, in April last. It was at its nearest to the Sun and passed through the Earth's orbit at tho end of July. Over two months elapsed, however, before tho Earth passed through the point where the two orbits intersected, on October 9, and the magnificent display of shooting stars resulted. The bunch of meteors encountered must have been of small width, however, as the Earth passed completely through the stream in three hours, as opposed to the three weeks or longer occupied in traversing the stream of >meteoric particles connected with Halley's comet. But although the swarm is not thick, it may extend far enough behind tha comet for another display to be witnessed on the same date next year.

Positions of Planets The Sun will be moving through tho constellation Opliiuchus until December 21, when it will pass into Sagittarius. The longest day will occur on tho»22nd, when the Sun will attain a noofoalti* tude of 76deg. at Auckland. The Moon in its monthly circuit of the heavens will be in conjunction with the various planets as follows: —» Jupiter, 13th; Mercury, 16th; Mars, 19th; Venus, 20th and Saturn, 20th. The inferior planet Mercury will attain its greatest elongation from the Sun iu the morning sky on December 6, after which it will steadily draw ill toward that orb. Venus will attain its greatest brilliancy in the evening sky on December 31. On December 20 the Moon will pass very close to Venus at 8 p.m. and ,the next night Venus will be less than the Moon's apparent diameter south of . the ringed planet Saturn. The red planet Mars will be in Sagittarius, but the 200,000,000 miles separating it from us renders it an object of little interest. Jupiter in Virgo lies only a few degrees from the bright star Spica, and can be seen in the early mornings this month. Saturn, in Capricornus, is drawing closer to the Sun, but its wonderful ring system still remains an object for telescopic scrutiny.