ASTRONOMICAL NOTES

Otago Witness, Issue 3007, 1 November 1911, Page 13

ASTRONOMICAL NOTES

By J. Grigg, F.R.A.S

FOR NOVEMBER, 1911.

THE SUN. The path of the Sun during this month •will be, in r.a. 14 20 to 16 23, a,nd in declination, south 14- 20 to 21 36, through the constellations of Libra and Scorpio; or. ia longitude 217 27 to 247 40. THE MOON.

A penumbral eclipse of the Moon will take place in the early morning of the 7th, the greatest phase of which will occur a little after 3 o'clock. THE PLANETS. Meroury will be an evening star all the month, but will be invisible during the earlier pa.rt, owing to its proximity to the Sun. Its r.a, in the middle of the month will be 16 hours, and its declination S. 22 30. It -will"bo in conjunction with Jupiter on the Bth, and with the Moon on the 22nd, in Aphelion on the 9th, and at greatest heliocentric latitude, south, on the 30th. Venus will be a morning star all the month, its position on the Ist being r.a. 11 36, dec. N. 1 38, and on the 30th r.a. 13 19, dec. S. 6 20. It will pass the ascending node on the 7th, be in conjunction with the Moon on the 17th, and at greatest westerly .elongation, 46 45, on the 26th. Mars will be on the meridian between 1 and 2 a.m. at the beginning of the month, and two hours earlier towards the end. It will be in conjunction with the Moon on the Bth and in opposition to the Sun on tho 25th.. Its short path being a little to the south of the Pleiades. Jupiter is now approaching the Sun, and will arrive at conjunction with it on the 19th.

Saturn will be on opposition to the Sun 01 the 10th, its path for the month being a short one in Aries. It will be in conjunction with the Moon on the. 7th. Uranus is in Sagittarius, r.a. 19 52, dec. S 21 30, and will be in conjunction with the Moon on the 11th. CULMINATIONS.

The following bright stars, as seen from Dunodin, will culminate at the hours named on the Ist of the month, and 3min 56&e0 earlier daily afterwards:

These times are calculated for the meridian of Port Chalmers, and, reduced to New Zealand standard time, llhr ZOmin fast of Greenwich. For inland places on or about the same latitude one ■minute should be added for every 12 miles westward. If a compass is used for finding the meridian, allowance must be made for its variation, which is given at 16 48 east of true north. SATURN. Thi9 planet will be an object of interest this month, being in opposition to the Sun, and therefore visible all night. It is an enormous globe, its size, in comparison with that of the earth, being as that of a orioket ball to a pea, yet it is estimated to weitrh only 80 times as much. With a small telescope the large flat ring which surrounds the planet may easily be seen, and also one or more of the eight satellites which have been tabulated by astronomers using large instruments. MARS. This planet, which also comes to opposition this month, is comparatively near to us, and has two satellites, but they are not visible in ordinary telescopes. The interest in this little planet lies chiefly in the observation of its disc, which shows markings suggesting the probability of the existence of land, Water, and polar ice as on our globe.

d. h. m. Full Moon ... ... 7 3 18 a,m Last Quarter ... 13 6 49 p.m New Moon ... ... 21 8 19 a.m First Quarter 29 1 12 p.m Perigee ... 9 5 42 a.m Apogee ••• 29 4 18 a.m

h. m. Altitude. Alpha G'ruis . ... 7 32 N 67 39 Beta Gruis ... .. ... ... 8 7 S 88 28 Fomalhaut ... .. . .... 8 22 N 74 16 Alpha Pegasi ... . .. ... 8 53 N 29 29 Beta Hydri ... . 9 51 S 58 4 Alpha Crucia .... \. ,. ... 9 51 S 18 25 (lower transit)