OF CURRENT INTEREST

Taranaki Daily News, 30 March 1935, Page 13 (Supplement)

OF CURRENT INTEREST

THE SKIES FOR APRIL

(By the

Rev. B. Dudley,

F.R.A.S.)

A glance at the heavens during the month of April shows various objects of interest. For example, Orion still holds his own, although his place in the skies must soon be surrendered. Sinking westward more and more each night, he will shortly disappear from our evening skies. Sirius, above Orion with Lepus and Columba, must also follow, sharing the same fate. Achernar is now down in the S.S.W. Drawing a line from this bright star,’ we follow the course of the river Eridanus to Rigel, one of the Orion gems. Eridanus vanishes along with the Hunter. Argo, the ship, shines gloriously with many stars, Canopus chief among them. This star is still high W.S.W. Procyon is also sinking. So also, lower still, is Gemini, the Twins, followed by the Crab. Above Regulus, in the Lion, is Alphard; and after him the Cup and the Crow. The Sickle will also be noticed in the region of Leo. East North East is fiery Arcturus rising, and, near him and above, is Virgo, with Spica, her chief brilliant. Now, too, can be seen the entire length of the Hydra stretching from near- Cancer, past Alphard and Spica, ending up near Libra in the East. At a high altitude in the South East is the Southern Cross, while close by and beneath are the two pointers. Look also for the Scorpion; for this monster is slightly eastward, with ruddy Antares, heart of the gruesome creature, throbbing and bleeding in the murk. The planets should catch the eye, Mercury being a morning star in Pisces. Venus in Taurus is an evening star. Mars is in opposition to the Sun on the sixth, and rises at sunset. All through the night he is well placed for observation. Jupiter now comes into our evening skies again at early hours, rising at about 7 o’clock in the middle of the month, so that he will by that time be well placed all night long. Saturn is also in a good position for seeing as a morning star in Aquarius, the Water Bearer. On April 15 he rises at about 2.30 a.m.

Obituaries.. In the latest issue of the journal of the British Astronomical Association are death ■ notices of two prominent British astronomers,. Thomas Henry Espin and Joseph Bevan Braithwaite. The former died on Sunday, December 2, at Tow Law vicarage, in his 76th year. While yet an undergraduate at Oxford, he discovered his first double star with a 3-inch lens. Webb was considerably indebted to him in editing a new edition of Celestial Objects for Common Telescopes, a work known to every astronomer. Espin was founder of the Walsingham Observatory in 1885, when the Rev. Chancellor- Espin, his father, was rector. This observatory can boast of two excellent telescopes, a 17inch reflector and a 24-inch refractor. With the former the deceased did most efficient work on a particular class of star, rendering astronomers in general under debt to his patience and zeal. The 24-inch reflector was of great use in his hands on a double-star -survey which he took up. Until the year 1930 he and his assistant, Mr. Milbum, discoveredmore than 3000 doubles. The Royal Astronomical Society in 1913 honoured Espin by awarding him the Jackson-Gwilt medal for his discovery of a new star (Nova Lacertae) and for 40 years’ valuable research work. He excelled also in geological pursuits. His library consisted of several thousand books. These he loaned freely to all interested persons. The writer of his obituary references in the journal named tells us that he was wont to describe his vicarage as a “public house which provided mental stimulants.” He was president of the Newcastle-on-Tyne Astronomical Society from its inception in 1904 until his recent death. Braithwaite’s death occurred in November last, when he was 79 years of age. Like his father before him, he was an active worker in the interests of the Society of Friends at Kendall. It was at this Society’s School here that Sir Arthur Eddington attended many years later as a pupil. He was also a pupil in the famous Quaker School at Grove House, Tottenham, and religious service wider the auspices of the Society -of Friends received much support at his hands. He had three great hobbies—yacht building, local history and astronomy. His 5-inch Grubb refractor was suitably housed in a specially constructed tower observatory reached by a stairway from within his house. Snapshots were a favourite study. He was a Member of the Institution of Electrical Engineers wherein, as well as in the meetings of the astronomical societies, he was a valuable contributor in discussion. The Nearest Star. For many years it has been the habit of astronomers to quote Alpha Centauri, one of the stars in the Pointers, as the nearest star. Then came the discovery of a faint object which was thought from measurements taken at the time to be still nearer to us. though only by a small amount. This was known as Proxima Centauri. Dr. H. Spencer Jones, the Astronomer Royal, has just made the surprising announcement that the most recent observations at the Cape Observatory show that the earlier measurements were possibly incorrect. These “give the parallax of the star as O” .758,” to quote from Southern Stars, the journal of the New Zealand Astronomical Society. “Innes who first drew attention to the star gave the parallax as O”. 88. The accepted parallax of. Alpha Centauri is O”. 76.” No doubt further study of Proxima and its rival will be pursued with a view to finally deciding which really has the preference in point of nearness to us. If the fainter of these two bodies is not, after all, the nearer, then it will require to be baptised with a new name. “Proxima Centauri” it could be no longer. The Biggest Star. As in the case of nearness, so in regard to size, stars are liable to be displaced from the seat of honour. Red Antares has since about 1922 enjoyed the distinction of being the mightiest of all stars, having a diameter of nearly 400 million miles as against the solar diameter of nearly 1 million. The star Zeta Aurigae, a double, has recently been re-examined closely, and it has been found that one of its components is a super-giant approaching Autares for bulk. It is stated to be about 335 times as large as our sun, and is therefore all but as enormous a body as Antares. At any time, it would seem, the ruddy star in Scorpio may suffer loss of honour in respect to size. The monster in Auriga already threatens this. More important than its great size, however, according to Dr. .Smart, who describes this interesting double, is the fact that it was the first to give accurately the dimensions and mass of a red super giant from observations alone.