ASTRONOMICAL NOTES FOR OCTOBER.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXX, Issue 8546, 1 October 1907, Page 3

ASTRONOMICAL NOTES FOR OCTOBER.

(Published by Special Arrangement). The SUN is in the constellation Virgo till the end of the month, when he enters Libra. His declination, , now south, increases by 11 deg. during the month, his altitude at apparent noon increasing during the same period from 53 deg. to 64 deg. A , considerable rise in solar activity was mated during the early part of Sen'J; tember, an exceptionally fine series of J...spots and groups, or streams of spots, ijlt'being visible on the sun's surface ' the second and third weeks of the month, which gave us one of those instances of a sudden rise in a declining curve, a phenomenon that , is by no means an exception. 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 convenient pointer to them. She will be near Jupiter on the morning of the second, to the north; Venus on the morning of the 9th, to the north; Uranus on the 14th; Mars on the 15th, to the north; Saturn on the 19th, to the south; Neptune on the 28th, and Jupiter again on the morh- . ing of the 30th, to the north. She will pass through the constellations* mentioned on the following evenings: —-As a crescent in Scorpio on the 11th and 12th, and close to the fine red star Antares on the evening of the 11th; Sagittarius on the 13th and 14th; Capricornus on the 15th and 16th; Aquarius on the 17th and 18th; Pisces on the 19th, 20th, and 2lst; Aries on the 22nd and 23rd; Taurus on the 24th and 25th, after Which she rises late in the evening. PHASES OF THE MOON in New Zealand mean time:—New moon, 7 days 9hrs 51 min p.m.; first quarter, 14 days 9hrs 32 min p.m.; full moon, 21 days 8 hrs 46 min p.m.; last quarter, 29 davs 7 hra 21 min p.m. MERCERY is an evening star in Virgo, moving forward at the beginning of the month. He will be in conjunction with the moon on the morning of the 9th at 9 hrs 19 min, being removed from the moon's 1-. centre 6.54 deg. to the south. He % will reach his greatest elongation east "-f on the evening of the 23rd, wheri he will be removtd 24.20 deg. from the sun's centre, and rather more,than 10 deg. to the south, in regular measurement, at the time, affording southern observers a fine opportunity of seeing this somewhat elusive on"IGCt VENUS in still too near the sun, but towards the end of the month will draw away from the overpowering rays of our luminary, and may then be'glimpsed shortly 'after sunset. She will be in conjunction with the moon on the morning of the Bth at 6 hrs 26 min; and in conjunction with Alpha Librae, the bright star in the Scales, on the 27th, an interesting phenomenon which will, however, take place after both bodies have passed below *y our horizon. '?* MARS is still the bright planet of our evening skies, moving forward rapidly in the constellation Sagittarius. In the telescope he has ceased to be the attractive object of a month or two ago, as, owiiw to his rapidly increasing distance from the earth, his disc appears of much smaller diameter and reveals considerable phase, appearing at present ' like the moon a few days from the full. He will be in conjunction with the moon on the evening of the 15th at 5 hrs p.m. JUPITER is now a morning star in the constellation Cancer, moving forward. He will be in conjunction with the moon on the 2nd and again on the 30th. Interesting views of his satellites in transit and at eclipse and occupation may be looked for on the 3rd, 4th, sth, 12th, 13th, 15th, 19th, 22nd, 27th, and 29th. On the 3rd, all four of his brightest satellites wiil be passing across his disc at the same time.

SATURN has now reached a position in our evening skies affording observers a good opportunity of scanning his disc ind his satellites' motions; his ring system appears in tne largp telescope of the Observatory as a bright line on each side of the planet's disc, showing considerable thickening at the Cassini division and a shadow on the planet under the ring. He will be in conjunction with the moon on the morning of the 19th and will appear near that body on the same and preceding evenings. URANUS is an evening star in the constellation Sagittarius. He will be in quadrature with the sun on the 3rd. and in conjunction with J the moon on the 14th. j NEPTUNE is a morning star in Gemini, with a forward motion till the middle of the month, after which he will retrograde. He will be in quadrature with the sun on the 9th, and in conjunction with the moon on the 28th. ■ METEORS.—Radiants are situated in Taurus, Picses, and Aries during this month, when a good lookout may be kept on these constellations during the morning hours before daylight. The CONSTELLATIONS for the middle of the month at tbout 8 p.m. are as follow:—To the north, the. great square of Pegasus, with Aquarius and Pisces Australia towards the zenith, the bright star Fomalhant being especially noticeable. In the south, just rising, is Argo—the Ship—with the brilliant Canopus rising from his lower transit; above these is Toucan, containing the fine cluster 47, situated just abovo. the smaller Magellanic Cloud at this time. rt The„Cross and the two bright Pointers are working down towards their summer position under the Pole, followed by the Southern Triangle. In the east is Cetus—the Sea Monster—with Aries, while towards the south-east is Eridanus—the River—containing the fine star • Achernar. Near the meridian is Aquila—the Eagle—with the fine star Altair, the centre of three stars in line and fairly close together. Cygnus—the Swan—is Hearing the north-western horizon, while further west and south may be seen Ohpiuchus, low down, followed by the Scorpion and Sagittarius, the latter in that brilliant region containing the Trifid Nebula. The > ZODIACAL LIGHT.—This delicate phenomenon was seen to great advantage on several occasions during the last month, its pearly cone of light being very noticeable when light bands of cloud were projected upon it. This should be looked for as soon as darkness' sets in, on nights when the moon is not above our iioikon.