ASTRONOMICAL NOTES FOR NOVEMBER.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume LIX, Issue 9213, 4 November 1908, Page 7

ASTRONOMICAL NOTES FOR NOVEMBER.

(By S. Stuart, British Astronomical Association.)

Jlhe early morning sky to the eastwill this mouth be illuminated with the presence of three of the planets; as just after 3 a.m. Venus rises in her full glory, followed by Mars about a quarter of an hour later—though as yet very dim aud distant—aud near 4 a.m. he is followed by Mercury. Observers cauuot miss the first aud last, but the telescope may be needed for Mars. All three are contained in the zodiacal signs Libra and Scorpio, which are iv the ascendant before suurise.

Mercury roaches his uearest point to the sun, or his perihcliou, between 8 aud 9 p.m. ou the 4th; he ceases his retrograde movement aud becomes direct, or. moves again in the order of the sigus, ou the 6th, between 7 «ud 8 p.m. By the 14th, between <i and 7 p.m., he reaches his greatest angular distance to the west of the sun, which in this case is 19 degrees 18 minutes; and on the loth, at about <J a.m.. he will be iv His most northerly point of as seen from the sun. By IoM-lGin p.m. on the 22ud the moon will have corue up with this little planet, aud he will be found ldeg. -55m.-ou the south of her centre; but this is loug after both have set. Mercury is moving retrograde on the Ist in the very beginning of the sign Scorpio, but he becomes direct after reaching the 28th degreo of Libra on the 7th, and then moves forward in the sigus ro the 25th degree of Scorpio. He is in nortli latitude all the mouth, but does not reach further thau the third degree.

Venus is still the most conspicuous of the planets, though observers who desire to see her must rise early, as above noted; for she is the leader of the inorniug stars, in that position where the old Chaldeans and Greeks spoke of her as Lucifer, the herald of the dawn and the light-bringer. On the 12th at 10h. 30in. p.m. she will be at her nearest poiut to the sun in space, or her perihelion, which adds to lier brilliancy somewhat, as she shines the brighter the nearer she is to the source of her light. Between 2 aad 3 a.m. on the 20th she will be fofln about three degrees to the south of We waning crescent moon; which is her most conspicuous position for the mouth. She is at present moving rapidly, being found in the 28th degree of Virgo on the Ist. entering Libra on the 3rd and Scorpio on the 28th, of which sign she reaches the third degree by the 31st. She remains all the mouth "in the 2nd degree of north latitude. * * * Mars, as above remarked, is still far away beyond the suu,which, however, is slowly leaving him behind to the west, but he will not for some time become bright enough to attract notice, nor in a favourable position for observers. Those who may desire to look for him should do so on the 21st in die early morning, soon after the ruoon rises, when lie will be situated rather to the south-east of her position in the sky. Mars undergoes greater changes in his apparent magnitude and brilliancy than any of the other planets, as from a brightness and size rivalling that of Venus,he diminishes until he becomes invisible to the naked eve. as the Chaldeans long since observed, but apparently did not know the causes of these changes. The ruddy planet is at present slightly to the mkth of tho ecliptic, and moving betwißi the loth degree of Libia and the 3rd of Scorpio.

The giant planet Jupiter is gradually coming nearer to our nocturnal heavens, but does not yet rise until near two a.m. He may be found on the 18th to the west of the moon, just after her rising, and some four degrees to the south of her centre. About a degree to the north of the eclipse, he is now moving between the 10th aud loth degrees of the sign Virgo. He is still too unfavourably situated for observations of his moons and belts.

Saturn is the only one of theplauets conveniently situated for the ordinary observer, as he passes our meridian about a quarter to nine p.m. ; aud those who are not familiar with his somewhat inconspicuous appearance may easily find him on. the sth about 8h."40m. p.m., when he will be close to the meridian and about two degrees to the north of the moon. In the third degree of south latitude, he is moving retrograde between the sth and 4th degrees of the sign Aries. We are looking at the north side of rings. # * #

Of the planets which require a telescope to see them, Uranus or Herschell is at present to be found in our evening skies, setting at about a quarter to eleven p.m. ; slightly to the north of the eclipti.c, aud in the 14th and 15th degrees of the sign Capricorn. Hβ may be found on the evening of the 27th somewhat to the west and north of the moon. The still more distant planet Neptune rises as Herschell sets, and in just the opposite quarter of the heavens, retrograding in tin 18th and 19th degrees of the sign of Cancer, about three-quar-ters of a degree south of the ecliptic. He may be found on the evening of the 13th to the west and south of the moon. * * # The sun has now reached far to the south of tne celestial equator, and consequently the days are much * lengthened; as on the first we find the day is 13h 34min, on the loth 14h 2m, and on the 30th it has increased to 14h 24m, and the weather is becoming warm in proportion. The clocks at Auckland will on the Ist indicate Xlh 34m 325, on the 15th Xlh 35m 255, and on the 30th Xlh 39m 455, wheniiftsunis on the meridian or at noon. The abundance of our clocks and watuhes makes dialling unnecessary to a large extent, although a London firm has recently thought it worth while to put out a new invention in the way of dials, and with much success; but for the most part they aie merely garden ornaments, interesting only to the curious. * * * The moon was in her first quarter on the 2nd at 2h 46m a.m., full on the Bth at 7h 28m p.m., in the 16th degree of Scorpio, aud reaches her last quarter on the 16th at llh llm a.m. The new moon takes place on the 24th at 9h 23m a.m., in the Ist degree of Sagittarius, and our satellite is again in her first quarter just after the close of the month. At 12 minutes past noon on November sth she is nearest to us, and at 9 a.m. on the 17th she is most distant. She will be found about the celestial equator on the 6th and 20th ;at her greatest distance to the north of it on the lHtli, and to the south on the 27th. We may loefcfor low tides on the 2nd, 16th, &W 30th; and for high tides on the 9th and 23rd.