ASTRONOMICAL NOTES FOR FEBRUARY.

Wanganui Herald, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 11167, 30 January 1904, Page 6

ASTRONOMICAL NOTES FOR FEBRUARY.

THE SQN is in the constellation Capricuiaut. till llie 17th, when he eiiteis Aquarius. His surface shows signs of renewed ? afcfciviity, ,sun spbts anci.t bright- iaculse be1 ing. $en ; during- iJJie. letter part of January. One fine 4ti?^nr bf apo,t3pbeing measured, ( .rove£ii6d a length pfravelfojie hundred and iorty thousand miles. -The Sun will be true north of Wanganui on the loth (for longitude 175.5 east) at llhrs 35min 18sec. , ■ THE MOON, in her monthly circuit of >-the heavens, comes' into the vicinity:©!' i the- plajttetsr and- maaijf of-; the 'br-ightef, stara«^it^r^fjKesi'^rßes..as. & cpW&xient - pclnte'f to them. She will be near Ten us on the afternoon of the 13th, passing the planet 2.V deg. to the- north ; near Mars on. the early niorning. of the 19th, passing the planet irather ttidic than a degree to! tile north ; near Jupiter on the ,19th, early vi the afternoon, passing the plariet -rather over, a degree -to the north. She wilL be well placed in the evenings towards the latter part of the month, and will be in the constellation Pisces on the ISfch and 20th ; in Aries on the 21st and 22nd; in Taurus- and near the bright ■ gr<jup of the Hyades on the 25th and iit the Twins on the 27th and 28th, moving into the Crab on the last of the month. ° .. M23ECIJEY is now., west 'of „-the oSuny0 Suny •but too ilear the latter t<f i ße'peen''dua;ing the month;, it' will become a jnorniiig^star early. .in;. March. l" ' ' '.\.°>- :■" -. i VENUS is also west of., the Sun and rising about' 'three hours befdre 'that body, may be well seen an a morning -star. She may be seen on the' meridian during' this month at from 9 to 9.30 a.m., altitude ,71 dpg. . _ . .-.. , MARS. This 'pranei«'is''now very close to the Sun, but may ' be glimpsed on a clear evening directly after sunset. His motion is rapid to <the east tind: ho .will be in' conjunction with Jupiter on the evoning ot the 22nd, not quite two degrees separating the two planets.' JUPITER. This fine planet is now piassihg rapidly" Mto'-'the sun; but may j be aeen for some little time after sunset, remaining visible about two hours, afterthe sun at the middle of the niontli. Ho is a striking object to the unaided eye in llie western- sky, but his fine disc is dwindling- rapidly .. as . welt, through distance^ asj.the " interference!, of the deeper atmospheric layers in, wliich he is immersed. He wUI be^in* conjunction with Mara on the afternooh of the 26th. . SATURN". This tine planet is now lost in the Sun's rays. He will be in conjunction with the Sun on the 2nd of the ananth -after .he w^l. become a Tfformng' staf, afltfeough''.tos/ afea* 'the luminttfry-fd-.ite'e Vi»R»le.- s fo*-'.4ont"e . tinle.

URANUS- AND XEPTUXE. Tlio first of ihese pla.iot.-; is' iioh- ;i niorniii^ s^t'ii- 111 S.Jg-itttirius. Neptiui" i-3 visible in tho t"ie-;(onr in (!<".iiiii, <.loho 1o Ihe attir Mv, nu.viiiff slowly towards the west amongst the stars till the middle -of March, when his inot'on will a wain be a forward one.

\IETKOE.S.— There is no well-marked radiant passing over out position during the nights of February. THE CONSTELLATIONS .—The. posit ion oi' the principal constellations about the of the month at 8 p.m. are as follows rr 2 — Zenith — part of Argo, Caris Major, Lepnsj and Oolumba. North. — Auriga on horizon ; part of Taurus above and portion of Orionl East. — The Twins, easily recognised by tho two, bright stars Castor and Pollux; i Cancer — the Crab — with Ganis Minor — the Lesser- Dog — containing the bright star Proeyon, is to the rip-ht and above.' Low down may be seen Leo, just rising, the I br'gh.t- star Regulus being well above the horizon. Still further east' and south may be Hoe.n Corpus and Crater — the Cup and j the Cro-.Tp— on the back of the Water- ! snake, : whicJi- stretches its great leiigth ! irom just above 'Cancer to a' point near I ' S.E., "where, -its tail 13 just clearing the horizon. •" ~ ' ." ; West., ahdclos'e to the meridian, is Taurus, with the fine asterisms the - Hyades and the Pleiades ; above Taurus is the glory j of Orion, a constellation teeming with ob-- ' jects of delight to the possessors of good j telescopes, amongst them being the won- i derfulANebula, which all should, at thisj

season, make an effort to observe. To the left- of '■-"Orion* is the River — IDridanus — containing the brilliant* star Achenar, the name signifying: /'the last in the River," hy which appellation it was known to the Vricients. Below Eridanus is .Cptus-^-The Sea, iMonster-v-jiow ••-approaching; the, time' of its' submergence in the light of the advancing Sun. /

. South — The Cross may now be seen rising, to the east of the ,nouth point, followed, by thei twoj fine stars Alpha and •Beta Centaiiri, the former being, interesting as being/.the nearest of all the stellar host to '-our owh> _ earth • bf- all the -stars so far- measured. Following the- two bright Pointers may s , be seen the, Southern Triang;kv "'itll Payn — the Peacock — and' Ara —the, Altar-: " . ■ The fine • belt of stars stretching from Orion tdthe Cross through- Canis^ Major and A'rg-o, the Ship, forms on all clear nights devoid of moon a spectacle of great beauty. . THE HON. DIRECTOR, - ' - 'Wanganui Observatory. - Jan. SOth, 1904.