ASTRONOMICAL NOTES FOR NOVEMBER.

Wanganui Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 11703, 1 November 1905, Page 6

ASTRONOMICAL NOTES FOR NOVEMBER.

The SUN is in the constellation Libra till -the 3rd-, when he enters, the Scorpion. He lingers only live days in this constellation, when he enters Ophhjchus on tho 28tli. His' diurnal path south of the equator increases, from the, 14th to the 21st decree of southern declination during the month. His altitude for true noon of any place in New Zealand may be found by taking' the latitude of the place, minus the sun's declination for the day and deducting this from.9odeg., . Sun spots have been in the ascendant during October. The fine group which came round Avith tac incoming limb of the 14th commenced with a mass of penumbral marking, lnc •black pores appearing to .break thrcmgli the mass until, by the time' it reached the centre' of- the disc, the whole area^ was pitted with "umbrae, indicating greau activity over, this region. The MOON, in. her monthly circuit oi the heavens, comes into the vicinity of the plan&fc'sTand many of the.- brighter stars, and serves as a convenient pointer to them. She will be near Mars on tne evening of the 2nd, to the north ; near Saturn on° the -evening of the sth, to the north; near Jupiter on the 13th, to the south; near 'Venus on the 25th and 26th, morning, to the north; near Mercury on the 28th, and near Mars again on the 30th. Her southern declination, during first quarter", at this period of £c year, places her in a most favourable position for telescopic observers. She will pass through the constellations mentioned on the- iollowing- evenings:— The Scorpion on .the Ist north of the bright star Antares; Sagittarius on the 2nd and 3rd, Capricornus on' the 4th and sth, Aquarius on the■6th and 7th, Pisces on the Bth and 9th, Aries on the 10th and 11th ; Taurus on the 12th, 13th, and' 14th. after which she rises later in the evening. Her passage across the — yades in Taurus on the 14th should not be forgotten by southern observers. Phases of the moon in N.Z. mean (civil) time: — First Quarter— 4 days lhr 9min p.m. Full Mo,on— l2 days 4hrs 40mins p.m. Last Quarter— 20 days lnr 4mins p.m. ■ New. Moon — 27 days 4hrs 17mins a.m. MERCURY is an evening star at .the beginning of the month, to the south of ttte sun:- He should be looked for. during the middle of the month north of the bright star Antares in the Scorpion and over the place of sunset. He will be in greatest southern . latitude, .as from the sun's centre, on the 21st ; at greatest elongation on the 27th, 21.7deg east of the sun, and in conjunction with the moon on the 28th. the planet bcing~6sdeg to the south. VEiNUS is a morning star during the month, passing the meridian on the loth, lhr 23min before the sun. She will be at lier greatest northern latitude— as from ,the sun's centre — on the _7th ana in con- • junction with the moo* on the evening of the 25th, the planet being 3.7deg to the south of that body, below horizon. MAR'S is. still a prominent object in our • evening skies. His path is a forward one amongst the stars of Sagittarius, well over in the north-west in the. early even- ' ing during the middle of the month. He will be in conjunction" with the moon on the evening of tho 2nd. nearly s,deg to the south, and nearest the sun on. the early morning of the 9th. His appearance in the telescope is now gibbous, but owing to his great distance from the earth offers no surface detail to the observer, his diameter at the middle of the month subtending an angle of less than seven seconds of arc.

JUPITER i« now an evening star, rising at tiie middle of the month about 7hr 30min evening. His path is a retrograde .one in the constellation Taurus, between those, two. groups of stars," the Hyades and., the Pleiades. His greatest northern declination during this apparition, nearly 20deg, renders him a more difficult object in the telescope, until near the meridian; than in recent years. His most interesting satellite phenomena will occur on the evening of the 4th, 6th, 11th, 12th, ISth. 20th, 21st, 25th, 27, and 28th. He .will be in conjunction with the moon on the. 13th at, about 6hr 30min evening, when the planet will be 4.ldeg north of the moonth. The two bodies present an 'interesting spectacle on rising, and should be looked for on that date. He will be in opposition to the sun (on the meridian at midnight) on the evening of the 24th, at which time he will be seen to the greatest advantage in the telescope, his poJar ! diameter' at this time sub-tending an arc of 4& seconds, after which he diminishes. SATtTRN is a prominent object in our evening skies, .being in the constellation Aquarius and Capricornus, and close to the two bright stars Delta and Gamma in Capricorn, looking to the north in' the early evening. Being past opposition, his path is again a forward" one amongst the stars, although ,an- exceedingly slow one, apparently, being only about three-quar-ters of a' celestial degree^ for the month. •He will be. in. conjunction with* the moon on the evening of the sth, the planet being I.7deg co the south. He will be inquadrature with the sun on the 20th, but owing- to <his considerable southern declination, will present a favourable object in the telescope for some' time to come. URANUS' is an evening- - star in Sagittarius, having a forward movement near the star Mu. NEP.TUNE is a morning star in the-con-stellatioiv.Gemini, his. path being retrograde, near the star Zota, throughout the. month- . METEORS. — November has always been a notable, .month lor meteoric displays, and although;, .'the general impression-, prevails* tliat the great- Leonid stream has been, diverted- from- the. vicinity of the earth's orbit, 1 we- may still, expept. to -see a few ofthe stragglers- from this radiant. The early .mornings pi the 9th to 17th should be watched. There is -also the fine radiant in Andromeda, to the north-east of thc_. Great Sqxiare of Pegasus. These may. be' looked, for from the Bth to the 30th. The CONSTELLATIONS for the middle of the.njonth at about a p.m. are -as follows: — North: The Great Square of Pegasus and- part ot Andromeda, to the right; above these Pisces and Cetiis.. In the zenith, the , Bhcenix, Cran,e. and: Southern Fishes. East: Orion, just rising; preceded, by Taurus, with, the interesting groups of-the ! Plfliades~and Hyades: • above' Orion , may brf seen -Eridanua-trthe 'Oliver — with the bright star .Achernar. West,: Low... down may be «een the last of the Scorpion, above, this' Sagittarius, . - with and the Dolphin to the right; above Sagittarius is Capricornus and Aquarius. In the- south- the Cross may- be- seen toeneaitf th* Southern' pole,., followed by thte' ■two bright stars Alpha, and Beta Centauri (the ' Pointers)^ wKilo following,, these is the Southern Triangle- j south-east .may., be see'n'the Ship, Argo, just emerging from its more proper sphere, while to the east is.-thfe^Dog", containing the brilliant ; Sirius, brightest, of all the heavenly host. The parallax, .of Sirius, as given by Gore, is equal to about four-tenths of a second of, arc, which -jneanSj from the same s'oua'ce,- that, the distance of this ,star is equal .to.,l>ls,662< times,, the distance of the sun. t From^this. finding it . is computed that if the sun were placed at the distance of . Su'ius he would shine as a star of the thii*d ; - magnitude, or only one-fortieth, aa bright, as;. Sirius appears to, us. , Though so b'rillianjt an orb,, Sirius is by no means fmind to, hold, the premier position among the stars.' Arctunia, for instance, is considered 'tV be" about 79 times the sun's