ASTRONOMICAL NOTES FOR JUNE.

Wanganui Herald, Volume XLIX, Issue 14307, 1 June 1914, Page 8

ASTRONOMICAL NOTES FOR JUNE.

The SUN is in t’ae eonstellatidtelTaurus till the t'Oth, he-enters'Qemini, His declination will ' increase towards the north till the afternoon of the 22nd, av which tinie he" attaint, his-'greatest "distance 'iiortlr ,of ; .the Equator. ■ This marks our: winter solstice; and. the •shortest • day; The solar surface has bech broken by several groups of spots,. of small area, during the month, but, nothing approaching the fine outburst of March-ApriL " The MOON,; in her monthly or the heavens, comes into the yibiimty : ,,oi the planets, and some' of the. 1 : brighter stars,. and serves as a. convenient pointer (o them. She will be at her nearest to Jupiter on the afternoon of the 13th; Saturn on, the afterngori of. the 33rd; ; Mercury on the .morning.-■•of the 26th; Venus on the evening of" the same'date; Mars on the afterriooii of" the 28th. She inay be seen passing through the" following constellations during, the early -evenings of the following dates :-Hln. ; vLeo on the Ist, 2nd, arid' 3rd, arid; nearest the bright star Reguhis, on 1 the Islf; Vix;go on the 4th and sth, and nearest bn the; 4th; Libra on the Scorpio on. the OtliV" 7tli, and : Bth,. 'and; neqrest thfe fine red star Autarch—the Heart qi the Scorpion—-on the 7th ; Sagittarius on the 9th and JOth; ,;Oa.p,ricornns on the, llth.OUtli, #nd. 13th. , >, PHASES OF’THE MOON m Now /ea- " I D. H. -M. First Quarter : 2 -1 W a -™- Full; -Moon 8 4 48 p.m. Last Quarter *lO . 1 ,) ‘ l : 1U11 - Apogee ...'‘.i 100 - • , MEROUIit is, an evening -star during the month, increasing his dW.tance, as seen from, the earth, from: the Ist, to the 20th, after, which lie Wilt return towards our IniVliriary topbe in conjunction witn him.again in the early part of July- H> s angular distance from Hie . sun, ,on thq 19th, will jbe 25 deg, but having extreme northern ; declination at tlie’ time renders him a rather elusive .object. - IFe will be in his descending node on the 23rdp in lunar conjunction on the 26tby. and in conjuiiction -with Nentnne" on, tne same • date- , 1.... ■ . VENUS is now ari ' evening, star brilliantly visible in /the north-west, after sunset. Her path,is towards the east in the constellation Gemini, She will be in conjunction with Neptune ,ori the , 17th,. and in’’ lunar conjunction on the evening ■of- the 26thV Star gazers:'shqnld look. out. for those cbrijibictibris of frits moon and Vemis, in the western evening sky ;.• they: are invariably beautiful. ; '- MARS is an .evening star during June ■in trie nprth'-wcsterri, sky, and' in the constellation Leo. : He will bis seen close to the bright star Eegulns on the evening of the 23rd, being slightly to the north of the star—below it—at the tiriie of passing its meridian. He will be in lunar conjunction on trie afternoon of the 28th, and may be. seen", slightly south-west other at sunset. • JUPITER is an evening star during the mbiith, in the constellation Capricorniis. rile may be seen moving forward till tl»fM2th, when he becomes stationary amongst the stars, after .which he ; retrogradeg; •He will be ,in lunar jconjnnotion on the 13t'n, the: .Moon making a close. Approach from the south. Uirforl trinately this takes place about noon, and by the time Hie ‘moon and planet are -visible’; .in the evening;i sky our satellite will bj some little way to the east of the plailctV , , "•■ SATURN, is now an:;evcning ’star, but too dose to the .sun’to ho ! scenF He iij. in solar conjunciifm bn Quo Mth,’ after wliii’n pe will Jie a morning “star. He will be in con junction with Hie Moor) on Hie 23rd. The observer of the'binged piquet must now wait a month or so tilt he, As a morning star, rises 'some time before the sun. ‘ r, ■

ITRiNIJS is evenhig’'ptai-‘in' Capri- - cjrnu.3. Hq. will..be ■ in! lunar conjunction on, the; evening of, tire- 12th.- altout, three" diametral, of the; Moon towards the mirth. : NEPTUNE is an^ovoiliiig/ytar-on the borders of Oanc'er and G mil ini;, Ho’will be in conjnnciiiir with .Menus on the 17th, with the Moon' bn'the-26th, and with Mereury bn. the ■■ s&me, date', ' TJnibrtmna.toly both -place when the planet is below the horizon.- . The' : CONSTELLATIONS' for -the middle of the, month) aft about, B 'p.m 1, aid : placed as follow: —Bootes a lid: the line star Arcturns to the right, of the - meridian Hooking north, Coma. .about as fat'from it to the left,. The Northern Crown/:tfercnles,!: and - Ophinchus, with -Serpens, lie around towards the north-east', and Aijuila may be seen rising elose to the point‘dne past. , The Scorpion and. Libra . are now high with Sagittarius;, and Copricornus in the sputh-oast. Aehevnar is to the cast of the southern meridian, low down, with Hydrus above, and the small constellations liMus, Pavo, Ara, and 'Triangulum in the squthieastern sky. The Cross has now passed its highest point above the South-, ,ern Pole, and is now . working down towards file west, followed by Adelpha and TJeta of. the attendant Pointers. Argo and the binliiariP Canopus are'in the south-west, where the last of Cams Major may be seen close to thb .horizon..: Hydra, . the Water Snake,, vktli Corvus an’d Crater,, is moving down toiwards the west; Leo is in tlie north-west near, the horizon, the, brilliant.Rogiihin being Jrtill a prominent• object at tliis lime, yirgo and the, bright' star Sirica: may be seen' in tlie same direction, above Leo. The Hon. 'Director, ; ■ ' Wanganui ObseVvUo-’y. ,May hi, 1914. , .. ...