ASTRONOMICAL NOTES.

Wanganui Herald, Volume LI, Issue 15183, 31 March 1917, Page 6

ASTRONOMICAL NOTES.

FOR APRIL, 1917. The SUN is. in’ the constellation Pisces till the 18th, .when he enters Aries, His declination, . being towards the north, increases by rather over 10 degrees, during-the month, while his altitude when on the meridian decreased by a like amount, being 4(>deg. on the let 1 and 35deg. on the 30th.

SUN SPOTS have been well in evidence during: the past month,- there being no day on which several interesting groups were not visible, but none-attained the magnitude of that which appeared, at the beginning of February. ■ 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 Uranus on the 17th, to the north; Mercury on the same date, and Saturn on the evening of the -28‘th, to the south. Her vpatn through the constellations visible in our evening skies is as follows:—In Cancer on the Ist and 2nd, Leo on the 3rd,i 4th, and sth, and nearest the bright star Regulus on the night of the 3rd; Virgo on the 6th, 7th, and Bth, and nearest the brilliant Spica on the latter date. She will again appear, as a crescent, in the western sky on the 24th, in the constellation Taurus, and near the fine red star Aldebaran; in Gemini on the evenings of the 26th, 27th, and 28th, and' near the “Twins” on the 27th; and will finish the month passing through Cancer into the western border of Leo. PHASES OF THE MOON In New Zealand/mean time:

MERCURY is an evening star during April, being : close to the Sun • in the early part of the month.-g) adually drawing a way from him and cming to his greatest elongation on the ~2sth, at which time he has an eastern displacement, in angular measurement, of 20.3 deg. He is in conjunction with 'Jupiter on the 17th, and with the Moon on the evening of the 23rd. . VENUS is a morning stir during April, until the 26th, on which date she is passing the Sun, and after which she will become an evening star, setting day by day at an ever-increasing distance from our luminary until she may be seen, near the western horizon, after the glare of the setting Sun has faded out of the sky. ' She is in conjunction with the Moon on - the morning of the 22nd- 7 MARS is a morning star throughout the month. He is too close to the Sun’s place to he seen at present, being lost in his bright _surroundings. He will be in lunar con j unction on the 21st. •

JUPITER is an evening star during the month, shining brightly in the north-western sky after sunset. He‘is in lunar conjunction on the *3rd, the. Moon being on either side of him, east and west, on this and the preceding evenings. ' , SATURN is the best situated of all the bright planets for observation during the month. He may be seen in Gemini, about tli© “Twine,” Castor and Pollux, and eaeily distinguishable from the stars by his steady yellowish glare. He is in quadrature, or removed from the Sun’s , place 90deg., on the 15th;, he will ,be,in conjunction, with the Moon bn the let, and again on the 28th'. His ring system is now a fine object for telescopic scruitny, and observers should make the most of their opportunity while he is well up about the northern horizon.

URANUS is now a morning star in Capricornus. He is in' lunar . conjunction on the afternoon of the 17th, the Moon passing to the north. NEPTUNE is an evening star in Cancer during the.month. He will be in lunar conjunction on the let and' the 29th, the Moon passing to the: north about l.Sdeg. on each occasion.

THE CONSTELLATIONS visible in our evening skies during the early evening hours, at the middle of the month, are placed as follows ’ (a little later at the beginning of"the-month, or a little earlier at the end, will find them in the same places, nearly)'. In the north is Leo, and the fine star Regulus, in the handle of the Sickle, well over the Meridian. Above Leo is the long trailing form of Hydra—the Water Snake—the smaller Constellations, Corvus and Crater, lying underneath. Virgo, and the bright star Spica, are east of Leo, with Bootes and the great star Arcturus just rising underneath Libra, and' the Scorpion underneath the eastern horizon, with Serpens and Ophiuchus, just making their first appearance. The Southern Cross and the Centaur are well up in the south-eastern sky, 'with'the Triangle, Ara, and Pavp underneath. West of, and above the South Polar point,, is Argo and the fine star ■■ Canopus,) and under the Ship are Hydras and Toncan, with the Clouds of Magellan. The River Eridanus and the bright star Aehernar lie along the. south-western horizon. Orion still stands well above the western horizon, followed by the form of Canis Major and the great star Sirius. Gbmini is nearing the horizon in the north-west, and Cancer follows with Procyon, the brightest is Canis Minor. '• THE HON. DIRECTOR, Wanganui Observatory. Marc|) 31, 1917.

D. H, M. Full Moon ....... 8 r 19 a.m. Last Quarter ... . 15 7 42 a.m. New Moon , 22 1 31 a.m. First Quarter ,. , 29 4 52 p.m. Apogee ....... .• 2 6 42 p.m. Perigee ....... . 18 2 42 p.m. Apogee ....... . 30 1 42 p.m.