ASTRONOMICAL NOTES FOR MARCH.

Evening Star, Issue 3440, 2 March 1874, Page 2

ASTRONOMICAL NOTES FOR MARCH.

PosmoN OF THE Planets and of the Stars ol Gazers”* Magmtude » for the use of Stai 1. Mercury. - Visible at the beginning of the time af ter sunset. On the 2nd of the month the planet will be al its greatest eastern elongation, but as its angula distance from the sun will not be great (18i de grees), it will require to be observed from place* where the land to the west is little, if any higher than the position occupied by the observer, (N.8.-Look for it a little north of the place where the sun has set.) 2. Venus.—Not visible this month. Just passed superior conjunction. Too close to the xuu 3. Mars,—Visible, like Mercury, just before sunset: it may be distinguished from that planet by_ its ruddy appearance. 4. Jupiter.—A magnificent object all through the month; will be in opposition to the Sun on the 17th. It rises a little north of east pretty early m the evening. Its great brightness wifi prevent its being mistaken for any other object. 5. Saturn.—Visible just before sunrise. o. Uranus.—Just visible to the naked eve About tholOih M«oh look d„o north »t 9 stance Som BMt on y°n will see a whitish StohLSTrfd 7 --" clm to'this on the cheli’s planed lamt ob J e ct-this is Her-

N.B.—AH the preceding objects may be much better sees through an opera glass than by the naked eye. A good opera glass, under favorable circumstances, will often show one or two of Jupiter's moons. First Magnitude Stabs. Looking North, at 8 p.m. on March Ist. 1. Sirius, the brightest of the stars, is on the ' meridian, very high up. 2. Kigel is at some distance to the left of Sirius above Orion's belt. 3. At about the same distance below the belt as Rigel is above, is Betelgeuse, a'red star. 4. A good distance to the left of Betelgeuse is Aldebaran, or the Bull's Eye, a red star. 5. Procyon forms a large equilateral triangle with Betelgeuse and Sirius. 6. Much nearer the horizon than Procyon, and somewhat to the left are Castor and Pollux. 7. A considerable distance to the right of Procyon and much nearer the horizon, is Eegulus. Looking South. 1. Nearly overhead is Uanopus. 2. Much further down, and to the right, is Achernar. 3. Just setting in the south-west is Fomalhaut. ,4. The well-known Southern Cross is on the left hand, pretty high up. 5. Below the Cross, a little to the right, are Alpha and Beta Centauri. Alpha is of course the brighter of the two—it is bright yellow. It may be seen as a double star. with the aid of a powerful ship's telescope. All these stars are easily to be found by means of these somewhat vague directions on account of their great brightness.