THE OCCULTATION OF MARS.

Evening Star, Issue 3891, 13 August 1875, Page 3

THE OCCULTATION OF MARS.

To the Editor. Sib,—The very unfavorable state of the weather last evening was a source of extreme regret to myself ami many other observers of a phenomenon of great interest. The use of occupations for the determination of longitude has recently received considerable attention, and the signal failure which resulted in the attempted observations of last evening’s occultation is of course to be regretted. In answer to the invitation which appeared in the Rough utronnmical Notes in your columns requesting co-operation, I have sent you the results of my observations : —At eight minutes to 5 p.m. Mars with a well-defined disc was about two minutes’ distance from the eastern and darkened limb of the Moon, when the Moon became completely obscured by dense clouds, and it was four minutes past five before the Moon became again visible ; at that time Mars had disappeared behind the Moon’s limb, and of course the. emersion of the planet was invisible. I had repeated opportunities of observing the Moon until forty minutes past 6 p m., and from the nature of the clouds I thought the emersion of the planet might bo visible. Disappointment, however, was the result, fortlie clouds again obscured the Moon ; and at five minutes past seven, when the Moon was again visible, Mars had reappeared, and was at least fifteen minutes to the west of the Moon’s limb. Them observations (if they may be so called) were made with a4Bin. achromatic telescope of 2,v a.pci cure and a power of 50 and 75 diameters.-—I am, &c., William James Percival, Dunedin, August 12.