ROUGH ASTRONOMICAL NOTES, JANUARY, 1876.

Evening Star, Issue 4009, 31 December 1875, Page 2

ROUGH ASTRONOMICAL NOTES, JANUARY, 1876.

I. The Sun will be in Perigee just after noon on the 3rd. But few spots have been visible during the past month ; one of them, however, was of pretty coWHdtrable size; it was of the “ double kind,” that is to say, it had two distinct “ umbrae,’ enclosed in a single penumbra, a bridge of highly luminous matter running right across the middle of the spot. Yesterday there w.is not a single spot on the disc. IT. Tho Moon will heather hj ast distance from the Earth on the 10 hj, at about three o’clock in the -.ffernoon, and at her greatest on the 22nd. at about i ight o’clock in the evening. Her phases wid take i laee as follows:—

First quarter on the sth at 2hr 53miu. a.m. Full Moon on the 11th at shr 53min p.m. Last quarter on the l>th at Bhr 19miu p.m. Kew Moon on the 27th, at Ihr 11 mm a.m. ■ he Moon will occult Autures on the morning of the 22nd; and Venus on the afternoon of the 29th but as all the pbamomena will take place iu d ylight, it nas been thought unnecessary to calculate these occultations; it would be impossible to observe hem without tho aid of an cquatorially mounted telescope. 111. Mercury will be unfavorably situated for observation during the wh le of the present month. He will be at his greatest elongation on the 29th (18deg 24miu), but he will be so far north of the Sun at that time that though it may be possible to catch a glimpse "f him wh n he ts just on the horizon, a sr ml vi wof the planet will be out the question. 4, Venus is slowly increasing in brightness, and is now visible after sunset in a direction considoably S. of W. In the telescope she exhibits a distinctly gibbous phase. Her uppa ent diameter is now fully Usees. She sets about an hour and three quarters after tho Hun. She is in the constellation Capricorn, and a considerable distance away from any conspicuous star. b, Mars < is just entering Pisces, and will for some time be pasring through a very barren region of that constellation. He now presents to the naked eye the appearance of a moderately large first magnitude star In the telescope he is at preset an object of but small :nterest. Mars sets about eight minutes past eleven in the evening. G, Jupiter is becoming brighter; he is in Libra, 6deg. or 7deg. preceding Beta of the Scorpion. He ris sat about Ihr. 32min. a.m., and is a fine object in the morning sky. 7. ‘ aturn may stiU be seen in the evening near Delta Capricorn!. The best way to see the the planet now is to endeavor to catch the earliest possible glimpse of it in the twilight. At that time it is often exceedingly well defi ed, and the details of its belts, rings, etc., come out more distinctly than they do later on in the evening.

8. Uranus will be in opposition next month, when we shall endeavor to indicate the best mode of finding him. 9. Neptune is close to his old place, and may be seen early in the evening. 10. The maximum period of the variable star Mira Ceti will be the 23rd of January. This truly marvel ous star varies from the 2nd magnitude to complete invisibility. It is somewhat more than a third of the distance from Alpha Ceti towards Beta Ceti, and nearly in the line joining those two stars. It is of a deep orange or ruddy color.