ROUGH ASTRONOMICAL NOTES

Tuapeka Times, Volume VII, Issue 397, 7 October 1874, Page 5

ROUGH ASTRONOMICAL NOTES

For thb tjsb of Stab-gazebs. OCTOBER, 1874. 1. The Sun,— At the beginning of the month the Sun will be in the constellation Virgo, and at the end in Libra. The photosphere of the Sun is very quiescent at present, but occasional groups and small spots arc to be seen. 2. The Moon will be nearest to the Earth on the morning of the 11th, and furthest from it en the afternoon of the 25th. The phases will occur as follows :— Last quarter, lhr a.m. on the 3rd. New Moon, lOhrs 23min p.m. en the 10th. First quarter, 12.51 a.m. on the 19th. Full Mora, 6.22 p.m. on the 25th. There will be a total eclipse of tha Moon on the evening of the 25th. Apart only of the phenomena will be visible in Dunedin, as the Moon rises during the progress of the eclipse, and will have attained to no great altitude even at the time ef the last contact with the shadow. The following are the approximate times at which the different appearances will take place :— Virst CS»tact with penumbra, 4hrs smin p.m; first contact with the shadow, shrs 3min; beginning of total phase, 6hrs 21min ; end of total phase, 6hrs 54min ; last contact with the shadow, Bhrs 12mia ; last contact with the penumbra, 9hrs lOmin; magnitude of the eclipse (Moon'sdiara«ter=l)l 1.20 nearly. AtCreonvrich also only part of the eolipse will be visible, as tho Moon sets while she ig partially eclipsed. Consequently, although tho view we shall have of the eclipgo -will not be altogether a satisfactory one, we shall see it better than people in England will. 3. Mercury willbe well situated for •bservation about the 24th, when it will be at its greatest elongation, E. 24deg. ,At that period it will be in the constellation Libra. It may be seen about half-an-hour after sunset, about lOdegs. south of the sun's track. '■ 4. Venus has now reached its greatest 35. elongation, aad will day by day appaa* t» move closer to the sun till the 9th of December, -when the long-ldoked-for transit of the planet across the Sun's disc will take place. Venus is now visible in broad daylight, and towards the end of the month it will he quite easy to see it at noonday in favorable weather. It is, unfortunately, almost impossible to give any very tangible dii actions for finding this planet in the daytime ; we may say, however, in a general way, that it should be looked for in tke middle of the day at the end of the month at a very considerable distance to the right of the Run, and aearly level with it, so to speak. Some steady staring ia that direction will be nearly sure to make it stand out distinctly as a beautiful white point on the back-ground of the sky. On the 15th of the month it may be looked for in the daytime pretty close to the Moon. Though Venus has n»t yet reached its greatest i brilliancy, it easts a very distinct shadow. This can be readily observed by anyone who will take the troable to hold a dark object between the plaaet and a light-colored walL If the object be hold not too far away, a distinct shadow of it ! will be perceived on the wall. In the telescope Venus now appears like a half moon ; but, as a rule, owing to its excessive brightness, no markings ars distinguishable on it. Venus will be extremely close to Antares early on the evening of tke 16th. 5. Mars is now visible in the mornings, but it is scarcely worth looking sit just now, ?.s it is too far away from the Earth to appear very bright^ to us. It may be looked for in the constellation Leo. Its well-known ruddy color ' will cause it to be quite easily identified. On tho first of the month it vrill appear to form with Alpha and Beta Leonis (Begulus and Denebola) an obtuse angled isosceles triangle. 6. Jupiter will bo unfavorably situated for observation during this month. It will be in conjunction with the Sun on the 6th. , 7. Saturn ie still favorably placed. It is in the constellatien Capricorn. It will be duo nerth, high up in the sky at about 8 p.m., at the beginning ef the month. 8. Uranus is now a mornicg star : it is in the constellation Cancer. 9. Neptune. — Last month we promised to give some directions for finding this planet. The -weather, however, has been so unfavorable for some time past that the necessary observations have not been made. 10. Coggia's comet is now becoming very faint.^ On the 30th ultimo it was in the " Flyingr Pish," on the line joining Zeta of that Con» stellation with Alpha of the Chamaeleen, about one-fourth of the length of the line from the former star. It can just be discerned with a good opera-glass. Traces of a tail may still be Been, and the object, .though so indistinct, has still a considerable apparent diameter.