ASTRONOMICAL NOTES FOR NOVEMBER.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXIX, Issue 8276, 1 November 1906, Page 3

ASTRONOMICAL NOTES FOR NOVEMBER.

(Speoiai to the "Age.") The SUN is in the constellation . Libra till the 23rd, wbeu he enters • the Scorpion from which be emerges i again into Opbiaohus on the 28th. HlO declination is now south, inareaslng from 14.2 to 21.5 deg. daring the month, his attitude qt noon increasing from 64 deg. to "71.5 deg. at noon during tbe. same « period. Solar activity has not been so noticeable during tbe past month as in August and September. The MOON in ber monthly circuit of tbe heavens, oomes into the vioiniW of the planets and some of the brighter stars, and serves as a convenient pointer to them. She • -will be near tbe minor planet Ceres on the 4tb and sth to tbe north; Mars on the 13th to the north, Mer oury on the loth fo tbe south, Venus . on the 17th and 18th to the north, Uranus on the evening of the 19th to the north, and Saturn on tbe 23rd and 24th to the south. She will pass through the following oonsteliations on the evenings stated, and in the following order:—Aries on tbe Ist and 2nd, Taurus on the 3rd, 4tb, and sth, Genuini on the *'6tb and.7tb, Cancer on the Bth and 9th, Leo on the "10tb and lltb, rfnd near the bright star Regulus on the morning of the lOfcb, Virgo on the 12th to tbe 15th, near the son till tbe 18tb when she is in Scorpio and near Antares and Venus; in Sagittarius on the 19th to the 2lst, Capiioornua on tbe 22nd, Aquarius on the 23rd and 24th, Plsoes on the 25th, 26th and 27tb, and Aries on the 28tb to the 30tb. ■ Phases of tbe MOON in New Zealand (mean time):- Fall moon, 1 day 10 hr 37 m a.m.; Last quarter, 9days 9br 14m p.m.; New moon, ]6days Bbr 6m a.m.; First quaiter, 23days Ohr 9m a.m. MERCURY is an evening star at the beginning of tbe month and well placed for observation till about the middle of tbe month, fie will he at greatest heliocentric latitude south on tbe Btb, and at greatest elongation east of tbe sun on the lUfcb, in conjunction with Venus on the evening of the 15th, 2 deg. separating tbe two bodies at i time of conjunction sbr 3m. In conju'3tion witb tbe moon on the morning of the 18tb, stationary amongst the stars ou the evening of the 2Gib, in bis ascending node on . the 27t,b, and at inferior conjunction on the 30tb, when tbe bright messenger of the Gods plunges into the full blaze of the sun after which he Appears as a morning star, once more, in the early days of December, VENUS, the splendour of who*e light has arrested the attention of all duiit'g the month, when at -greatest brilliancy, now moves rapidly towards the sun into whose beams she will pasa on tbe 28tb, >. but will be lost to our unassisted vision some days before that date. The great lustre now fades as the illuminated area presented to our view decreases. £bs passes, as seen in tbe Meld \>f the telescope, from tbe moon at about the 4th day, at ■ the beginning of the moutb, to tbe slenderest crescent towards tbe middle of tne rsouth, emerging again in the early part of December as a morning star. She becomes station * ary on the 10th after which she will again appear to move backward and • to the north, in conjunction with Mercury on the 15tb, the latter planet being to the north, and in conjunction witn tbe moon on the morning of the 18tb and appearing close to that body on that and the preceding evenings. MARS is still a morning star in the constellation Virgo. He may be seen towards the end of the mooth before sunrise He will be in conjunction with tbe moon on the 13th to the soutb. JUPITER is an evening star in Gemini, rising about lObr 30m at the middle of tbe month. He will be in conjunction witb the moon at about miduigbt of tbe 6th. and about 2deg to the north of our satellite. His northern equatorial "Belt" has again intensified after disappearing, last year, almost completely from view in the large telesoope, a fact of some considerable interest to astronomers. SATURN iaan evening star in the constellation Aquarius, moving retrograde till tbe 13th, .after which he once more moves forward amongst the stars. He is in conjunction with tbe moon on tbe morning of the 24th 1 deg. to the north. His fainter satellites are now becoming easier 'to pick ud, as the brillianoy of his ring diminishes. The planet has been seen to much advantage during the past month, all who have not observed him in bis piesent phase should lose no time in doing so, the general verdict being that be is, alone, well wortb an evening spent a*: the Observatory. URANUS is an evening star in ' Sagittarius, moving forward between the stars Lambda and Delta of that constellation. He is in conjunction with the moon on tbe evening of tbe 19tb, tbe planet being 2.8 deg. to *the south. NEPTUNE is an evening star in the constelation Gemini, having a retrograde motion v at this time. He is in conjunction witb the moon on the 7th to tbe north. METEORS—'November has always been looked upon as tbe month of meteorio displays, but sinoe Jupiter turned the node of tbe great Leonid stream inside our orbit scanty cap* tures only have fallen to the share of our earth, and it is questional,lo if we shall ever again see the splendid spectacles of past times from this source. There is also the radiant from Andrnmeda, which may be 'looked for from the Btb to the end of the month. Tbe CONSTELLATIONS for the middle of tbe month , at, about 8 p.m., are as follows.—North: Tbe great square of Pegasus and part of Andromeda to tbe right with Pisces and Cetus. Overhead the Pheomix, Crane and Southern Fishes. East: Orion, just rising precaeded by Taurus, tbe pretty groups of tbe Pleides, and Hyades lying away to the left. Over Orion may be seen Eridanus—the River—and tbe bright star Aclurnar. West: Tbe Scorpion low down makes bis ' tow, and retires as Orion rises in he east, Sagittarius over the Scorpion and Aquila with tbe Dolphin; •to the right, higher is Oapricornus

and] Aquarius. In the south the Cross may uov be seen under the „ Southern Pole followed by th« bright stars Alpna and Beta of tue Centaur and closely following these again is tbe Southern Triangle. South East: Argo—the ship—is rising from its lower passage towards tbe east tbe brillianc train of stars and the rich mass of the Milky Way near Eta Argus lying alung its way. Sirius—-the most brilliant of the heavenly host—just precedes tbe ship to tbe east. Looking at the smaller Magellanio Cloud when the moon is not too near the full, the observer may manage to make out what appears to bd a faint star, lu tbe telesoope at the Obsruvatory this is seen, to be a most magnificent duster of stars very muob condensed at the centre. Photogiapbed at I Arpquipa, in Peru, 1,500 stars were counted by Professor Baily. Many [of these are now lound to be variables. I NOTICE.—After this date the Observatory will be open on Tuesday and Friday evenings, iu eaab week, instead of Thursday and Friday as heretofore. THE HON. DIRECTOR, Wanganui Observatory. October 29th, 1906.