ASTRONOMICAL NOTES FOR FEBRUARY.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXIX, Issue 8347, 1 February 1907, Page 7

ASTRONOMICAL NOTES FOR FEBRUARY.

The SUN is in the constellation Capricornus tilt the 15th, when he enters Aquarius. His southern declination recedes from the 17th deg. on the Ist to the Bth deg. on the 28th The sun's altitude at noon will be decreased by this difference of 9 deg. during the same period. Sun spots have, of late, shown a tendency to . increase in number, several systems forming on the late visible surface 1 now turned from the earth. This in- B dicates one of those phenomenal | rises in the curve of solar activity, which will be of much interest to those who connect this condition with extreme temperatures and volcanic and siesmic disturbances. The MOON, in her month'y circuit of the heavens comes into the vicinity of the planets and some of the brighter stars and serves as a pointer to them. She will be near Mars on the morning of the 7th to the north; Venus on' the morning of the 9th to the south; Uranus on the 9th and 10th to the north; Mercury on the 13th to the south; Saturn on the evening of the 14th to the south; Vesta, the minor planet, on the evening of the 16th rather more than its own diameter away to the north; n Jupiter on the evening of the 22nd to J the west and on the following evening to the east; Neptune on the 24th to the south. She will pass through the following constellations on the evenings stated, and in the order given:, As a crescent on the 17th in Aries, in which constellation she will remain till the 19th, after which fl she will move into Taurus, passing through this constellation on the evenings of the 20th, 21st, and 22nd; Gemini on the 23rd and 24th; Cancer on the 25th and 26th; and Leo on the 27th and 28th, on the latter evening being at the full. i PHASES OF THE MOON in New Zealand mean time:—Last Quarter, 6 days 12hrs 22mins a.m.; new moon, 13* days, 5 hours 13mins a.m.; first quarter, 20 days 4hrs smins p.m.; full moon, 28 days shrs 53mins p.m. MERCURY is an evening star throughout the month moving forward in Aquarius. He will be in superior conjunction with the sun on the morning of the 3rd, in greatest heliocentric lat. south on the 4th inst, in conjunction with; the moon on the evening of the 13th, in conjunction with Saturn on the evening of the 21st, in his ascending node on the 23rd, and in perihelion on the last day of the month. VENUS is a morning star in Sagittarius, moving forward amongst the stars. She will be at her greatest elongation to the west of the sun on the 9th when owing to her great brilliancy she will be easily visible in full daylight. , She will be on the meridian during the middle of the month at about 9 a.m. a little later before, and"a little earlier after that time. Her altitude when on the meridian will be about 70 deg. for a week each side of the 15th, when she may be found by the naked eye searcher who looks, carefully shading his eyes meanwhile from the glare of the sun. MARS is a moving star in the Scorpion, having a forward motion at this time. He passes our meridian on the 14th at about 6.20 in the morning. He is in conjunction with the moon on the rrioming of the 7th. JUPITER is now the bright planet of the eastern evening sky, having a retrograde motion in the constellation Gemini. Owing to his considerable northern declination he is not well | placed for southern telescopic observers at this opposition. He must be observed near the meridian to get clear definition whe.i his belts, which are unusually prominent at this time, will be well seen. He is in his ascending node on the Bth at about 12.30 in the afternoon; in conjunction with the moon on the 23rd, at about 6 a.m.; and Stationary amongst the stars on the morning of the 26th at about 8.30 a.m. SATURN is an evening star throughout the month, but too near the sun to be seen towards the end. The telescopic observer may still get views of this interesting body during the earlier part of the month, but his unique ring system has practically become a closed hook 1 for the next year or so owing to its being directed edgewise to the sun, and, of course, to ourselves at the same time. He will be in conjunction with the moon on the evening of the 14th. URNUS is a morning star in Sagittarius, moving forward amongst the stars. He will be in conjunction/ with the moon on the morning of the 10th at about 8 a.m. NEPTUNE is now an evening star in Gemini moving retrograde in that constellation. He will be in conjunction with the moon at midnight of the 23rd, the planet being I.sdeg. to the north at the time. METEORS.—There are no wellmarked radiants due in our hemisphere during the month of February, but all fine objects of this class should be carefully recorded as this is a class of astronomical research much in need of reliable data for southern latitudes. The CONSTELLATIONS for the middle of the month at 8 o'clock in the evening are as follow: —North: Taurus, with the Pleiades and Hyades near the Meridians, the brilliant Aldebaran slightly to the east; Orios and Sepus to the east rather higher, while nearer the horizon is Gemini, containing the two bright stars Castor and Pollux, also Cancer and the pretty cluster Praesepe—the Beehive In the south the great length of the Water Snake lies near the horizon. In the zenith is part of Eridanus —the River—and the bright star AcheVnar to the south - west. Aries, and the northern Triangle, with Pisces, may be seen west of the meridian, with Cetus.— the SeaMonster—above the latter. The fine star Mira—the Variable—is now visibly waning, and, as is usually the case, as it declines its magnitude, the red hue becomes apparently more intensified. In the south-east the Cross, the Alpha and Beta Centauri are to be seen, emerging from their passage beneath the South Pole, while Argo and Can is Major, with the fine star Sirius, lie away to the left. As the Cross rises higher now, night by night, a host of beautiful telescopic objects come once more into favourable positions. From the region of,the Centaur to Orion is a region which will well repay observations, be the optical means ever so simple, but with large apertures it supplies the richest storehouse of celestial beauties in either hemisphere.