ASTRONOMICAL NOTES FOR APRIL.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 3164, 15 April 1909, Page 3

ASTRONOMICAL NOTES FOR APRIL.

(By S. Stuart, British Astronomical Associ ition.)

The month opened with the planet Mercury at his greatest departure from the ecliptic towards the south as seen from the sun. On the 14th, !at 9h. 2m. a.m , Mercury is at his nearest approach to Saturn, within 29 minutes of declination on the north of that body. Soon after nine a.m. on the 20th Mercury will be near the moon, and some four degrees on the north of her centre; and the same day at 2h. 7m. p.m., he will be in close conjunction with Venus, separated only 22 minutes of declination to the north of her. At 9h. 12m. p.m. on the 21st the "messenger of the sods" will leave the sign Aries and enter Taurus; and on the 22nd, between eleven a.m. and noon, he will have reached his superior conjunction with the sun, and will thereafter appear "as an evening star in our western horizon. He will cross the ecliptic from south to north on the 25th between four and five a.m., and is in his perihelion, or least distance from the sun in space, on the 29th at Ch. 30m. p.m. His course at present is from the 22nd degree of Pisces, through Aries, to tha 19th degree of Taurus, and from the third degree south to the first degree of north latitude.

The brilliant planet Venus is now approaching our western horizon, and a sharp outlook will reveal setting just over the sunset at the end of the month. She will thereafter be the most conspicuous object in the heavens for some months to come. About the 15th she will set at sh. 30m. p.m. on the 20th, about 10 a.m., Venus will be near the moon, and rather less than three degrees from het on the north. On the 22nd, at 9h. 53m. p.m., Venus leaves the sign Aries and enters that of Taurus; and on the 29th, at 4h. 30m. a m., she will be in her superior conjunction with the sun, and about to appear over the sunset in the course of the next few days. She is at present moving from the fourth degree of Aries to the 10th degree of Taurus, in the second and first degrees of south latitude. Jupiter still remains the most conspicuous of the planets to us, as he will cross our meridian on the 15th at Bh. 59m. p.m., and is in a fine position for observers (of which there are ma2\y), the great red spot on his disc having for a long time past attracted attention, and led to the idea that it is a vast island floating on his molten surface, or some such explanation, as its position thereon is not constant. Telescopists of all sorts should now observe his moons, as he is in a good position for so doing. On the 9th near 10 p.m. he was near the moon, separated from her about four degrees on the south; and the planet returns to the same position on the 10th at lb. a.m. At present Jupiter is moving retrograde between the sixth and fifth degrees of the sign Virgo, in the 2nd degree of north latitude.

Mars rises at lib. 47m. p.m. on the 15th, and may be looked for a little to the west and nortn of the moon on the 14th; and being not nearly a quadrant of the circle to the wes 1 ; of the sun's place in our skies, he ought to become easily visible; but he at present rises too late to attract attention from tha ordinary casual observer of the heaven?. His latitude is from the first to the second degree south. When he makes his appearance in our heavens by rising early enough to attract attention, he will be a flaming object in the eastern evening sky.

Saturn is nGW practically out of our sight, beirg close to the sun's place, and therefore hidden in his rays. He therefore sets very nearly with our luminary, on the 15th at sb. 18m. p.m. About four p.m. on the 19th Satura will be near the moon, and separated from her by about two degrees of declination on the north. He is in the third degree of south latitude from the ecliptic, and is now moving between the 13th and 17th degrees of the sign Aries. The distant plantt Uranus, or Herschell, rises on the 15th at lOh. 47m. p.m., and- is movirg between the 21st and 22nd degrees of the sign Capricorn, turning retrograde on the 26th, and remains in the Ist degree of south latitude. He will be exactly 90 degrees to the west of the sun on the 12th at Oh. 30m. a.m., and in conjunction with the moon on the 13th about 10 p.m., near two degrees on the north of her centre. The still more remote planet Neptune sets on the 15th and 10h. 23m. p.m., and is in his eastern quadrature to the sun on the sth at sh. 30m. a.m. He is now moving in the 15th degree of the sign Cancer and the first south latitude. Soon after midnight on the 26th this planet will be in the vicinity of the moon, about four degrees on the north of her centrej The sun having long passed our autumnal equinox, will enter the sign Taurus on the Ist at sh. 28m. a.m. The d<?ys have now drawn in considerably; as on the" 15th there will be only llh. 6m. of daylight, and on the 30th the day will have decreased to lOh. 34m. The Auckland clocks will show, when the sun is on the meridian on the 15th ' llh. 50m. 515.. and on the. 30th llh. 48m. 6s. ~>

The moon was at her full on the 6th at 7h. 58m. a.m., in the 17th degree of the sign Libra, whence she passes to hfer last quarter on the 14th at two a.m. The new moon occurs on the 20th at 4h. 21m. p.m., in the last degree of the sign Aries; and the first quarter will be on the 12th at Bh. 6m. p.m. In her eccentric orbit moon will be nearer to us 1 on the 19th at 7h. 54m. a.m. We may look for very hjgh tides on the 20th: while low titfes may be expected on the 13th and the 27th. The cause of the very high tides will be that the monn will be nearer her peri. ree and the line of her syzygies (or new and full moon) "at that time, that as spring tides occur about the new and full, c he will make them higher because thert nearest the earth. All the astronomical observatories are now prepared to deaJ with Halley's comet as soon as it may become visible, which may be any time now, as it must be well within ' our system. But it is not anticipated that it will reach its nearest point to the sun until April next, unJess some very unexpected disturbance of its orbit has taken place whida is scarcely probable. Upon its ifiarst calculated

return in 1759 it argeed with calcula- j tion within a month; upm its next I in 1835, within three days. '