THE

AMERICAN ALMANAC,

FOR THE BISSEXTILE YEAR

1848,

Being the latter part of the 72d, and the beginning of the 73d year of the Independence of the United States of America;

the 6561st year of the Julian Period;

the latter part of the 5608th, and the beginning of the 5609th
year since the creation of the world, according to the Jews;
the 2601st year (according to Varro) since the foundation of
Rome;

the 2595th year since the era of Nabonassar, which has been
assigned to Wednesday, the 26th of February of the 3967th
year of the Julian Period, which corresponds, according to
the chronologists, to the 747th, and, according to the astron-
omers, to the 746th year, before the birth of Christ;
the 2624th year of the Olympiads, or the fourth year of the
656th Olympiad, beginning in July, 1848, if we fix the era
of the Olympiads at 775 years before Christ, or at or
about the beginning of July of the year 3938 of the Julian
Period;

the latter part of the 1264th, and the beginning of the 1265th
year (of twelve lunations) since the Hegira, or flight of
Mahomet, which, as is generally supposed, took place on
the 16th of July, in the year 622 of the Christian era.

6 Conjunction, or having the same Longitude or Right Ascension.
Quadrature, or differing 90° in

8 Opposition, or differing 180° in

66

66

The ascending, U the descending node.

66

66

"

The sign

is prefixed to the latitude, or declination, of the Sun, or other when south; but the former pre

heavenly body, when north, and the sign

fixed to the hourly motion of the Moon in latitude, indicates that she is approaching, and the latter that she is receding from, the north pole of the ecliptic.

The letters M. A., m. a., denote Morning and Afternoon.

"north of Equator, (Spring and Summer). 186 11 2 0

"south of 66

(Winter and Autumn).

Length of the tropical year, commencing at

178 18 44 16

the winter solstice, 1847, and terminating at 365 5 46 16

the winter solstice, 1848,

Mean, or average length of the tropical year, 365 5 48 48

[The anniversaries marked with an asterisk (*) are to be strictly observed.]

16th, *Second Feast, or Morrow of the Passover, Apr. 19,

66

Year. Names of the Months.

3609 Tisri, 15th, *Feast of the Huts or Tabernacles,

....

22d, *End of the Hut or Congregation Feast,..
23d, *Rejoicing for the Discovery of the Law,

Marchesvan begins,·

Chisleu begins,⚫

....

25th, Consecration of the Temple,.

Thebet begins,·

...

The Jewish year generally contains 354 days, or 12 lunations of the Moon, but in a cycle of 19 years, an intercalary month (Veader) is 7 times introduced, for the purpose of rendering the average duration of the year nearly or quite correct.

The Mahometan Era dates from the flight of Mahomet to Medina, July 16th, A. D. 622.

The Mahometan year is purely lunar; it consists of 12 synodical periods of the Moon, or of 354 days, 19 times in a cycle of 30 years, and 11 times of 355 days. The average length of this year is therefore 35411 days, which differs only thirty-three seconds from the truth; a degree of exactness that only could have been attained by a long series of observations. But as no allowance is made for the excess of 11 days in the length of a tropical year over the time of 12 revolutions of the Moon, it is obvious that in about 33 years, the above months will correspond to every season and every part of the Gregorian year.