5671 3 Kislev .25 First Day of Chanukah. 5671 4 Tebet Rosh-Chodesh....Wednesday-Thursday, November 2-3 ...Friday, December 2 ..Monday, December 26 1 Rosh-Chodesh..Saturday-Sunday, Dec. 31-Jan. 1, 1911 The year 1910 corresponds nearly with the Chinese year 4607, the 76th cycle of 60 years, and contains 354 days: 1st Month begins Feb. 2d Month begins Mch. 3d Month begins Apr. 4th Month begins May 5th Month begins June 6th Month begins July or the 47th year of 5...... lasts 30 days 4. 3.. 2... 2. lasts 29 days .lasts 30 days .lasts 30 days ..lasts 30 days 10.....lasts 29 days 7th Month begins Aug. The year 1328 is the 8th of the 45th cycle of 30 years and has 854 days. Sun enters, THE SEASONS; ALSO SUN'S APPARENT PATH THROUGH THE ZODIAC. Eastern Standard Time. Sign. Con. D. H.M. Winter begins and lasts 89 0 32 S. of Equator. Date. H.M. Dec. 22, 6 12 a.m., 1909. H. M. 89 0 32 D. 92 D. 89 18 42 178 19 14 S. of Equator. begins and Tropical year 365 5 42 H. M. 19 46 93 14 42 186 10 28 178 19 14 The sun will be 7 15 14 longer north of the Equator than south of it. This is due to the slower motion of the earth (apparent motion of the sun) when the earth is near its aphelion or furthest point in its orbit from the sun during the summer months. THE PLANETS. Mercury will be brightest (1) as a morning star, west of the sun, rising about 1h. 20m. before the sun, February 8-16 and October 6-14. He will be furthest west of the sun February 19 (27°) and October 11 (18°). (2) As an evening star, east of the sun, setting about 1h. 25m, after the sun, January 6-14, April 13-21 and December 22-30. He will be furthest east of the sun January 10 (19°) and December 24 (20°). On two other occasions Mercury will be at his greatest angular distance from the sun, but other conditions will be such as to render it difficult if not impossible to see him. Look for a red "star" near the sunrise or sunset points of the horizon about an hour before sunrise or an hour after sunset within the limits of the dates given and you will be very apt to catch this elusive planet. Venus will be brightest as an evening star January 7, and as a morning star March 18-19. At the beginning of the year she will be an evening star and so continue until February 12, after which she will be a morning star until November 26, and then an evening star until the end of the year. On February 12 she will pass between the earth and sun (inferior conjunction), and on November 26 she will be on the opposite side of the earth from the sun (superior conjunction). This planet is very beautiful when at or near her greatest brilliancy, and at such times will cast a distinct shadow in the dark of the moon. An added feature of interest is her phases, for in the course of her orbit she presents all the phases of the moon and with a far greater difference in apparent size or diameter, as shown by the annexed figures: (GOOD EXPLANATION: A-15 days before superior conjunction, or November 11, 1910. B-At greatest elongation (angular distance) west of the sun, April 23, 1910. C-When brightest as a morning star, March 18-19, 1910. D-Just after inferior conjunction, February 17-28, 1910. E-15 days after superior conjunction, December 11, 1910. F-At greatest elongation east of the sun, July 7, 1911. GWhen brightest as an evening star, January 1-10, 1910. H-Just before inferior conjunction, February 1, 1910. All these phases may be seen by the aid of a small telescope or gold field glass. The motion of Venus past the stars is so rapid that it is very interesting to follow her in her journeyings. As her orbit is within that of the Earth's she will more than make the circuit of the heavens in a year. In connection with the following data, see "Chart of the Heavens," also table of "Rising, Southing and Setting of the Planets." Here follows a tour of the heavens, with Venus (time, 365 days): January 1 as an evening star in , moving slowly eastward: Stationary January 20 in eastern; retrogrades, moving slowly west past the stars, until March 3, when she will be west of her place on January 1 and stationary again. Being at inferior conjunction February 12 she will not be visible for a few days before and after that date. As a morning star she will first be seen low in the east the last week in February, and will advance with increasing velocity past the stars until August 5: then her daily rate of motion will decrease until October 8 and then increase until December 20. As shown by the figure, she will appear largest early in February and steadily diminish in size throughout almost the entire year, until at the last she will be apparently only one-thirty-sixth of her size in February. On April 23 she will attain her greatest angular distance west of the Sun (46°), appearing, as in B in the figure, a half-moon phase. with the illuminated hemisphere toward the Sun. Throughout May, June and July, Venus and Saturn will be more or less close companions in the eastern morning sky. June 5 they will be only four minutes of arc, or one-eighth of the Moon's apparent diameter, apart, Venus being the most northern.. On the previous day (June 4) the Moon will pass south of and close to them, but too late in the morning to see them at the time of nearest approach. Both will be occulted by the Moon on this occasion. This grouping of these three bodies will take place near the boundary line between and P. By June 25 Venus will be only 5° below the Pleiades, and by July 6 about the same distance above (N.) of Aldebaran, the brightest star of the Hyades. On or about Julv 20 she will be close to the great Crab Nebula in 8, and between the tips of the Bull's horns, with the glorious Capella just above (N.) and the brilliant Orion nearly equally distant below her. From this time on she will rise later and later, until the time of her superior conjunction on November 26, becoming invisible considerably before that date: About August 10 she will be nearest to and just south of Castor and Pollux, in II, and on September 10, Regulus, in the handle of the Sickle in . will be close to and south of her. About the last we shall see of her, as she becomes lost in the morning twilight, she will be about 5° above (N.) of Spica in m, with Mars just south of her-a beautiful stellar combination in the twilight. When she is next visible she will be on the other (E.) side of the sun as an evening star, the last half of December, being just above the Milkmaid's Dipper in 7. See "Conjunctions, etc," for various conjunctions with the Moon. Mars will not be conspicuously bright at any time this year. He will be an evening star until September 27 and afterward a morning star. At the beginning of the year he will be in eastern and close to h. having been in 6 with the ringed blanet December 31, 1909. when was only 3° N. of h. Bq March 10 he will have advanced to eastern P, just below the seven stars cr Pleiades, and the last week of March he will pass just above the Hyades. April 20 he will be about midway between Capella on the N. and the Belt of Orion on the S.; by June 1 in S. of Castor and Pollux, and August 1 close to and N. of Regulus in the Sickle in . His conjunction with Spica Virginis and Venus October 24 has already been alluded to under "Venus," when will be 3° N. of Spica and (October 22) less than 1° S. of 9. At the close of the year he will be in m close to and above (N.) of the red star Antares. Jupiter will be brightest March 31, as an evening star. He will be an evening star from January 4 to October 19, and a morning star until January 4 and after October 19. At the beginning of the year he will be in m and remain in that constellation until November,, when he enters October 1 he will pass 3° N. of Spica, setting in the evening twilight. The superior planets, those exterior to the earth, may be very properly called "all night" stars at or close to the time of their opposition, or when they rise at sunset and set at sunrise. This will be approximately the case with 2 until March 31. Saturn will be brightest October 27, being at that time an all night star. He may also be considered an evening star until April 16 and after July 30, and as a morning star from April 16 to July 30. He will be in eastern and will cross the line into and return again into at the close of the year. At no time will he be near any bright stars for which he might be mistaken. His wonderful ring system will be best seen during the summer months. Uranus will be brightest July 16 as an evening star, and then only faintly visible to the naked eye. Neptune will be brightest as an evening star January 8. Both Uranus and Neptune are too distant and faint to be objects of general interest. ECLIPSES, 1910. There will be four eclipses this year, two of the Sun and two of the Moon, as follows: I. Total of the Sun, May 9, invisible in the United States, visible in the Southern Pacific and Indian oceans. II. Total of the Moon, May 23-24, beginning on the evening of the 23d, and visible in North, Central and South America, except Alaska. Visible as follows: III. Partial of the Sun, November 2, invisible in United States, except Alaska and Hawaiian Islands. Visible as follows: Yakutat, Alaska, marks the eastern limit of the eclipse. Throughout Alaska west of Yakutat, and Hawaii, the sun will set more or less eclipsed. Begins, Honolulu, 3:45 p. m.; size, 1 digit. Begins, Nome, Alaska, 1:39 p. m.; size, 5 digits at sunset. Mean tin:e. IV. Total of the Moon, November 16, visible as follows: Vesta, the brightest of the Asteroids and the only one ever visible to the unaided eye when brightest, may be seen in September and October, being brightest on October 28. She will then be in the constellation Cetus, the whale. Her motion will be westward past the stars in the head of the whale. The last of September she will be almost two degrees from the brightest star of the constellation, Menkar; early in November, five degrees north of Mira, the wonderful variable star. It will be interesting to watch her pass one degree north of Gamma Ceti on October 10, and four degrees north of Delta Ceti on the 13th. These stars are of the fourth magnitude or about two degrees brighter than Vesta. On October 28 Vesta will be on the meridian at midnight and about 47 degrees up from the southern horizon in latitude 40 degrees. She will not be well situated for visibility again until February, 1912. MERIDIAN PASSAGE, RISING AND SETTING OF THE PLANETS. Washington Mean time. All P. M. figures are in black type. -Sets- H MH MH M 6 22 0 36 0 42 5 44 11 54 11 58 5 611 17 11 21 4 25 10 36 10 41 3 49 10 2 10 7 3 13 9 29 9 32 SITUATION OF THE PLANETS FOR THE SUNDAYS; ALSO MOON'S POSI On Equator.. 2-16|12-26|12-25|8-22 6—19|2-15-29 12-2619-23 5-1912-19-30|13-2610-23 Feb. EX: Jan. XEX← Apr. 2822 5 1-29 12 217 Mar. " Feb. Jan. 28 28 12 12 18 14 Venus (?). Moon. Planet. Apogee... 4-311 Highest.. 22 19 Lowest... Cancer. Explanation of Signs.- Aries. 8 Taurus. Gemini. Leo. m Virgo. Libra. m Scorpio. Sagittarius. Capricornus. Aquarius. * Pisces. The place indicated for the planets is for the first, second, third, fourth and fifth Sundays of each month, in the order of the planets. This Note. The Moon will "run high" from "Lowest" to "Highest," and "run low" from "Highest" to "Lowest." The Full Moon will be highest of the year at meridian passage December 16 and lowest June 22. She will begin to run lower March 21 and decrease in altitude until June 22, and then increase ("run higher") until December 21, after which she will gradually get lower until June 22. because the Full Moon must always be on the opposite side of the Earth from the Sun, and hence when the Sun is lowest in declination the Moon must be highest, and when the Sun is highest the Moon must be lowest. The difference between extremes being 57° or (23%1⁄2°+5°)x2, 5° being the inclination of the orbit of the Moon to the ecliptic. |