Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1884-01-03
uRANOLuGY FOR JANUARY.

The Pons- Brooks comet is getting up speed
now and will, during January, pass ACROSS the
constellation Pegasus and into Cetus or the
Whale. About the middle Of January it will
reach its nearest point to the Earth, and
will then be some, $4,000, 900 miles about
two.thirds the Suns distance) from us On
the 25th the comet will reach its perihelion,
being then about 70,OO0,0OO miles from the
Sun. After that it will soon disappear from
view, by sinking below our horizon not to
revisit this part Of the solar system until 1854
or 1855. In all probability some Of us will be
dead by that time
The Moon does nothing remarkable during
January. She will reach first quarter on the
afternoon Of the 9Th be full on the morning
Of the 18th enter last quarter a little after
midnight Of the 18th, and become new at
midnight Of the 9th. At Ito IN. Of the
sth the Moon will occult the planet Neptune.
! The planet will be very low in the west at
that hour, but it takes an excellent telescope
TO show such phenomenon, anyhow. In
ordinary telescopes the light OF the Moon
extinguishes Neptune when both are in the
field. At 800 m. Of the 18th the Moon
occults lambda Geminorum, double star
the cOmponents Of which are Of the 4th and
10th magnitudes, respectively, and some 10
seconds apart. At TOP p. m. OF the 18th the
Moon will occult Alpha Cancri 4th magni-
tude star, This will be worth looking at, az
the Moon will then be nearly midway between
| the planets Jupiter and Mars.
Mercury reaches his greatest eastern elon-
CATION on the 4th, being then nearly 20 from
the Sun, but unfavorably situated for obser-
walton, On the Goth Mercury is in inferior
conjunction, the point in his orbit which
marks his change from an evening to
a morning planet. Tho transits Of Mercury
and Venus happen at inferior conjunction,
when the planets are in direct line between
the Earth and the Sun. Transits Of Venus
are, as every one knows, very rare. The
next transit of Mercury will occur in 1891.
Venus has fallen far enough behind the
setting Sun to attract the attention OF every
observer now az she wrinkles through the
strange red twilight glow. During the winter
months Venus will shine as the undisputed
queen of tho evening, growing brighter az
she rises higher above the horizon and
changing slowly, when seen through tele-
scope, from the form OF gibbous moon to a
half moon and finally, at her brightest and
nearest approach to the Earth, to a slender
crescent. She ID in conjunction with the
Moon on the 30th and will DO grazed (pos.
sibly occulted) by the Moon on February Goth
Mars rises new at S.45 p. m. and shows us
disc OF IS seconds. He will reach opposition
on the night Of the 3lst, when his disc vii
have increased to 10 seconds, and his minute
moons will probably be visible TO possessori
Of the largest telescopes. The wonderfu
discoveries Of Schiaparelli regarding thii
planet have been referred 10 before wonder
full because of the smallness OF its disc undel
, the most favorable circumstances. Here ar,
, two or three extracts from condensation, GOV
ering several pages, OF the observations mad,
by this assiduous student OF the planet at tn,
time OF its last opposition, in the winter o
1872:
"All the smaller seas which branch of
from the equator were very distinct in thei
' conhgurstion, The continents and the /,
A terror lakes between the bright EQUATOR
r zone and the south ocean could be draw
q with the greatest accuracy. A few change
, in the appearance of particular portions a
compared with their shape in 1879 wer
noticed, and as hundreds of thousands o
square kilometers Of surface, which wer
formerly light, had in the meanwhile becom
4 dark, so on the other hand many of the sec
J tons which previously vus dark now b.