Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1885-12-29

The rirht ascension Of Mars on the
LIST is I'm. 35m., his declination Is de-
erees 49, north, his diameter Is w.
and no is in the constellation Virgo.
Mars rises on the LIST soon alter ~
O'Clock in the evening; on the 3ist ne
rises about halfpast s o'clock.
MERCURY is morning star. lie is NJ
his greatest western elongation on the
| s,h. at I o'clock in the morning. lie Is
then % degrees &c west Of tho suu'
and were i. not for his great southern
declination would be plainly visible IN
the morning sky before sunrise. a
sharp.eyed observer, who knows his
exact position, may succeed in finding
him.
The right ascension Of Mercury on
the LIST is l7h. ISM, his 'decllnAtion IS
20 deg. 80 south, his diameter is %,
and he is in the constellation Scorpio.
Mercury rises on the LIST a. hali-past
s O'Clock in the morning; on the 3lst
he rises about quarter after . O'Clock.
URANUS is morning star. HIS con-
junction with Jupiter on The 2lst mas
already been referred to.
The right ascension Of Uranus on the
LIST is l2h. com, his declination is 2
dee. 90 south. his diameter is go,
and he is in the constellation Virgo.
Uranus rises on the LIST soon after
halfpast o'clock in the evening; on
the 3lst he rises about nalf-past Q
o'clock.
NEPTUNE is evening star. At the
close Of the month Neptune, Saturn. and
Venus are evening stars Mars, Jupi-
ter. Uranus, and Mercury are morning
stars.
The right ascension of Neptune on
the LIST is Sh. 24m., his defamation is
IL degrees so north, his diameter is
or. C, and he is in the constellation
Taurus.
Neptune sets on the lst at about
$3.50 o'clock in the morning; on the
3lst he sets about 1890 o'clock.
THE MOON.
The January moon fdlls on the Goth
at 2h. 4jm. 4. VI. The waning moon
is in conjunction win Mercury on the
Sd at III. 4Gm. a. W., being . degrees
81 north. 4 beautiful conjunction
takes place betwe cen the moon and Venus
on the 9th at In. SIN. A. ", the moon
being So north. Noon and planets are
invisible at the time Of conf junction, but
the three-days-old crescent and the eve
ming star will make charming picture
on the evening Of The >th, as they
approach their neSrc,, point. On the
18th the moon pays her respects TO
Neptune ut llh. 36m. A. NJ. being >
degrees S. south. On the 18th she is
at her nearest point to Saturn at III.
som. A. ~, being 1 degrees s. south.
On the ODD she is in conjunction with
Mars at Sh. 43m. =. NJ. being . de-
grees Sc south. Tn the 9th. ISM.
after MONDAY, she is very near Jupiter,
being II north. On the 9th, the
same day, at 3h. 5m. Z. NJ, she is also
very near Venus, being degree 9
north.
OCCUPATIONS.
The moon occultS both Jupiter and
Uranus on the same day for the plea
sure of some favored mOrtals on the
earth's crust. The OccultatiOnS take
place at the same time that the close
coniunctiOns already referred to occur
in this vicinity, the phenomena occur
ring near midday, and Of course being
invisible. Observers on the evening Of
the 24th will find that Jupiter has sur
yiyed the Occultation. and is shining
with his usual lustre near the moon.
The occultaton Of Jupiter occurs on the
oath, 4Sm. after MONDAY; that Of IRA
nus on the same day at 3h. ON. p. NJ,
| Washington mean time. Observers
whose position corresponds with the
position Of the moon, as seen from the
centre of the earth, if they are on the
dark side of the earth and between
the limiting parallels Of 30 degrees
north and % degrees south, may see
the occultation Of Jupiter. Under the
same conditions, the occultation o.
Uranus will I've visible between The
limiting parallels of IS degrees and st
degrees north latitude. The moon also
occults Aldebaran. The occultatioI
takes place on the 10th at Oh. Am. Z. NJ
/ Washington mean time-an unfayorabl'
hour for our side Of the earth.
JANUARY
bears testimony to a quiescent cOndi
ton of the suns family. All days arr
not field days, and our celestial bro
theirs pursue their tireless course will
but few meetings and partings on tn
road. Those who follow closely tn
movements Of the planets learn to TAX
warm personal interest in these ce
lestial wanderers, and feel for then
a kind of reverential friendship
kind of personal ownership, as
were. Especially is this the cas-
with the three planets that vii
brightly shine in the January sky. We
nus, to lovers Of the stars, is the queen
the fairest Of them all. Jupiter is til
symbol Of royalty, and Saturn is III
magnificent potentate among the broth
= erhood. Venus in the west, Saturn i
the east in the early evening, and Jup
ter looking down from beyond tn
zenith in the early dawn, will crow
e the star-lit beauty of moonleSs night
A throughout the first month Of the ne'
year.
$ A DEFA ULFER.