The Superior times. [volume] (Superior, Wis.) 1870-1912, 1890-04-12
THE SKY In APRIL.
Interesting Astronomical Phenomena for
the Month.

| SShCS1 "A ~ II Will Dc 1ullS w
to the average of months in its interest
for the star-gazer. No eclipses will oc-
cur in the month, nor any other striking
Or remarkable phenomena of that class.
The earliest of the three eclipses which
are booked to take place in 1890 will
happen in June, and the others in
November and December respectively,
| while the lunar appulse, or close ap-
proach OF the moon to the earth's
shadow, will take place in June also. 1t
! Is IN the number OF planets which will
be in the field of view in the evening in
April, and the number and beauty of
the conjunctions between the planets
and the moon which will keep the
month up to the mean level in interest
for the amateur observer.
The sun has now passed through
little more than half OF its apparent
| journey between its southerly and north
| erly starting points" 1t reached the
first-named place on December 81, and
VIII touch the other Oh the Dist of June.
| On March 20, when it CROSSED the
line, 1T dashed past the halfway house
| IN its course across the armament, and
for the next six months it will be north
of the euuinoctial. The duration of the
daylight hours now slightly in excess OF
that of the period of darkness, and the
margin between them, will keep on
| broadening until the closing DAYS of
June. This is true for all of the earth
north of the equator, but south of that
| line the opposite conditions will pre-
| vail.
| Every planet except Jupiter will be
above the hor Zon in the evening hours
in some portion of April. Venus, in
angular distance, will be nearer to the
sun than any other "evening star" when
the month begins. 1t will be seen in
the southwest before the close of the
evening twilight, setting about an hour
after the sun. At the close of the month
! Venus will remain above the hori-
zon an hour and half after the solar
orb.
| Nearest to Venus, on the east in anular
distance is Neptune, which, however,
| can not be seen except by the aid of q
good telescope, and is therefore
of little interest to the average star-gaz-
er.
Next to Neptune, going eastward,
Saturn, which is just now the most In
terestlne of evening stars, is encount-
| cred. Saturn viii ne little south of
| the zenith point about 8 O'Clock in the
evening in the early days of April, and
two hours earlier than this at the end of
| the month. 1t is in plain view until
within about three hours of sunrise.
| When the sun sets the ringed planet is
more than half way between the easter
ly horizon and the zenith. For obser-
vers with telescopes Saturn is not as in
teresting an object now as it was year
or two ago, its rings being turned nearly
edeewise to the earth. 10 the naked
eye Saturn is brighter than the first
| magnitude star RegGlus, which is in its
immediate neighborhood.
| Farther to the east and south than
Saturn is Uranus. This planet will, in
astronomical language, be in "opposi-
| ton" to the sun on April il, rising on
that day at the time the sun sets.
| Uranus is visible to the unaided eye
| as faint star of about the fifth magni
| tude.
| Mars, at the beginning of April, will
| make its appearance in the east about
half an hour before midnight, and from
that time onward until daylight it will
| be in the field of view. At the end of
| the month it will rise an hour and a
| half earlier.
These, in the order of angular dis
| lance eastward from the sun, are the
planets which will, at the beginning of
April, be above tie horizon at sunset or
come into view before midnight. Mer
curry, at that time, will be west of the
sun, sinking below the horizon earlier
| than tnat orb. On the ninth day of the
| month. however, Mercury passes to the
east of the sun and becomes an evening
star. In the closing evenings of the
| month, owing to its rapid movement,
| this planet will be far enough away
from the sun to justify the casual observ-
er In looking for it in the hour in
which 1t will be in the field of view af-
ter the disappearance of the solar orb.
Jupiter, the only planet which can
not be seen in April until after mid
night. will appear about two hours and
a half earlier than the sun, and will be
a brilliant object as it rises slowly and
| ma esticaily in the southwest. The king
Of planets, too, is making its appearance
earlier and earlier as time passes, and
will be among the stars, two months
evening hours.
At the beginning of April Venus will
be in the constellation of the Fishes,
Neptune in the Bull, Saturn in the Lion,
Uranus in the Virgin, Mars in the
Scorpion, Mercury in the Water Bearer,
and Jupiter in the Goat
On the list OF coniunctions for April
those IN which Saturn and Luna figure
will be particularly interesting. The
rlnged planet and the moon will be
near each other on the LIST and 2Sth of
the month. In the earlier event they
will be q degrees apart, and in the later
one degrees, Saturn IN each case being
south of the earth's satellite and COM
panion A degree is about twice the
apparent angular diameter of the full
| moon. The moon in each instance
will have just passed its first quarter
stage.
The closest conjunction of the month
| will take place on the 9th, the moon at
| that time passing within three-quarters
of degree of Mars. The event, how
ever, is robbed of part Of its interest by
| the fact that neither moon nor planet
will come into plain view at that time
| until nearly midnight.
In the next two conlunctions Jupiter
| ard Mercury, respectively, will appear.
The earlier will occur on the 18th and the
later one on the 10Th. Jas the fret can
| not be seen until nearly sunrise. and the
| next, because of the nearness of Mer-
curry and the moon to the sun at that
time, not at all, these events will not
awaken the concern of the average
observer. On the Goth, the day after
the conjunction with Mercury. the
moon will pay her devoirs to Venus,
the two being within 81 degrees of each
| other, the planetary queen being furth-
| er to the North.
An interesting conjunction between
planets will also take place in April.
On the 18th day of the month Mercury.
in it's journey to the eastward, will meet
and pass Venus on the celestial high
way, the former being ) degrees further
| to the north than the latter.
All of the first magnitude stars visible
| in March will be in the field of view at
the beginning of April. but will be
further to the westward. Capella, of
the constellation of the Charioteer, may
DE seen in the northwest alter sunset;
Aldeb aran, of the Bull. in the west
Betelguese and Rigel. of Orion. in the
southwest; Sirius, of the Greater Dog,
further to the southwest than the two