The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1892-11-05

I
the Planets During the Month.
November is always conspicuous for one
thing, so that if there are no other very
marked phenomena We are always sure of
having one distinctive feature, and that is
| the meteors The Earth in November will
surely plunge through the great meteor
zone that lies in her pathway about the
nth, and meteors will be seen on the
nights of the 18th, lfth, and 18th, says
the New York Times, though po one can
tell beforehand whether more brilliant
display than usual will reward the patient
watch of the observer, or whether the fall
inc stars will be few and far between.
Every year brings us one step nearer the
expected epoch when the meteors in No
vember will fall like the raindrops in Il
tropical storm and the heavens will seem
to be on fire The year 1899 is set for
this grand celestial illumination and it's
not so very far away. Each succeeding
year between now and then may show us
an increasing pyrotechnic display. 1t is
| thought that in course of time, instead of
a number Of years elapsing between sue
cessive meteoric showers. there will be Il
display well worthy our admiration each
year.
The meteorS are technically known as
Leonids because the point from which
j they seem to radiate is in the constellation
of the Lion, which is known astronomi-
cally as Leo, and are easily distinguished
from other groups. They move swiftly,
are characterized by greenish or blush
tint, while the trains they leave behind are
brilliant and remain for some seconds.
The best time to look for Leonids is about
3 o'clock in the morning, when Leo is well
above the horizon, though they may be
seen at any time during the night.
ROMANTIC HISTORY.
The Leonids have romantic history.
1t has been proved that in the year l26 of
our era Temples comet came very near
Uranus, which turned the comet from It's
course and imprisoned it in our system. 1t
has ever since continued to revolve in the
orbit in which it was compelled to move by
resistless power, the perihelion resting on
the earth's orbit and the aphelion reaching
beyond the orbit of Uranus. The comet
reaches the earth's crossing place once in
thirty-three and a quarter years, and then
the great meteoric showers occur. In the
cese of the Leonids the meteor swarm fol-
lows the comet. Many astronomers be-
lieve that the comet itself is the thickest
part of the swarm, and that the meteor
swarms are simply the debris Of the comet.
With a speed considerably lessened from
the brisk pace taken in October, the sun is
iourneying on toward the winter solstice,
his motion in declination at the close of
November being only half what it is at
present. The decreasing foliage warns us
that winter is approaching, and that SHOWS
and frosts are to be endured before we
again have Old Sol on our side the line.
The radiance Of these autumn twilight
evenings and their golden setting, the ever
varying lights and shadows, the magnifi
cent coloring of the leaves, all produce a
halo of wonderful beauty that belongs to
no other season of the year.
November also contains as an interesting
celestial phenomenon an eclipse Of the
moon, the last event of the kind for the
year; but, unfortunately, we are not al
lowed to see it in this latitude. 1t is all
the more interesting from the fact Of its
being total eclipse Its beginning will
be visible generally in the northwest por
ton of North America, the Pacific Ocean,
Asia, and the easterly portions of Europe,
while the termination of the spectacle will
be seen in the northwest Pacific Ocean,
Australia, Asia, Europe Except England
and Spain, and the east portions Of Africa.
The event takes place on the day of
full moon, which is when the earth is in
line with sun and moon and between the
two. so that it forms shadow unto which
the moon moves and so loses its light from
the sun. Full moon occurs on the 4th,
and, although no new developments are
expected, description of the coloring Of
the moons disk is always of interest. The
phase of the last quarter Of the moon oc-
ours on the 11th, followed by the new
moon, which makes its appearance on the
18th and the first quarter on the 9th.
The first of the monthly lunar conjunctions
is with Jupiter, on the I'd, and were it not
that the moon is So near the full we should
have rare treat, as the planet is SO large
and beautiful and the two are so very
close together Still, if the night prove
fine we shall find ourselves taking sec
ond look at the picture. Neptune has his
visit on the 9th, but fails to give us any
particular pleasure, as he is SO far away
and so very hard to determine. Saturn,
Just after the day of last quartering, will
offer something worthy of an encore, as
the warning crescent and the planet are
very close to one another.
AN ATTRACTIVE NUMBER.
The most attractive number on the pro-
gramme will be on the 18th, in which
| Venus and Luna are the star performers.
Less than a quarter of degree will sepa-
rate the two, and as the moon is about
halfway between the third quarter and
the new the size of her disk will not be
sufficient to interfere On the 18th IRA
nus and the moon are at their closest for
the month. Mercury follows, and then
| Mars, the last on the 29th but not one
of the three will be of any particular in
terest to us. Jupiter's turn comes once
more. about midnight on the 29th, and
although the meeting is not quite so close
as the one earlier in the month it prom
ises to be most inviting.
Venus still reigns triumphant in the
morning skies and shines most gloriously
some hours before sun-up. She is draw
ing altogether too close to the sun, and it
will not be long before We shall cease to
see her beautiful face. The eclipse, how
ever, will result in cur having to gaze upon
her at a more favorable time, for her dis
appearance as morning planet means
that when she comes back to visit us it
will be as queen of the evening skies. She
is at present in the constellation of the
Lion, and the wonderful meteors that
have been mentioned may be taken as
rays of dazzling brilliancy emanatihg from
the Gairest of all the planets.
Jupiter is quite the most interesting of
the evening planets, and although he is
drifting slowly away and his diameter is
steadily decreasing, his bright disk sparkles
in the heavenly vault, rendering him very
easy to distinguish from his surroundings.
How two meetings with the moon the
one on the ID and the other on the 29th