The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1894-09-09
rHx HARVEST nooS OF 1894.


Nineteen
PseuliArftfes Of This Year.
This IL . year of remarkable events
Another can soon be added 10 the varied
record This time. however. Is - not .
strike, food or crusade TO the nations
capital. Now the heavens come in to play
their part, and astronomers. IS well as
lovers and poets. take pleasure in intro
duciug 10 the world
sThat orbed maiden with white IRE laden,
Whom mortsis call The moon-
She comes dressed IN the apparel which
she puts on only once in nearly nineteen
years. September IA she appears 10 her
fell glory. and her usual queenly splendor
is made more splendid by the tact that the
ascending node Of her orbit IS only /
degree and IS minutes from the vernal
equinox.
The nearness of the node to the equinox
makes the iaclinafion of the moons
path to the horizon very nearly the same
as If the node and equinox were togethers
October IA the node and equinox viii be
exactly together. SO this year We have
the inclination OF the moons path to
the horizon at its smallest limit during
the harvest moon Of September and the
hunters moon of October.
Cd To make the moon run low in meridian
altitude about the time of her first quarter
and to run high about the time of her last
quarter; (2) to make her set far south
about the time of her first quarter and to
rise far north about the time of her last
quarter: (3) to make her times of rising
nearly the same for few evenings near
the September full moon.
ka If 81 and fhrnugn
the heavens are not quite the same. They
are inclined to each other at an angie OF
little more than Eve degrees.
When the verual equinox is IN the east
ern horizon and the autumnai equinox in
the western horixon-which always hap
pens at sunset on September 22-the south
half of the ecIiptic, which is then above
the horizon. meets the horizon of latitude
AZ degrees At an inclination OF less than 20
degrees.
Now, with the moons ascending node at
the vernal equinox, the inclination of the
moons path to the horizon becomes little
more than degrees less than the inclins-
ton of the ecliptic. making the inclination
of the moons path 10 the horizon less than
Is degrees.
This is the position of the moons path
moon comes on the i4th, the same posi-
ton of the moons path-that is, the south
half-wili be made soon after sunset from
the l4th to the ed.
With the south half of the paths Of the
sun and moon thus visible, the suns course
from September % to March % can be
traced, and also the moons course in Sep
TENDER from new moon to full moon. This
nfrir In ha rtlps
through the consultations Libra. Scorpius.
Sagittarius, Capricornus, Aquarius aud
Pisces.
Passing from the time Of sunset on Sep
tember % to . time twelve hours later. we
then see the autumnal equinox in the east
ern horizon and the vernal equinox in the
western horizon. In this position the
north half of the paths Of the sun and
moon is above the horizon, and the course
of the sun from March 20 to September %
can be traced, and also the moons course
in September from full moon to new moon.
This semicircle runs through the constel-
lations Aries, Taurus. Gemini, Cancer, Leo
and Virgo.
The latter position of the ecliptic and
moons path is their position March 20 at
sunset or soon after earlier in the month.
the horizon near the rising full moon of
September Is, as before stated, quite nearly
the smallest that can be made, and 1t gives
to the harvest moon of this year q dis
tinctive feature which viii return again
only after an elapse of nearly nineteen
years. This prominent feature Is. as
above noted. the short intervals between
the times of the moons rising for o few
evenings near the September full moon.
At this time these intervals are always
shorter than the average, which Is about
fifty-one minutes. But as this is typical
harvest moon year, the unusually short
length of the intervals will be manifest by
examining the following table, which
shows the times of the moons rising from
September Is TO 81 inclusive. This table
is computed for latitude AZ degrees and for
the Pacific standard meridian of eight
hours;
Noon Rises. Interval