The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1896-02-29
THE SKIES IN MARCH.

All the planets except Jupiter and Neptune
will be morning stars during the entire
month. Mercury and Venus are now in the
constellation Capricornus. and both are NOV
ing eastward. At the close OF the month
Mercury will be 3 degrees the farthest east
and will have entered the constellation Pts
ces, leaving Venus in the eastern part OF
Aquarius. Mercury will reach greatest west
ern elongation on the 9Th, but is so far south
that it will be difficult TO see him unless the
weather conditions are exceptionally good.
The moon will pass less than three-fourths
OF one degree north of him on the 18th in
the evening. Venus is drawing nearer the
sun quite rapidly; rises at sos q. IN. on the
LIST day Of the month, and fourteen minutes
earlier on the 3lst, while more than S0-l00ths
of the Illuminated portion of the disc can
now be seen from the earth. She will pass
only six minutes south of fifth magnitude
star in Capricornus on the morning of the
14th, and be in conjunction with and thirty
five minutes north of the moon on the 11th,
at S:19 a. m.
Mars is also in Capricornus; is slowly re-
ceding from the sun, and rises a few min
utes less than two hours before the sun
Throughout the month The moon Will pass
one degree and thirty-seven minutes south
of him on the morning of the 10th.
Saturn and Uranus are apparently NOV
ing westward in Libra, and are about five
degrees from each other. The moon will
pass Saturn in the morning and Uranus in
the evening, on the 4th. Saturn rises at II 25
p m. on March 1. and at $40, or more than
two hours earlier on the 3lst.
Neptune is in Taurus, is moving eastward
and will be at Quadrature, 80 degrees east
from the sun, on the 5th.
Jupiter is in good position for evening OBJ
servation, and is about degrees west of the
naked eye cluster in Cancer. He will, up
to the Ath, appear to move nearly one de-
gree westward, then turn and begin his
eastward journey, which will be continued
until the closing days of the year. He will
be seen almost directly overhead early in the
evening, crossing the meridian at 9:2S on the
list; 500 the 18th, and 7:26 the 31st.
His conjunction with the moon occurs on
the oath. in the morning.
The moon enters her last quarter at 529
a. m. on the 9th, is new on the 14th at 4:4S
a m, and in apogee the same day in the
evening. First quarter occurs on the 22d at
5:57 a. m. and full moon at 11:21 D. m. on.
the 18th. She will be in perigee few hours
before reaching her full phase.
Orion remaina the most attractive of the
evening consultations. and will cross the
southern meridian about o'clock on the
first evenings of the month.
Favorable times for observing Algol at
minimum will be on the 14th at 10 p. m, and
at p. m. on the 18th.
The great nebua in Androneda is yet IA
vorably located for early evening observa-
ton. A line extended from Polaris through
Shedir or a Cassiopea and Is degrees on will
point it out to not familiar with it's
location.
The sun crosses the equator and enters the
sign Aries on the 10Th at o'clock in the
evening, which will mark the beginning of
TT astronomical spring.
Two months ago Prof. c. D. Perrine, of
Lick Observatory, published an ephemeris
for January and February, 1896, of the comet
discovered by him Nov. IL. 1895. 1t was OBJ
served at Kiel two weeks ago, and was
within a few seconds of the place predicted
for the time at which the observation was
made. This comet passed perihelion Dec. Is,
and it's distance from the earth has been in
creasing since Dec. Ii, 1895.
w. P. WALLHEISER.s
Bedford, Ind, Feb 2S.