Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1897-01-04
HEAVENS IN JANUARY
Hera|ding a Year Which Will Have
Few EcIipses.
The Sun Now Looking North The Question
Of Equation-The Evening Stars.

Although the astronomical events Of
January will be up to the usual stand
ard of attractiveness that is generally
| attained at this season of the year, 1897
| itself will be, in one field at least of this
| science, less lavish of it's favors than
most of it's predecessors and Successors.
There will be fewer eclipses this year
! than come in the ordinary twelve
| months. Last year there were four,
| two of the moon and two of the sun,
which is somewhere about the mean
in these occurrences. We are to be fav-
ored with only two between now and
the end of the year, both being of the
sun. The largest number that can
take place in any year is seven. five
being of the sun and. two of the moon,
and the smallest is two, these being of
the sun. From which statement we can
see that in this year we strike the
minimum number of eclipses.
The two referred to will be annular
| eclipses, both visible to us in the form
Of partial eclipse, that is, only part of
| the disk will be hidden from our view
by the Intervention of the moon.
| The first one will occur about sunset
on Feb. /, and, if a bright, clear day.
we shall have a fine chance to watch
| the event. The sparsely inhabited is
lands of the South Pacific are the fav-
ored places for viewing this phenome-
non in it's most interesting phases, for
| in that region eclipse will be 'annular
] and the central part OF the sun will be
cut out of view.
The sun has already turned his face
to the northWard, having reached the
winter solstice as the furthest south
ern limit of his path is. called. Our days
| have grown a, wee bit longer and we
now have sunset ten minutes later
| than in the middle of the month. but
| owing to the equation of time being on
the increase and at the same time ad-
| ditive to apparent time, the sun risee
eight minutes later than ii did Two
weeks or so ago.
| This. Of course. does not seem quite
| right on first thought. for one natur-
ally expects an earlier sunrise with
old Soils face turned in our direction
and the smile on his cheerful counten-
ance continually broadening. We must
| bear in mind. however. that while IL is
| popularity thought that the sun is the
marker and divider of Father Times
daiIyxC5utine, the real sun is not suf-
| iicientiy accurate and regular in his
movements to he thoroughly reliable
| for this all-important task, and the
| astronomers have. in consequence, in
| troduced a fictitious sun, called the
mean sun, whose movems hts can be de-
pended upon with sufficient accuracy
for us to SET our watches by him.
Sometimes the two suns. real and imagi-
| nary. are together then one is ahead.
only to be passed a little later by the
| other one.
| The difference Of time between the
two is called the equation of time. As
the imaginary sun is now ahead and
/ gaining, ii is necessary to add the
| equation OF time to the hours indicated
by the real sun. While the equation &C
time now amounts to but four minutes.
it reaches almost fourteen minutes be-
| fore the month closes, and so our sun
rise, as chronicled by the time KEEP by
our watches. keeps getting, for the
present. little later each morning.
| The moon. in January. comes in almost
| II the months beginning. as the faint
| We have the first quarterinG. while full
moon occurs on the 18th. and the phase
of last quarter on the 25th. We are ia
vored with eight conjunctions for the
| month. IN which the moon and planets
| play the principal roles. On the 18th the
moon tucks away behind her ample form
the figure of the planet Mercury. but We
| can hardly hope with so young Il moon
and so unstable planet to have much III
| the way of interesting scenic effect.
The meeting between the moon and
Mars on the 14th is the only other event
| in this category that is at all attractive
but even here the distance that is gem
orally supposed to lend enchantment only
mars the picture and detracts from its
| beauties
1t seems hardly necessary to say that
! Venus Is the evening star, for who can
look toward the west soon after the sun
| has sunk to rest without being power
| fully attracted by the hrilliancy OF Il
| beautiful star, serenely shining above the
golden coloring? We are to have this
| at present. and its presence will be visible
| long after the winters cold has passed.
| 1t is not requisite for Venus to play Il
special part in any particular tableau to
make her more prominent for as she
now is there is nothing in all the heavens
that can equal her Notwithstanding the
fact that Sirius. the finest and grandcst
! of the fixed stars. is shining i'll the east
ern section of the sky.
Mercury just at present is classed
among the evening stars. and he has
| about reached the extreme eastern no'nt
OF his career. that is. for the present.
On the I'D he reaches the point of con-
Juilction WIN the sun ana then becomes II
morning star, where he remains tor Two
months. when he again joins the ranks
headed by the queen of the sky.
Mars is another of the evening stars
and is to be found in the consteila ton OF
the Bull, about nine degrees north Of
Aidebaran. the most brilliant of the
group. and represented as being in tho
eye of the Bull (which ,laces him in the
eastern section of the heavens plainly
Visible during the evening. The years Of
Mars are almost twice as ioag as .lls
being composed of about oS7 d'y; 50 that
when there is intercommunicatior be-
tween our planet and the warlike one the
balance in the interchange of Christina;
gifts Will be rather against us. W. are
also told that gravity there is mucn less
powerful than upon the earth from
which it is safe to infer that our neigh
bors are lighter less sedate. perhaps,
than we are. man up there who
weighed 16O pounds down here would only
tip the scales at 60. We now know very
exactly the geography of Mars. in which
respect. we are told. tle,e is; hardy any
more mystery for us than III rs calendar
Neptune has conjunction with the moon
few hours later than Mars, bur there is
nothing in this meeting to attract any
particular comment we ,:;a hardly
locate the planet by knowing the moons
whereabouts, the two being so far apart
Neptune and Mars come fairly close 10
gether in the course of another month
when they interchange their relative rosi-
tiOnS in the SLy i'-'