Evening star., 1897-05-01

Dipper seems to be in a state Of perpetual
motion, swinging round and round the Pole
OF the heavens. 1t Is really we who move
and not It. The effect of this apparent
movement is to change continually the di-
rection in which the star lies from the Dip
per. put the index finger always points to
1T faithfully. A second means of identify
ing the Pole Star Is the fact that If lies
very nearly midway between the middle
star In the W-Shaped figure of Cassiopeia
now Just above the horizon in the exact
rorth-and the star Alioth in the handle of
the Dipper-the star nearest the howl
Again, the Pole Star is at the end of the
handle of the Little Dipper, a figure form
ed, like the Great Dipper, of seven stars,
and SO decidedly dipperlike that no one can
fail to recognize it readily. Any of these
indIces will enable one to pick out the
Pole Star with vertainty.
The Little Dipper.
The bowl of the Little Dfpper will be
found tonight above and to the right of
the Pole Star. The two outer stars of the
bowl, which correspond with the Pointers
OF the Great Dipper, are of about the
same brilliancy as the Pole Star. They
form conspicuous pair and are sometimes
called the Guardians of the Pole
The Little Dippar, as We commonly call
thls group or stars, vas the Ursa Minor,
or Smaller Bear of the apcients. 1t WAS by
tnls constellation, rather than by any
sailors directed their course by night the
two Guardians being 2.0Ou years ago much
nearer the pole Of the heavens than was
the star which at the present time very
nearly marks its place-very nearly not
exactly, for the present Pole Star IS about
one and a quarter degrees (rnore than twice
the apparent diameter of the noon from
the true pole of the heavens. One of the
names by which the constellation was
known to the. Greeks Vas Cynosura. which
means dogs tall" The name would seem
to indicate that this astersm was some
tlmes regarded as i'Gog, rather than a
bear-a dog Of which the tail was the most
important part. The name still survives in
our word "cynosure," applied to an object
which, as did the old constellation. at
tracts all eyes. Fortuna tely its meaning is
hluoen IN the obscurity of dead language.
The Planets.
Mercury has been visible as an evening
star. since about the middle Of April; and
1t will continue to be visible for week
or more to come. On the 21st 1t will be
IN inferior conjunction with the sun, pass
ing between us and the sun, and thereafter
II Will be morning star, but 1t will hard
month II! i;D g T. e.
April u. In week or less 1t will be FAR
enough to the West OF the sun to appear
above the eastern horizon fifteen or twenty
minutes before sunrise. 1t will rapidly
withdraw from the sun westward, and with
be at its brightest as a morning star June
Mars is an evening star still and is above
the horizon until about midnight. Its po-'
sition in Gemini has already been pointed
out. 1t is now too far from us for useful
observation with a telescope, and is not
particularly conspicuous as a naked-eye
object.
Jupiter, in Leo, is brilliant evening star
and Is still fine object for the telescope
though Its distance from US now is 81, ,00O,-
OOO miles greater than when we passed be-
tween 1t and the SUM- February %.
Saturn is an evening star, and is we'll
above the horizon in the southeast at q
pm. 1t is in the Scorpion, about ten de-
grees northwest of Antares. It will be in
opposition to the sun, crossing the meridian
at midnight and shining at its brightest
on the 18th of this month. Its distance
from us then will be about S31 100000 miles
nine times the distance of the sun and
$500 times the distance of the moon.
Uranus Is less than three degrees (two
degrees, seventeen mtnutes) southwest of
Saturn, and both planets can be seen to-
gether with an opera glass. Uranus now
shines as a star of the sixth magnitude,
and Is therefore visible on a clear even
ing to q person Of keen eyesight. It is
now in an exceptionally good position to
be picked up" either with the naked eye
or with a telescope.
Neptune, invisible, Of course, Is between
the horns of the Bull (Taurus) and sets at
about 8 pm.