Delaware gazette and state journal., 1899-05-11
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cont During the month Of May the moons
4 twd bbsses will be as follows: Last quarter
,iment IN the 3lst, new on the 9TH; hrst quar-
)regon| fer on the 18th, and full on the 25th.
Major Ina will be in perigee on the 28th,
ment. nj apogee on the 10Th. Like all the
neal cslstiai bodies the motion OF which
miles around some other central body has
beep observed, the moon also moves
with 1sbout the earth in a somewhat elon-
lind Gated curve, called an ellipse, in one of
nde1E chose two foci the earth is situated.
IN thH HThe line which connects those two
ndedv 2points in the illiptical orbit that are
,, tJbearest and most remote from the
wereHocus, in which the central attractive
ila to.body is situated, is called the line of
Epsides In the case of the moon this
issindhne of apsides moves around toward
which Ihe east in a period Of about nine
sinc} Fears, so that the position of the
found kpogce and perigee necessarily and con-
ingasIktsntly changes. In the case of the
srth the line of apsides moves around
ID circle in the very long period of
tOs,O00 years. At present, and for a
omas, long time to come, the point IN the
evera( (earth's orbit nearest the sun, or, as il
orbn i technically called, the periheliou,
hit, al talls on the 1st of January, and the
ew u Fsmotest point, or the,aphelion on the
VolunNs al Of July. The line of the apsides
3f tlh edrtH OrDJL bUreUcneS toward
We've he consultations Gemini and Sagit-
urn srius On the first of the month the
aid re un was Is degrees 6 minutes, and on
IS Il be last Will be 81 degrees 56 minutes
d tn borth Of the equator, thus moving
to re iuring the month over an area of very
this, beary degrees north declination,
said being at first in the constellation Aries
eneraI bnd later on in Taurus
1f thf Mercury will be in Pisces during the
u - L..4 Al
toward the end Venus also will be in
Pisces during the greater portion of
he month and then enter Aries. This
'ruseS beautiful planet will rise about 3. 80
HonRI o'clock in the morning and shine as a
vtremt morning star. Mars is in Cancer and
Iuzon} v shine during the hours of the
rlacd evening until little after midnight.
D from Jupiter is still in Virgo and will also
hine during nearly the whole night.
lust when this great planet Is on the
:. oint of setting, his rival in brillancy,
Of supl Venus, may be seen just on the point
rising in the East. About 8 O'Clock
ay g. the evening Saturn will rise and
sagun hine during the night, a conspicuous
com bbect in the heavens that at once will
itarte be recognized as q planet. 1t is, of
iuagu Ourse, evident to the reader that a.
estat tar which lies outside of the zodiacal
for III belt cannot be planet since the
ioners And the moon are confined within that
onncd belt When, therefore, he sees a fine
nboaI tar in the heavens within that belt, it
,smoa hay be planet. Venus and Jupiter
of N will at once be recognized by their ex-
ast ID bedding briliancy. Mars by its red
] an hess and Saturn by certain steady,
parti Fellowish tinge. FIXED stars are best
town emembered ny their unchangeable
III cal position IN their respective constel
sibly alton.
rebel The reader will understand and
ring bcknowledge that it is of Importance
unbo o have a clear idea of the situation of
nd n he ecliptic in the sky, since the belt
AGO. bf the zodiac stretches along the
1t. tciptic degrees on each side Of it.
pturo During the month of May two conste-
and ations will be visible during the
IS an greater part OF the night that Will en-
I bao bble. us to trace the ecliptic. The
wed brightest star in the conspicuous con-
ISOLATION Leo, so easily recognized by
proH is resemblance with sickle, is Regu-
rnant JUS, and this star, that shines with the
forces ustre of first-magnitude star, lies in
dn the ecliptic, or at any rate, very close
70 IT. by connecting this star with
tho ttopmost and rather bright star in
The beautiful constellation Scorpio, so
.,,o,, conspicuous by its kite-like form, we
have an arc Of the great circle of tho
nv ecllptic. Spica, first-magnitude star
I'd MI IN the constellation Virgo, is another
rnaud prominent object near which the
4 raI elliptic passes. Spica is situated
h end almost midway between Regulus and
m Out antares, that fiery red star of the first
town magnitude in the constellation Scorpio.
a gan Sa, Susae tnree stars, then, VIZ; hegulus,
ore d splca and Beta Scorpii, will furnish a
track IeIty accurate notion OF the situation
came Of the ecliptic.
,as In order to measure distances, sur
RS. faces, volumes, time and force we must
askc nave standard units, and thus it is
Onl Indispensable to have a standard unit
at tE y measure the quantity of light of any
luminous body. This unit is the in
tensity of the light of the standard
~. anue, this being a sperm candle
for IL Weighing one-sixth of pound and
burning 120 grains an hour. The in
nr ID ensity of the sunlight is such that
!, Ot whcn the sun is in the zenith it
in III iuminates a white surface about
4 hn7 "'O9O times as strongly as o standard
rtmeI Vandle at "a distance of 80 inches Com
,tch larrlns the sunlight with that Of the
lull moon we arrive at the surprising
pnera result that it is about 10000 times
,llows Gias a. VI tno fuli moon. ~ al the
scon; Inherent kinds of artificial light that
Mad gan he produced by man the most
intense is the brilliant spot in the So
Napil called crater" of an electric arc, but
1ps ra ualzlingly brilliant as it is, it is but
i an oene-third as bright as the surface OF
ling lhe sun itself. Both the electric arc
yest d or .tr the calcium light, when held against
!ae suns disk look like dark spot on
MOD u Several astronomical observers, by
,%Irsetting to put their screens before
licatd .le eyepieces of their telescopes have
III di| neen Instantly struck blind when look
at III lng at the sun. We must not omit the
in th remark that much of the suns light is
Mad aosorhed by the atmosphere of the sun
q, bI snu that of the earth. 1t is hardly
il I'd necessary to speak of the Importance
" the suns light. Without it neither
lshin esetable nor animal life would be
I Mad Eossible. On the sky only the stars,
,r lid gteiing self-luminous bodies, would
nboaf ,,bllhe for the light of the moon ano
.tmcu the sun.
ers Two conspicuous consultations viii
0 tw i;uhle TO the meridian at about clocl
y tne May evenings-Ursa Major anc
d. .fgo' ursa Major, or the Great Bear
Ill, very extensive constellation, o.
1t ,l ~nlch only that part which is so ap
con EuI,r,iiately called the 'Dipper, " and 81
III vi nnaH ,~aliliar to everybody by that name, il
bill Lo.u.spicuous. The two stars in tn,
,,,r latter in WhOaa limo tba ,,olo Go, |;