The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1900-02-05
ABOUT PLANETS AND STARS
CURIOUS RI CTS REGARDING THEM
AND CHANGES FOR YEAR 1000.
No New Moon tn February-Revising
the Calendar.

The planetary annals for February
are of some interest. Venus is brilliant
in the evening and Jupiter in the morn
ing. Mercury and Mars are too near
the sun to be easily found. The former
may be seen near the close of the month,
but the latter is at no times visible.
Saturn and Uranus are in the morning
sky and Neptune in the evening sky.
There are no groupings of interest
either from a picturesque or from a
scientific standpoint
Venus is at present the most con-
spicuous planet in the sky. Visible in
the southwest at sunset, it shines bril-
liantly for several hours before setting.
On the LIST it sets at 74S p. m. and on
the 2Sth at $40 p. m. While it seems
very bright now it will be three times
as bright in May next, when it will be
visible to the naked eye in full sunlight.
In the telescope it's disk is losing it's
circular form like the waning moon,
but is still about three-fourths of
circle. 1t is not a satisfactory telescope
the stars lie towards the east, at lit
tie greater rate than that of the sun.
On the list it passes very near the star
Phi Aquarii.
Jupiter rises on the LIST at 2.35 a. M
and on the 2Sth at 1.04 a. m. 1t is the
conspicuous star in the south, seen Just
before the morning twilight becomes
too bright. 1t is moving eastward
H. IL. No.
OphiuchUs, which is allowed ON star
maps to project into the zodiac at this
point. On the 2Sth it is in quadrature or
90 degrees from the sun.
Mercury is in the morning sky as the
month opens,/ but on the 9th overtakes
the sun and passes beyond it, as view
ed from the earth. 1t moves faster than
the sun appears to move, and by the
last Of the month may be seen in the
west after sunset. 1t sets on the 2Sth
at 6.55 pm, or 1 hour and 20 minutes
after the sun. 1t will be more conspicu-
GUS In March.
Mars is wholly invisible this month,
lost in the suns rays. IT. is in the
morning sky, rising on the first five
minutes and on the 2Sth seventeen min
Mtes before the sun.
Saturn can be readily found in the
morning before the twilight begins. 1t
rises on the LIST at 42S a. M, and on the
28th at 2.52 a. m. 1t is moving east
ward among the stars and is in the con-
stel1ation Sagittarius. It's position on
the list is-right ascension IS h. min.
and declination S. 20 degrees 27 minutes.
1t is not far from the group Of stars
known as the Milk Dipper, and is the |
brightest Of the stars in that part of |
the sky.
Uranus is between Jupiter and Sat-
urn and may be found with the tele-
scope in right ascension 16 h. 40 min.
and declination S % degrees and min
utes. 1t is in the constellation Ophiu-
cbus
is in good position for te1e-
scopic osservation and may be found
at any time Of the evening from it's posi-
ton; right ascension h. 36 min, and
declination N. 20 degrees minutes. If
the telescope is not provided with set
ting circles, it may be pointed first upon
the bright star Zeta Tauri, which is I'M
the right ascension s h. 80 min, and de-
N. 81 degrees minutes.
MOONS CHANGES.
The moon passes the planets on the
following dates: I'd, Venus; 9th, Nep-
tune 22d, Jupiter; 23d, Uranus; oath,
2Sth Mars. The approach to
the planets Neptune, Uranus and Sat-
urn is very close; in fact the planets
are occulted if viewed from favorable
parts of the earth. Full moon occurs
on the 18th. 1t is an interesting fact
that there is no new moon this month.
The time in which the moon passes
from any phase to it's corresponding
phase is about twenty-nine days, so
that it occasionally that our month of
twenty EIGHT days has but three of the
four phases. This year new moon oc-
Cured on the Goth of January and the
next will come March 1.
The consultations visible in the even
Ing sky are conspicuous ones. The list
Includes Pisces, Aries, Taurus, the
groups west of the meridian
South of the mare Cetus, Eridanus, Or
on and Lepus, and north of them are
Pegasus, Andromeda, Perseus Auri'ga,
and Cepheus. The zodiacal
groups east of the meridian are Gemini,
Cancer, Leo. North of them are Ursa
Major, Ursa Minor Draco and south |
# them Capis Major, CAMS Minor,
Hydra. {
SHORT FEBRUARY.
FEBRUARY of this year has but % days. l
rhe omission of the 29th day in those ]
century years which are not divisible by
90 with a. remainder is device as is I
veil known to keep the length of the
.alendar year as ner to it's true lensth !
is possible. The natural time units, t
he day and year. were not planned for /
he convenience of those who use them S
n reckoning of time year does not 6
onsist of a whole number of days, but t
f whole number with the addition of n
N awkward fraction The best aetro- t
Iomical calculations make the length a
f the year 1865 days, hours As minutes
nd AZ seconds. This is so near SG5 1
avs hours that the plan of having Il
hree years in succession 1858 days each, h
ollowed by one of 366 days, works very I
,ell ae a practical solution of the prob a
en- The calendar which was put in T
peration during the reign of julius I
,aesar was made on this plan, and it S
iffers from that which we now use
9th in a slight difference in the nUm- s
er of days in certain months and also s.
\ the omission of three of the extra a
avs every 400 years, which makes the Fl
alendar year much nearer the truth.