Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1902-04-05
THE APRIL SKIES.
The Programme of the Various
Celestial Bodies.
An Eclipse Each of the Sun and
the Moon.
Phases Of the Moon.-Temporary Stars.
Predictions.

In course of the month of April tn"
moon will present the following
phasos: Last quarter on the 1st'
new on the Sth, first quarter on the 18th
and full on the S0th. She will be In
perigee on the 10th and in apogee on the
26th
Murcury will successfully pass
through the consultations Aquarius,
Pisces and Aries. while Venus will re-
main within the boundaries of Aquari-
Us throughout the month. She VIII rise
between three and four o'clock in the
morning and, from her first appearance
on the horizon until her fading away in
the increasing morning twilight, form
a Respondent object in the heavens
which will emit its light yet when the
twilight is irradiating the skies. Al
though Jupiter is in Capricorn, 1t IS
near enough to Venus to cause these
two splendid morning stars to impart
to the eastern skies peculiarly attrac-
tive appearance. Jupiter rises about
three fourths of an hour before Venus.
The planet Mars is in Pisces during the
greater portion of the month, but will
enter Aries toward its termination. AS
it will eliminate about noon, it will be
seen neither in the morning nor evening
hours. Saturn is still in Sagittarius and
about an hour ahead of Jupiter. An
early riser may see the three bright
planets Jupiter, Venus and Saturn for
a little while shining in the morning
skies, and he will notice with the adj
vancing twilight at first the light of
Saturn then that CT Jupiter and at last
that of Venus to be absorbed in the su
peror refulgence of the king of day as
he approaches closer and closer the
eastern horizon. Uranus is also in Sa-
gittarius and rises about eleven o'clock
in the evening. Neptune is in Taurus.
II is a fact not destitute of interest that
about the 9th of the month the sun.
moon and all the greater planets, with
the exception of Neptune, are in con-
secutive cOnstelatiOns-the sun and
Mars in Pisces, the moon, Murcury and
Venus in Aquaries, Jupiter in Capri
cornus and Saturn and Uranus in Sa-
gittarius. We have noticed in the pa
pers that a certain English astronomer
bases upon this fact the prediction that
on April 6 half of the world will be
flooded. He says that on that day the
above mentioned celestial bodies will
all be on one side of the world. and sub
sequently a submergence of western
Europe, western Asia and the south
eastern part of the United States will
begin and will be completed in Is days,
when the moon will arrive again on the
equator.
~ fhare
are not a few persons whose ignorance
and credulity put faith in predictions
that are utterly devoid of scientific
basis and certainly incompatible with
The laws of celestial mechanics, we
would pass such a prediction as the
above with silent contempt; but as
there prevails, even in this enlightened
age, not inconsiderable amount of
superstition it will not be considered
out Of place to make a few brief re-
marks on the above prediction. How
the fact OF the sun and moon and some
of the planets being in a relative posi-
ton us described above should produce
an iuundatiOn of large portion of the
earths surface, is more than we are
able TO fathOm: or, in fact, anybody
that knows something of the possible
effect of distant planets upon the earth
and she weather prevailing thereon.
We have had more than one occasion
to m ention that the atmospheric con-
ditiori of our earth is wholly independ-
ent of the position of the planets and
the moon. Any weather prediction
based upon the phases of the moon or
the RI lative position of the planets must
needs be considered either as an evil
dence Of gross ignorance on the part of
the weather prophet or a wilful at
tempt to play upon the credulity of ig-
norant people, thus committing an act
of imposition.
In our last article we had occasion to
speak of the variable stars, the varia-
bility of whose brightness passes
through definite and mathematically
determined period of time. In this ar
ticle we shall offer a few remarks on
another most interesting class of stars.
called temporary stars. to which in
late years the appropriate name of
Novae has been given. A distinguish
ing feature of star of this class is
that it blaZes up, so far as is known,
only once in the period of its history,
then gradually fades away to it's former
with, so far as is vet known, little or
no subsequent variation. Since their
first discovery they have caused the in
tensest interest, but great perplexity,