Delaware gazette and state journal., 1902-11-06
THE SKIES IN NOVEMBER

month of November are as follows:
| First quarter on the Sth, full on the |
| 18th, last quarter on the I'D, and new
on the 10Th. She will be nearest the |
earth on the 4th, and most distant on |
| the 18th. On the 1st of the month the |
sun will be Ia degrees ID minutes
south of the equator and traverse an |
arc of about degrees 30 minutes south |
| declination in the course of the month. |
| In the latitude of Baltimore the sun |
will rise and set 1S degrees 30 minutes
south OF the true east and west points
on the 1st of the month, and Is degrees
| l9 minutes at its termination.
Both the inferior planets Mercury
and Venus will successfully be in the
consultations Virgo, Libra and Scorpio
during the month, and at the end OF
the month very close TO each other. On
the 2Sth, at o'clock p. M, Venus will
be in superior conjunction with the
sun. Since this planet is very near the
sun and rises after 6 O'Clock in the
morning, it will not be in an advanta-
geous position for observation. Mars
is also a morning star, rising about
O'Clock. 1t is in the constellation Leo.
Both Jupiter and Saturn are evening
stars, the former being in Capricornus
and setting about 10 O'Clock, the latter
being in Sagittarius and setting be-
tween 8 and 9. On the first of Noyem
! ber Jupiter is in quadrature and con
sequently one quadrant of circle dis
tant from the sun, and on that day
. culminates exactly at the moment of
, the SUMS setting. The apparent motion
, of the planets is somewhat psrplexing,
si mply because We see them like all
| other celestial bodies as they are pro-
, iected upon the spherical dome of the
> heavens. If we could view the motion
of the planets from the sun, which rela-
! lively to the planets is to be regarded
as liked, they would all be seen to ad-
j vance invariably in the same direction,
r viz. from west to east, in planes only
: slightly inclined to each other, but
with very unequal velocities. Mercury
would advance eastward with velocity
= about one-third as great as our moon !;
/ Venus would advance in the same direc-
tion with a velocity less than one-half
@ that of Mercury; the more distant
It planets would advance still more slowly,
!, while the motions of Uranus and Nep-
2 tune would be scarcely appreciable ex-
cept by comparing observations made
"a at long intervals of time. None of the
q planets would ever appear to move from
1t east to west. The motions of the
o planets, as they actually appear to us,
le are very unlike those just described
y first, because we view them from point
y remote from the center of their orbits,
"a in consequence of which the distances
le of the planets from the earth e,sub
I'd ject to great variations, and, second,
ID because the earth itself is in motion,
i'd and the planets have an apparent
70 motion, resulting from the motion o
N \, the earth. The ancient astronomers
r. believe that the earth was fixed ant
ty situated at the center of the universe
though there is some reason to thinl
he that Pythagoras had true conception
ed Of THE solar system. With the eartl
ne fixed and the sun aud planets moving
" " around it, the behavior of the planet
he must have been far more perplexinI
than their apparent motion is to us
nd Ptolemy, fourishing in the second cen
Ii tury OF our era at Alexandria. afte
US whom the system was called that pre-
vailed till the middle of the Sixteenth
~ ~ Century, in order to explain the mo
10 tions of the planets and the moon in
ne troduced his ''epicycles" and "de
of ferents,'' and we can hardly censur
est King Alphonso of Spain or charge hir
ad with irreverence and impiety when h
ea remarked to the astronomers who pre-
ie' sented to him the Alphonsine tables c
ar. the planetary motions, which had bee
nv computed under his order, that b
would have given some good advice
he he had been present at the creation.
cir The apparent planetary motion re
dy solves itself simply into the question {
,be ,he how an object would appear to an OF
,nt server that moves in the circumferenc
of either smaller or larger circle tina
by the one in which he moves himself, tn
nd oenters of the circles being the SAN
~ tn and their planes nearly so, but II
". velocities different. To anyone VIII
no no can realize this-and this presents n
nId difficulty, it seems to us-the who
the subject is devoid of anything thi
vas might be called perplexing. Be thi
re. however, as it may, it is certain tina
Die, unless the idea is thoroughly graspet
re' the apparent planetary motions wi
a, never be clearly understood, and one
rem the most interesting subjects of a
lid tronomy remains obscure.
sby About 9 o'clock in the Noyemb
to evenings the constellation Andromed
dty is on the meridian. The great Squa
IA I, of Pegasus enables us to trace both Il
,iss .Ia5 consultations Pegasus ana Andromet
prii very easily. The star in the northea
hey corner of this square is Alpha Andr
her media, or Alpheratz, with which Il
of constellation of Andromeda begins al
her thence extends in northeastern dire
III a tion, the principal stars attire Alpl
ie1 being Beta, or Merach, and Gamma,
ira. Almaach. Extending the near
lick straight lines which connect Alph
Try, Beta and Gamma, the extremity of tt
was produced line is Alpha Persel bendi
az at , the line, however, at Gamma the !
Iea n markable variable star Algol, or Be
and Persei, marks the end of ths bent lir
The Square of Pegasus with the sta
men Beta and Gamma AndromedH and t
rays star Algol presents a figure not unli
thy' the Great Dipper, only on lare
scale. Together with Pegasus I
,;.t, whole presents altogether very stri
a ~ ing picture Due south of Beta And
ii.s i.as meda lies the zodiaoal copstellati
''sn ll, Pisces, or the Fishes. Although it oc
aas a tains no conspicuous star, Alpha bel
s.N sau the only star of the second magnitu'
. W.. it is notable as containing the Verl
io3o Equinox or First of Aries', viii
ieo' ~ lies near the southern boundary of
constellation in a peculiarly starl
region. A line from Alpha Androme
through Gamma Pegasi, continued
far again, striking about degrees g
oise of the point. The constellation CT
y ,,S a. sists of two Fishes, of which the sou
ernmost one may be recognized b
80; ~ pentagon Of small stars lying below
1nlA ..i back of Pegasus. The two Fishes
tsa ms' connected by band that can be cas-
tai traced. Two of the circumpels &C
ono stellatons are also on the meridia
Cassiopeia and Cepeus. The main Q
figuration of Cassiopeia is large
a at Beginning with the extremity of
Miss last up stroke OF TINS letter tne pf
ster, opal stars are arranged IN the or
q. Beta, Alpha, Gamma, Delta, Epsil
of which Rata mas the sDaoial ma