Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1905-03-06
The MARCH SKIES.
The AnnuIar Eclipse Of the Sun-Posi-
ton Of the Planets.

Ter. the great brilliancy of Venus.
Nhlch will make il easily visible in the
gay time: an ANGULAR eclipse of the
, SUM- visible i'll Australia, and the sun S
/ ''os'iil% of the equator as it moves
hofthWard. TIE first OF these to oc-
| CIT Is the aunular eciispse of the sun.
on lf- night of the 9Th. 1t is OF inter-
est because illustrating the curious
TACT that the sun and moon. rs viewed
from the earth. seem to be of so near
ly the same size that the slight varia-
IONS i'll their distance make first one
ana then the other apparently the
larger. Al this time the sun is about
~ It's average distance from the earth.
but the moon 1T nearly its greatest dis
| lance. In consequence. the moon APP
pears tn" smaller. and when it seems
TO be placed centrally in front of the
sun rs it Will on the 9Th To observers
| IN lhtrtS of the Indian Ocean and Aus
tralia, there Will be 4 rim of sunlight
around il. forming Il brilliant annulus
| or ring.
| The gradual approach to each other
OF the bright planets Venus and Jupi
ter in the evening sky has been noticed
for several months. The climax will
be :eached on the 9Th. when the two
will be less than ; degrees apart.
| Venus is the brighter of the two and
the one farther north Their approach
| is only relative. for both are moving
eastward among the stars. Venus the
more ratidly, as anyone may verify by
| noticing their position with reference
to the elongated triangle of stars Il lit
| tic north of them. which is the char
| acteristic group of the constellation
| Aries. The moon passes south of the
planets on the 9th, 3 degrees below
Jupiter and ? degrees below Venus.
Lovers Of beauty in the groupings of
tn, celestial bodies will enjoy an I'M
! usually pretty sight on the evenings of
the 9th and 10th, when the crescent
moon will be near the two brilliant
Planets.
The difference in the brightness of
til" planets Venus and Jupiter is no
tireh bic. now that they are III the same
part Of the sky. Venus is at present
esree tally bright and on the 21st reach
eS its greatest brilliancy. On any day
this month it will be possible to see the
planet in full daylight. The difficulty
is to know Just where To look. To aid
III this il is we'll to look where the
planet has 4 position which can be 10
| Gated. 1t crosses the meridian on the
| lst at 2.i9 =. NJ. and is then 81 degrees
| above the southern horizon: on the FIST
| the time Of transit is 2.22 p. NJ. and
| the altitude 6S degrees: on TIL" 3lst the
| time is l.56 +. NJ, the altitude 30 de-
grers. If one has an instrument which
measures heights. aS an engineers
transit. he can point TO the desired
place and look along the tube instead
OF through 1t. or one can stand near
IL wall running north and south and by
looking up at the region two-thirds of
the distance to the zenith between >
ana p. NJ. ne can probably find the
star shining bravely i'll the sky.
There is no more beautiful tele-
SCOPE object in the heavens than
Venus when brightest. Its shape is
then Il crescent. whose area is bat
three-tcnths of IL full circle. \ small
telescope viii show this beautiful OBJ
icct quite satisfactorily.
~ the seasons advance no date is
more welcomed in northern regions
than that on which the sun crosses the
Zine in the spring. Whether or not
the traditional cline storm" occurs. all
Welc ,me the events as the sure fore
runner of ;he spring which the alma
nae states begins on that day. This
happy event comes this year on the list
at y. NJ.
Toward the end of the month Mer-
curry comes into view in the evening.
offering the most favorable opportunity
Of the year for seeing it with the naked
eve. On any evening Of the last week
it may be seen three-uuartcrs of an
hour after sunset. Il little north of the
line from Jupiter to the sunset point
on the horizon. 1t sets on the 31st
hour IS minutes after the sun.
The two most distant planets.
Uranus ana Neptune. reach points i'll
their paths this month which have
significant names. Uranus on the 25tl
is in a u,iadrature. or 30 degrees east
of the sun. 1t rises near midnight,
and will soon be in favorable position
for evening observation. Neptune on
the following date is in quadrature on
the west of the sun, setting near mid
night This point and its stationary
point in right ascension, reached ten
days earlier. when it ceased to move
westward among the stars ana began
once more it's eastward journey. mark
the time when it ceases to be Il special
object of study by astronomers.
The positions of the several planets
this month are rs follows: Venus.
jupiter and. after the 9th. Mercury
are in the southwest each evening. ON
the 1st. Venus set ut ?.%4 p. NJ. Jupi-
tor at a.3S =. NJ; on the 3lst Jupiter
SETS III >.1i +. NJ. Venus at ?.lS P. NJ,
Mercury a. IA p. NJ.
Mars is visible i'll the later evening
in the soul beast. 1t rises on tn" lst al
1116p NJ. and on the 3lst at ?.4i p. NJ.
and IS i'm the constellation Libra Sal
t,rn rises before the sun each morn
ing. on the lSt at 80 \. NJ. on the 3lst
at 400 4. NJ.
Iranus rises on the 1st 1T 2.55 A. NJ.
,r1 \an,unc sets at 50. A. NJ ON the |
aIst fb, former rises at \. Nj. and the |
I.ttrr sets at 100 \. NJ. They are.
therefore. in opposite parts of the sky. |
III. ON. rising III the southeast as the |
ot,.ar sets in the northwest. Neptune
,aI be wen seen with telescope each
e,-arire and should b. looked for in