Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1907-05-09
The HEAVENS IN MAY
Location Of the Planets and Stnrsa-TIic
ConsteIIntions-The Moons
MOements.

Moments.
The month OF May opens with three
of the five bright planets conspicuou,
in the night sky. Jupiter is brilliant in
the west in the evening. far outshining
any Of its stellar neighbors After 1t
sets. Mars may be seen, rising in the
southwest, while Venus appears in the
east just as the day begins to dawn.
The fact that these three bodies, with
two others. Mercury ad Venus, change
their positions relative to the stars was
known to observers before historical
times for the earliest records allude 10
their motion. The number seven, as ap-
piled to the planets, was made UP Of
these five, and the sun and moon, which
share with them tho motion from star
group to star group. In noticing the
planetary motion 1t Is sometimes con-
venient to compare the positions with
the sun, Itself apparently moving. Thus
Jupiter Is now moving eastward If the
stars near It are compared in position
with It. but westward IL compared with
the sun. The first motion is so slow that
1t cannot be noticed from night to night,
but only after a longer interval. There
are several stars near it in the constella-
ton Gepini which make good reference
points. If the position of the planet with
reference to them Is noticed now and
again a month from now, 1t will be seen
that it is different. The change in Il
month will be about six degrees. Next
year when the planet is again in the west
in May 1t will be in the adjoining con-
stellation Cancer. It's motion with regard
10 the sun is shared with all the stars
near it. Each night they are one degree
farther west than the night previous.
Jupiter sets on the list at 11:17 and tho
3lst at 9:41 p. m.
The telescope planet Neptune is near
Jupiter. 1t may be found in right as
cension hours 40 minutes and declina-
ton " 20 degrees u minutes.
Mars now rises before midnight-on the
1st at II 35 and on the 31st at lo0S p. m.
1t Is getting brighter as It draws nearcc
the earth. on the 1st 1t Is 69,O0O.0o0 and
on the 31st 80, 100000 miles distant. While
these distances seem great. they are not
so great as to prevent our seeing some
of the more prominent features of the
planets surface. The general dark and
bright areas and one of the white polar
caps can now be seen with telescope.
The planet appears to be moving among
the stars of the constellation Sagitarus
and passes over an arc of degrees In
the course Of the month
The planet Uranus is near Mars. It
may be found in right ascension IS hours.
IS minutes and declination s. % degrees
70 minutes.
Venus is always the gem of the sky
when it can be seen at all. 1t rises on
the 1st at 32S a. m, or 1 hour Is minutes
before the sun. and precedes him by near
lly the same interval each succeeding
morning. It is moving among the stars
of the constella tons Pisces and Aries,
but this.is not noticeable because of the
twilisht@
Mercury is not readily found EXCEPT
with n telescope. as 1t is too near the
sun in direction. 1t begins the month
! 90 degrees west of the sun, but reduces
this distance rapidly, passing behind the
sun on the oath and entering the evening
sky.
Saturn rises on the list at 30 a m, or
II hour 40 minutes before the sun. and on
the 31st at l3 a. m, or three hours be-
fore the sun. With regard to the sun,
therefore, it seems to he moving west
ward. and by rising earlier and earlier
can be seen to better advantage. This
will be much appreciated by observers
with telescopes in the northern hems-
phere. who are enjoying the unusual
| spectacle of the disappearance of the
rings. We are this month viewing the
\ rings nearly. but not quite, edgewise The
sun is also nearly, but not quite, in the
plane of the rings, but 1t is north of the
plane, while the earth Is south of it, The
narrow Illuminated surface Is therefore
turned away from the earth, and We
look at the dark surface II seems to
make a narrow black bar across the plan
cts disc.
| Two very faint comets are now under
telescope observation. Both have passed
their nearest points to the sun and are
| now on their way outward. and, accord
|ingly. growing fainter. The first was dis
covered in March, the second April Il at
the University of Wisconsin.
| In the month OF May the evening and
might sky assumes a quieter aspect as
1.-THE more brilliant consultations OF win
ter disappear In the evening twilight.
|Canis Major in the southeast Orion In
the west Gemini in the northeast linger
| for few evenings and are then lost In
the twilight 10 appear a few months
hence rising before the sun. In the zodia-
cal belt, Cancer, Leo and Virgo may be
traced, Leo containing the well-known
fgue known as the Sickle. Regulus and
Spica are the two brightest stars in these
groups, the former in Leo, the latter in
Virgo. Beneath Virgo Is the conspicuous
uuadrilateral known as Corvus. High il
the east is the bright star Arcturus
which may be found by following tho
curve suggested by the handle of the
great Dipper. At this time OF year the
Dipper Is high above the pole. The vary
ling size of the areas assigned to the diff
ferent star groups by the early astrpn-
omers. to whom this method OF CLASSIFY
ing rhe stars appealed Is we'll illustrated
in this part of the sky. CAMS Minor Is
small. but contains the brilliant Procyon
and a less conspicuous star. spaced about
the same as Castro and PolluX a few
degrees farther north. Hydra covers a
long narrow region, as is fitting for th'
snake-like figure which was drawn
lamong it's faint stars. Monoceros is q
large space near Orion and Sextans a