The San Francisco call., 1909-11-04

SIDEREAB TINIE-Suhscriber, Oakland. "a;
What is the method of comeuting sLdereai tlnne
The. point in the. sky which is used
for the starting point of stdereal time
is the vernal equinox that Is the poili, e,sl,
where the sun crosses the celestal
equator about March 20 each year.
The sfdereaI day is measured from
the time this point crosses the
meridian of any place to the time
when it crosses it again. the sidereai
clock: is one that is set so that II
marks noon every day. not at the mo-
ment when the sun crosses the merid-
ian. but when the vernal equinox does
so. Sidereal time at any moment,
therefore. is the hour angle of the ver-
naI equinox at that moment, that rs, the
time shown by a clock which Is set TO
mark noon at the moment OF the
meridian passage of star
The face of the clock is divided into
24 hours. and the time is reckoned
completely around instead of in two
half davs of IL hours each. Sidereal
time will not do for every day pur-
poses. because its noon, or meridian
passage. occurs at all hours of the day
in different seasons of the year. On
September %, for instance, this comes
at midnight.
The approximate relation between
the sidereal and mean solar time is
very simple. On March 90 the two times
agree. and after that the sidereal time
gains two hours month. On April
the sidereal clock is one hour in adj
vance; on April 22, two hours, and
so on.
Sidereal time can also be determined
by observing the position of the con
stelfation known as CaSsiopeias chair.
line drawn from the polar star
through the star Caph, which is the
leader of the bright stars of this con-
t. 81
most exactly parallel to the equinoc-
tial colure When. therefore, this star
is vertically above the polar star it is
sidereal noon; it is s o'clock when the
star is due west of the pole; 12 o'clock
when vertically below it; is o'clock
when due east. A little practice will
make it possible to read sidereal time
from this clock in the sky, with an
average error of not more than 10
minutes.
The constellation of Cassiopeia is
easily found. 1t lies on the opposite
side of the polar star from the we'll
known constellation of the dipper, at
about the same distance as the point
ers. and may be recognized by the zig
gag configuration. of the five or six
bright stars that mark it, This is
what is known as the chair
CALLING CARDs-subscriber San Jose: Cal
What is the proper form for a calling card for a
married woman2
The married woman's calling card
is little larger than that used by the
unmarried woman. The matron's card
bears her married name, as Mrs Da-
vid James Smith" The address is in
the lower right hand corner and the ~at
home in the lower left hand corner
The time at which she is ''at home
is also mentioned. if it is desired to
specify the day.
DESERTION-Subseri City. Can soldier
who deserts from the United States army in
time of peace and after such deSertion resides
In this country for two years, be punished IL
caughts Could he re-eniists
Article 1O3 of the articles of war
says: No person shall be tried or
punished by court martial for desertion
in time of peace and not in the face of
the enemy, committed more than two
years. before the arrai ignment of such
person for such offense. unless he shall
meanwhile have absented himself from
the United States, in which case the
time of his absence Shall be excluded
in computing the period of the nmita-
ton; provided that said limitation shall