Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1909-06-03
THE SKIES IN JUNE.
Hasnihcent spectacles Presented BY
the Heavens Each Night.

I
does so spectacle which. at an earlier
period in the history Of the race, would
have thrown the entire population into
spasms Of fright and would have been
particularly disturbing to the princes
and potentates. who imagined that celes-
tial phenomena were but subordinate
manifestations of the workings of the
universe of which they we're the only
things Of any Importance. The moon will
be at the full. but instead Of being the
usual sivefy white 1t will be OF n deep
copper color. with more than half It's sur
lace so dark as to be scarcely visible.
BY o'clock the dark shadow will have
completely overspread the face OF the
moon, and for an hour after we shall
have the phenomenon of n total eclipse.
The moon will not be invisible, however,
but will hang a murky red IN the sky
like the flame of n lamp when seen
through the glass of a smoky chimney.
Two questions at once suggest them
se1ves-why we do not see the moon as
usual and why we see 1t at all. The first
Is known to everybody. The moon In Its
circuit around the earth passes through
the shadow Of the larger body. On the
surface of the moon there Ia total
eclipse of the sun. Where the sun lately
ehone there Is but the black, invisible
disc of the earth surrounded by a ring II
fiery red light. This is caused by the at
mcsphere Of the earth which causes the
ben. rays of the sun to appear with a
eunset glow OIL every side Of the earth's
disc. Some OF these red rays are In turn
reflected tack to the earth and thus Is
given the weird appearance which hlled
our ancestors with awe. The period OF
totally VIII end a little after O'Clock
and something moro than nm hour further
will! see the face OF the moon free from
shadow. There will be an eclipse OF the
sun June l.. which will begin shortly be-
fore sunset, the sun going down eclipsed.
To see it one must be so situated as 70
see the actual horizon and I OF ranges OF
buildings or hills.
The northward journey Of the sun finds
Its elimination on June n. when the sun
stands directly above the T'ropic OF Can
GER and the season of III nag again be-
gins. II is noon of the six months day
at the North Pole midnight on the howl
ing wastes of the Antarctic continent. On
that day If there be an observer Mt the
North Pole. he will see the sun standing
- degrees above the horizon, which Is
nearly as high as 1t is here In m,dwinter.
IN that place and on that day there will
be no s.r,ise nor sunset. Tour after
hour the sun will maintain its unvarying
.oght. 90 rli as the unaded eye can
determine. If the observer were one de-
gree south of the pole the result would
he somewhat different. At noon the sun
would appear o4Is degrees above the hori-
zon. while at midnight It would stand
POI. high. At noon his shadow would
point toward the pole. at midnight away
from II. In other words, the sun would
lie seen at midnight by looking at 1t
across the pole of the earth.
AS we move southwark the sun stands
higher at noon and lower at midnight
until We are 23ls degrees south-in other
words. at the Arctic circle--when the sun
will stand A degrees at noon. while the
midnight sun lies level with the northern
horizon. little further south the sun
Is completely below the horizon. setting
a little before midnight iust west Of
north. and rising shortly after a little to
the east. Still darkness does not come.
for the SUMS rays are still reflected from
the dust particles In the upper atmos-
phere, which give the sky it's brilliant
effect in the daytime. The sun must be
more than IS degrees below the horizon
the fam ous twilights of summer In high
ATTITUDES. AS in our own latitude the
sun at midnight Is about &c degrees below
the horizon. We have few hours OF total
darkness. except as It IS alleviated by
moon, stars street lamps, and lightning
bugs. But after going down the sun for
n long time skirts along under the north
western horizon, and twilight persists
until nearly II o'clock, beginning again
soon after in the morning.
1t is commonly said that there IL an
alienation of six months day and six
months night at either pole, but this, like
most general statements. Is lacking in
accuracy. The centre of the sun Ia north
of the equator from March 81 to Sept.
%, a period Of more than 1856 days. and
longer by more than week than the
cores ponding period In the southern
hemisphere. In addition. the sun is seen
above the horizon In whole or In part for
about two days before and after the time
when II officially crosses the line. This
is partly the effect OF atmospheric refrac-
ton, which shows the whole disc OF the
sun at time when It's upper limb Is ac-
tually at the horizon. whether rising or
setting: and partly because calculations
are made for the centre OF the suns disc
without allowing for the time of passage
for the half which Is above the horizon.
The same causes operate to lengthen the
time Of sunshine in our latitude by about
six minutes every day Of the year.
The winter const citations have definite.
~ departed, and not until next autumn
shall we see the vanguard Of the brilliant
group lately vanishing In the southwest
But if We have not so many first magni-
tude stars we have vastly greater host
of lesser ones. and the amount OF star
light received during summer Is decidedly
greater than at any other season OF the
year. The Big Dipper is west OF the pole
and may be recognized readily by its
form--a dipper with bowl of four and
r. curving handle of three bright stars
The two stars in the forward portion of
the bowl point toward the North Star.
which may be further recognized as a
bright star directly north of the observer
and about half way between the zenith
and horizon. The same stars point In the
other direction toward the constella ton
Leo, which may he recognized by the
group Mt the western extremity called
the Sickle with the bright star Reguus
at the end Of the handle. Al the eastern
extremity is the bright star Denebola OF
the second magnitude, with two-third-
magnitude stars nearby. The constella-
ton at the present time holds the great
planet Jupiter. brighter than any OF the
fixed stars and readily recognized by his
superior brightness,
The handle Of the Big Dipper. prolong'
ed to three times its own length and fol
lowing the same general curve. points
out the bright star Arcturus In the con-