The Washington herald., 1911-07-09

see an occasional faint, blush meteorite,
dart out from a point in the Northern
Cross near the star F, figure I, move
quickly a very short distance over the
sky. and then disappear. This IS a faint,
but very interesting shower. A veryt
much brighter one occurs toward the
close of the month, but this cannot bel
well observed before midnight. The stars
of this shower move outward in all di-i
rections from the star Delta, near the.
east end Of Aquarius. and pass SLOWLY
across the sky. sometimes leaving a traiII
behind them. These stars are bright and,
of yellowish color.
The shooting stars of any shower are!
nothing but little meteoric particles which
are streaming along in a great elliptici
path around the sun. When our earth in /
its motion of more than eighteen miles a.
second cOllldes with such stream EACH
particle is burned up by its friction with
our air, and so appears to US as a bright, :
swiftly moving, starlike object. The rea-:
son why the stars of the shower of July
~ seem to move a shorter distance across;
the sky than those of the second one is
because we meet the first stream of NOV
ing particles almost head On; the par
tleles OF the second stream partly over.
take the earth. Several hundred sucn
streams of particles which extend around
the sun and with which our earth COL
lided, are now known: doubtless there
are many thousands through which our
earth never passes. and which, there
fore, never become visible to US.
The very brilliant Venus reaches its
greatest distance east of the sun July ::
on this date it sets nearly three hours
after sunset. and is a most conspicuous
and beautiful object, high I'D in the
nOrthwetern sky. Beginning on this day.
it not only draws nearer the sun. but ri
also moves lower down in the sky, so
that each evening it will set little ear;
lier, and a little farther toward the south.
than the evening before.
BY July 81 it sets almost exactly due,
west. Yet throughout the month # con-
tinually grows brighter, and will not at
tain its maximum brilliance until An.
gust 10.
July Venus passes just above the
bright star Regulus, at H, figure /, and
the two bright objects so near together
will form an Interesting figure in a small
telescope. At this time Venus will be
seen to be almost half full but as the
days go on its shape continually draws,
nearer to that of a very narrow crescent.
The bright Jupiter shines out with its,
steady radiance in the south, a little west
or the meridian. From the Ist of the
month to the Sd It is moving westward,
but 1t then turns and begins to move veryt
slowly eastward again. Its deep, golden
color contrasts beautifully with the deep
red AntaRes to the east OF it and with the,
blush Spica to the west. With its beau-i
tiful markings and its bright moons, this
great, swiftly moving world forms al
ways one of the most interesting OF all
objects for study with a small telescope.j
Eclipses or occultations of the moons may
best be seen the evenings OF July ., Z, g.,
IS and 81
Mars and Saturn now shine out bright,
" in the early morning sky; their posi-
tiops are shown on figure 8. Mars is ap-.
preaching us, but it is still faint, because
it is more than 1OOOO0COO miles away.
Uranus is low in the evening sky. in
the constellation of the Archer, in the,
position indicated in figure 1. Mercury
and Neptune are both in conjunction with
the sun during this month and so cannotl
be observed.