The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-05-06
Figure 3-Telescopic Appearance of the Planet Jupiter

 l itr brightness must have increased 15.- | poo fold in the course of a few days. | It is possible that a sudden blazing out of a star In the heavens is caused l by the meeting of an old dark star | with a meteorc cloud. The collision and friction of the meteors of the cloud | may heat the cold star to incandescence | or may merely weaken it's crust and 1 enable the imprisoned gases to rush out Some astronomers think 1t more pr obable that the outburst is caused by l the near approach of two dark suns, the enormous gravitational pull which re- suits tearing apart the crust of one of the stars and thus enabling the hot, inner material to escape as before. Still others believe that the wonderful bril- lance Is due to explosive outburst in the body of a slowly shrinking star, and that no outside influence need he imagined to account for It. What the cause of so enormous an explosion can he we do not know. and, indeed. the whole matter is one of the many prob | lems in astronomy still awaiting solu- | tion.
 The Planets in May Mercury is a morning star, reaching l its greatest distance west of the sun on the afternoon of May 13. For a few
 days before and after this date it may be found shining brightly in the dawn. almost due east. rising about one hour 30 minutes before sunrise.
 Venus is also a morning star, but ts
 too near the sun to be we'll observed. On May 1 it rises one hour and 15 min- utes before sunrise. which time is les sened to but 40 minutes by the end of the month. It will not finally pass tlre sun and become m evening star until July 5.
 Mars moves very rapidly eastward during the month from Gemini to Can cer It passes two degrees above the bright star K, Figure 1, on May 5, and l just below the Praesepe and between | the stars l. and M on June 8. In one | day it moves over the sky an amount equal to the apparent distance across | the moon. It is now very far away ltrom us and appears in the telescope
 as only slightly more than one-half full. l Jupiter is now just entering the eve-
 ming sky It rises a few minutes after | g o'clock on May 1, and at o'clock on
 May 31. It is in the southeast. in ex- | cellent position for observation. | Saturn passes the sun and enters the morning sky at noon on May IA. On May 27, at D. m., it passes Venus. but both bodies are then too near the
 sun to be well observed. - Uranus is low in the morning sky in
 the constellation Capricornus.
 Neptune Is in Gemfni and is still in good position for observation with the telescope On May 12, at 10 D. m.. the plant Mars in it's eastward motion
 passes exactly two degrees nine min
 utes north of Neptune; by bringing the bright planet exactly in the center of the field of the telescope at this time. and then inclining the telescope south ward an amount equal to twice the dia- meter of the moon, Neptune will be seen in the center of the field. It has inc appearance of a faint. ninth magni- tude star, but may be recognized by it's more steady glow and by its green lsl color. On May 3O at D. m. (Eastern Stand ard Time), the moon will pass the briphtest star of the Scorpion. Observ- CTS in some of the western parts cf our country will see this bright. red star hidden from view by our satellite. while in other regions the two objects vii merely be seen very near together, the lower edge of the moon appearing to almost graze the star
 ERIC DOOLITTLE.