The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-07-26

away, that the shadow cast is an un- usually large one. In other words, the disc of the moon will appear con siderably larger than the disc of the sun; consequently the latter body will be seen to be completely hidden for about two minutes from nearly all parts of the shadow path. and from certain points It's light will be com pletely plotted out for two minutes and a quarter.
 From the northeastern part of the United States a very little of this eclipse can be seen, but from the greater part of our country 1t will unfortunately be wholly invisible.
 The Motions of the Planets
 The motions of the very bright
 planets which are visible during the present month are also of unusual
 interest. Low in the southwest, Jupi- ter now shines with its steady golden radiance, this greatest of all the plan
 cts having entered the evening sky to remain with us throughout the re- mainder of the year As the months go by the observer will notice how the sun. in the course of its eastward Journey along the path BVM, figure l, will draw over nearer Jupiter, so that each even ing the planet will be seen a little higher in the sky at sunset. By Decem-
 Der 31 the two bodies will be found so near together that the planet will be seen in the western heavens; it will the nfollow the sun b yonly two hours, instead of by nearly Is hours, as at the present time.
 But the most interesting part of the sky for planetary observations is now
 undoubtedly found in the west. Here the observer will see the very brilliant Venus and the far fainter Mars, both in the extreme western borders of the long constellation of the Virgin and both well up from the ground short time after sunset.
 On August l Venus is consider able distance to the west and north of Mars: both planets are moving rap l idly eastward. but as the motion of Venus is nearly twice as rapid as that of Mars, it will soon pass the more | distant planet. On the evening or Au- gust the two planets will be nearer | together and will then make remark ably close approach. The observer should not fail to examine them at this l time He will see the brilliant Venus due north of the red planet and 'sepa- rated from 1t by distance equal to but one-third of the apparent diame- l ter of the moon.
 Even to the naked eye the two ob- jects will thus form striking sky | figure. but in small telescope the view will be much more interesting g.
 Both planets will be seen in the field
 at once and both of them will appear but little more than half full. the half disc of the silvery Venus having | a diameter about four times as great
 as that of the reddish Mars. l Throughout the remainder of the month both worlds will remain in Virgo; by August 31 Mars will have traversed about one-third, and Venus l two-thirds, of this constellation. Or August 30 Venus will pass due nortf
 of the bright. bluish star Spica Gal
 A, figure D, being separated from the star by distance about equal te the apparent diameter of the moon The planet then shines with 75 times
 the brightness of the first magnitude star.
 Mercury is at it's greatest westerr | elongation on August 5, and may ther
 be seen low in the northeast fol
 about an hour before sunrise. This lplanet again enters the evening sky
 on August 30. but does not reach fts greatest distance east of the sun until
 October 10.
 | Saturn and Neptune are also morn ing stars and are too near the sur ! to be satisfactorily observed during the present month.
 Uranus Is near the center of thu constellation Capricornus. comint Unto opposition with the sun on Au gust 2. but this faint planet canno