The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1916-11-05

straight line between the brighter stars
A and B. AS the weeks go by it will
at once be noticed that it's brightness is
increasing very rapidly indeed, until by
the end of the month it may become a
conspicuous naked-eye star. The date of
its greatest brightness will be about
December 5; it will remain thus bright for
a week or 10 days and then rapidly
fade away
star has been known to almost equal
Aldebaran; at others it has been but lit
tie brighter than the Pole star, while a
very few of it's outbursts have been so
feeble that it has been scarcely
visible to the naked eye at ALL We
cannot, therefore, predict to exactly
what brightness the star will rise during
the present month, but it is quite certain
that it will furnish most interesting OBJ
iect for study. AS to the causes which
lead to such enormous increases in it's
light and heat. we are, as vet, wholly
ignorant.
ECLIPSES OF SATELLITES
Several lettersf have been received from
those who have been observing Jupiters
satellites asking for a more complete
explanation of them at first sight, peculiar
behavior of these little bodies One OBJ
server has noticed that while the first
and second moons are never seen to go
into eclipse, yet they are seen to emerge
from it, and that the third moon, after
it has passed behind the planet and again
reappeared into view, later both enters
and energies from the planets shadow.
The fourth moon is not eclipsed ct
all during the present month.
A glance at Figure will, it is hoped,
make the reasons for these appearances
entirely clear. Jupiter passed opposition
on Ootnbpr q ga rtb
and Jupiter We're in the positions, S, e,
and J-or in one straight line-on this
date Since this time the earth has
moved forward to the position E2, so that
the great shadow of Jupiter. which
stretches out into space directly away
from the sun, no longer points directly
away from the earth.
1T is therefore evident that a moon
whose path, A, b. is small, as the paths
of the two inner moons are will be seen
to pass behind the planet when it has
reached the point o. as path; while still
hidden by the ball of Jupiter it will en-
ter the shadow. and will not be seen
from the earth again until it finally
energies from the shadow at B. The
| third moon, however moves in a path
so large that after disappearing behind
| the planet at G. it reappears at ID,
and sometime later is seen to pass
through the shadow at e and f.
! For example, on the evening Of Novem-
| Der &c. this moon will be occulted at C
! at hours IS minutes p M; it will emerge
from behind the planet at d at 6 hours
| 26 minutes; it will enter eclipse at r at
+ hours II minutes, and it will finally
| emerge from the shadow at f and 0
| hours minutes p. m. eastern standard
! time) Similar interesting phenomena
will occur on the nights of November
| 3, 5, 10, r. 10. % and %
|
| THE PLANETS IN NOVEMBER
| Mercury will not be visible during the
present month. for although it enters the
evening sky on November "a, it does not
attain its greatest distance from east of
the sun until next January 5.
| Venus is still very brilliant in the
morning sky. 1t rises three hours be-
| fore sunrise on November l, and this
time is decreased to 21s hours by Novem-
! Der 80. The planet is by far the. most
brilliant object now in the heavens, shin
| ing with 100 times the brightness of a
! first-magnitude star.
-. 4 =