The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-12-30

tions for observation during the even ing, while throughout the entire year we will have with us the very interesting planet Mars, whose rapld eastern motion and conspicuous changes in brightness, as it hrst draws near our earth and afterWard recedes again, will afford an object
 of continued interest for study. rms
 world did not come into the most Ia
 vorable position for observation at any time during 1917. but on March
 IS of the present year 1t Will attalh
 it's least distance from us and VIII
 then appear larger and present more detail in the telescope than at any other time.
 THE PLANETS IN 1918
 Mercury on January 1 is still an
 evening star, but it is far too near
 the sun to be observed. Only two
 days later it will, in fact, enter the
 morning sky, not to again pass to
 the east of the sun until March l1.
 On April ' it will attain its greatest
 distance east of the sun and in it's
 interesting and rapid oscillations
 from one side of the sun to the other will similarly reach its greatest east ern elongation on August and on November 29 On the first two dates
 the planet will be above the celestial equator and will easily be found by the observer; the last elongatlon, however. will be a far less favorable one.
 The beautiful Venus, which has hripbtlV in the southwest will attain its greatest
 brilliance on January 5. when 1t will shine with no less than 145 times the brightness of a first magnitude star. It is now drawing continually nearer the sun and consequently Is seen lower in the sky on each successive evening. Yet special effort should De made to observe it for it is at this particular time that it is of greatest interest in the telescope. During Jan uary it will be seen to change from A planet nearly half full to the mar : rowest imaginable silvery crescent. and, moreover, Venus Is now so near
 the earth that very small telescope will show its change of phase very clearly.
 Venus will pass to the east of the sun on February 9, reaching it's great est brilliance in the morning sky on
  l from the suns rays on April 23. On November 2S it will again enter our | evening heavens, but it will not be- l come a conspicuous object in the west until early in the following year. | Mars may be called the reigning | planet of the coming year, for it will shine brightly in the evening heav-
 ems from the very >eglnning of the year until it's close. O. January the
 planet is found near the western bor l der of the constellation Virgo, and is | hence a little beyond the limits of i our evening map At this time 1t Is | moving slowly eastward Gas shown in
 Fig. 9 and this eastward motion will continue until February f. From this latter date until April 26 the planet l will move westward until it reaches
 a point in the constellation Leo. The
 rapid eastward motion will then be resumed, and this will continue until | the end of the year.
 | It is this eastward motion of Mars | which will retain it in our evening /, skies throughout the year. The sun 1 pursuing it's accustomed path GA B Fig. D, will cross the equator at V , on March 21, and in due course will overtake and pass to the east of both
 Jupiter and Saturn. By December 31 it will have but a litte way passed the Winter Solstice ir Sagittarius while Mars will have moved still far ther east into Capricornus. The planet will then be seen glowing redly ir 1 the southwest for about two and g half hours after sunset.
 Jupiter is now in its highest posi-
 tion in our evening heavens. It is seer shining brightly, almost on the meridian, nearly midway between the l Hyades and the Pleiades During tht year it will move eastward almos 1 to the center of the constellation | Gemini, by December 31 reaching tht position indicated in Fig. 1. Jupiter l will remain in our evening heavens (though continually sinking lower il the west) until June IS, when 1t vii he passed by the sun and so become a morning star During the last si' weeks of the year it will again bt found on our evening map.
 Saturn will remain an evening sta1