The Washington times., 1925-04-14
EXPECT
HERE IN
MAY
Planet Will Rise at Sunset and
Will Be in Meridian, Due
South, at Midnight

Circled with three rings Saturn
viii welcome the star gazers for
the summer season on May 2; SO
polish up your telescope. Saturn
will be found in the east, between
Virgo and Libra.
Saturn comes into opposition
with the sun on that date, ac-
cording to a bulletin from the
American Nature Association, and
does some things just opposite to
what the earth does. Saturn will
be nearer the earth on May 2, and
brighter than at any other time
during the year. The planet will
rise at sunset, be on the meridian
due south at midnight and set
ut sunrise. By opposition is
meant, the earth will be between
Saturn and the sun.
Remains All Summer.
Saturn is one of the more distant
planets, but on May it will be just
a little matter of S21.S40.0OO miles
away
Uranus and Neptune is nearly
1000, 100000 miles from the sun.
Uranus can be picked up as a
faint xth-magnitude star, if you
know just where to look: but you
can never find Neptune without a
telescope.
Saturn will continue to be in fine
position for observation in the eve-
ming all summer. It does not take
q large telescope to show the rings.
They win be inclined to the earth
at a high angle, so they can be
seen to excellent advantage.
Consultations on the May pro-
gram which the American Nature
Association suggests you look :or
are the ruddy planet Mars, the
Big Dipper, and the huge water
snake, Hydra, that fills most of the
southern sky below the Celestial
Equator, with his two riders, Cor
vus and Crater. Do not forget to
look for Bootes and Arcturus, in
the east: the brilliant Vega. in the
northeast; and CapelIa in the north
west.
Leo In, The West.
Leo. will be in the western sky:
Denebola, which is in the tip of
the Lions tail, will be almost ex-
actly due south and ReguIus and
the Sickle in Leo, to the south
west of the zenith. or point over
head. Virgo, another of the spring
groups, lies just to the east of Leo.
You can tell this constellation by
the rather crooked "Y'' that IS out
lined by some of its brightest stars.
which Spica, beautiful white star,
at the bottom of the 'Y."
An idea of space in the sky is
given in the distance Saturn Is
from the earth. The size Of some
of the things to be seen in the sky
is almost beyond human compre-
hension.
New measurements of Mira have
put her on the front page.
Astronomical calipers have been
taken to this star, and it is found
to have a, diamater of 250. .000, 900
miles, outclassing the mighty
Betelguese and standing second in
girth only to the giant Antares,
with its diameter of 400, ,000, 900
miles.
Earth Like a Pea.
The earth, with it's 8.000-mile
diameter. would rattle around in
side of Mira like a pea in a giant
hogshead. Betelguese, the red, vari-
abel star of Orion, is variously esti-
mated to boast a diameter ranging.
from 1000 900 to 265, 900 900 miles.
Antares. the fiery red star of the
Scorpion, still is undisputed leader.
New interest in Mira was
aroused when Professor Robert G.
Aitken, of the Lick Observatory,
was asked to observe this star by
Doctor Alfred A. Joy, of the Mount
Wilson Observatory, who suspected
from observations of this star that
he was making with the spectre
scope that it possessed a companion
star.
Professor Aitken found il was at.
tended by a faint, BLUSH companion
star, which was totally invisible a
few years ago, when Mira was
observed at the Lick Observatory
and elsewhere.
AS the two stars are in revom-
ton about each other it is impos-
sible to sc them as separate stars
when one is in line. or nearly in line,
with the other at each revolu-
ton.
At present, the American Nature
Association says, they are sepa-
rated by about 1000 600, 900 miles.
Mira is estimated TO be a dis
tance of 165 light years from the
earth; that is. the light of Mira
takes 165 years to travel 10 the
earth at the rate at which II
travels-1S6.0 900 miles in a second.
w; see Mira today as 1t was 165
years ago. when the light we now
see left this star.
OFFICIALS TOUR CITY To