Show HALEYS S COMET AS ASEN T SEEN SN EN JUST AFTER APTER SUNSET I BETWEEN and t By Professor Eric Eri Doolittl of the University it of Pennsylvania On tho the of ar this month at 7 in the morning the thc center of or orthe the sun crosses the celestial equator and spring will begin In Iii his slow alow eastward motion among the stars stare ho hoIs hoIs hois Is drawing perceptibly perc pUbly nearer the th winter branch of the Milky Way with its train of or very cry bright constellations lations so 60 that wo we find Ond these much lower Jower In tho the west than last month But Dut It will bo be at least a n month longer before tho the whole whale western sky ceases to lo be HUed with the tho brilliant winter stars Meanwhile the Virgin the tho first of or the tho long faint summer nummer groups Is Just beginning to emerge from the tho ground In tho east enst whilo wl llo north of this we again welcome the Great Bootes Booles with the red star Arcturus and tho tIme beautiful and delicate little Northern Crown now now very err near the ground but which will shine out high overhead during the evenings of late summer Orion Orlan is still brilliant in inthe Inthe inthe the southwest tho the magnificent Dog Stars shine out omit in the south and cast east of these the greater Water Snake bearing the cup and tho crown on his back has dragged med half bait his length into tho the evening sky The Tho Ma March ch Stars Probably tho the most striking change chan e since last lost month is the disappear disappearance r rance ance of the beautiful planet Venus which after shining out out in the south southwest southwest west for or many months has now run ruin very vory cr rapidly rapid westward and entered I Fig Fib 2 Tho The orbit of the tho double star at C Fig 1 I the morning sky Already it is far out from the sun stun and may OlD be seen In iii the tho southeast just before sunrise It reaches Its greatest brilliancy y on March IS 18 and Is IB now as conspicuous in the early carly morning as ns It was dur during I ing tag January in the tho th evening It will not again be he seen in the evening un until til II next November As Venus leaves the evening sky sIcy the beautiful planet Jupiter enters it and shines out with Its steady golden radiance Just above tho the east cast point of the horizon At present this planet planel is moving slowly slow westward as shown In Fig 1 on March 31 it will be Je ex ox exactly south of ot tho star C and both may be seen together In the telescope By occasionally looking at the two objects for a few days daya before and after atter this date tho the motion of or the great slowly moving world will bo be bovery bevery very clearly seen seon The star at C is itself one of the ho most remarkable oi at all stellar In a telescope opo of only ono Inch aperture It may maybe bo ho soon scon to be made up of two yellow stars of ot about equal brightness very er close together The Tho ono one great sun moves around the theother theother theother other In a vory very much flattened orbit 1 4 J 0 2 J e w j 1 I tt At j If 0 I J I I LO y I 7 e 4 V o 1 I 9 p m in If It facing south hold the map upright If facing acing east hold east cast below if facing west Ost hold west below If IC facing north hold tho the map in inverted inverted inverted I as shown in Fig 2 the time lime occupied in one revolution being years j i When closest together the stars by byj byI b bI j I their mutual attraction must greatly I distort each cach ath r form arm raising enormous bodily tides in one an another another another other and at this time lime we should ob observe O servo serve groat fluctuations In their light II The nearest approach will not how however however however ever occur again aSahl until the year ear 2030 at nt which time lime their thIr light will doubt i loss be studied with great interest account of the rapid eastward motion Mars lars will not leave the evening sky until September 27 Mercury Is a n morning star this month and too near the sun slIn to be bo bewell bowell bewell well observed The New Comet Many Ian readers doubtless say sai the brilliant little comet which unexpectedly cl edly edl appeared near the sun toward tho the end of oC last Jast January When bright brightest est It could best beat bo be seen low in the D i I A Fig 4 1 Paths of the Sun and of H alleys Comet among amons the stars Show also the path patho of or the new comet during February It has recently been found round that each eachor of or those these suns Buns is itself a double sun so that there thero are four bodies in this wonderful The Planets The planet planel Saturn may bo be seen low lowdown lowdown I down in the west wesl for nearly three hours after aCter sunset and though not I in the tho most favorable position for ob observation it Is still a beautiful object I In a small telescope Mars has drawn far to the cast east of oC Saturn and during this month Is moving through tho the Constellation Taurus As shown In Fig 1 I Its eastward motion m in Is now nowr I very r rapid but the tho planet Is growing perceptibly fainter and Is isnow now naw so far fat from fram rain the earth that II 11 cannot be satis satisfactorily studied In the tho telescope cope On O 1 southwest Just after sunset its bright head pointed toward tow rd the sun mm while in the opposite direction there ex ox extended extended tended a narrow straight tall which afterwards became double From Froni the first filSt rough measures it was thought that tho the visitor would move moc through Pegasus and Andromeda and become a conspicuous object but more ac tic accurate accurate curate observations showed that this would not occur It was wa found that It had passed nearest the sun on January 27 21 2 and was rapidly drawing away from both tho the sun Bun and earth so 80 that it soon became too faint to lo be seen except through largo large telescopes telo Its path among the stars during Is shown chown at the right of or Fig 4 Tho The comet is merely mere morel a visitor which fell toward our sun from tho the depths of or space and nud It hns has of o course no connection with Comet though It happened to appear not very vory far from rom that body bod In the tho sky sk A AIt It is now rushing away awa from tram our t sun and will not bo be seen by us again f Halley Comet t This Thia most interesting and wonder wonderful A ful object Is being kept under con constant slant stant observation at the great grent atones Toward the thc beginning of at atthe the month Its Us distance from rota the earth Is increasing but as is It Is then ap approaching approaching preaching the thc sun with tho the enormous velocity of one million miles an t thour hour the disturbances s electrical and otherwise which aro are set up In It by that body bod will cause It to grow STOW mych brighter Its brightness will in fact act 4 4 rA I b t F m I t I Fig 3 Positions Pa of af Hallos Comet r during March at sunset I increase nearly four our limes times during durin the month and were it not for Its close closeness closeness closeness ness to the nun sun It would undoubtedly become visible Isible to tho the naked eye e e On March larch 25 the tIme comet will pass east cast of or orthe the tho sun not nat becoming again visible In the evening until It reenters the evening sky siC on 19 For a tow fow fo days after this date however It Is expected to be most brilliant with Its bright head pointing toward the ground in the west wes and its tall ox ex extending tending upward for many man degrees among the stars Probably It will then thon be the most conspicuous object In the tho heavens and attract the tho atten attention attention tion LIon of or every one Fig 4 I 1 shows the motions of both the comet and the tho sun among the tIme J stars during March but hut as tho stars stas cannot be seen when so near the sun it will bo be of little use to the observer Fig 3 shows the directions and dis distances tancos of or the tho comet from tho the sun just an the Ule sun Bun Is setting The latet measures indicate that the diameter of the th comet Is 15 now I miles but It will expand greatly great 1 as It approaches the sun It is nov noN no farther from the pun aim than the earth is but the disturbances set up In It f oven even at tills thIs distance have already driven off part of ot its material Into a slender Blender straight tall tail On May ila 2 It l will wm pass within 1 miles of the planet Venus and on Nay May 19 t c equally near time the earth oarth On the for former former mer date the comet will be 10 degrees north oC of Venus Vonus and the two bright objects will form a most striking pic plc picture picture I ture tuna In the morning sky sk ERIC DOOLITTLE |