O'er them the starry wheels of grandeur roll,
And Beauty's self they pass unheeded by:
O never be their blindness thine, my soul!
From earth's mean visions lift thy weary eye;
Prize ever, led by no deceitful glare,

The good, the true, the glorious, and the fair!

W. S.

ASTRONOMICAL PHENOMENA,
FOR JANUARY, 1853.

By MR. A. GRAHAM, Markree Observatory, Collooney. THE starry heavens now present a spectacle of peculiar beauty and variety. At ten o'clock on the evening of the 1st, nine on the 16th, and eight on the 31st, the brightest star in Auriga, called Capella, or Aleoth, is a very little way south-east of the zenith: downward to the south, at an altitude of fifty-five degrees, and somewhat west of the meridian, is the fine red star Aldebaran, the right eye of Taurus, and the largest of a group called the Hyades: somewhat upward to the right are the well-known Pleiades, fabled in Grecian story as the seven daughters of Atlas and Pleione, whom Jove translated to heaven. Only six stars of this group are now visible to the naked eye. The poetic allusion in Job ix. 9, to "the sweet influences of the Pleiades," must have had reference to the genial season in which this cluster began to appear, after having been plunged in the solar rays. It is worthy of notice that the Syrian name is Succoth, or Succoth Benoth. Were the men of Succoth star-gazers? Farther to the west, and in the constellation Aries, is Saturn, who has now, for several months, favoured us with his presence. Eastward of the meridian, and almost bisected by the equator, is the magnificent constellation Orion. The three stars of nearly equal magnitudes, at equal distances, and in a straight line, popularly called Jacob's Staff, form the sword-belt. They are marked on maps and globes with the Greek letters d, ε, L, beginning from the most westerly. Suspended from the lowest of these is the Sword, composed of a few fainter stars; one of these, which, without the aid of a telescope, appears dull and hazy, is the celebrated Nebula. An ordinary telescope shows it as a faint whitish cloud; but, seen with first-class optical power, it is surpassingly beautiful. To the left, above, is the brilliant Betelgueze, very similar in appearance to Aldebaran. Westward of the former, in a horizontal line, is the fainter star Bellatrix: under this is a very bright whitish star, Rigel, in the right foot of Orion. The contrast of the pale colour of this star with the sapphire blue of a small companion, makes it a very pretty object in a good telescope. Downward to the left is the third-magnitude star Saiph; and still farther eastward, in the same line, is Sirius, or the Dog-star, the brightest fixed star in the heavens. Onward to the east, and

somewhat higher, is Procyon, in Canis Minor. Above this are two stars of nearly equal magnitudes, about 5° apart, not so bright as Procyon: the upper one of these is the close double-star Castor, the other Pollux. Regulus, or Cor Leonis, (the Lion's Heart,) is low in the east.

Turning to the north, the Great Bear may be seen climbing on the eastern side of the pole; or, in more familiar language, the Plough is beam downward; the two uppermost stars, known by the name of " the Pointers," being nearly on a horizontal line with the pole-star. The one to the left is a, the other ẞ, Ursa Majoris ; the rest in succession, beginning from the uppermost, are marked y, d, ε, %, and 7, all in the same constellation. Nearly in a horizontal line with e, and about as far from it as is 7, may be perceived a Draconis, a third-magnitude star, which is remarkable from the fact that it was the pole-star in the days of Noah; and the antiquarian, who would give a moderate fortune for a fragment of the ark, may, therefore, examine, at any season of the year, and at any hour of the night, an object of far greater interest and beauty, the cynosure of our venerable ancestor. Very near the horizon, somewhat west of north, is the brilliant star a Lyræ, or Vega, which will be the pole-star of our northern hemisphere ten thousand years hence: higher and still farther west is the brightest star in Cygnus, which has received the proper name of Deneb.

MERCURY rises on the 1st at twenty-three minutes past six, namely, 1h. 43m. before the Sun; and may, therefore, about that time, be seen by the naked eye. On the morning of the 8th he rises about half an hour before the Moon, and near the same azimuthal direction. On the 10th at half-past eight, P.M., he attains his greatest apparent elongation from the Sun, 24° west. From that time to the end of the month, he appears gibbous. On the 11th, as on the 1st, he rises at twenty-three minutes past six; on the 21st at a quarter to seven; and on the 31st at three minutes past seven, A.M. On this day, at fifty minutes before noon, he attains his greatest actual distance from the Sun, forty-four and one-third millions of miles, taking the mean distance of the Sun and Earth at ninety-five millions.

VENUS and JUPITER cross the meridian of Greenwich on the 4th, at the same moment, forty-nine minutes past nine, A. M.; Venus being only 46′ the more northerly. On the morning of that day, they rise respectively at 5h. 39m., and at 5h. 45m., their mutual distance 51' of space. Such an apparently near approach of these two brilliant members of our system, is a phenomenon not to be disregarded; and the young natural philosopher will do well to sacrifice an hour's sleep on that morning, to the gratification of witnessing it. Venus is receding from us, and approaching her superior conjunction with the Sun: being more distant than our luminary, she appears gibbous. At sixteen minutes past eight, on the morning of the 7th, she will be very close to the Moon, only 6' north. She rises on the 1st, 11th, 21st, and 31st, at 5h. 31m.,

5h. 56m., 6h. 15m., and 6h. 27m., A.M., respectively; on the last occasion, 1h. 13m. before the Sun.

MARS will be in conjunction with the Sun on the 26th, at 6h. 33m., P.M. After that time he will recede westward.

JUPITER rises on the 1st, 11th, 21st, and 31st, at 5h. 54m., 5h. 25m., 4h. 55m., and 4h. 25m., A.M., respectively. Allusion has been made to his proximity to Venus on the 4th. After that time, these two bodies will appear to separate rapidly; for Venus is approaching the Sun, and Jupiter receding from him.

SATURN will be due south on the 1st at 7h. 52m., on the 11th at 7h. 13m., on the 21st at 6h. 34m., and on the 31st at 5h. 55m., P.M., at an altitude of fifty-one degrees: he may therefore still be very conveniently examined with the telescope. The extreme length of the ellipse formed by his rings is 44; the breadth, 15". URANUS is about seven degrees westward of Saturn.

NEPTUNE, of course, very little removed from the position which he occupied at the beginning of last month.

RISING AND SETTING OF THE SUN'S UPPER LIMB, ALLOWING

FOR REFRACTION AND PARALLAX.

Day. Rises. Sets. Rises. Sets. Rises. Sets. Rises. Sets. Rises. Sets.

h. m. h. m.h. m.

h. m. h. m.

h. m.h. m.

h, m. h. m.

h. m.

H. T. & J. Roche, Printers, 25, Hoxton-square, London.