the year. When first to be seen the latter part of January or first part of February as a morning star, he will be close to the star in the end of the handle of the Milkmaid's Dipper, in Sagittarius, and he will remain in that constellation until almost the end of the year, when he will enter Capricornus: early risers may see him close to Venus Jan. 20-22 and to Mercury on the 22d. Venus will pass 10 minutes north of him and Mercury 36 minutes north. He will reach his western quadrature (90 degrees west of sun) April 11, when he will bass the meridian at 6 a. m., when he will cease to be a morning star and begins his career as an evening star. During a part of June and July he might be called both an evening and morning star when shining all night. At such time we call them "all night stars." His conjunctions with the moon will be as follows: Feb 19. March 19. April 15, May 13. June 9. July 6, Aug, 2 and 30, Sept. 26, Oct. 23, Nov. 20 and Dec. 17. He will be occulted or eclipsed by the moon Nov. 20 and Dec. 17, but the events will take place below our horizon SATURN-The most attractive celestial object in the summer skies will be Saturn, especially so as his wonderful ring system will be along toward its best. which will be in 1926-28. He will be in Libra throughout the year and for a considerable time within the "square." which is a somewhat poorly defined figure. more nearly a parallelogram than a square. and the two lower stars are pretty dim, while the upper ones are of about the brightness of Alevone. the Light of the Pleiades group. He will reach his opposition, rising at sunset, May 1, when he will shine in unrivaled beauty all the night through; nearly so for many nights before and after that date. He will be dimmed by his approach to the sun in October, invisible in November, passing the sun Nov. 9. and invisible for many days before and after that date; dim again until Dec. 1, and a morning star again at the end of the year. His conjunctions with the moon will be as follows: Jan. 19. Feb. 15, March 14, April 10, May 8, June 4. July 1 and 28. Aug. 25. Sept. 21 and Oct. 19, in all of which he will be 2 degrees or 3 degrees south of the moon. comes too URANUS-May be most readily found in September, rising at sunset on the 16th. His close conjunction with the moon near the full to make these events available in locating this dim planet and he will not be near any planet to serve this purpose near this opposition. He will be in Aquarius about 15 degrees south of the middle of the south are no stars easily mistaken for him. side of the Square of Pegasus, where there NEPTUNE-Always invisible, will be most favorably located during the last half of January and the first half of February, rising at sunset Feb. 10. at or near which time he may be found near Regulus. in the end of the handle of the Sickle in Leo-about 5 degrees to the right and a little above that star and almost in line from Regulus to the star that marks the tip or point of the blade of the Sickle. COMETS IN 1925-Six minor comets are due to a return visit to our system this year, as follows: Temple 2 in August; Temple-Swift, Wolf's and Borelly's in October; Brooks' in March, and Faye's in July. All are dim or were when last with us, but may be brighter or dimmer this time, and new ones will prob. ably appear. SIDEREAL NOON OR MERIDIAN PASSAGE OF THE VERNAL EQUINOX. According to the best astronomers the num- | number visible through the telescope has been ber of stars that can be seen by a person of estimated by J. E. Gore at 70,000,000 and by average eyesight is only about 7,000. The Profs. Newcomb and Young at 100,000,000. 23 0 Pisces X.. 4.3 22 56 23 31 Fomalhaut.. Markab. Iota.... Explanation: By the absolute scale of magnitudes stars brighter than Aldebaran and Altai are indicated by fractional or negative quantities: thus Vega 0.2 and Sirius -1.4. As the magnitudes increase the brilliancy decreases, each increase of a unit being equal to a decrease of about two and one-half in brightness. To ascertain when any star or constellation will be or the upper meridian add the number opposite in the column For Meridian Passage" to the figures in the table on the previous page, "Sidereal Noon," taking note whether such 6 39 6 52 7 16 616 6 17 6 28 14 44 23 35 5 9 figures be "Morn." or "Eve." If "Morn." and the sum is more than 12h. the result will be Eve. of same day; if "Eve." and the sum is more than 12h. the result will be Morn. of the next day. Having found the time of meridian passage, for the rising subtract and for the setting add the numbers opposite the star in the column headed "For Rising and Setting" and observe the directions as to Morn, and Eve, given for the meridian passage. Those marked ........ in the last columns are circumpolar. Stars having an asterisk (*) in the last columns are to be seen only in the 12:13 0:13 a. m. of Nov. 1. the time of setting. To measure far south and then when near the meridian, Fomalhaut ris. & set. col. add 4:00 for lat. 40° N. as the vapors of the horizon will prevent seeing them when they rise or set. To tell how high up from the nearest point of the horizon a star will be at its meridian passage, subtract the star's declination from 90 and if the result is less than the latitude of the place of the observer that star will neither rise nor set. but is circumpolar, and the difference between that result and the latitude shows the star's altitude above the north point of the horizon or below the southern horizon. Or (90°-dec.)-lat.-alt. or elevation of the star above the nearest point of the horizon at meridian for stars of southern declination. Examples: passage Sidereal noon, Oct. 30, a 9:25 p.m. Fomalhaut "In Merid." col.. 22:48 Fomalhaut, dec. 30° S. 90° 30° 60°. 40° =20°, altitude of Fomalhaut in latitude 40° at its meridian passage. celestial distances with the eye keep in mind that one-third of the distance from the zenith to the horizon is 30°. For smaller measurements use the belt of Orion, 3° long, or the sides of the square of Pegasus; the "pointers" in the "big dipper," which are nearly 5° apart convenient celestial yardstick because always to be seen. In the case of a star whose dec. is such as to bring it nearer to the zenith than to a horizon at meridian passage, it will be more convenient to use its zenith distance as a means of locating it. The difference between the latitude and dec. is this zenith distance. If the dec. is greater than the latitude then such distance is to be counted north ward, otherwise southward from the -a zenith. LIGHT AND DARK OF THE MOON IN 1925. BH WRIGHT 31 FIRST QR. Explanation-The small perpendicular divisions are of 3 hours each and the light portions show the relative amount and place or time of moonlight in the 12 hours from 6 p. m. to 6 a. m. Of course allowance should be made for the increase of daylight in summer and the decrease in winter. Thus in January the moon will shine only until near midnight on the 1st, until 3 a. m. on the 5th, all night on the 9th, after 9 p. m. on the 12th, after midnight of the 17th. not at all on the 24th, until 9 p. m. on the 27th and until midnight of the 31st. By the chart it is also easy to tell at a glance the approximate time of the rising or setting of the moon. Thus on Jan. 1 she will set near midnight, 5th near 3 a. m., 9th she will rise at sunset, 13th near 9 p. m., 17th at midnight and 21st at 3 a. m. On the 24th she will set with the sun, on the 27th at 9 p. m. and on the 31st at midnight. FATAL LANDSLIDES IN ITALY. More than 100 persons were killed in a series of landslides in the vicinity of Amalfi, Italy, on March 26, 1924, and thousands were made homeless. The farms and vineyards had been constructed along the rocky coast by years of toil and when at the close of a rainy winter a cloudburst struck the region the filled-in land gave way and with the buildings upon it slid into the sea. SIGNS AND CONSTELLATIONS OF THE ZODIAC. Until recently it was taken for granted that the present relationship between signs and constellations of the zodiac was generally understood, as all astronomical textbooks mention their disagreement and explain the cause. The numerous letters of inquiry concerning differences between the data in this almanac and certain others show the necessity for this note of explanation. (Both sign and constellation now given.) Thousands of years ago when the zodiac, that belt of the heavens about 16° in width within which move the moon and planets, was formed and divided into twelve parts or seasons called signs, each containing certain star groups called constellations. each was given the name of an object or animal which never did bear any relationship to the configuration of the stars in that group or division, but which did or is supposed to have reference to certain astronomical or other facts. Thus Libra, the scales or balance, comes at the autumnal equinox when there is an equilibrium or balance between the length of day and night the world over. Aquarius the water bearer, whose sign is the Egyptian sign for running water, comes at the season of greatest rains in Egypt, and so on. FACTS ABOUT THE The sun's surface is 12,000 and its volume 1,300,000 times that of the earth, but the mass is only 332.000 times as great and its density about one-quarter that of the earth. The force of gravity at the surface of the sun is twenty-seven times greater than that at the surface of the earth. The sun rotates on its axis once in 25.3 days at the equator, but the time is longer in the higher latitudes, from which fact it is presumed that the sun is not solid, at least as to its surface. Earth-The equatorial diameter of the earth is 7.926.5 miles and the polar diameter 7.899.5 miles: equatorial circumference, 25.000. The linear velocity of the rotation of the earth on its axis at the equator is 24.840 miles a day. or 1.440 feet a second: its velocity in its orbit around the sun is approximately nineteen miles a second, the length of the orbit being about 560.000.000 miles. The superficial area of the earth, according to Encke, the astronomer, is 197,108.580 square miles, of which two-thirds is water and one-third land. The planetary mass is about 256.000.000 cubic miles. Since the time when these divisions were made and named, owing to the precession of the equinoxes, resulting from the differing polar and equatorial diameters of the earth. the signs have moved back west nearly a whole division or constellation and where r was the first. now is. Hence, though the sun now enters the sign March 20, it is a month later when he enters the constellation T. It must be apparent, therefore, that any supposed influence or relationship which early astrologers attributed to the position of the sun, moon or planets when in certain of these divisions can no longer exist, as the sign now only represents that space or division of the zodiac where the controlling constellation was 2.000 or more years ago, but is not now. Nevertheless, some almanacs still give the signs for the moon's place, which is very misleading to those who attempt to follow her in her course among the stars. Hence, this almanac gives both and discards the ancient picture of the disemboweled man as a relic of the age of superstition. The sign is retained for sun's place in connection with the seasons and sun's path through the zodiac each month because of its relationship to the equinoxes and solstices. SUN AND PLANETS. Moon-The moon has a diameter of 2,162 miles, a circumference of about 6.800 miles and a surface area of 14,685,000 square miles. Her mean distance from the earth is 238.840 miles. The volume of the moon is about 1-49th that of the earth and the density about 3% that of water. The time from new moon to new moon is 29 days 12 hours 44.05 min. utes. The moon has no atmosphere and no water and is a dead world. Light travels at the rate of 186,300 miles per second. It requires 8 minutes and 8 sec. onds for light to come from the sun to the earth. Diameter, Name. miles. 866.400 Sun Dist. from Period of sun, miles. rev., days. 36.000.000 3.030 88 7.700 7.918 4.230 86.500 73.000 31.900 1.781.900.000 THE GENERAL EDUCATION BOARD. The General Education board was designed and adapted to assist John D. Rockefeller in distributing his gifts to education and to af ford a medium through which other men of means might contribute to the same end. On June 30, 1923, the principal funds belonging to the board amounted to $118.663.334.63, all invested in stocks and bonds. Of this total $40,193,791.63 has been appropriated to various educational institutions, including $3,568,333 appropriated in the fiscal year ending June 30, 1923. The income from the above funds amounted during the year to $6.748.674.82. The balance of income from the previous year, sundry refunds and sale of property increased the total to $15.899,897.42. The total income disbursements in 1923 amounted to $6.485.246.06. Some of the larger expenditures were: DISASTROUS EXPLOSION IN PEKIN. ILL. Through an explosion in the starch plant of the Corn Products company in Pekin, Ill.. at 3 o'clock on the morning of Jan. 3. 1924. thirty-two men were killed outright and thirty-one others were severely burned. The weather was bitterly cold at the time and most of those who lost their lives were buried under tons of ice and debris for many days before their mangled remains were recovered. The Endowment colleges and schools. $1.723,228.41 TIME AND STANDARDS OF TIME. Various kinds of time are in use in this | then included all territory between the Atlantic country: 1. Astronomical Time or Mean Solar TimeThis is reckoned from noon through the twenty-four hours of the day and is used mainly by astronomical observatories and in official astronomical publications. It is the legal time of the dominion of Canada. though "standard" and "mean" time are in general use there as in this country. 2. Mean Local Time-This is the kind that was in almost universal use prior to the introduction of standard time. This time was based upon the time when the mean sun crosses the meridian, and the day begins at midnight. When divided into civil divisionsyears, months, weeks, days, etc.-it is sometimes called civil time. Owing to the eccentricity of the earth's orbit and the inclination of the equator to the coast and an irregular line drawn from Buffalo TIME ZONES ESTABLISHED IN 1918. AUGUSTA PORTLAND NMONCORD BOSTON ROCHESTER MONTPELTER HARTFORD CU STANDARD TIME ZONES AS FIXED BY INTERSTATE COMMERCE COMMISSION. ecliptic, the apparent motion of the sun is retarded or accelerated according to the earth's place in its orbit. Hence, to take the actual sun as a guide would necessitate years, days and their subdivisions of unequal length. Therefore an imaginary or "mean sun" was invented. The difference between apparent and mean time is called the "equation of time" and may amount to a quarter of an hour in twenty-four hours. It is the difference between the figures in "Sun at noon mark" column in calendar and twelve hours. The figures on a correct sun dial give the apparent time. divided the territory of continental United States into five zones. The standard time of the first four zones was based on the same degrees of longitude as under the old railroad agreement. The fifth zone established included only Alaska, and its standard time was based on the 150th degree of longitude. In August. 1919. the section of the law providing for "daylight saving" was repealed, but the part giving the interstate commerce commission power to fix the limits of the time zones was left intact. 3. Standard Time-For the convenience of the railroads and business in general a standard of time was established by mutual agreement in 1883 and by this calculation trains were run and local time was regulated. By this system the United States. extending from 65° to 125° west longitude, was divided into four time sections, each of 15° of longitude. exactly equivalent to one hour (7% or 30m. on each side of a meridian). commencing with the 75th meridian. The first or eastern section The new time zones as defined by the interstate commerce commission became effective Jan. 1, 1919. They have been slightly modified since then and are subject to further modifications from time to time. Standard time by law governs the movements of railroads and other common carriers engaged in interstate commerce. In all statutes, orders. rules and regulations relating to the time of performance of any act by any officer or department of the United States, whether in the legislative, executive or judicial branch of the government, or relating to the time within |