THE OBSERVER'S HANDBOOK 1963 Fifty-fifth Year of Publication THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY OF CANADA Price One Dollar THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY OF CANADA Incorporated 1890 — Royal Charter 1903 The National Office of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada is located a t 252 College Street, Toronto 2B, Ontario. The business office of the Society, reading rooms and astronomical library, are housed here, as well as a large room for the accommodation of telescope making groups. Membership in the Society is open to anyone interested in astronomy. Applicants may affiliate with one of the Society’s sixteen centres across Canada, or may join the National Society directly. Centres of the Society are established in Halifax, Quebec, Montreal, Ottawa, Kingston, Hamilton, Niagara Falls, London, Windsor, Winnipeg, Edmonton, Calgary, Vancouver, Victoria, and Toronto. Addresses of the Centres’ secretaries may be obtained from the National Office. Publications of the Society are free to members, and include the J o u r n a l (6 issues per year) and the O b s e r v e r ’s H a n d b o o k (published annually in November). Annual fees of $5.00 are payable October 1 and include the publi­ cations for the following year. Requests for additional information regarding the Society or its publications may be sent to 252 College Street, Toronto 2B, Ontario. Communications to the Editor should be sent to Miss Ruth J. Northcott, David Dunlap Observatory, Richmond Hill, Ontario. THE OBSERVER’S HANDBOOK 1963 E d it o r R u t h J . N o r t h c o t t Fifty-fifth Year of Publication THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY OF CANADA 252 C o l l e g e S t r e e t , T o r o n t o 2B, O n t a r io CONTENTS PAGE Acknowledgements ............................................................................... 3 Anniversaries and Festivals; Julian Day Calendar . 3 Symbols and Abbreviations...................................................................... 4 The C onstellations ............................................................................... 5 Miscellaneous Astronomical D a t a ..................................................... 6 Ephemeris of the S u n ............................................................................... 7 Principal Elements of the Solar S y s t e m .............................................8 Satellites of the Solar S y s te m .............................................................. 9 Solar, Sidereal and Ephemeris T i m e ................................................... 10 Map of Standard Time Zones; Radio Time Signals . 11 Times of Rising and Setting of the Sun and Moon . 12 Sunrise and Sunset............................................................................. 13 Beginning and Ending of T w ilig h t ...........................................19 Moonrise and M o o n se t ............................................................20 The Planets for 1963 26 The Sky and Astronomical Phenomena Month by Month . 32 Phenomena of Jupiter’s S a te llite s ................................................... 56 The Observation of the M o o n ............................................................57 Longitude of Jupiter’s Central M eridian .......................................... 59 Ephemeris for the Physical Observation of the Sun . 60 Eclipses, 1963 01 Lunar Occultations 02 Opposition Ephemerides of the Brightest Asteroids, 1963 . 65 Planetary Appulses and O ccu lta tio n s ...........................................66 Meteors, Fireballs and M eteorites ................................................... 67 Dimensions of Saturn’s R in g s ............................................................67 Table of Precession for 50 Y e a r s ................................................... 68 Finding List of Named S t a r s ............................................................69 The Brightest Stars, their magnitudes, types, proper motions, distances and radial velocities and navigation stars. 70 Double and Multiple S tars .................................................................... 81 The Nearest Stars......................................................................................82 Variable S t a r s ......................................................................................84 Clusters and Nebulae: Star Clusters......................................................................................36 Galactic N ebulae ............................................................................. 87 External G alaxies............................................................................. 88 Four Circular Star M a p s .................................................................... 89 PRINTED IN CANADA BY THE UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO PRESS T H E OBSERVER’S HANDBOOK for 1963 is the 55th issue. The tables of the principal elements of the solar system and of the satellites have been revised to give the accepted values used in the national ephemerides; the inclination of the equator of each planet to its orbital plane has been added. Dimensions of Saturn’s rings are included. The predictions for the minima of Algol are based on the period and epoch used previously; from recent observations, these may be of the order of three quarters of an hour late. Cordial thanks are offered to those who assisted in the preparation of this volume, to those who are named and to David Crampton, Harlan Creighton, Barbara Gaizauskas, Isabel Williamson, and Dorothy Yane. Special thanks are due to Gordon E. Taylor and the British Astronomical Association, concerning the prediction of planetary appulses and occultations and to Margaret W. Mayall, Director of the A.A.V.S.O., for the predictions of the times of maxima of the long-period variables. Our deep indebtedness to the British Nautical Almanac Office and to the American Ephemeris is thankfully acknowledged. R u t h J . N o r t h c o t t A NNIVERSARIES AND FESTIVALS, 1963 New Year’s D ay ......... Jan. 1 Pentecost (Whit Sunday) .June 2 E piphany...................... Jan. 6 Trinity Sunday........... .June 9 Accession of Queen Corpus Christi............ Thu. June 13 Elizabeth (1952) Wed. Feb. 6 St. John Baptist (Mid­ Septuagesima Sunday Feb. 10 summer Day)........... Mon. June 24 Quinquagesima (Shrove Dominion Day ............. Mon. July 1 Sunday).................... Feb. 24 Birthday of Queen M other Ash Wednesday.......... Feb. 27 Elizabeth (1900) .Sun. Aug. 4 St. D avid...................... Fri. Mar. 1 Labour D ay ................. Mon. Sept. 2 St. Patrick ................... Sun. Mar. 17 Hebrew New Year Palm Sunday............... Apr. 7 (Rosh Hashanah)__ .Thu. Sept. 19 Good Friday................ Apr. 12 St. Michael (Michael­ Easter Sunday............. Apr. 14 mas D ay )................... .Sun. Sept. 29 Birthday of Queen Thanksgiving................. Mon. Oct. 14 Elizabeth (1926). .Sun. Apr. 21 All Saints’ D a y ............ Fri. Nov. 1 St. George.................... .Tue. Apr. 23 Remembrance Day . Mon. Nov. 11 Rogation Sunday........ M ay 19 St. A ndrew ................... ..Sat. Nov. 30 Victoria Day ............... Mon. M ay 20 First Sunday in Advent......... Dec. 1 Ascension Day............ Thu. M ay 23 Christmas Day ............ Wed. Dec. 25 JU LIA N DAY CALENDAR, 1963 J.D. 2,430,000 plus the following: Jan. 1...................8,031 M ay 1 .....................8,151 Sept. 1 ...................8,274 Feb. 1 ...................8,062 June 1 .....................8,182 Oct. 1 ...................8,304 Mar. 1 ...................8,090 July 1 .....................8,212 Nov. 1 ...................8,335 Apr. 1 ...................8,121 Aug. 1 ................... 8,243 Dec. 1 ...................8,365 The Julian Day commences at noon. Thus J.D. 2,438,031.0 = Jan. 1.5 U.T. SYMBOLS AND ABBREVIATIONS SUN, MOON AND PLANETS ASPECTS AND ABBREVIATIONS SIGNS OF THE ZODIAC THE GREEK ALPHABET THE CONFIGURATIONS OF JUPITER’S SATELLITES In the Configurations of Jupiter’s Satellites (pages 33, 35, etc.), O represents the disk of the planet, d signifies that the satellite is on the disk, * signifies that the satellite is behind the disk or in the shadow. Configurations are for an inverting telescope. CALCULATIONS FOR ALGOL The calculations for the minima of Algol are based on the epoch J.D. 2437208.7224 and period 2.8674 days as published in Sky and Telescope, 1961. CELESTIAL DISTANCES Celestial distances given herein are based on the standard value of 8.80" for the sun’s parallax, and the astronomical unit of 92.9 million miles. THE CONSTELLATIONS L a t in a n d E n g l is h N a m e s w it h A bbreviations Andromeda, Leo, L io n ...........................Leo Leon (Chained Maiden). .And Andr Leo Minor, Lesser Lion. LMi LMin Antlia, A ir P u m p ........... Ant A ntl Lepus, H are......................Lep Leps Apus, Bird of Paradise. Aps Apus Libra, Scales.....................Lib Libr Aquarius, Water-bearer. .Aqr Aqar Lupus, W olf..................... Lup Lupi Aquila, Eagle....................Aql Aquil Lynx, L y n x .......................Lyn Lync Ara, A ltar..........................Ara Arae Lyra, Lyre.........................Lyr Lyra Aries, R a m .........................Ari Arie Mensa, Table (M ountain)M en Mens Auriga, (Charioteer) ........ Aur Auri Microscopium, Bootes, (Herdsman)........ Boo Boot Microscope....................Mic Micr Caelum, Chisel................. Cae Cael Monoceros, Unicorn. .M on Mono Camelopardalis, Giraffe. Cam Caml Musca, F ly....................... Mus M usc Cancer, Crab.....................Cnc Canc Norma, Square.................Nor