Nor-There are twenty-five small planets, called Asteroids, between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, viz:-Flora, Clio, Vesta, Iris, Metis, Eunomia, Hebe, Pysche, Thetis, Melpomene, Massilia, Fortuna, Lutetia, Calliope, Thalia, Parthenope, Irene, Egeria, Astræa, Juno, Ceres, Pallas, and two not named. Eight of these were discovered in 1852. English papers inform us that discoveries of an importaut and most interesting kind, have lately been made as to the planet Saturn, by the new monster telescope of Mr. Craig: namely, that the rings are not rings at all, but arches of the most perfectly geometrical formation; not of equal thickness, nor chamfered, but rather with terrace-like mouldings. And hence the appearance of the outward ring, consisting of several concentric rings. From this appearance, it is now supposed that none of the rings are in the same plane. The Moon, Every object on the surface of the moon of the height of one hundred feet, is distinctly seen through Lord Rosse's telescope. On its surface are craters of extinct volcanoes, rocks, and masses of stone, almost innumerable. But there are no signs of habitations such as ours; no vestige of architectural remains, to show that the moon is, or ever was, inhabited by a race of mortals similar to ourselves. No water is visible, no sea, no river; all seems desolate. Mercury. This planet will be brightest about Feb. 15, June 11, and Oct. 8, at which times it will be quite likely to be visible, being then in the west immediately after sunset. This planet will be brightest again about April 5, Aug. 4, and Nov. 22, when it will be in the east just before sunrise.. EQUIOXES AND SOLSTICES. EQUINOXES AND SOLSTICES, NOTES, LEAP-YEAR, TIDE-TABLE, ETC. BOSTON. 3 VENUS will be evening star until October 1st, The Calendar pages of this Almanac exhibit then morning star the balance of the year. MARS the time of high-water at New-York and Boston. will be evening star until April 9th, then morning To find the time of high-water at any of the folstar the remainder of the year. JUPITER will be lowing places, add to or subtract from the time evening star until January 29th, then morning of high-water at New-York, as below. (There is star until August 21st, then evening star the bal- a great deal of uncertainty about the tides, in ance of the year. SATURN will be evening star consequence of the direction and strength of the until June 10th, then morning star until Decem-winds.) ber 18th. H. M. ..sub. 1 55 ..sub. 0 41 add 2 19 ..add 1 89 H. M. The Moon will run highest this year October Albany ...add 6 34 New-Haven... .add 2 4 29th, to the 6th degree of Gemini, having a declination of 28° 0' 14" north. It will run lowest Oc-Annapolis, Md.sub. 1 51 New-London...sub. 0 21 tober 16th, to the 6th degree of Sagittarius, hav- Annapolis, N.S.add 1 49 Newport.... ....sub. 0 39 Norfolk.... ing a declination of 27° 59' 51.6" south. The Amboy..... Baltimore.....add 5 7 Plymouth.. Moon can never depart from the equator much further than the distances above given. The lonBridgeport.....add 2 0 Portland.. gitude of the Moon's ascending node at the be- Cape Split..... add 2 0 Portsmouth....add 2 9 ginning of 1855 is 49 32.4" and on the 27th of Halifax, N. S...sub. 2 15 Quebec, Canada add 8 49 Eastport....... add 2 9 Providence....sub. 0 41 December is 30° 31.6'. Apparent obliquity of the Holmes's Hole. add 1 4 Richmond.....sub. 2 25 ecliptic July 10th, 23° 27 35.09". The SUN will be north of the equator this trop-Marblehead...add 1 49 Sandy H'k,N.J.sub. 0 50 Hellgate....... ...add 1 41 Salem.. ....add 2 19 ical year, dating from the solstice of December, Machias....... add 1 54 St. John's, N.B. add 2 49 1854, 186 days, 10 hours, 52 minutes; and south Mobile Point...add 1 54 Sunbury........add 0 19 of it 178 days, 18 hours, 56 minutes; showing a New-Bedford..sub. 1 40 Windsor....... add 2 49 difference of 7 days, 15 hours, 56 minutes, which is caused by the slower motion of the Earth in the Summer season, when it is in that part of its orbit furthest from the sun. Distance of the EARTH from the Sun January 1st, 93,505,607 miles; July 3rd, 96,695,200 miles; December 31st, 93,507,857 miles; and at its mean distance of 95,108,000 miles, April 2nd and Octo ber 2nd Venus will retrograde from the 8th of September to the 19th of October. Mars will not be in opposition this year, and will not retrograde. Jupiter will retrograde from June 22nd to October 19th. Saturn will retrograde until February 9th, and I from October 12th to the end of the year. Venus will be visibly occulted or eclipsed by the Moon, April 18th, at 8h. 38m. evening at Washington; ends at 9h. 2m.: duration 24 minutes. Mercury will be brighest, and in a position favorable for visibility, about February 15th, June 11th, and October 8th; at which times the plartet will be in the west soon after sunset. It will be brighest also about April 5th, August 4th, and November 22nd, at which times Mercury rises early in the morning before the Sun. Venus will be brightest on the 25th of August and November 6th. Duration of the Seasons, etc. TO ASCERTAIN THE LENGTH OF THE DAY AND NIGHT, At any time of the year, add 12 hours to the tract the time of rising, for the length of the day. time of the Sun's setting, and from the sum subThe rings of Saturn will be visible all this year, the remainder add the time of rising next mornSubtract the time of setting from 12 hours, and to with the aid of a telescope, their southern sur-ing, for the length of the night. These rules are face being now presented to the earth. GOOD FRIDAY occurs April 6th, EASTER April 8th, and WHITSUNDAY May 27th. Leap-Year. Leap-years are those that are exactly divisible by 4, and also by 400, and not by 100. The year 1900 therefore will not be a leap-year. equally true for apparent time. Chronological Cycles. Dominical Letter, G; Golden number, 13; Jexish Lunar Cycle, 10; Epact (Moon's age Jan. 1,) 12; Solar Cycle, 16; Roman Indiction, 13; Julian Period, 6568; Age of the world, (Septuagint,) 7863. A notoriously mean man having offended a down-east Yankee, was addressed by the latter in a long tirade which concluded in the following caustic terms: "Your little soul would have as much play in a mustard pod as a pickerel in Lake Erie, and would rattle like a kernel of corn in a barn." "Smart boy; here's a dime for you." "Why, tellin' big yarns to green 'uns like you, at a dime a pop." A REMEDY AGAINST CURTAIN LECTURES.-A few nights ago, Black, who had been out, on going A SHARPER."Sonny, where is your father?" home late, borrowed an umbrella; and when "Father's dead, sir.' "Have you any mother?" his wife's tongue was loosened, he sat up in bed and suddenly spread out the parachute. “What "Yes, I had one, but she's got married to John are you going to do with that thing?" said she. Danklin, and don't be my mother any more," Why, my dear, I expected a very heavy storm 'cause she says she's got enough to do to 'tend to-night, and so I came prepared." In less than to his own young 'uns." two minutes, Mr. Black was fast asleep The New-Yorkers are a fast people, and they have a fast way of doing up things, but the fastest of their fast chaps must be a man in business pretty well up Broadway, who has on his sign, "Sponging by Steam. They are all good at the trade in that city, but it seems that the old method was too slow, and so this one has brought steam to hear upon his customers, to sponge them more expeditiously. THE TROTTER OUT-TROTTED. "Do you keep matches?" asked a young wag, of a retailer. "Oh, yes, all kinds," was the reply. "Well, then, I'll take a trotting match." DAMAGES AND REPAIRS." Hallo, Sharp," said Pop, meeting him the other day in the street, "you hobble, my boy; what's the matter with you?" "Oh, I had my foot crushed, through the carelessness of the conductor, the other day, between the cars-that's all." "And don't you mean to sue for damages ?" "Damages? no, no-I have had damages for repairs?" enough from them already; hadn't I better sue An old hunter has discovered that washing the face and hands with lemon juice keeps The retailer immediately handed him a box of off the musquitoes. The acid is offensive to Brandreth's Pills. them. 5 14 5 50 6 21 4 0 742 5 51 6 20 4 30 9 9 5 49 6 21 4 56 10 6 5 47 6 22 5 17 10 46 5 46 5 23 28 W 12 MINISTERIAL PUNNING.-At a meeting of clergymen, not long since, a Reverend gentleman by the name of Loss, of dimensions somewhat extended, both laterally and altitudinally, presented himself. Says one of the brethren to him, "When you left your people you were a great Loss." "Yes," said another, "but when he dies he will be no Loss." "Yes," says a third, "he will be a dead Loss." NANKEEN AND PEKIN-A CHINESE EPIGRAM. As once my dazzled eyes I set/ "No, sir!" said she," that's Pekin !" Somebody advertises for agents to sell a work entitled, "Hymeneal Instructor." A contemporary adds, "the best hymeneal instructor we know of is a young widow. What she don't know, there is no use learning." |