Abstract
Two REMARKABLE CONJUNCTIONS.—Mr. Marth called the attention of the Royal Astronomical Society at its last meeting, on June 14, to two remarkable conjunctions which will occur in the autumn of the present year, and which should be most carefully watched by astronomers the world over. The first is the conjunction of Mars and Saturn on September 20, at 20h. G.M.T., the closest conjunction of the two planets on record, the geocentric distance being only 54″, so that to the naked eye the two stars would probably appear to coalesce. The conjunction is rendered the more interesting from its occurring in the near neighbourhood of Regulus, which will be distant only 4′ of arc; whilst Venus passes over the same region of the sky three days later, passing within 12′ of Regulus. The conjunction of Mars with the Saturnian system on September 20 will be so close that it will have a very narrow escape of occulting Iapetus, the two being 12″ apart at 22h.
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Our Astronomical Column. Nature 40, 180–181 (1889). https://doi.org/10.1038/040180a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/040180a0