New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1860-09-19
THE RED PLANET MARS.


Our star-lovng readers may be glad to be reminded
that Mars has taken up his forward march again Wig
oroUsy after bis two months retrograde movement,
and will soon have termcated his present brilliant
campaign by going into Winter quartenif the sole
csm may he allowed-in the region of the sun.
Since the begunipgo of the year he has had splen-
did career At FIRST leading the by some - hours,
he divided the dominion of the early morning heavens
with jupiter and Saturn, whom he suffered to surpass
him in 81 ry reseryipg bis spendor till the sun should
leave him longer sovereignty of the night. From
the Scales where the opening year found him, ne has
ourneyed through the Scorpion, close past the brilliant
ucida of this constellation called by Ptoemy Antares,
sienifying "rivallng Mars in splendor" and by the
Aiabians Latins and Greeks, names signifyiDg "the
Scorpion 5 heart With the glory of this star our
own Professor Mitchell has linked his name by having
fret pointed ont tie binary character.
Thence through the feet of the Serpent-bearer the
planet cou1sed along and uto the face of the Archers
arrows where the golden dust Of the Milky Way COW
cred him. BY this time the swifter eastward career OF
the eup had left him six hours of dominion in the
spangled heavensa dominion which be enjoyed near
~ alone and uuchaleDged For Jupiter had disap-
reared in the west and Saturn was not far behind,
when Mars appeared at midnight in the east. Venus
had got fairly out of the meshes of the SUP, and with
the eetness Of Diana spinning along eastward OF
him. and eTioy ed with Jupiter and Saturn, sPendiu
triple reign in the early evening. The rudy goa
seemed not unconscious of bis porunlty, for AFTER
Jupiter and Saturn were quite out Of ths way, he
clothed himself in robes more suitsbls to royalty, ana
we see him about the middle of June, entering Capri
corn with sixteen times the spleIdor he wore ak
months earlier and ruling the heavens right royalty
durpo nearly the entire night. At the ncse OF the
Goat he paused turned his back upon the sun, slowly
ret1aced his steps, aud Thus heightened his nightly
reion. which grew more and more splendid Till aoou
the middle of july when he shone with nstsr forty
times greater than attended him one year before
At this time Venus, in the very midst of her tr-
umph became enangled in the tolls OF the WHY hunter
again and disappeared from sight, while Jupiter aud
Saturn became less ard less every day as they neaed
the sun, 60 that Mars enjoyed, without single
rival the sovereignty of the whole heavens But THIS
was not to last On the Goth August he turned aud
resumed his eastward journey. The Gun was fast ap-
proachipg with Venus and Jupiter already bright be-
! fore him in the early morning, and Saturn not lar
behind them. Nevertheless, Mara had as yet nearly
the whole Dgit to himself. Coming back toward
Capricorn which he snow about to enter, he quekenf
his pace as his glory fades and is now moving among
the stars nearly half degree every day, or aoou'
,be breadth Of the full moon. Before the sun over
takes him he will be incoDspcuoue among the stars
He will continue, however for some time yet toe
brightest of the starry hosts OF the first hall oil the
night.
But. as he passes by slow degrees outof sight, Tie
attentive amateur will not let him. theref'r pass ou
Of mind for he is object Of this peoaar in'er
eat viz that he exhibits phase; tha is to cay, h
6isc now shows some deviation from circle ms de
Walton according to Sir John Hersche, mover exceed
one.i.b,h of the disc; though Admiral Smyth, IN Ill
Celestial Cycle states with singular caressne's, tua
| il amounts in qusoratuIes to bali cscie ihis g'o
hons aspect s not conspicuous to tue novice d.
experienced eye early detects the alteIa''on Oh 'u'
6o,re II gives to Mars special interest, not share'
by either OF the more removed planets III iu.n'nDe
confirmation of the hypothesis that their neo' ]" no
inherent but reflected from the sun. Pmlosopny
however. DO longer demands this confirmation.
Mars it is hardly necessary to state, ID the iou'''
papet in order from the sun, unless vulcan DC
TO the group. But it now appears that the rs VI 'u
youpe child of Lescarbault ana Leyerrler 10 Jake
seat around the family fesde is not fully estaosnea
There is lurking suspicion at any rave tha' al 10 n0
right, in tba. the yourg gentleman has never ono
shown himself since LescaIbaut caught MN Oh Tue o
March of last year. crawling like greet biaek pee''
across the sun face 1t expected thai tne ia'
solar eclipse would expose his Whereabouts but IA
does not appear to have been seen Mare then fo's'
for the present. take his old rank Of fourth III oroe
from the Gun, and the first outside OF the Garth. III
reer.traek IL above rine hundred millions Of ni'e
long. which he travsrses in 0S' days J.
that period the earth Sleeps nearly twice aroup
her orbit, completing her seo'nd year Ia
fortnight after But by that time Mas has Pa'Sea IN
startnepost On bis qecond year, and the earth h'e0
some 81 days more to overake him. They are t1ol
in the GAME relative position they occupied 'oo DAY
before. The go days are called the 'y'"d'e tun'
the planet the 6S7 days his periodic time as has bee
already explained in the case Of other planets AZ
cordippy II will be not far from 26 months before Ma
can take up again the brightness and position he If nov
slowly retiguing in our skies. Nor Is this all. hi
present career has been more brilliant than it hhs bee
for many years past, or will soon be again although
bis 1ex oppobilion in October 1862, hs will b' alno'
"a near the earth as he has been in tie present AL
will then occupy position 10 tie heavens much NOR
o,II. q; tIaaa Iatitudea for trleEcoDic eCutiny +,