Knoxville journal. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1874-1986, 1875-08-12
Four Planets in Sight.

yos often do the starry heavens show Us
four sirongly-sisinjng, bright planets 10
one night, but this has been for some ni1e
past tIc position Of Jupiter, Mars. Satnrn
and Venus. First comes into We" uia'
giant pIanet--ibas yast orb, whose aixni.
ster Il eleven times and his volume aDou1
100 times that " our own gl0be--Jnpin
the planet 81 the mighty cload envelopes,
whose continued 0scrshaaowing 81 uis
planet himself has led astronomers 10
doubt II telese0plc vision has ever yet
really peDefrat5d these enormous layers
~ vs,,or 10 the surface Of the planet itself
fuuIter il secn soon after dark almost d.
rctiy In the zenith, his position At eight
O'Clock being little west and south Of IL;
and his slow and majestic sweep around
fbe suu. which requires twelve OF our
xsarS scarcely better c0mpOrts with his
yaa Dimensions than docs hts apparent
tourney every night through the skies Ut
eartb. He sets MOI far from midnight
Proctor believes Jupiter 10 be still a mass,
a seethinv. internal volcanic fire, giving
out heat like n sun, and having but
a very slight crust cooled as yet,
and that subject ~ continual fiery out
bupts and oyerliDws; while the vast
cloud belfs, thousand miles deep, are
either pariIy of volcanic origin, or are
ifischargiDr upon the planet itself such
foods ~ sulphur charged rain ~ we can.
moi imagine Mars next comes IN sight.
HI rises red awsy In the southern part of
the western morrison soon after dusk, and
by nine O'Clock Is a conspicuous object
we'll 40 Ia the southern heavens, and
easily aistinguishabIc by his rnddy hue
II is a good time 10 scan Mars through
good telescope, for II will he two years
before he II again IN 10 favorable posi.
lion M he has been in for the last month,
and will I've for little time longer That
bright star III the ruddy hue that comes
up almost In the southeast soon after dark
Il the ncighiDr world which, a all the
planetary system, has presented The most
interesting field for astronomical study,
and best rewarded ouch studies. " -
pretty definitely decided that this riddy
hue Il due 70 sDmt quality or characters.
tic Of bis soil Mar, u smaller planet
than Earth, presents number Of features
that seem 10 warrant the conclusion that
his more general laws and features are
something akin 10 those 0i our own
world He has an atmosphere; be has his
season Of winter and summer--the region
Of snow and leo around the southern pole
annually and yisibly decreasing and in.
creasing IN what may be summer and
winter. There are on that distant world
oceans and cohtincntg; tits much III lcast
IL certain. Not such oceans ~ the At
iantc and Pacific, but strange, bottle.
shaped seas, Of no great extent compared
with Eartb's greatest Whether they are
ever frozen or not, nobody on earth yet
knows. but IL IL Mr. Proct0r's belief that
Mars and older planets than ours, bas
rome faf past his period of greatest life.
and u fast approaching, If be be not al.
ready entering, the cold and lifeless condi.
ton Of such bodies as our moon, whose
internal heat is exhausted. Later, rising
wan and far, pale bat luminous ghost 0i
a planet in The eastern sky, comes up
great Satmrn--the ringed world. This, on
some accounts, Is Me most interesting
study Of all the plancta chiefly because Of
the mobility and uncertainty III Us Oc-
casiohaily shifting shape, and becaOc Of
Nv giant illuminated rings and IFS
eight attendant moons It's enormous
distance also invests IL with certain In.
iercst which would he wanting In near
object. IL IL asceria.ned that its density
dd&f not exceed ,hat Of water; and the
probabilities seem 10 favor the conclusion
llai saturn Ii still globe of molten mat
ter-~a world Of liquid fire. Itsaspect seen
Oh clear night through good glass, as
ilse great lemOncolored planet, girdied
with its vas. elliptic rings, goes sailing
silently across the field Of vision, Is bea,hl
ful and interesting beyond that ii any
other. Much laier~in fact In the early
dawn oi the coming morning Venus
comes resplcndently into view. Most
brilliant of all the planets 10 US, because
abe Ii nearer TO us and 10 the sun, this re.
narkabe sister world, nearest and ap.
pnrently most like our own world, isneycr
more brilliant, never more beautiful, Than
when ~ the morning star, she sheds the
lusier Of her golden tbut borrowed) beams
upon the earth In the stiffness Of the clear
morning. Venus will probably always be
difficult object Of study, because Of her
proximity b. the sun, but II ~ found that
there are reasons for believing SOME Of her
mountains b. be equal in height 70 tho
highest Of our own world Hartford Times.