The Andrew County Republican. [volume] (Savannah, Mo.) 1871-1876, 1876-04-14

his greatest elongation on May goth,
when he may be seen as an "evcning
star" This planet can be seen dis
tinctly with the naked eye only about
the time of its greatest elongation, and,
to those who reside in northern lati-
tudcs, it will hardly be visible even at
such periods, if it be neal the extreme
point of its southern declination.
VENUS.
The planet Venus is, ut present,
the most beautiful of all the planets WIS.,
ible to the naked eye, and is a very
conspicuous object upon our western
heavens after sunset. No other orb
now visible in the evening sky can equal
or even vie with this planet in splendor.
The brilliancy of Venus is such that it
II not be mistaken by any observer,
especially when its position in the heav-
ems has been pointed out. Those beau
tiful lines by Milton will surely apply to
Venus at the present time:
Now glows the armament
With living sapphires; Hesperus, that leads
The starry host, rides brightest.
Venus will reach her greatest elonga-
ton east on May 4th, after which she
will remain stationary for a few days,
and then retrace her course toward the
sun. On July nth Venus passes her
interior conjunction, after which she
will be no longer seen in the evening
for n period of nine and one-half
months. She will then become a
"morning star" and, about ten days af-
ter her conjunction, can be seen in the
twilight before sunrise. Venus will APP
pear brightest, this year, on June Goth,
at which time her brilliancy will be so
great rs to cast a faint shadow.
MARS
The planet Mars is now very favora-
bly, situated for observation, and is quite
a prominent orb upon our evening sky
in the west. Mars is at present in the
constellation Aries, and can be easily
distinguished from the ixed stars by his
rudy appearance. In our latitude
Mars can now be observed to much ad-
vantage, as he does not set until nearly
9 o'clock-long after the evening twi-
light has disappeared. Mars is slowly
approaching the sun, but will continue
as an "evening star" until Aug. 6,
when he will be in conjunction with the
SUM-. On Wednesday, March 80, Mars
came into conjunction with Venus, at
which time these planets were seen to-
gether through the same field of a tele-
scope.
JUPITER.
This great planet is not q very inter
esting object at present, being visible
only in the morning, and quite unfa-
vorably situated for inspection. When
conspicuously situated, however, Jupi-
ter is Il charming orb to behold, and can
scarcely be mistaken, as he is next to
Venus in appearance, magnitude and
splendor. Jupiter will appear most
brilliant on May Il, when it is in OPP
position to the sum-, and his satellites
and belts will then present Il fine ap'
pearance as seen through a telescope,
=. SATURN.
Saturn, the ''ringed world" is al
present the most ~unfavorably situated o,
all the visible planets. He was situated
in conjunction with the sui on Feb. II
and, being submerged in the rays of thai
luminary, he has not yet become visible
to the naked eye as a "morning STAR
This planet is not distinguished for it:
brilliancy to the naked eye, although i
exhibits a beautiful appearance through
the telescope. 1t shines with q pale
white light, and is not easily distin
guished from the fixed stars except by
the steadiness of its light. Saturn vii
7 soon become visible to the naked eye il
the early morning dawn, before sun
| rise.
!, URANUS.
, This planet is, for the most part, in
! visible to the naked eye, but it can b,
+ perceived if its exact position is known
| The most favorable time to observe thi
| planet is at or near the period of its OPP
position to the sun, which will not occu
S this year. Uranus is now situated
t among the small stars, in the constella
4 ton Cancer. Owing to its slow orbita
motion its relative position tothese star
7 will not be much altered for severa
: months.
Is 1t Not n Wonder That We Live?