, 1877-04-07
JUPITER.

Changes In tho Outline Of Tho Planet.
Singular news hos recently been received from
an Australian observatory respecting The largest
and most massive Q: tho planets. It has long
since appeared. from many observations, that
Saturn changes from time to time Ia shape.
Jupiter had not SO notably changed Jet ub.
servers had occasionally suspected him Of such
change. and on ono occasion, when aatclta
happened to be crossing his outline, they had
tending at first beyond The. satellite,
,ate,,e a atsK auae. ae,er udee eeSs rate, s
what must have happciel than what was
observed, which was simply this: A satellite
Just legut, was seen avc minutes or SO later
uutaEdo the planet, 81 tint, moving onwards. Il
began transit . second time. Bur, a. nu und
believes TINT Jnp'tsr's moon bud stopped IL IL
10 to oil intents and purposes certain that tho
compare what hail happened to. the case Of
bird passing 1t great distance between the erc
projected upon tho dirk body Of thc balloon
Now, II \ few moments later, tho bird was agatn
seen outside the balloons disc, not
esar uesST ?sssss ?sssa ss"s ess asappeass2 sssl
wc Should DO certain that either tho s,ir,l lad
stopped, and even gone buck a little on Its fur.
!rer eourae, or else that the balloon had ehrank
creased BY The bird. II wo Fncw for rersaIn
that tile bird lad not stopped, wo should b.
sure that tho balloon had shrunk. Astronomers
might have been equally surc that, on the oc.
esne. aeesa es e ops q I'd
wait for more obscrrntions.-nanys students ot
science considering that duerespect Tor obserya.
tuns requires us to avoid, above all things, anJ
atitempt to inquire what may be Tue true mean.
cons!antl3 for more observations.
Nov, however, Wc receive the news OF an Oh
scrvatton which sets tho question 1nally at rest.
When ono Of Jupiter's moons passes behind the
body OF the planet, the moon does not nestssa-
rlly enter the planets shadow: It only does 80
when the suit, tho Garth, aud Jupiter arc nearly
in stra,Rht line; when tho Garth Is considers.
bly, retnovcafrom the line .tolninR Jupiter and
outline on ono side rcninins IN sunlight for =
considerable time. ltprohably has not OCCURRED
to any observer to try to see satellite when
thus Ia sunlight behind thc planet. On the o!4
look for satellite under such conditions, whcu
there would be several thousand miles Ut the
planets solid substance In the wey. But, ot
course, Il tho planct has an atmosphere thou.
that satellite should bc seen apparently
through the p1anet,-nott OF course. through
tho middle Of tho planet but through parts lying
AnuQ8AuH6 VI IAuE1 HNkHlt kHG App61Gut QAtil4es
THIS u what has now actually llappcned. We
should not quote the observation II II were not,
In the first place, ono which Will probably ba r.
peatcd (now that It has once been ma1cl and
It had moi, In the second ulacc, been accepted
Council Of the Astronomical Society: "a vcsg
Interesting phenomenon was observed niore
than unee independently by Sfr, Todd, Of Ado
laldc, uaiuH q now e'gllttnct telescope by
; ce;oke, aud t,,, ht, ass!s.ant, Nj. It!nRse9'l,,
Of being hidden. Instead of dIsappcar'n:
gradually behind the planet. It was appar.
entity projected on the disc, as II viewed
through tic edge Of the planet. suppostn0 tho
phcrc laden With clouds. This curious phenotne-
nun was noticed on two occasions at the llsap-
pearancc Of the 1rst satellite, when 1t vas t.us
distinctly ylsibie through tho edge OF tue disc
cea'ed.", Il must, therefore, hare been eeea
where the line OF slght passed fnlly ",oU
ultlcs helow tic appareut outline ot the plauct,
or along range of fully i2.oD m!les u clou4-
ladcn alr. It iHay safely ba inferred from this
extending 0,0Jo Or 7,0O0, probably 10000 Of
1000 ,nIles below the apparent outline; 50 that
globe a. large ~ our earth lying Qa tue sus'
face of Jupiter might not soach, or only barely
reaS s otoTmst rs sloaaasss
yet effected By direct astronomical observation
1t lad Indeed been Inferred by tow ustrouo.
mcrs, careful to,tnterpret results already o.
talnca, that Jupitcr must be tn the condition
at present., md probably for 1nany years yet to
come, theories based on nero reasoning, to"'
ever conclusive lit reality, must be cay:arc 10
tho general, y an.l we nust still bc content t9
walt (as recently In the case of the solar corona)
t!ll observations which every, QUE can t's'!sE.
stand hare demonstrated what only the few
could Infer confidently from reasoning based on
less slup]e observations.