Lyon County times. [volume] (Silver City, Nev.) 1874-1907, 1877-08-08
LYON COUNTY TIMES
The opposition Of Mars.--An Inter-
esting Phenomenon to Oc-
cur in September.

Astronomers are now waiting with
great interest for the phenomenon
which is to occur in few weeks,
and is to be observed with the utmost
care and assiduity, and with all the
appliances at the disposal Of science.
On September 5th the planet Mars
will be in opposition-that is, he will
then be at that point of the sky which
is just opposite the sun, so that he
will rise at sunset and come to the
meridian at midnight. Since both
the planet and the earth sweep in
orbits around the sun, it follows, also,
that at that time they make their
nearest approach to each other and
the planet is then most favorably
situated for observation and exami-
nation. In the early autumn Mars
will be by far the most conspicuous
object in the eastern sky, blazing
with red fire hardly inferior to the
brightness of Venus, which by that
time will begin to adorn the western
twilight, and quite outshining Jupi-
ter. Saturn, close by Mars, will
seem comparatively of no account.
Oppositions of Mars are not spe-
cially are. They occur once in about
two years and fifty days, and if the
orbits of this planet and the earth
were perfect circles the circumstances
of all oppositions would be essen
TALLY alike, and no peculiar
interest would attach to one
rather than another. But this is by
no means the case; The orbits ale not
quite circular. The earth, about the
1st of July, is nearly 100000 miles
further from the sun than at New
Years; and in the case of Mars the
differnce between its greatest and
least distance from the sun is larger
yet, amounting to almost 2S,000,O0O
of miles. The average distance be-
tween Mars and the earth at the mo-
ment of opposition is about 49, $1,000
of miles; if however, the opposition
happens when the planet is as far
from the sun as possible and the
earth as near the sun as it can be,
they will be separated by a space of
64,OO0,000 miles; and if, on the con-
trary, the event occurs when the con-
ditions are reversed, the distance be-
tween them Will he only 34,000,000,
and the opportunity for observation
will be exceptionally favorable.
These close oppositious are rare, the
motions of the planet and the earth
being so related that they recur only
at intervals of seventy-nine years,
though some of the intermediate op.
positions, separated by periods of
fifteen and seventeen years, are not
very greatly inferior. The opposition
of next September will be one Of the
best possible, both earth and planet
being nearly in their most favorable
positions, and the distance between
them less than at any time since the
summer of 1898. The observations
to be made are of two classes-one
intended to determine the distance,
position and motions of the planet;
the other relating to its magnitude,
form, rotation, surface markings and
physical constitution.
Bearing in mind that the proper
tions of the planetary system are
easily ascertalned and now very ac-
curately known, it is of course cyl
dent that the precise determination in
miles Of any single distance between
any two planets Will Tx the dlmen-
sions of the whole system, and, so to
speak, put scale Of miles upon our
chart of the universe. Observations
of the opposition of Mars are there
fore available for the same purpose as
those of a transit of Venus, and some
astronomers consider them capable
of giving result hardly, if at all,
inferior in certainty and precision. 1t
IS for this reason, chiefly, that the
phenomenon is looked forward to
with so much interest.-[New York
Times.
A man applying for consulship