Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1878-03-06
Che Heavens ia March.

| Tie hr>ezy month Of March opcus with an
almost enIIrl ahsanc; Vi cvenoc, stars. Jupiter,
which was 81 couspi uous ali trough the carly
wlnter, vanished b:lore he close oil the year,
Was 10 rjuGctun with the suo 90 Jan. ), aud
Is DOW rcarpeaTIug as morning star low doWo
10 the southeast 10 The constellation ct the
| Archer. Venus liagered in The lap Of Feb
raary, but has also disappeared. She was 10
CO, jul ciiou with the SUP Feb 81, and will soon
be morniog star in Aquarus, attaining her
gtcatest brilIlancy about the 18th aud 10Th in
slant. Saturn will also be 10 con uction with
the sua Oh the 18Th, aoI Mercury 90 the lst,
| and bot! are consequently Invisible.
Mars Is still Az evening yi.itant, but the
| ruddy god il fast ra!realiog, aud what WAS SO
glorious 40 object IN September is DOW no
brighter than second class star. The cause
OF the change may be seen from few figures
Last autum0, when the planet shone like q
glowing ruby, Mars Was only g., 500 600 miles
distant from the earth. % March lst be
will be Isl, 100000 miles away, or nearly five
tunes ~ tar off as he was six months ago No
Wonder, then, his glory has departed. Mars,
however, eau still be seen, aod his course
through the month is quite Interesting. At
the beginning of March he is on tho borders of
Aries 1.-THE RAM, but soon travels eastward TO-
to Taurus (the BulI) lie may be noticed now
short distance below the PIeisdes, or Seven
Sisters, toward whom he is Fastening, intent
perhaps, on sowing discord in that happy fami.
ly (tor his reputation is mono Of the best,) but
moro probably hoping to find there his beloved
Aphr0dtc, whose absence has robbed the
heavens OF their greatest jewel. Tie passed. the
Plclades on the 18Th inst, trihc south of Al.
cyouc, and at the close of the month will be al
most directly north Of Aldebaran, the bright
red star in the Bulls head.
One more planet is also visible 10 the even.
Ing, and one which tew people have ever seeu-
the planet Uranus, discovered by the elder
llerschel on March IT, ISL. Uranus is an
enormous globe, more than seventy times as
srgoas the earth, but makes his journey
around tho sun at such an ioconceivable dis
tancc that he can Gully just be seen with tho
naked cyc--and that very good one-when
be is in opposition, his distance from the earth
being then sixteen hundred millions Of miles.
Now, Uranus was 10 opposition on February
may easily BE- found with an opera glass, and
should be looked for in the constellation
Leo (thc Lon). TIE stars in the neck and
foreparL Of the lion from the Well-known group
called Tho Sickle" The bright star in tho
handle OF the sickle is Kegulus, ono OF the nine
stars whose places have been accurately deter
minod for tho usa OF sailors on long voyages
On February = Uranus WAS exactly north Of
Regulus, at IN apparent distance Of less than the
diameter of the moon. During tho past month
the planet hiss baen moving to the west or right
Of the star, on line slightly sloping north ward
but his pace is is so slow that his position is
practically unchanged. lie crossed the meridian
March l, at ILL., IS y. NJ, and is visible in the
northeast just above Regulus as early as 7 D.
m. Uranus is attended by four moons-Arel,
Umb:iel Titsna and Oberon-and Herschel
fsnced he saw four others with his great rehoc.
tor. Even these would give the planet but half
of his proper number if, as some have supposed,
the satellites are distributed according TO gen.
eral law. Thus, they ague, it the earth has one
moon, Mars two moons, Jupiter four and Saturn
eight then Uranus, tho next in order, should
have sx.oon. Modern instruments have, how
ever, failed to detect more than the four mon
toned. Ii othors exist. ne il probable, they are
two small to be soon with the largest telescope
~,