Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1878-12-05
Planets IL, Decen,her

Venus holds the place OF honor a,ooos~ Tho
planetary brotherhood for the month al De.sm
per on me 9Th she is in superior conjunction
Win the sun. aad her whole enlightened dis. i
turned toward us. She then rises and SETS with
TIE Stiii. as the word icon iunrtiap ia1L.1t,,1
nut IS invisible her lesser light being hidden ~
the brightness OF the solar rays. AMER he 81.
she commences her role OF evening star ,,aarI,-
hagiy passing from the western 10 the eastern
clue Oh The sun. and setting later each succeed
Ing evening, until az the end OF TIE moutt he
fingers above the horizon ahaut twenty pin.tf...
aiter sunset. BriSht-eycd Observers NAV nos
SlbiS eaten glimpse oi her bcimin~ amid tia,
glow on the western twilight a weaE or two
aittr ii.e usherlng IN nI the New Year 4 wee
OF Two lat.T, ordinary Observers viii be re-
NaIucd " ltii one OF the most FASCINATING siohfS
on ne planetary programme. the rrapDa9r3n.,e
Ui venus Is evening star proudly shining in
the western SKY long before IL is dark eaougn
ior any Other star In the myriad thronv % Keen
t tFn company: tch'lo EXHIBITS greater Naria-
IONS IA aspect and apparent magnitude
thah any OF the other planets Sb, i,
now AT her greatest distance. one hum
ore" ana SiNtF m.l!iona IT miles. and presents
lie appearance Of 4 small round disc Murg
Ieaic>t Ia the earth, AT her Inferior con lurrinn
she Il Only t"Cltl-t millions af miles tii,t ,lt
ana Der apparent diampntcT i more than six
ttlntS greater til0n ~ tic present time p,f
htfudfh side = then turned towards It's DI,,S,.ly
a. al new moon. There i no easier, nor "a m.
Interesting study than 10 Waicu the phases OF
ths peerless evening star Tor hearty tel, months
20 o,anc tsciltaltug Ia a seemingly STRAIGHT
lire farther aud farther from the sun ma Snc
reaches her greatest eastern pI0a-rltta, paxf
iulY: then reversing the process hy dr,,,-,,,,,
nearer 10 The great luminary till she rpa r.Gps
her Interior cunjuncl on next September she i.
All the tine ccIning toward III, nrnNinw
brighter IL spite CT the }CSScnin- OF her Hlnmi-
iaIctt disc, ana presenting The varied aeD... of
The moon from iuil 10 pW M SIMMER star
study IS included in the celestial clialeyiio.
non" Is more brilliantly impressive in its infiu-
PnCe on the lmagi1at ion. or more powerful ia
its Illustration OF the simplicity and symmetry
or the laws that govern the material universe
Mercury L an eyening star during the month
lie reaches his greatest eastern eOngatfnn on
The sth, and may then be seen an hour arter
oiib-et not far from the point where the Sfiu
went down. Ills swift course as evening star is
competed on the @3th. Venus and Mercury are
close together on the 18th, bat they are safely
CoSclted from mortal Sisioa by their vicinity 10
the sun.
Jupiter is still a conspicuous object in ;he
carry evening IL the southwestern sky Ills
light is growing dim and his presence viii soon
be missed, Tor he il in con sanction with the sun
IN February and VIII thea take hS place among
the morning stars. -iuniter sets now ahptl, h9lf
past eight, but VIII set about seven at ne pDd
OF the month, being then not much longer fhag
two hours above the horizon after SunSei
Saturn is III evening star, ana fay0r4DIr Siiu-
3tfa fof observation. lie is not very bright.
but may be- easily recognized b. his steady
hght ana The absence Of large stars IN his neigh
bnFhGCd. tie comes now to / ne meridian about
seven and sets shortly after midnight Ills
meridian altitude is abou; ioIfy -iive degrees or
hail way between he horizon and IDn yruffh
ne evening can 3iid him without any difficulty
His position 1T present and fGr some dime ~
CQiilc Is j noteworthy one, fUr he il hear The
crossing point Of three gfea: celestial circles
le ttiidh0ciiai. the eclIpt!c ana the e3UiuOci.al
C0lre. This colurc holds as iinnOHani - no.i-
ton IN celestial reckoning aS the meridian nf
Greenwich does in terrestrial longitude r. il
TIE Starting point Of right ascension and the
distance from this meridian measured on the
ecIiptic locates a star exactly as the number ot
degrees east from Greenwich locates 4 city or
Town on the carthS surface. : line drawn from
the polar star through the planet marks the
c0llIie. one passing through the same point m
llght angles with the former MARKS Ire elUin-
octial. and = third interSectiH@ the eJuino.lial
al an angle or twenty-thcee and half degrees
marks the elliptic or suns path in lie heavens
mus Tile planet saturn. besides being a pleas
ant object for observation, may also become a
leacief OF astronomy pointing Oil the position
or some OF the most Important circles OF the
celestial sphere, and giving the pupil amDir
liine 10 review the lesson every pleasant eve
ming for months 10 come.
Mars Is now the sole representative of the Wis
1ble planets among the morning stars. IIer
now about i've, and may be seen III the early
morning, very small from his distance but
easily recognized by mis- red light. He is how
ever, coming towards us. and will grow brighter
III Dis opposition TO the sun next November to
Which astronomers are ardently looking for
ward In hopes OF learning more concerning the
tWosatellites OF 1871, and perhaps OF discover
Ing new ones to increase the list.
The December moon fulls on the 9Th, and has
ALREADY passed her nearest point TO Jupiter and
Saturn. ON the Sth she viii pass through the
PleiadeS, and there will be an occuitatfon of
several OF the northern stars of the cOnSteIla-
ION. Unfortunately the show comes off at one
O'Clock in the morning. when none but enthu-
siaStS In the science are on the watch
Shooting stars may be looked for between the
DIN ana 18Th OF the month. for il is highly prob
able that December meteor zone crosses the
eartnS track about these times. and some OF
the Struggling members bid fair to be caught in
our atmosphere. The radiant point OF these
meteorS is in Gemint. the constellation being
visible il the east during the evening, and
plainly recognized from its twin stars Castor
and FolluN.-I Pr0cidsnce Journal.