Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1878-05-27
THE PLANETS DESCRIBED.

Ine sOldr sJsIelh' dnu en0 Si0do uio P0noOA
of heat and light to all the planets.
Around the Sun all the planets revolve,
he being the largest and most influential
system known to US in the universe. The
distance of the Sun from the earth is
ninety-fve millions of miles, and his di-
ameter is estimated at eight hundred
and eighty-seven thousand miles. A
body of such mighty dimensions hanging
on nothing, it is certain must have ema-
mated from an Almighty power.
MERCURY, the planet nearest the Sun,
is about three thousand miles in dame
ter and revolves around him at a dis
tance of thirty-seven millions of miles.
No signs of an atmosphere have been
discovered in this planet. The Suns
heat at Mercury is about seven times
greater than it Is on this earth, so that
water, if nature follows the same laws
there that she does here, cannot exist at
Mercury, except in the state of steam.
VENUs.-Th1s is the other planet
whose orbit is within that of the earth.
Her diameter is about eight thousand
miles, being somewhat larger than the
earth. Her revolution around the Sun
is performed in two hundred and twen-
ty-four days, at the distance of sixty
eight millions of miles from him. She
turns on her axis once in twenty three
hours so that her day is little shorter
than ours. Her hourly motion in her
orbit is eighty thousand miles Venus,
as seen from the earth, is the most brill
liant of all the primary planets, and is
better known than any nocturnal lumin-
airy except the moon. When seen thro'
telescope she exhibits the phases of
the moon, and her face Is sometimes va
riegated with dark spots. This planet
may often be seen in the daytime, even
when she is in the vicinity of the blaz-
ing light of the Sun. A luminous ap-
pearance around this planet, seen at GER
tain times, proves that she has an atmos-
phere. Some of her mountains are sew
eral times more elevated than any on
our globe, being from ten to twenty-five
miles high. She sometimes appears to
recede from the Sun and then approach
him, and as her orbit is within that of
the earth, her distance from US varies
from twenty seven millions to one hund-
red and sixty-three millions of miles.
When Venus is i'll that part of her orbit
which gives her the appearance of being
west of the Sun, she rises before him,
and is then called the morning star and
when she appears east of the Sun she is
behind him in her course, and is then
called the evening star. These periods
do not agree either with the yearly rev.
olutions of the earth or Of Venus for
she is alternately two hundred and nine
ty days the morning STAR and two hund.
red and ninety days the evening star
The reason of this is, that the earth and
Venus move round the Sun in the same
direction, and hence her relative motion
in respect to the earth, is much slower
than her absolute motion in her orbit.
The EARTH.-The next planet in oui
system, nearest the Sun, is the earth
Her diameter is eight thousand miles
This planet revolves around him in thre,
hundred and sixty-fve days, five hour
f and forty eight minutes, and at the dis
tance of ninety-fve millions of miles. L
turns on its own axis once in twenty
four hours, making a day and night
,, The earth's revolution round the Sun i
called its annual or yearly motion, be
= cause it is performed in year; Will
the revolution around its own axis i
called the diurnal or daily motion, be
cause it takes place every day. Tn
earth's motion in her orbit is at the rat
q of sixty-eight thousand miles per hour.
| THE MooN.-The moon, next to tn
, Sun, is to us the most brilliant and il
teresting of all the celestial bodies. Be
!. ing the nearest to us of any. of the heay
q enly orbs, and apparently designed fc
/, our use, she has been observed wit
great attention, and many of the ph,
nomena which she presents are therefor
better understood and explained tina
those of the other planets. The distant
1t of the moon from the earth is two hunC
1T red and forty thousand miles. Her su
y face, when seen through telescope, al
y y pears to be diversified with hills, noun
d aims, valleys, rocks and plains, presen
2. ing most interesting and curious aspec
j. MARs.-The next planet in our sol;
=, system is Mars, his orbit surroundir
- that of the earth The diameter of th
planet is upwards of four thousand mile
being about half that of the earth. I'll
revolution of Mars around the Sun
performed in nearly six hundred al
eighty-seven days, or in somewhat lie
than two of our years, and he turns
his axis once in twenty-four hours al
forty minutes. His mean distance fro
the Sun is one hundred aud forty-fo
millions of miles. so that be moves
be his orbit at the rate of about ffty-f
,ot thousand miles in an hour. This plar
of | sometimes annears mnch larner To