Bristol news. [volume] (Bristol, Va. & Tenn.) 1867-189?, 1879-06-10
WONDERS OF VENUS.
T Ii un ders RcVcrberating
Through the Planets
valleys.

Philadelphia Times
Many who admire the beautiful star
which now adOrns the western sky until
more than three hours after the COM
mencement of twilight, may not be
aware that its splendor is derived from
the sun; that in it, like on the earth,
night curtains the landscape, morning
dawns and seasons in quick succession
come and go. Lofty mountains show
that forces similar to those which up
heaved the Alps and lifted the SUBMITS
Of the Andes above the regions Of eter-
nal snow have ridged its surface and
covered it with hills and wales. Varia-
bic spots prove that clouds float in its
atmosphere, and CLEANS Of light, which
dart across the sky, afford evidence that
in it lightning seams the sky and the
thundcr's roll reverbcrates through the
valleys.
But 300 miles less in diamater than the
earth and revolving on its axis in nearly
the same time, Venus makes thirteen
revolutions around the sun while the
former makes eight. As the inclination
of the planet to the plane Of its orbit is
at least fifty-four degrees, its torrid zone
is double that extent, or l0S degrees,
and its polar circles fifty-four degrees
from the poles. 1t therefore has two
frigid and Il torrid, but no temperate
zone. Since the sun must arrive at the
equator and depart from it to the dis
tance Of tifty-four degrees twice in each
of its years, there must be two summers
and two winters annually in the tol1id
zone and winter and summer in each
of the frigid. Venus becomes the morn
ing star after its superior conjunction,
when it appears through the telescope,
crescent-shaped like the new moon. The
orbits Of this planet and Of Mercury are
within the orbit of the earth, and con-
sequently they are never seen in opposi-
the sun is in the west, or in the west and
the sun in the east. At its inferior con-
junction, Venus is nearer to the earth
than any other planet except the moon,
and sometimes when approaching the
greatest distance, when II seems to re-
ccde from the sun, casts shadow and Is
visible in the full light Of day. fiat the
period when il is nearest to the earth,
the enlightened part were fully turned
towards ,hc latter, this planet would APP
pear twenty times as brilliant rs 1t now
does and almost vie with the moon in
dsSipating the darkness of night. Be-
ing situated at about one-thrd less dis
tancc from the sun than the earth. We
nus receives more light from that lumi-
nary than is received by the former
planet, and seems not to require the aid
of moon. Nevertheless, several as
trouomcrs have affirmed that they had
noticed such body, and have even gone
so far as to calculate the orbit ot the
supposed satellite, but their observations
have not been verified.
The transils of Venus, or It's passage
between the earth and the sun, when 1t
appears MS n round dark spot moving
slowly across the solar disc, have been
made to assist In determining the dis
tNncc of the earth from the central lu-
minary. The last transit occurred In
December 1874, and tho next will take
place in December, 1872. As this can
be viewed In the United States 1t will
awaken II greater interest than the tram
sit which Rtteuhouse and others OBJ
served more than century ago. But
four trnsits of Venus have been OBJ
served, aud after 1852 one hundred and
twenty-one and half years will clOpsc
before the alternately morning aud even
Ing star will pursue its seeming pathway
across the surface Of the great orb of
day.