Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1879-08-15
Wonders of Venus.

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 60. Lofty mountains show that
forces similar to those which upheaved
the Alps and lifted the submits of the
Andes above the regions of eternal
snow have ridged its surface and covered
it with hills and wales. Variable spots
prove that clouds float in its atmosphere,
and CLEANS of light, which dart across
its sky, afford evidence that in it light
ming seams the sky and the thunder's
roll reverberates through the valleys.
But 300 miles less in diameter than
the earth, and revolving on its axis in
nearly the same time, Venus makes thir.
teen revolutions around the sun while
the former makes eight. As the inclin-
alton of the planet to the plane of it's
orbit is at least tifty-four degrees, its
torrid zone is double that extent, or
10S degrees, and its polar circles fifty
four degrees from the poles. 1t there
fore has tive frigid and torrid, but no
temperate zone. Since the sun must
arrive at the equator and depart from
it to the distance of ffty-fouf degrees
twice in each of its years, there must
be two summers and two winters an
nually in the torid zones and winter
and summer in each of the frigid.
Venus becomes the morning star after
its superior conjunction, when it ap.
pears, through the telescope. crescent
shaped like the new moon. The orbits
of this planet and Of Mercury are with
in the orbit of the earth, and conse-
quently they are never seen in opposi-
ton to the sun, that is in the east when
the sun is in the west, or in the west
and the sun in the east. At its inferior
conjunction, Venus is nearer to the
earth than any other planet except the
moon, and som etimes when approaching
the greatest distance, when it seems to
recede from the sun, casts shadow and
is visible in the full light of day. If at
the period when it is nearest to the
earth, the enlightened part were fully
turned toward the latter, this planet
WOuAu dPpCdI tWCAIJ tlu1Co 40 oAAAAuho
as it now does and almost vie with the
moon in dissipating the darkness of
night. Being situated at about one
third less distance from the sun than
the earth, Venus receives more light
from that luminary than is received by
the former planet, and seems not to re-
quire the aid of the moon. Neverthe-
less, several astronomers have affirmed
that they have noticed such body, and
have even gone so far as to calculate
the orbit of the supposed satellite, but
their observations have not been veri.
fed.
The transits of Venus, or its passage
between the earth and the sun, when it
appears as a round dark spot moving
slowly across the solar disc, have been
made to assist in determining the dis
lance of the earth from the central lu-
minary. The last transit occurred in
December, 1874, and the next will take
place in December, 1882. As this can
be viewed in the United States it will
awaken greater interest than the tran
sit which Rittenhouse and others OBJ
served more than century ago. But
four transits of Venus have been OBJ
served, and after 1882, 1917 years will
elapse before the alternately morning
and evening star will pursue its seeming
pathway across the surface of the great
orb Of day.-Albamy Journal.