The silver state. [volume] (Unionville, Nev.) 1870-1903, 1880-07-19
FOUR GREAT lPLANETs.
Jupfter, Tranus, SatNrD and Neptune
Approach the san Together.

Approach the San Together.
From the London Telegraph
Astronomers tell us that we are en-
tering upon period when an occur
renee will take place i'll the heavens
which mas not been known to us for
more than eighteen centuries. Tire
four largest of the planetary bodies,
Jupiter. Uranus, Saturn and Neptune,
are approaching their perihelion point
in space, are sweeping IN their gigantic
orbits nearer and nearer to the sun. and
their Simultaneous approximation to the
central mass OF the solar system has
inspired some minds with fears as to
the possible results to the particular
planet on which we tiwe!l. There is no
need for any anxiety, however, as such
an event has happened several times
before, and probably will happen often
again, without causing the smallest in
convenience to any human being. The
pcrihelion eli planet being that point
in its orbit where it comes nearest to
tae sun, and all the planets being at
different distances from that luminary
it follows that some Of them approach
the sun, or are in perihelion, more fire.
quently than others. Neptune, the
most distart Of all, takes i64 years to
complete it's movement round the sun;
while Jupiter, in size the king Of plan
cts, he WHOM the Greeks called Phae-
ton, and the Egyptians the Brilliant. !"
sweeps round in less than a twelfth
part OF that time. fhe last occasion
when stellar phenomenon similar to
that which is about to happen occurred,
was at the beginning OF the last cen.
tury, when all four of these wandering
worlds neared the sun almost simulta-
neously. That was in l70S and the
following years, and Il there were any
grounds for supposing that earthquakes
and plaques attended these unusaual
events, history ought to inform us OF
dire calamities a. that time affecting
the globe; yet there is no satisfactory
proof of the earth having been dis
turbed about that period. On the con-
trary, she seems to have adopted an
attitude of perfect Indifference, in spite
of the proximity OF the major planets
The Great Plague happened in the year
1885, and can hardly, therefore, be put
down to the malignant influence Of
planetary perinelia; mere especially as
it can be accounted for by other causes,
sach as unsanitary conditions of life,
and an absence of sufficient amount
of fruit and fresh vegetables in the diet
of the age. Ii there are any who would
attribute the war Of the succession to
these respondent heavenly bodies, they
should, in common fairness to Jupiter
and Neptune, remember that the peace
of Utrecht which ended the contest,
was happily ccmented in the year 1913,
at time when according to astrology,
not only "the dogs of war" but the
more terrible wolves of famine, to say
nothing OF earthquakes and tempests,
ought to have been reveling III slaugh-
ter all over the world Why should
we ascribe balefnl powers to any con-
junction of the countless host of
heaven? There is really no shallow of
Astronomical ground for believing that
the other plarets exercise any sensible
sway over the meteorological conditions
under which we live The perturbing
power of these bodies is limited to
slightly altering the elliptical orbit of
the earth, and beyond that they have
assumed toward one smaller planet an
attitude OF perfect compiacency.
Mrs. Tom Thumb is described by a
correspondent as she appeared recently