Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1880-03-06
Planets I'm March.

Planets In March.
Mars is evening star, and holds the place OF
honor as the most interesting mempef Of the
planetary brotherhood during the month, for
he plays an important part In beautiful &C.
evening Of the nth. An occultation Of Mars by
the moon will then take place under conditions
favorable for observation. The occultation win
commence about half past six O'clock and the
planet will be hidden for more than an hour.
Mars vii. be about an hour past the meridian,
and at an altitude above the horizon that will
insure good view. While the moon will be
within day of her first quarter. II the wea-
Their is propttiouS, there will be no drawback to
the perfection Of the show. At forty-four min
dark side Of the moon; this is called the time OF
immersion. AT thirty -four seconds after eight,
he will reappear on the western edge Of the
duration Of the oecultation viii be- an hour and
sixteen minutes A good telescope will In
crease the interest and grandeur OF the phenome-
the moon VIII first pass between US and the
planet. The instant Mars touches the invisi-
Die outline OF the lunar disk he will appar-
emily he blotted out of the SKY. After an hour
ana sixteen minutes have passed, the rudy
star will suddenly start forth from his hiding
place. trembling for second on the moons
western verge charmingly illustrating the con-
trast In colors between the red light OF Mars
and the silrery hue OF the moon; then. the
show will be over, and satellite and planet will
roll on in their respective paths. The position
who would witness. the loccultatlon. He has
passed the Pleiades and IS now almost directly
north OF Aldebaran. His size and brightness
are slowly diminishing as he travels from US
and towards the sum- Mars now sets shortly
after one in the morning; at the close OF the
month, about half hour after midnight
month, and merits attention for the occurrence
OF an epoch in his history. He comes into con-
junction with the sun on the 18th, when sun
and planet set at the same time; he is at his
fpSf FROM fhn rfh md fob
his smallest dimensions. After the 18th he
will reappear on the western side of the sun
and commence his role as morning star. Bright
eyes may pick him up now in the west soon
after sunset, and at the end of the month
brighter eyes will be required to catch a
glimpse OF him before sunrise. He sets now
rises at twenty -six minutes after five. Every
one who has watched his movements In the
evening sky will mourn the departure of one of
its most brilliant adOrnmentS.
Mercury is evening star for almost the whole
month, reaching his greatest eastern elonga-
ton or most distant point from the sun on the
10th. He is In inferior conjunction with the
sun on the 2Sth, when passing between US and
the sun, he becomes morning star. Mercury,
about the 10th, will be in one Of the three most
favorable positions for being seen by the naked
eye that occur during the year. He must be
looked for soon after sunset little north Of the
point where the sun disappeared. He sets
now about seven, a little east Of Jupiter. At
the close of the month he rises about half-past
five In the morning.
Uranus sevening star, and is now in his best
position for observation, coming to the meri-
dian about midnight, and high enough above
the horizon to show himself In his best phase.
He still keeps In the near vicinity of the star
Rho Leonis. He rises now about five; at the
end of the month about three.
noteworthy in his record for the month. he
looks little brighter now that his rival Jupiter
is out of his way, but he takes on his palest as
pect as slowly sinking to the west In the early
evening hp travels towards his
with the sun, in whose bright rays he will soon
be eclpsed. He sets now at half-past eight; at
the close OF the month at about seven.
Venus Is morning star, the sole planet to be
seen in the morning dawn throughout the
month. She is slowly advancing towards the
sun. and growing less brilliant as her distance
beautiful phase she Will not fail to attract at
tention from all who watch the eastern sky be-
fore the sun puts out the leaser lights She
rises now few minutes after five; at the end
of the month few minutes before five less
than an hour before sunrise.
The March moon fulls on the 26th, and holds
the honor Of determining the time for Easter,
preceding the festival by only two days. The
old moon pays her respects to Venus on the
sth, two days before her change, the near ap-
proach OF the slender waning crescent and the
saT n gh sse On es
tires. The new moon of the 10th will be in
conjunction with Jupiter on the 18th, and with
both Mercury and Saturn on the 1sth, the moon
PlohCVo
twilight. On the oath, the moon will be near
Uranus.
A charming Phenomenon will therefore add
special interest to the planetary annals of
March. The occultatfon OF Mars by the moon
is something to be remembered for lifetime,
for the moon does not often deign to put out the
light of planet The last occurrence Of
turn by the moon, which took place twice in
successive months, the first occurring on the
9Th Of August, and the second on the Sd of Sep
fayy, 1,or 6o1y yoPr
show dwarfs those of minor importance. But
there ar other interesting studies besides those
OF the Marian occultation. Uranus continues
n ns most and tr tbe
stars before the month closes, leaving the sun
with three planets on his western side and
three on the eastern. The waning moon and
Venus may be seen on the morning of the Sth.
and the waxing moon with Mercury and Saturn
will form trio Of stars on the evening of the
12th-IrOcidence Journal