The Portland daily press., 1881-02-08
Planets in February.

lCondensed from Providence Journal.l
Venus is evening star, and easily wins the
place of honor in the planetary presentation
that graces the February sky. Two important
epochs in her course occur this month. On
the 10Th she arrives at her greatest eastern
elongation or most distant point from the sun.
After this, reversing her movement she ap-
proaches the sun until her inferior conjunction
on the Sd of May, when her role as evening
star is completed, the process occupying nearly
ten months. Then passing to the western side
OF the sun, she repeats the same course in re-
versed order as morning star until she again
comes to her superior conjunction, and starts
on new course. Any Intelligent observer
can follow the movements of this beautiful
planet and verify with his own eyes the
laws which regulate her seeming progress
through the sky. Let him remember that un-
til the Goth she moves eastward; after this time
she is stationary for few days, and then re-
traces her steps, moving rapidly westward and
glowing every night with increasing splendor
until next May. Fortunately, we need but
learn one thing at a time, and for two months
we have nothing to note but her rapid ap-
proach to the sun, her wondrous brilliancy
-~A'NAA5 HIA PA"aAAy NioibAo III tuo Qdy tlu0y
and her perceptible shadow on moonless
nights. She moves at apparently SO slow
pace, that once having impressed upon the
mind the prominent points of her course, it is
easy to keep the track forever after.
The other important epoch in the February
phases of Venus is her conjunction with Ju-
piter, which occurs exactly at midnight ON
the evening OF the 21st The two planets will
1aat and nfh y
would only occult, or pass over Jupiter, it
would be sight to be remembered for a life
time, but she wends on her resistess path
three degrees to the north, and students of the
stars must be contented with comparatively
beautiful aspects when trancendent ones are
beyond their reach. Venus now sets at
O'Clock; at the end OF the month about o quar-
ter before 10 o'clock. 9f
Jupiter is evening star, and, if he cannot
carry off the palm for the radiance of his shi-
ming, he contributes to the annals Of the
month extraordinary illustrations of continued
elemental warfare which may reasonably
strengthen the faith of believers in the theory
oi planetary influence as partial cause of the
sun-spot period. To be sure, he passed perihe-
helion two months ago, and is nearly at his
greatest distance from the earth. But when o
vast orb like the sun is excited, 1t
does not calm down to its normal
condition in minute, for the influ-
ence continues after the cause is partially re-
moved. If Jupiter is increasing his distance,
the three planets beyond him are all approach
ing their perihelia, and pulling upon the sun
with combined though lesser attraction, and
it will not be strange if the present conditions
of disturbance continue in milder form for
some time to come. The meteorological phe-
nomena OF the season surpass any similar rec
ords in the memory OF the present generation,
and deserve the careful attention of intelligent
observers Fortunately, the worst is probably
over, as the sun advances northward and ush-
ers in more genial skies, while it is something
TO be grateful for that thus far our belt of
earth has escaped the maliffic influence pre-
vall1ng in less favored quarters of the globe.
Saturn is evening star and presents few
points OF interest during the month, as he fol-
lows closely in the wake of the more brilliant
Jupiter. Saturn now sets at II O'Clock, at the
end OF the month at about ha f-past o'clock.
Mercury is evening star, and like Venus,
reaches his greatest eastern elongation on the
23d. AS he is nearer the sun than Venus, his
chain Is not much more than half as long, and
he Keeps much closer to the sun. He may
possibly be picked up for few nights before
and alter the 23d, as he is then above the hori-
Zon for about an hour and a half after sunset.
lie must be looked for about ten degrees
north OF the point where the sun went down,
and about tho same distance south of Venus,
and at about half the distance between Venus
and the horizon. We take special pains to
point out the position of this shy planet, for
sight OF 1T is something worth rernems msering.
Mercury sets now at half-past 8 o'clock; at
INC oLu Vi tne InOntn SnOrtly a1ter O'CLOCK.
Mars Is morning star, and is coming towards
us, though presenting little to interest observ-
ers He IS slowly gaming in brightness and
size, and may be easily recognized by his rud-
dy light, rising about an hour and half be-
fore sunrise. He rises now about quarter be-
fore . O'Clock, few degrees south of the point
OF sunrise; at the last of the month he rises
about o'clock. Uranus is morning star, and
is fast drawing near his opposition with the
sun, when bright eyes may discern his pres
ence without the aid of q telescope He rises
now at o'clock in the evening: at the end of
the month at o'clock.
The February moon fulls on the 18th, hav-
ing commenced her course on the 10Th of JAN
uary.. She threads her way impartially among
the clustering members of the solar family,
paying her court to Venus on the I'd, Jupiter
on the Sd, Saturn on the 4th and Neptune on
the 9th, but the cocjunctions are not near
enough to be of special interest, the moon pas
sing f'om i've to seven degrees north of the
planets. On the 18th, the day after the full,
she passes near Uranus, and near Mars on the
morning of the 25th.
young lady in Rome says she has often
heard of the backbone of winter, but she nev-
er knew what it really was until she attempted
to walk ON the ridges of snow which are polite
iy termed sidewalks. She thinks the a aforaeaid