Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1881-02-18
The Planets.

VEINS is evening star, ami easily
wins the place Of honor among the
,,arrv hos, that studs the December
H.. Almost as soon as the sun sinks
haiov the horizon. she makes her ap.
,oarAnce il the twiiight's mellow glow,
lh;nirr with soft golden luster pccui-
;arlv hcr own, aid looking SO bewitch-
;ngiiy fair that no observer wonders that
the early a3tr0ncilors saw IN her the
Goddess cg love and beauty euthroned
in tLe heavens, She is still rcceding
iron, the sun, osciilatiIg on her eastern
natl like J. golden boad strung on AZ
Invisible wire. The proof Of this is
easily sceD, for sho sets Later every
even;ng, aUd increases in size and
brightness; her increasing stay above
the horizon being caused by her greater
distance eastward from the sun, and
her increasing SIG and brightness by
her consequent approach to the earth.
The apparent movement of this planet
is so slow tlat she can be easily fol
lowed in her course. 1t must be re-
membered that she is now travelling
from her superior conjunction, which
occurred on the l3.h OF July, to her
greatest eastern clongation. which she
will not reach until the 10th of Tebru-
ary. Until that time, she will continue
on her eastern path, just as she is NOV.
ing at the present time. The compare
tive size of Jupiter aud Venus is now
an interesting point for observation. An
ordinary observer would probably say
that Venus looked the larger of the two.
But the wise men of science, who take
care OF the stars, measure their dimen-
sions for years ahead, and from their
computations we learn that, on the 9th
of December, the diameter Of Venus is
about fourteen seconds of degree, and
that of Jupiter forty'two seconds,
Jupiters diameter being three times a.
large. Venus, however, is SO much
nearer the sun tia. her illuminating
power is much greater, aad like all the
heavenly bodies, she looks larger as she
approaches the horizon, while her rival
loses il apparent size as she approaches
the zenith.
Jupiter is evening star, and beaud-
full object in the SKY, though his WaL'
ing glory forces him to yield the starry
sceptcr to his fair rival. The contrasted
movements of tho two planets are still
matter Of prominent planetary inter.
est, Jupiter rising in the east as Venus
descerds in the west, the one nearly
reaching the zenith as tho other disap-
pears below the horizon. They are also
approaching each other as Jupiter
moves westward and Venus eastward
observers easily notice that the distance
lessons between them. On the 21st of
February they will be in conjunction,
Jupiter being three degrees south OF
Venus. Jupiter, in passing from oppo-
sition to conjunction, has now reached
the halfway point in his course. This
is called his quadrature. The famous
red spot still remains on his disc, re.
tanning its size and proportions. Sew
eral smaller spots have appeared in his
northern hemisphere, and q more
brilliant shading to the equatorial
belts, as we'll as several new ones nearer
the poles. have been noted during the
last month. These phenomena prove
that fresh disturbances arc agitating
the surface of the planet, and help to
support the theory of planetary at
traction as the cause OF the sunspot
period. The Austrian earthq uako, with
the terrible destruction Of life and
property that marked its course, bears
witness to the believers in this theory
of the continued abnormal condition OF
the sun and the consequent war OF the
elements in terrestrial territories, which
are bat TIE reflections IT the solar ont
bursts. The Thermometer marking
thirtj zine degrees below Z.ro III D,
western s!.tte, aud tho report tiat sew
eral persons were frozen TO death NOT
very far distant from our own borders
are unusual events.