Morning journal and courier., 1881-11-10
Planets in November.
Mercury's Transit Across the Sums Disc
 and .Eupiter in the Most Brilliant Epoch
 of His Course.

and Jupiter in the Most Brilliant Epoch
 of His Course.
 From the Providence Journall
 Mercury is morning star this month. He wins the place of honor on the November record, for on the 7th he makes transit across the suns disc. Unfortunately, the transit commences at o'clock in the even- ing, when sun and planet are safely below the horizon in this longitude, and it is invis- ible; but dwellers on the Pacific Coast, if the sky is clear, will have a fine opportunity for observing the phenomenon. Observers fortunate enough to have access to good telescope will see Mercury passing over the suns face, looking like black ball taking about five hours for the passage.
 Jupiter is morning star till the 18th, when
 passing to the eastern side of the sun, he be- comes evening star. If Mercury deserves the palm on the planetary annals of Novem- ber as the hero of the transit, Jupiter will
 win equal renown for the most brilliant epoch in his course, his opposition with the sun.
 This event occurs at o'clock on the morn- ing of the 18th, when Jupiter will be nearer to us than he will again be for more than a year to come. He will then rise at sunset, being opposite the sun, and no one who looks at the eastern sky, almost as soon as the sun has disappeared below the western, can fail
 to recognize the prince of planets as with ma
 jestic steps he treads his sparkling pathway
 
 exceeds every star then visible in the heav ems. and wins from every star gazer tributes of wonder and admiration at his magnificent appearance. He will be superb object in the heavens during the frosty nights of Mo- vember, when the moon is out of the way, and for three months to come he will outrl- val every member of the starry host in the nightly pageant He is only thirteen days behind Saturn in reaching the same goal, and passes the meridian when in opposition at
 HAP o'clock, forty minutes behind Saturn Jupiter is now about 409, ,00O,O0 miles from the earth, instead of 591, COG, ,O0O miles, as when farthest away.
 Neptune on the 7th takes his turn in
 reaching opposition, and takes his place
 among the evening stars, reaching the goal seven days after Saturn and six days before Jupiter It will readily be seen how nearly in line with the earth and the sun the three great planets, Saturn, Neptune and Jupiter, are at the present time, and it will be inter
 esting to note if the preponderance of at
 traction on the same side of the great 1umi- nary leads to any perceptible increase of commotion on his storm-tossed surface. Nep- tune is too small to be seen by the unaided eve. but he is in fine position for telescopic observation.
 Saturn is evening star, and still retains his place as the leader of the five planets travel ing towards the sun. He would make 8 more brilliant appearance if his rival Jupiter were out of the way.
 Mars is morning star, and increasing in in terest as he takes on a more ruddy hue and
 larger dimensions His increasing northern l declination is to be noted, for he is now sew
 en degrees farther north than Jupiter and twelve degrees farther north than Saturn. He must therefore be looked for in the north
 east, rising at S:45 o'clock, and may be easily
 recognized by his fiery color and the line he
 forms with Jupiter and Saturn above him. Venus is morning star, and appears each morning later above the horizon as she draws
 nearer superior conjunction with the sun.
 She measures now eleven seconds in diane ter, while Jupiter measures forty-six seconds.
 But her day of triumph will come when, in D. cember, 1882, she reaches her inferior conjunction and treats the world to grand display at her transit.
 The sun is also an actor in the scenes that
 diversity the experience of his family of worlds during the month, on the Fist, when the charming phenomenon of an annular ] eclipse occurs But the golden ring of light surrounding the moons dark shadow will only be visible in the Southern Ocean and in the southern part of South America.