Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1882-12-05

Tus IRA%5ir OF tESUS 1O-MORRUW.-
Y,. transit Of Venus, as has been predicted
r. ..ycrai years, will occur tomorrow. IL
-. weather is clear the transit can be OBJ
..ryrd hv the naked eye with piece Of
.,o,.cl class. The first contact will be
bout 9.O- "a. III. the second about $50 and
.hrtiird about 800 pm. A transit Of Venus IS
.gr passage Of that planet across tie
T.g nf the sun. II the orbits of the planet
,y,r. IN the same plane with that Of our
.ar,h. there would he a transit every time
y,pg. completed her revolution with res
,.r, 70 IL. As it is, sometimes she passes
..hayr and sometimes below the sun. Owing
.oc,r,u:n pcc4liaritie5 of the planets mo
.ou. the transits occur in pairs, the two of
I. pair being separated by period of years
willie The pairs are distant from each other,
alternately 100! and 10y years. We are
,aw aprrOaohing the second one Of pair,
The first OF which was, widely observed in
81 The next pair will be seen in the years
y.li and 1ol2 Ii is not pc ,sible here TO c2-
ralu "a detail the nature of the mathemat
..l ;?eI,icln Involved in the transit 1t can
,n.. H. sand that two observers at different
,,at- un Inc earth, viii see Venus projcc-
,,,i at il.!,.:l."t points on the sun. The
AHa', .:unrIn CONSISTS in measuring the
,lg-ta,l.r. bet wrcu these two projections in
4u.lti.. !.!"n-urc, from which the value of
.!H"., scron,l on the sun and of the suns
diameter can he readily computed His
distance follows directly from his diameter
4. display it is not nearly SO noteworthy
An event a. dozens Of others of less variety
Il, yutIc rests almost entirely on the fact
that il affords means. OF considerable ac-
cuYacv Of determining the distance to the
sun. which distance is the astronomical unit
Of meG urc not only in the solar system,
Ju; H. The stars also There are many spec
4latiou- among astronomers whether or not
ta- bright planet is inhabited, but Of course,
QoI.ing definite can be said OH that point.
!aricarc many things, however, we do know
about her which may prove interesting.
She has been measured and found to be
about as large as the earth on which we
i've and, like it, travels in q regular orbit
round the sun, though Venus performs her
Quincy in about seven and half months.
She turns upon her axis, too, like the earth,
hut her days and nights are not quite as
long A. ours. Venus is much nearer the sun
!an our globe and consequently receives
greater amount of heat; hence, if she has
Inhabitants they must be salamanders u-
deed. and creatures different from any we
know anything about. No doubt she has
let oceans. pronontories: inland seas and
axe, like or earth, and there must be
clouds, thunder, lightning and all other ter
rsirial phenomena. 1t, for aught we know
% the contrary, may he world undergoing
Preparations for creatures like ourselves
theology shows how our earth had to pass
through ages in forming its coal and other
strata. and perhaps Venus is now in one of
IS periods preparatory TO receiving inhabi-
ants. 1t is probably the best known plan
:: in our solar system, very few people
-avng failed to observe this bright star, and
rom month to month watch its gradual
change OF position.