The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1883-09-30
THE HEAVENS IN OCTOBER.
providence Journal.I

above the norizoh, isihs ca'y N ~,
ming. II may seem anomalous 10 cal NeP-
tune morning star when he rises moi 'ous
after sunset. But the outer planets are
ranked as morning stars from conf Junction
to imposition. the path on which Neptune
"a now travelling. The shorter the tlhe
between the hour OF their rising ana tue
hour of sunset, the nearer they are 10
imposition. II may thus be seen tiat
Neptune Is rapidly approaching TINS
important point In his course. we sna''
probably never know how grand specta-
Gle this distant orb might present on u
nearer approach, but we may hope tnat .ne
astronomer is born who will discover tnat
he IL not the most distant planet obeying
our central sun. =. .
The right ascension OF Neptune Is
hours Is minutes, his declination Is io X
north, and his diameter Is 2".6.
Neptrne rises on the fst about hali-pas.
7 o'clock in the evening. On the 3lst he
rises at hali-past O'Clock. ~
SATURN Is morning star and taxes tne
second rank in the order OF rising he
now superb object In the eastern shy
after O'Clock. and cannot fail to be readily
recognized from his vicinity to the well
known cluster OF the Pleiades and the rud-
Nv Aldebaran, and from the serene aspect
he mixes on. Fortunately for the student
an ordinary telescope will reveal portion
% tho wonders that surround this magniti-
cent planet, unequalled In our own sys-
TEN and invisible from every SHINING s.ar
that studs the sky-depths. saturn coht,i-
butes little to the incidents OF the month";
but observers will find him a deiight
full object for investigation as ne draws
nearer to the earth and rises earlier every
night.
The right ascension OF Saturn is 4 hours
80 minutes; his decination is ~ Il north,
and his diameter is 1872. :,
Saturn rises on the 1st shortly after hall
past s o'clock in the evening. On the 3lst
he rises about half-past O'Clock.
MARS Is morning star, and takes the thlrd
rank i'm the order OF rising until the l9th,
when Jupiter seemingly Outstrips him IN
the race; for on the 10Th, at i O'Clock In
the afternoon, the two planets are in con-
junction, being about one degree apart,
Mars being north. They will be near to-
getber when they rise, soon after III o'clock,
on the evening OF the 18th, the rudy hue
of Mars and the golden tint Of Jupiter
making an interesting contrast, ana as
clearly determining the individuality OF
the planet as the features OF well-knowh
friends distinguish them from each other.
An event of unusual interest occurs this
month in the progress Of Mars. The con-
stelatiOn Cancer, or the Crab. contains
nebuous cluster OF minute stars known as
Praesepe. The cluster is luminous enough
to be distinctly seen by the naked eye on
moonless nights. On the 2ith, nj noon
day, Mars passes into this cluster, ana
when he rises in the evening about ii
O'Clock he will be an interesting object for
observation, especially through the tele-
SCOPE. There is no need Of describing his
position, for he is then short distance
northeast OF Jupiter, and can be easily re-
cognized. On the 3lst, at midnight,
Mars il in quadrature with the sun,
being the fourth TO reach this epoch III
his course, Neptune. Saturn, and Jupiter
having preceded him. He is then 800 IN
longitude west of the sun. rising about
midnight and setting about MONDAY. Ii
will be noticed how nearly Mars and Jupl-
ter travel i'm the same path during the
month, and how close they seem together
as seen from the earth, though hundreds OF
millions of miles away, and the whole lam
ily of the asteroids intervene between the
outermost Of the inner planets ana the III
nermOst OF the outer planets.
The right ascension OF Mars is 7b. Am. /;
his declination is go AZ north, and his d.
ameter is 7".
Mars rises on the 1st about half-past III
o'clock in the evening; on the 3lst he rises
at / o'clock.
JUPITER Is morning star, and takes the
fourth rank i'm the order OF rising until the
10Th, when coming into conjunction with
Mars. he usurps his place and takes the
third rank among his peers. But he eX-
ceeds every planet in the system and every
star i'm the heavens in the surprising beau.
ty OF his appearance. Much to the Joy OF
astronomers, he will soon be in position
favorable for telescope research. NO
planet i'm the solar family exceeds IN inter-
est the one that holds place second only
to the sun in size and majesty. The desire
to learn something new concerning our
giant brother increases every year, ana
the constantly recurring red spots, white
spots, and intensely colored belts are
proofs of Jovian activity that whet the GU
riosity of diligent observers. Few aspects
OF the disc at the coming opposition VIII
escape the attention OF eager watchers,
who make a specially OF Joyian astron-
omy.
On the 9th, at MONDAY, Jupiter Is IN
ouadrature with the sun on his western
side, being the third OF the great planets TO
reach this epoch in the synodic course.
The Prince OF Planets thus evenly bal
anced between conjunction and opposition,
comes beaming above the horizon before
midnight, makes his way with a brilliant
retinue Of shining stars, and reigns as tle
brightest of them all through the still
watches of the silent night.
The right ascension OF Jupiter Is Sh.
12m., his declination is 200 49, north, and
his diameter 34|.
Jupiter rises on the LIST about quarter
of an hour alter midnight; on the 31st be
rises at half-past 10 O'Clock.
URANUS is morning star, the fifth in rank
in the order OF rising. On the 18th. at
O'Clock i'm the morning, he is in close con-
junction with Beta Virgins, being only s.
north of the star. A powerful telescope
will be required to bring to view the near
approach Of planet and star as they come
above the horizon about O'Clock.
The right ascension OF Uranus is flh.
4im., his declinatiOn is 20 AZ north, and
his diameter is 81 A.
Uranus rises on the 1st about a quarter
before 8 o'clock in the morning; on the
3lst he rises at O'clock.
| MERCURY Is evening star until the 9Th,
and morning star for the rest Of the
month. On the 4th, at 8 O'Clock in the
morning, he is in conjunction with We.
nus, but they are so near the sun that the
meeting Of the inner planets will not be
visible to terrestrial observers. On the
9th, at o'clock in the evening, Mercury
is in inferior conjunction with the sun,
passing between the earth and the great
luminary, and reappearing on his western
side as morning star. On the 10th, at .
O'Clock in the afternoon, he is in conjunc.
ton with Gamma Virgins, being about
one degree south Of the star. Bright-eyed
observers NAV nossihlv ace The apnroaci