The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1883-09-01
Providence Journal.l
aPlanets for September.

| elonSatlOn, ana is tnen 10 AZ east OF the
sun. Though nearly at his maximum dis
| lance from the sun it viii be no easy matter
| to pick him up on account of his southern
declination. At elongation he sets at Z
O'Clock in the evening aboat three-quarters
of an hour after sunset 1t will take sharp
eyes TO discern him in the west at that time,
and for few days before and after. But 1t
| is his last visible appearance as evening star
| during the year. fortunately, the bright
star Spica is a guide to his whereabouts, the
shy planet being little distance to the
west of the star and nearly 13o south of the
sunrise point.
The right ascension of Mercury is 12h.
11m., his declination is % so south, and his
diameter is g..
Mercury sets on the LIST at twenty minutes
past o'clock; at the end of the month he
sets about 6 o'clock.
| Venus is morning star until the Goth, and
| then evening star for ten months to come.
| On the Goth, at O'Clock in the evening, she
| is in superior conjunction with the sun, and
for time her queenly presence is lost to
sight, for she is eclipsed in the SUMS rays.
1t has taken this untiring traveller over the
celestial road ever since the 9th of December
to reach the opposite portion of her orbit as
seen from the earth. She was at the time
of her memorable transit, in inferior con-
Junction, passing directly between us and
the sun, with her dark side turned towards
us. Very many observers enjoyed the rare
nrivilano of hobnlIipO fba han Hav
saw the planet crossing the SUMS disc in the
form of a tiny black point. At superior or
outer conjunction, she will pass beyond the
sun at distance from the earth of 100000
00e miles, and if she were not hidden in the
sunlight would present the appearance of a
small round disc 10" in diameter. At infe-
rior conjunction, she passes between US and
the sun, at distance of 25,000,0 900 miles,
and is invisible, except at the time of a tran
sit, her dark side being turned towards US.
Her disc is then co. in diameter, and, if her
bright face was turned towards us, we
should behold superb young moon whose
dazzling brilliancy would dim the luster of
the stars. Since inferior conjunction she
has oscillated westward from the sun, reach
ing her extreme elongation and retracing
her steps towards him, in the odd way in
which she seems to move. Though Venus Is
but 112 days in making half her revolution
around the sun, it takes her 292 days to
complete half her synodic period. or reach
the point where she, the earth, aud the sun
are in the same straight line. For while
she is moving in her orbit at the rate of
twenty-one miles a second, the earth moves
IN much larger orbit at the rate of eighteen
miles second, and 292 days must pass be-
fore they come into line, in travelling from
one conjunction to the other, and 5S4 days
are required to complete an entire synodic
revolution.
These points being well fixed in the mind,
the brilliant course of Venus for the next
ten months is easily traced. After superior
conjunction, on the 10th, she passes from
the SUMS western to his eastern side, and
becomes evening star. For month or two
she will be hidden in the sunbeams, but in
November sharp eyes will pick her up as a
small, brilliant star, shining in the western
twilight for short time after sunset. She
will be superb in the winter evenings as she
| osciIates on her invisible chain towards
| elongation, and the midsummer of another
| year will make it's advent before, retracing
| her steps towards the sun, she comes again
| to inferior conjunction. There are four
| epochs to be impressed upon the memory in
| tracing the movements of the inferior or in
ner planets. These are inferior conjunction,
western e.ongation, superior conjunction
| and eastern elongation. 1t is easier to fol-
low the course of Venus while evening star,
| for il does not require the exertion of early
Using to reward observation. Students will,
| therefore, anticipate her temperance in
| November, and can trace her course with
an intelligent comprehension of the reasons
that produce her apparently devious path.
| On the 18th, at IL o'clock in the morning,
| Venus is in conjunction with Uranus, pass
| ing As north. The event is interesting, as
| it shows the proximity of two planets, the
| former being nearly ready to pass to the
| SUMS eastern side, while the latter has just
| passed to his western side.
The right ascension of Venus is lob. 23m.,
her declination is 1l0 30 north, and her d.
| ameter is 10y.
| Venus rises on the LIST at 5 o'clock in the
| morning; on the Both she sets few min
ates before O'Clock in the evening.
Uranus is evening star until the 10th,
when he joins the morning stars, reversing
the role that Venus plays during the month.
| On the 10Th, at o'clock in the evening he
is in conjunction with the sun. After con-
| junction, he appears OIL the western side of
| the sun and becomes morning star. ALI the
| outer planets of the system are then on the
| SUMS western side, and all are travelling
| with varying speed towards opposition, in
| the following order: Neptune heads the
| list, rising about half-past O'Clock. Saturn
| follows an hour later. Mars appears shortly
before midnight. Jupiter takes his turn at
| / O'Clock. Uranus is too close to the sun
| to be Of any account. Venus and Uranus
| form admirable Illustrations of the differ
ence between the superior conjunction of an
| inner planet and the conjunction of an out
| er planet. In the former case, Venus seems
| to pass from the SUMS western side to his
| eastern. In the latter case, Uranus seems
| to pass from his eastern side to his western.
| In reality, the planets all revolve around the
| sun from west to east, their apparent move
ments being due to the fact that they are
viewed from the earth, which is a moving
| observatory. Viewed from the sun their
| movements would be much less complicat-
| ed.
The right ascension of Uranus is lib.
| 35m. his declination is 30 81 north, and his
diameter is 3" A.
Uranus sets on the 1st few minutes af-
ter Z o'clock in the evening; at the end of
the month he rises ten minutes before 5
O'Clock in the morning.
Neptune is morning STAR He retains the
| distinction of being first on the list to ap-
| pear above the horizon. He will also be the
| first to reach opposition, for the earlier in
| the evening superior planet rises, the near
er he is to this important goal.
| The right ascension of Neptune is 3h.
| ION, his declination is 1872 10 north, and
| his diameter is 2" g.
| Neptune TlbeS OH Lie ISL dUOuG QalI paSL b
o'clock in the evening; on the Goth he rises
about half past O'Clock.
| Saturn is morning star. On the I'd, at
| o'clock in the morning, he is in quadrature
| with the sun, the second of the great planets
| to reach this time-mark in his path, the half
way house in his progress from conjunction
to opposition. He is fast becoming an OBJ
| ject of exceeding interest to observers, for
| he may soon be seen above the horizon early
enough in the evening to make it unneces-
sary for the observer to encroach on the
hours devoted to sleep for sight of his Sc
rene and softly-shining face. He may be
found in the vicinity of the Pleiades and
| Aldeoaran, and will be readily recognized
by the color of pale gold that distinguishes
him from his brother planets. Beautiful as
| is his present appearance, he will increase
| in size and brilliancy until the last of No
vember, when he reaches the eliminating
| point for the present year.
The right ascension of Saturn is 4h. 33m. !;
his decliDaton is 2O0 8 north, and his diam
| eter is IT.