Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1884-08-02
THE PLANETS FOR AUGUST.
HOURS wI7B TnE TELESCOPE.
Nssss for students Of Assrenems-rhe fIes-
ss.y Ro<fes and Their Movements.

The astronom. cal artical In the provi-
deuce .foMwot OF Thursday says: Venus
Is morning star throughout the month, aud
easily wins the honor OF being at the head
Of the planetary list, for she IL the most
beautiful object that adorns the eastern sky
before t,R all-conquering sun commences
his dasy course. There Is reason why
the fafrtsi Of the stars deserves special
mention during the passage OF the last
month OF sumner. on the nth she reaches
her period OF greatest bIiliiancy as morn
ing star, when she Is - transcendcnily
lovely that the trouble 81 rising early Is
more than rewarded by The beauty Of the
exhibition Of
Atarte's hctlamoned crescent
Dattnct with its duplicate horn."
VENUS makes her appearance at thattim
soon after O'Clock In the morning, nearly
three hours before sunrise, when such Is
the hrilliancy 81 her shining that objects
illumined by her rays cast shadows, and
even the great sun himself has no power
TO hide her entirely from mortal view.
She may easily he seen after sunrise, and
even al MONDAY, II her position In the sky
il known. Venus hiss two IL these peri
DDS az greatest brilliancy, ~ they are
called. One of them occurs thirty-six days
before inferior conjunction, when che
IN evening star, ~ was illustrated
on the Sd Of June. The other will
take place on the 18th. thiriy-Hr
days after inferior conjunction, when
she Is morning star. These brilliant epochs
IN her course occur when she Ia 400 earand
west OF The sun. and when shout one fourth
Of her disk is illumined. Between the
two periods she IS nearer "a the earth and
l., a tN..G l.-ff no sltumtnQA
portion Of Der disk IL less. and the loss 81
light more than counterballncss the m
crcasinC magnitude. II Is difficult 10 fad
words 10 express the mstchless loneliness
Of this bewitcbiug star. as she hangs low
In tie heavens in the soft Summer norm
ines. She Is rapidly receding from our
pejghboIhoOd, and many months must wax
and wanc before she will again put on her
glorious apparel.
The right ascension OF Yenu. on the let
is Oh. s9m.: her declinalion il iG9 ~ north,
and her diameter IL 49,.
Venus rises on the Isl about 3 O'Clock in
the morning; on the 3Ist che rises shortly
before 9 O'Clock.
JUPITER may almost he numbered with
the morning stars, for ne l. only evening
star until the Tth. On that day, at O'Clock
in the afternoon. be reaches one Of his great
opochs, being then In conjunction with
the sun. isIng and setting with him. and
entirelS hidden from view in his eclip,inG
rays. The planet that bearHed so brightly
in the evening sky has departed, but he Is
not lost. lie has fulfilled his mission
on the suns eastern side, only 20 reappe-r
on the suns western side. where he will
soon emerge from his transient eclipse. to
become the second brightest gem OF the
10 81 St.
and the latest corner among the morning
stars. II is pleasant TO think that Jupiter
Il coming towards us. that we will rise
few minutes earlier every morning, and
that he is fastening towards that part OF
his course when the conditions for obSer-
walton are most favorable. At conf june
ton, a straight line drawn from the earth
through the sun would reach Jupiter il
prolonged, showing that he is then beyond
the sun, aud at his greatest distance from
the earth. II we we're blessed with ado-
Quate ysual powers, and transported TO
the nesr vicinity Of this huge sphere, and
his revolving mOOps, we should behold ma
ferial atoms coDgregated on a vast scale.
Our staid planet, the earth, rOtates on
her axis once in "a hours. As her eircum-
ference is about $4,000 miles, her aXial ve-
locity nj the equator Is about 1000 miles an
hour or 10 miles minute. Jupiter rOtates
on his axis in a few minutes less than 10
hours. As his circumference is about
267 900 miles, his aXiai velocity al the
equator Is $4,000 miles an hour. or about
44O miles q minute-tweDty.s times
greater than that az the terrestrial equator.
a sphere when In plastic state, rotating
with such velocity, would show the effect
Of the rapid aXial motion by bulging ont
nj The equator and being fiattened az the
poles. Such Is the case with Jupiter,
whose polar diameter II one-seventeenth,
or 1900 miles less than his equatorial
diameter, the difference being more than
half 81 the earth's entire diameter. Aud
yet the Jovians Of the future, when in the
progress Of ages the planet becomes the
abode OF animate life, will no more feel the
rapid movement OF the monster planet than
those who live on the eart!fs equator feel
the more moderate speed that carries them
round With the earth, and gives the sun a
comparatively slow circuit over the heavens
instead OF the rapid march that rules IN the |
Jovian sky. Matters muet be rather mixed |
~ the domain Of our big brother according |
% terrestrial ideas, where the sun rises,
makes the circuit Of the heavens and sits
In five hours, and the years are nearly
Iw Give times as long rs the time that marks
The eartlls revolution round the suO. We
like better the more digniied length Of the
Earthly day, The more stately aXial rotation
II our little planet, the quicker return OF /
he revolving seasons.
The earth, as well as the other planets,
re. however. products OF the great nebu-
Gus mass that once extended far beyond
lisiant Neptune. THIS chaotic mass, as
ges rolled on, quickened into life, and
brew ell concentric rings. These. in turn,
condensed into the sun, planets, aud satel-
ites. and. according TO laws not yet plain
In all their bearings, took varied form in
The great central orb, in the four giant
spheres. still holding portions OF their
primCvsi dros. on the outposts of The sys-
lem, in the four inner planets, moro ad-
yapt ed In development because smaller ia
size, and in somewhat prom scuOus
sprinkling OF asteroids, moons, and rings
among The larger Crhs. We are prone TO
Iancy that the earth IL a special iayorite in
the suns family. II is well 10 think so,
Ior il is not likely that the position will be
disputed IN the present attlinmcn;s Of as.
economical science.
Jupiter has deisued 10 give us little in-
concerning himself in his last
ynodic circuit. Even the red spot, the
lecp-hole into his glowing nucleus, is but
ghost Of lis former self. The clOud-at-
nosphere has nearly claseG over it. aud
here Will be no more tidings until another
III shall arise and show farther glmp>es OF
lie chaotic mass. cooling and condensing
INTO form and shape. We must wait till
1902 for Jupiter's next perihelion, when
being II, coo, coo miles nearer the sun than 1t
lphcIion, we NAV hope that the improved
telescopes OF the period will pick up some
Thing worth knowing. The process OF
matchmaking will be slow one on this
giant planet, and the earth may have cooled
down 10 desolation before the first suspi-
zion Of inaniEate life shadows forth the
surely coming perfection OF bis develop
mont.
Tie right ascension OF Jupiter on the Ist
Is Oh, Tm.. his decllnation l. Ito IL north,
and his diameter Il 1910.
Jupiter sets on the LIST at half-pa I
O'Clock IL :se evening; on the 3lst he rises
quarter before 4 O'Clock in the morning.
sA1VRk Il morning. star, and IL growing
brighter and more conspicuous as he ap.
proaches the earth. IL is, however, the day
Of small things IN bis history. On the I'm.
when Venus Is brightest, he may be found
about coo northwest Of Venus,
The right ascension OF Saturn on the ist
Is 5h. l0m., HE declinatiOn IL 80 AZ north.
aud his dismetcr Is IG./'2.
Saturn rises on The lst at a qusrter after
o'clock in the morning: on the 3lst he
A