McCook weekly tribune. (McCook, Neb.) 188?-1886, 1884-05-29
LOVELY VENUS.
The Most Charming May Star in the
Heavens, and Her Course.

Providence Journal.
Venus is evening star, and is the fair
est and brightest of the shining brother
hood. An important event occurs in
her annual circuit. On the I'd, at 5
o'clock in the evening, she reached her
greatest eastern elongation, when she is
As deg. % min. east of the sun. Not a
second farther can she 60. The invisi-
BILE chain that binds her to the sun has
reached its limit. The fair planet rests
from her labors and stands still in her
course, as if conscious of her surpass-
ing loneliness, and willing that observ-
ers on this planet should have chance
to admire the fascinating grace of her
presence. But she remains not long
inactive. She turns her course and ap-
proaches the sun, or. retrogrades at a
far more rapid pace than she receded
from him. Any observer can see this
for himself, for the westward move
ment or approach to the sun is easily
traced from night to night as she
threads her way among the stars. This
she will do until she reaches inferior
conjunction in July, when, passing be-
tween us and the sun, she reappears on
his western side as morning star, and
will be seen no more in the evening sky
for 292 days.
The apparent course of Venus is
easily followed. After superior con-
junction, she moves in a straight line
eastward to eastern elongation-her
present position-then approached him
till inferior conjunction, and during
this period is evening star. She then
reverses the process, becoming morn
ing star, moving westward till western
elongation, and completing the circuit
by approaching him till superior con-
junction, when she is hidden in his
dazzling rays, to emerge again as even
ing star, and rccommences the same
series of oscillations till another synodic
period of 584 days is completed. The
real course of Venus differs greatly
from the apparent course, for she re-
wolves in nearly circular orbit, always
in the same direction, from west to
east, and with an almost uniform rate
of velocity. Viewed from the sun she
would seem to move in this way.
But the earth is moving in her orbit
with velocity of eighteen miles sec.
ond, and Venus is moving with a We.
locity of twenty-one miles second in
a smaller orbit between the earth and
the sun. The result of these compli.
Gated movements is that Venus seems
to move in straight lines east and west
of the sun, and to follow closely in his
steps. AS Venus appears to terrestrial
observers, so the earth appears te
Marian observers, oscillating east and
west in the same way, and sometimes
like Venus and mercury, making !
transit over the suns disk.
Venus will be the loveliest star in thu
heavens through the month of May, as
after elongation, she turns her steps,
westward, moving rapidly toward us
and Fastening on to her period of great
est brilliancy. She will form de
lightful planetary study for the naked
eye and also for telescope observation
Seen through telescope at elongatiol
or few days after, she takes on thu
aspect of the moon at her last quarter
half her disk being illuminated. Then
like the moon, she becomes a waning
crescent, less and less of her enlightened
suIldCe ueluS euI ueu IoWdIu U.s. moTt
than enough to counterbalance tn,
lessened light. At the end of thu
month she has nearly reached her cul
minatins point, while her high north
ern declination adds to the length O.
her stay above the horizon, and the ia
vorable conditions for observation.
The beautiful planet is specially in
teresting on account of the striking re
semblance she bears to the earth. Ii
size, in density, in position, in the sys
tenn, in the length of her revolution, il
the time of her rotation, in the posses
sion of an atmosphere, in the form O
her orbit, and in the amount of ligh
and heat she receives from the sun
she is more like the earth than an,
other member of the solar system.