McCook weekly tribune. (McCook, Neb.) 188?-1886, 1884-08-14
The Planets In August.
Proyidence journal,

The Planets In August.
Providence journal. 4,
Venus is morning star throughout
the month, and easily wins the honor
of being at the head of the planetary
list, for she is the most beautiful object
that adorns the eastern sky before the
all-conquering sun commences his daily
course. There is a reason why the
fairest of the stars deserves special
mention during the passage of the last
month of summer. On the 18th she
reaches herperiod OF greatest brilliancy
as morning star, when she is so tran
cendently lovely that the trouble of
rising early is more than rewarded by
the beauty of the exhibition of
"Astarte's bediamoned crescent,l
Distinct with its duplicate horn.O
Venus makes her appearance at that
time soon after 2 o'clock in the morn
ing, nearly three hours before sunrise,
when such is the brilliancy of her shin
ing that objects illumined by her rays
cast shadows, and even the great sun
himself has no power to hide her en-
tirely from mortal view. 1t is difficult
to find words to express the matchless
loveliness of this bewitching star, as
she hangs low in the heavens in the
soft summer mornings. She is rapidly
receding from our neighborhood, and
many months must wax and wane be-
fore she will again put on her glorious
apparel.
Jupiter may almost be numbered
with the morning stars, for he is only
evening star until the 7th. On that
day, at o'clock in the afternoon, he
reaches one of his great epochs, being
then in conjunction with the sun, ris-
ing and setting with him, and entirely
hidden from view in his eclipsing rays,
The planet that beamed so brightly in
the evening sky has departed, but he is
not lost. He has fulfilled his mission
on the suns eastern side, only to reap
pear on the suns western side, where
he will soon emerge from his transient
eclipse, to become the second brightest
gem of the planetary trio made up of
Saturn, Venus and himself.
Jupiter has deigned to give us little
information concerning himself in his
last synodic circuit Even the red spot,
the peep-hole into his glowing nucleus,
is but a ghost of it's former self. The
cloud-atmosphere has neatly closed
over it, and there will be no more It'd
ings until another rift shall arise and
show farther glimpses of the chaotic
mass, cooling and condensing into form
and shape. We must wait till 1892 for
Jupiter's next perihelion, when being
46, 600, 900 miles nearer the sun than at
aphelion, we may hope that the APP
proved telescopes of the period will
pick up something worth knowing.
Saturn is morning star, and is grow
ing brighter and more conspicuous as
he approaches the earth. 1t is, how
ever, the day of small things in his his
tory.
Neptune is morning star, and leads
the planetary choir in being the first TO
make his appearance above the hori-
zon. On the 18th at II clock in the
evening he reaches the halfway house
between conjunction and opposition,
being then in quadrature, or 80 degrees
west of the sun.
Mercury is evening star during the
month. On the 23d, at o'clock in the
CNCuluSs uC ICdCICo llS SiCdCCSb CttSC-
ern elongation, when he is twenty
seven degrees twenty-one minutes east
of the sun. 1t is moderately favoTa-
BILE opportunity for seeing him, on an
exceptionally clear evening after sun
set in the west. His southern decliG-
alton will make him a difficult objecr
to pick up.
Uranus is evening star. His course
is uneventful, except for the conjunc-
ton with Mercury on the 23d.
Mars is evening star, and is of little
account, as he slowly travels on his
distant path, his rapidly increasing
southern declination being the only
noteworthy event in his course.
The August moon fulls on the 9th, at
six minutes after o'clock in the even
ing, standard time. She is in conjunc-
ton with Neptune on the 18th, the day
of her last quarter, and with Saturn on
the 10Th. She makes close conjunc-
ton with Venus on the 18th, at thirty
seven minutes after o'clock in the af-
ternoon, being then % min. north. The
waning crescent and the radiant morn
ing star will make lovely celestial
picture on the morning of the 18th,
though they are invisible at the time of
nearest approach.