The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1884-02-09

Movements or enc rsaness In Feb
runry.
.povidence Journal

snafI-i;kc pace around tue sun. nc u u
0 quadrature on the suns eastern side on tn
!. 9TH, at O'Clock in the morning. He thel
!, rises at MONDAY, Is on the meridian &c
s O'Clock, and sets at midnight. Halt hi
r course from opposition to conjunction
ended. II Neptune Is inhabited and Their
y are astronomers there-theories as i'm
0 probable as possible--they may behold
d outer planets that our eyes have neye
bcbeld, and be as industriolisly searching
for inner planets as we are for intra'Mer
= curial ones.
The right ascension Of Neptune on tb'
/; LIST was 3h. 5m. Declination Is l0o 80
!. north, aud his diameter Is 2".6.
Il Neptune set on the lst, at a quarter aftel
I O'Clock In the morning. On the 10Th III
sets at half-past IL O'Clock In the evening
SATURN Is evening star and the second o.
the outer planets In the order OF rising
: He is a beautiful object in the heavens
and may readily be recognized shining
with serene light from point nearly be-
tween Pleiades and Aldebaran. He 1:
near his greatest northern decIination,
near perihelion, and near The point where
his rings are most widely open. These
. favorable positions eliminating in 1856,
thirty years must pass before the same con.
ditions are repeated.
Saturn Ia in quadrature on the eastern
side OF the sun ON the 22d, at MONDAY.
He Is superb in the telescope. Men oil
science are diligently at work TO see what
: may be learned from the markings on his
disc. Mr.. lanyard, OF the..Royai Astrono-
mical Society, observed in November q
narrow belt on the Saturnian disc. 1t was
of blush brown color and not quite
IA. I,o mi iyio NJ
the ring. Such narrow belts are rarely
seen oil this planet, though common on
Jupiter.
The right ascension OF Saturn on the LIST
was 4h. GIN. Declination 100 q north, and
his diameter is 1S".
Saturn set on the 1st at half-past o'clock
in the morning; on the 10Th he sets quar-
ter before O'Clock.
JUPITER is evening star, and the third Of
the outer planets in the order OF rising.
Although he has passed opposition and is
| increasing his distance from the earth in
his apparent course, he Is a magnificent
object i'm the star-spangled canopy that
nightly unveils its glory overhead. lie is
! now more than an hour high at sunset.
and trayerses the sky with stately step till
an hour before sunrise, when he slowly
sinks below the western horizon. His po-
| sitlon i'm the sky may be recognized at
glance. for he outshines his sparkling COM
panions. Castor and Pollux are north of
their brilliant leader, Procyon Is south,
Mars follows in his train, and superb
Orion and glittering Sirius precede him to-
wards the southwest.
The telescopists are making the most OF
his favorable position for observation. Mr..
IN - nt,ct
in deciphering the Jovian alphabet as eX-
hibited on his disc in the incongruous
symbols that are constantly varying. Just
now efforts are directed towards the exact
determination OF his rotation period, for
an irreconcilable discrepancy is found be-
tween the rotation OF the red spot and the
white spot. 1t is considerate in our giant
brother to put forth from time to time
these diverse symbols on his shining sur
face. They, like figures on blackboard,
will be data in the solution Of great physi-
cal problems that at present battle the
efforts of terrestrial brains.
The right ascension OF Jupiter on the
LIST was Sh. ON. DeclinatIon is 90 IL
norti,, and his diameter is 1878.
Jupiter set on the LIST ut half.past
O'Clock in the morning; on the Goth he
sets about haf-past 4 O'Clock.
MARS is evening star and the fourth
IN the order of rising. He reached the
most interesting epoch in his course, his |
opposition with the sun. This occurred |
on the LIST, at O'Clock In the morning. |
Mars then turned to us his broad, round |
face, our planet directly intervening be-
tween him and the sun, bringing the two |
planetsat their nearest approach to each |
other. This assertion Is true in general |
terms, though not strictly accurate. II
Mars aud the earth revolved In circular
orbits, fixed with regard to each other, the
distance between them at opposition would
be always the same. But the orbits OF both
planets are elliptical, not fixed with regard
to each other, and no two following opposi-
tons happen in the same part Of either
orbit. Therefore, the distance between
the planets varies greatly at different oppO-
sitions. When Mars at opposition is in
periheli0n, or nearest to the sun, and the
earth at the same time is in apheIion, or
farthest from the sun, they are as near to-
gether as they can be, or 3j,000.000 miles
distant. When Mars ct opposition is in
aphelion, and the earth at the same time i'm
perihelion, the two planets are about as far
apart as they can be, or 62,000.000 miles.
The former was the case al the opposition
in 1877, for it occurred nine days after
perihelion. and the superb appearance
of the rudy planet at that time will
never be forgotten by those who
witnessed it. A grand event also immor-
talized Its passage, the discovery OF two
moons moving with wonderful speed
around their primary, and measuring less
than ten miles in diameter, the smallest
lie hot hai Ia cnla i
tenn. At On opposition in 1719 when Mars
was only two degrees and half from peri
hcIon he shone with such awe-inspiring
brightness that it caused a panic among
the superstitious, who had firm faith in his
malignant influence.
Toe present opposition is one Of the most
for near prospect of our
celestial brother; for as the earth Is one
mouth past perihelion, and the planets near
aphe lion, they are nearly as far apart as they
can be. 1t is not probable that the tiny
moons will be visible in the most powerful
telescopes. The oppositions that occur in
August or September bring the planets as
near together as they can be; those that
occur 10 February or March find them at
their widest point. The most favorable
positions occur once in fifteen years. The
last was in 1877. II will not be till 1892
that we can look for another. Who eau
tell what the great telescopes will then re-
veal, under more experienced hands, in the (
clear air OF mountain observatories, and
with the gigantic refractors that will be in !
operation! Continents, islands, seas. ca.
mails, atmosphere, clouds, morning and :
evening twilight. raging storms, clear /
skies, and polar ice may then be eclipsed :
by discoveries as unexpected and as per. !
manent as the twin satellites brought into !
by the Washington telescope. !
uuder ppofaoaorsEaIl,o aYr.ye,,1