Morning journal and courier., 1884-08-08
Friday, August 8, 1884.
THE SKY IN AUG UsT.

1 x,,.a,as.trs- statistics for Astronomers who Have Lots of Time.
 The skv dz1ring this month will be unin- +o-ostino to amateur astrono mers who can oiva only the evening to their planetary ob- servations. as the brightest of the planets, .Tnriter and Venus, are morI ing stars, and of
 the evening stars Mercury alone is favorably
 nlaced for observation. Jupiter does not,
 however lose his last moath's place as the
 evening star until Thursday, when he will be
 in coniunction W ith the sun, and soon after
 reappear OH his western side, rising few
 minutes earlier each morning and fast ap-
 preaching that pan t of his course where the
 conditions for observation are most favorable.
 .Jupiter is interestin g to astronomical theo-
 rists as 8 world now in process of for nation, which has Ayiven mathematicians many facts to suppoft the nebular ny pothesis, and may at any time add new information to what is already known ot
 processes of world making Its rotation period is ten hours as compared with the earth's twenty-four hours, and It's rotation ! velocity is 26,0O0 miles an hour, or nearly 1 twenty-seven times as fast as that of the earth. This rapid axial motion would give according to theory great disproportlon De-
 
 and Jupiter is accordingly 5000 miles, or
 nearly half of the earth's diameter, thicker at the equator than from pole to pole. AL though the Jovian day has only frye hours of sunlight, it's year contains 4,OOO of the earth's days The red spot which hi IS recent ly given astronomers peep at Juplters glowing nucleus is now nearly ecl1ps ed by an thrush of the upper cloud atmosph ere. So slow are likely to be the processes of world I formation on this giant planet that the earth may be as desolate as the moon before Jupit- CT is sufficiently cool to support the lowest forms of life. Venus rises at present at 3 a. m. on the 31st will rise an hour earlier. On the 17th she reaches her period of greatest | bril1iancy as a morning star, and IS well placed for observation Two of these periods of greatest briliiancy occur when the planet is either 40 degrees east or west of the sun and shows to the earth fourth ' of her disc illuminated by the sun. Al though afterward nearer to the earth than at these periods, a smaller portion of her disc is then illuminated and the consequent loss of light more than counterbalances her increased apparent size. Saturn is a morn ing star and is approaching the earth. On the 17th it may be found about thirty de- | grees northwest of Venus. Neptune is also morning star and the first to appear above ! the horizon. Mercury is an evening star, ! and on 8 clear night, just after sunset, is 1 well placed for observation. On the 14th its ! greatest elongation of 27 degrees 21 seconds \ is reached. It now sets soon after s o'clock. ! Uranus and Mars are evening stars, but present no phases of interest during the | month, The moon fuIls on Wednesday at ! D. m, and is in conjunction with Neptune l on the 18th and Saturn on the 18th. On the ! 17th at 4:3O D. m. she will also make close | conjunction with Venus, and will be pretty ! sight, even in small telescopes.