The Portland daily press., 1884-04-04
The Planets In April


The astronome" of the Providence Jour
nal says that during April all the planets
are evening stars, and all are on the 1st
grouped on the SUMS eastern side 10 the fol-
lowing order of nearness to the great lumi-
nary: Mercury, Neptune, Venus, Saturn,
Jupiter, Mars and Uranus. Before the
month closes the order will be changed, for
Mercury meets and passes Neptune, and
Venus changes place with Saturn. II is un-
usual for all the planets to be evening stars
through the entire month.
Jupiter takes his full share in the varied
events of the month. On the 14th, at 7
O'Clock in the evening, he rs In quadrature
on the SUMS eastern side. Rising at noon
day, looking down from the zenith at 6
o'clock, and setting at midnight, the prince
ly planet is in one of his most superb as
poets. He is even more interesting than
when at opposition, he rises at sunset and
does not make his transit till midnight,
while his brilliancy is apparently but little
dimmed. BE will be an object fair to see
during the month, outrivalling every star
except Venus.
Mars follows closely in Jupiter's train,
rising about three quarters of an hour later,
and atording by his proximity, fine study
OF the contrast In color AMI general appear
auce of two of the major planets. The OBJ
server will also notice how rapidly the ruddy
hue is fading in Mars, and how quickly he
Will subsidG into comparative insignificance.
The telescopists have been diligently OBJ
serving this planet both before and since bis
opposition, but no noteworthy results have
yet been recorded. Probably his tiny moons
n T..
vorable conditions, and Schiaparelli's Mar
tian "canals' are hidden from sight for the
same reasons.
Saturn. on the 18th, at II O'Clock in the
evening, is in conjunction with Venus being
deg. Is m. south at the time of the nearest
approach. The two planets will then be be
low the horizon, but they will be near
enough together in early evening to form a
lovely picture.
Mercury is busy member Of the solar
community during the month. He makes
his appearance in a position where he NAV
be easily picked up by painstaking observ-
ers. He not only reaches his greatest east
ern elongation, but is far up in the north at
the same time, and thus presents the most
favorable conditions for visibility as evening
star that will occur during the year. He
reaches his eastern elongatiOn, OF greatest
distance from the sun, on the 25th, at 8
O'Clock in the evening, being then 20o, 80
east OF the sun. At that time, and for q
week before and after, he is visible to the
nak' eye. On the 25th he sets an hour and
three-quarters after the sun. Astronomers
of the present day seem to devote little at
tentioR to this member of the planetary
family, his nearness to the sun rendering
him a very difficult object to observe with
accuracy. The certainty that he revolyes ON
his axis in twenty-f,ur hours. his lofty
mountains, his dense atmosphere, his devia-
ton from spherical form described by OBJ
servers IN the early part of the century,
have failed to be substantially confirmed by
close examination in the more powerful
telescopes OF the present day, and must be
considered as doubtful.
The April moon fulls on the 10th at A
minutes after 6 o'clock and wins the honor
OF being the Easter moon, and thus deter
mining for the year the dates of the nova
bic fasts and feasts of the church. On the
Sd, the day after the first quarter, the moon
is in conjunction with Jupiter, on the 4th
she is at her nearest point to Mars, and on
the 9Th to Uranus. She then proceeds on
her way without drawing near to planet
until the 26th, the day after her change,
when she is in conjunction with Neptune
and Mercury. On the 9th she is in con-
junction with Saturn, and on The 18th with
Venus. A total eclipse of the moon occurs
on the 10th, partly visible in this vicinity
NorB a%erea fs tGs facc Ocean and s
The eclipse begins three minutes after 4
O'Clock in the morning. The total phase
begins at eleven minutes after O'Clock, Just
before the moon sets, when the exhibition
closes for this longitude, and observers fur
ther west enjoy the total obscuration