Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1885-02-28
THROUGH THE TELESCOPE.
rRE PLANgTs IN NdRcH
a Mssvsxse~s Dspiss <asasp. ssnss,
mar. aud Msrssss- Aana,sr Eeip~ Of
Ne xsn. -.

8ars 31o StfN@ff~ 3n""fss
s&s xsn.
Providence scurnal.i
rRsxrs is morning star until the
eiss. and then becomes evening star.
The place Of honor for the month must
be accorded to him, for during its pas
sage he reaches the eliminating point OF
his shcrt-lived importance. On the
2lst. at 3 O'Clock in the morning,
Uranus is in opposition with the sun,
aflcr which event the four giant planets
will al. be on the eastern side OF the
sun. and play the part Of evening stars
In the following order Of nearness to tue
euat central orb: Neptune, Satnrn'
Jupiter. Uranus.
This distant planet. the smallest oil
she grand quarse;tc, though i,soo,wV'-
900 miles away, is visible te the naked
eve at opposition and for short time
before and after. lie appears as q star
Of the sixth. or least visible. magnitude,
end Is capable OF being found by a care
All observer who knows his position
among the stars, although the task is
pct an easy one. Uranus. on the
2lst. is in the constellation Virgo,
fOm. east and 23m. north Of
Eta Virgins, third magnitude
star in the wing Of the Virgin. A line
drawn from Jupiter TO Spica, the lead
ing brilliant OF Virgo, will pass very
sear Uranus. A favorable time for OBJ
seryation will be about 9 o'clock in the
evening, the planet being then about
halfway between the horizon and The
zenith. II seems strange that he could
have wandered among the stars so many
years without being picked up by some
shsrp-sighted star-gazer and at last
be discovered by accident, for Herschel
thought his celestial prize was only
. comet. Uranus is charming now IN
the telescope, looking like tiny moon
Of q delicate sea-green hue. some
French observers saw sbadowy belts
upon his disc when he was in opposl-
ton last year, and deduced a rotation on
his axis of about ten hours from a
faint spot near his equator. Ordinary
observers of his telescope aspect may
fancy that more than mortal visual
power is required for such results.
The right ascension Of Uranus on the
Ist is 12h. I'm. his declination is 0 de-
gree q north, his diameter 3".S., and
he is in the constellation Virgo.
Uranus rises on the LIST soon after !
o'clock in the evening; on the 3lst he
sets few minutes after 5 O'Clock in the
morning.
SATURN is evening star and wins a
prominent place on the March records.
A noteworthy event occurs in his course
as viewed from this planet. On the
7th, at 3 o'clock in the afternoon, he is
in quadrature with the sun, on the east
ern side. On that occasion. as the sun
sinks below the western horizon, Sa-
turn looks down from the zenith,
and "soon as the evening shades
prevail and the stars peep from
their hiding-places in the azure depths,
the planet, second in size in the
suns family, and by far its most won
derful member, may be readily seen.
beaming radiantly from the celestial
heights, and commencing his westward
descent. He is indeed a shining light
under his present conditions, and may
be easily recognized by the serenity and
purity Of his rays and the soft golden
tiuts that distinguish him from the
twinkling points surrounding him.
Were he an earthly potentate he could
not choose more commanding position
than the one he occupies, as poised on
high. at sunset. he holds under his
sovereign sway the most brilliant
galaxy Of stars the heavens display
to mortal vision. On the north the
bright Capella serves as his body
guard. Equi-distant on the south
Betelguese shines, the leading brilliant
Of superb Orion, who, girded with belt
and sword, treads the celestial path with
starry feet, stretching his vast bulk over
the equator and dotting the sky with a
starry glory visible all over the world.
The peerless Sirius, beaming with white
light, member Of the highest order of
the suns in space, glows in the south
east. Farther north, and almost di-
rectly west of Saturn, the clustering
Pleiades softly shine, translated to the
skies for sisterly affection, and far
Their south red Aldebaran looms into
view. On the east, Procyon points
north TO Castor and Pollux. The
starry Sickle appears still farther
east, while, browning the starlit scene,
Jupiter commences his majestic march
TO the meridian, in the plentitude Of his
power and in the glorious aspect he as
sumes on his nearest approach to the
earthly domain. 1t is magnificent
view of the star-spangled armament
that delights the eye OF the observer
who beholds Saturn in quadrature.
No star has been mentioned that
may not be easily traced by an intel
ligent observer with the help of a star
map. The moon will not then dim
the lustre of the stars, and, choosing
the whole year through, no more rsdi-
ant page Of the heavenly records WILDE
thrown open to the upturned eye than
the one we have attempted to describe
as visible when Saturn on the meridian
looks down from the heavens above
upon this little earth, blowing her way
through space and turning on her axis
as she spins on in her course.
Observers skilled in planetary lore
see evidences Of change and commotion
in the ring-girdled planet. Astrono-
mers high in authority think that the
rings are drawing nearer to the planet.
and will eventually fall on the central
mass. Other observers of high repute
feel sure that great changes are taking
place in the dimensions and density of
the golden girdle, unique in the uni
verse, SO far as our observation extends.
Men OF science generally agree that
the rings are made up Of myrisds OF
satellites. Some think there is a
real division in the rings, and that
the dark background Of the sky is
seen between them. Others believe
that the whole ring is Opaque and tina,
the apparent opening is due to the dark
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