Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1886-01-30

HIS rheumatic pains were immense,
An abscess had eaten his lung,
And there was rumor gigantic tumor
Had grown at the roots Of his tongue;
The i Keen meningitis, the choking bronchitis,
AND cf9ss-lookng bunon, as large as an onion,
He had heaters" physicians, and loud quack ma
And nostrurns and pills by the ton,
And medicine mixers, with all their elixirs.
They would drug him and swirl him, yet nothing
Their efforts combined he deied.
Til famous soprano with a rafting piano,
Moved into his house-then he died
-->0>-
Planets i'm February.
From the Providence Journal.
Venus is evening star. She still holds her
place at the head of the planetary roll, for
during the month, she appears in her most
charming aspects both as evening and morning
star. On the 18th, at two O. clock in the after
noon, she is in inferior conjunction with the
sun, passing, like the moon at new moon, be-
tween us and the sun, and reappearing on the
suns western side to commence her course as
morning star. She may be equally beautiful in
this part OF her course, but there are compare
smiling morn with her Upright circlet." It re-
quires effort and self-denial to rise before the
sun. even to behold the fairest of the
necessary for the last few months to
watch the radiant course of the most
lONeiy star bnat grows In the armament. He's.
perus and ,Phosphor were the poetic names given
by the ancients to the fair star. 1t was even
believed that there were two distinct stars, until
observation showed that Phosphor was never
seen In the morning sky, until Hesperus had
disappeared in the evening sky.Their identity
was thus proved. No one can form any
conception OF the beauty OF this planet who has
not had a view of her in crescent form through o
good telescope. few observers gifted
with o exceptio , eyesight have seen her
cent has thus been visible in the sky of Chilli,
and, with dark glass, in Persia. Theodore
Parker saw the crescent form in this country
when twelve years old, being ignorant of its
existence, and when no one else could perceive
It, The present is favorable time for q trial of
visual power in this respect, but it will require
youthful, sharp-sighted and practiced eyes for
any promise OF success. Observers who can see
Jupiter's moons, or an elongated Saturn, may
hope to behold the crescent Venus. She sets
on the LIST, at quarter after o'clock in the
evening; on the 2Sth she rises at o'clock in
the morning.
Jupiter is morning star. He ranks next in in
terest to his fair rival, for though technically
numbered among the morning stars, the starit
nights of February will be made beautiful by
his presence during nearly the whole night.
This lordly planet makes his appearance, al
most due east, at hall-past O'clock in the
evening on the first of the month, rising earlier
every evening, until on the last day of the
month he comes bounding above the eastern
horizon at hali-past o'clock. Four bright
stars now form a starry curve or arc that NAV
be easily traced late in the evening. The four
stars are Regulus, Mars, Jupiter and Spica in
OTUcT ucutlOueu. tleSuluS may be
handle of the Sickle, and the other
three are readily recognized. Uranus is at a
coming into good position to be seen with the
naked eye as a star OF the sixth magnitude.
There are compensations in affairs celestial as
well as terrestrial. Jupiter will soon take the
place in the east that Venus has deserted In the
west. If he is not Respondent, he is less fit
ful, for rising In the east as the sun sinks below
the horizon in the west, he will soon shine
during the livelOng night. But Venus can never
be seen against the midnight sky; the invisible
chain that binds her to the sun reaches but half
the distance from horizon to zenith.
Saturn is evening star. He ranks the third in
interest on the celestial calendar for February
He is still q brilliant star shining serenelv on
winter nights, and looking down with friendly
eyes from the zenith at 10 O'Clock in the begin
ming of the month. He has travelled far away
from his friends, the Pleiades and Aldebaran.
but has lost nothing by the change, for Capella
and Betelguese are his bOdy-guard on the north
and SOUTH Sirius is nearly due south and Cas-
tor and Pollux guard him on the east Have
these brilliant suns OF space families of worlds
revolving around them, and is the ringed
the spheres that wFnd their way where
their feeble light may never be discerned by
mortals on this side of the eternal gates? Few
lovers OF the stars can gaze upon the suns of
space without paying reverential tribute to the
vastness of the material universe. the infinity
of suns and worlds that people it, the harmony
that prevails, and the ceaseless action of the
great law ofdevelopInent, perfection and decay
by which suns and revolving planets spring
to decay in the long processes that are only
completed during the passage of millions Of
ages!
Mars Is morning star. At least, he is so
ranked in astronomical calculation al.
though on the LIST he rises about half-past 8
O'clock in the evening. He is an interesting
object for observation, shining with a ruddv
tint in striking contrast with the golden light
OF Jupiter, with whom he may now be favor
ably compared. On the 9th, Mars is in
apheiOn, his most distant point from the sun
AS the earth Is not far distant from periheliOn
the two planets will consequently be nearer
together, and this will be apparent in the
brighter face of the planet Mars has the most
eccentric orbit OF any OF the planets excepting
Mercury. AT perihelion he is twentv-six mil.
lion miles nearer the sun than at aphelion This
of course, greatly effects his appearance, but we
must wait until 1892 for the best Marian con-
ditions for terrestrial observers.
Mercury is morning star until the Oath He
reaches superior conjunction on the oath at 10
O'Clock in the morning, when he becomes even
ing, star. On the 9Th at o'clock in the even
ing he is in conjunction with Venus, being 10
23 south; this Is the sole planetary conjunction
Neptune is evening star. He is in quadrature
on the suns eastern side on the 1 It'll at O'Clock
in the morning. Neptune sets on the LIST about
2Sth he sets at half-past IL o'clock in tie even
ing.
Uranus is morning star. On the LIST he is 5m
more than 10 south. He may be seen as a star
OF the sixth magnitude by brightey obsery-
ers; Uranus rises on the 1st at halfpast 8
minutes before O'clock.
THE NOON.
Those observers whose position on the earth's
surface Is such that they see the moon in her
geometric position, or as she appears when seen
from the earth's center, will witness an occulta-
ton OF Jupiter, who, for months to come, keeps
closely in the moons track. They must be on
the dark side of the earth at the time, and be-
tween the limiting parallels of 43o north and
2So south. Uranus will be Occuted under the
same conditions, about four hours later than
Jupiter, to observers between the limiting par
alels of $50 and $50 north. In this vicinity
there will be close conjunctions between the
moon and the planets, instead Of occnltatiOns
The moon will occult Aldebaran on the 18th
the phenomenon being visible in Washington
The immersion OF the star takes place at LOS
am, and the Occultation continues 2Sm
February does not fail to present objects of
interest to lovers of the stars. The three
planets, Venus, Jupiter and Saturn, play promi-
nent parts In its starry records. Venus, after
her superb career as evening star, disappears
from the western sky only to reappear before
the month closes, ''under the opening eyeIids
OF the MORN" Saturn is on the meridian before
10 O'Clock in the evening, when the month
commences, and, after that time, is beautiful
to behold as he pursues his westward course
among the stars. Jupiter is superbly brilliant
as he makes his I'D vent in the eastern sky abOut
the time that Saturn reaches the meridian
rises majestically toward the zenith and holds
the scepter OF the skies Saturn sinks out Of
sight While Venus passes inferior conjunction
Mercury fits round to superior coniunc-
ton, thus illustrating two important epochs
in rfntn <,r