Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1888-11-14


of the first magnitude. She sparkles In !
Mercury's sky as Jupiter does in ours. |
At the epoch of her opposition with the |
sun the earth passes to the meridian at |
midnight, and is in the best period of
visibility. with an apparent diameter or
20. After Venus, il Is the most ! rll-
liant star TO the Mercurians, who sse
our planet gravitate, like il, through
the consultations of the Zodiac. a
strong eyesight doubtless permits a
slight luminous spot 10 be seen, now to
the left and now TO the right of the
earth. This little star is the moon.
FROM VENUS.
Seen from Venus, which revolves
around the sun at distance or 6S, ,000,-
0O0 miles, the earth exceeds in luster
the most brilliant OF the stars, and
offers a perceptIble diameter. The same
as fer Mercury, our globe is an exter-
nal planet passing to the meridian at
midnight when she is in opposition
with the sun. The apparent diameter
OF the earth then rises 10 % and so Its
brllliancy is greater than that exhibited
by Venus at the epoch of her maximum
luminous intensity, and, while this
beautiful planet is TO US morning and
evening star, the earth to her Is
splendid star of night.
The color of the terrestrial disk, in
becoming modified in consequence of
the daily revolution of our globe, which
presents maritime and continental sur
faces in turn to the solar rays, sufliCes
to demonstrate to the inhabitants OF
Venus the existence of a daily motion
of the earth upon its axis. at the
epoch of its greatest angular distances
| the terrestrial globe does not present
| by the sun and shows light phase that
| renders her form oval.
| The moon shines like a white speck
at distance from our planet some
times greater than the lunar diameter
as seen from here, and her revolution
in % days around the earth can be
! followed with the naked eye.
FROM MARS.
From Mars, which is 145, coo, coo
miles distant from the sun, the aspect
of the earth il analogous TO that eX
hibited to us by the beautiful planet
| Venus. AS its orbit around the sun IS
interior to the curve described by
Mars, it becomes a morning and even
ing star. The best period of visibility
of the earth occurs when II is situate
at right angles with the sun, that Is TO
say, at the epoch of its greatest elOnga-
tion. To the inhabitants OF Mars the
earth is then brilliant star that FOL
lows or precedes the sun, aud attains
an angular diameter of 81. The
smallest optical instrument permits Of
seeing the different phases offered 10y
our planet, from a full luminous disk
TO a thin crescent, and its entire dlsap.
pearance in the vicinity of the star OF
day.
Perhaps, when the earth rises on tie
Martial horizon illuminated by the
first light of Aurora, or when 1t de-
scends, after the sun, bathed in the
last fires of twilight, the inhabitants OF
this neighboring planet admire 1t as an
abode of peace and happiness. How
great would they find their mistake I,
be were they able TO come hiJher!
The passage of the earth and its satel
lite before the sun constitutes "A Tart
and interesting observation for IuD
astronomers of Mars. Thus, on .la
18th of November, 1879, at = o'clOcn i
NJ, they could have perceived "A snlal
black point 1ndenting the solar dis!
and taking SIX minutes to enter Il
wholly. Toward Al, 10 M. appeared
a second and much larger spot, which
. took q minutes to enter the sun. a
l0h., 15m., the first of these minuJ;
]
and near midnight the second ais
detached itself from the sun. Thes
, two stars were the earth and moon
= Their former passage occurred IN Tia
year 1890, and the next one Will be seeI
! from Mars in 1895.
OUT OF SIGHT.
The earth is surprisingly visible il
: the heavens of the planets that we hav
. thus far mentioned, but when, reaching
colossal Jupiter, which is at mea
i distance of 492 100000 miles from th
( sun, we cast a glance behind, our llttl
n globe no longer scars amid the celesJis
r spaces. a neighbor of the sun, almOs
= eclipsed by its binding rays, the cart
f osclllates but II degrees to the east an
, west of the star Of day. Feeble mornin
. ing and evening star, she precedes II
# rising and follows its setting.
r If the inhabitants OF Jupiter posses
;, sight ike ours. they can scarcely sc
Q the earth except by artificial means.
4 1t is especially at the periods OF ou
# passages annually before the sun, Civ
: times smaller there than here) that IL
r Jsvian astronomer can discover OF
N globe, under the aspect of small blac
is point moving along the solar disk.
p To Saturn, the earth Is separate
IT | llOlu lLlc oull DJ bub olA NOSAt'n- al
If passes over it every 10 days. To Uranl
she Is separated 10y three degrees, an
in to Neptune by but two degrees.
O. Immersed in a luminous fasclcle
70 Solar rays, our globe is entirely invIsib
10 to these latter planets of the system
re which it belongs. The earth IS lulEIloo
to these worlds, which are relative
bt near and are connected, like it. with L
40 destinies of the sun; and the-eXisteu
+ upon 1t OF the people that inhabit
he of that intelligent race which belieV
m Itself to be alone in the universe.
az suspected by no one. To these plane
bt neighborIng our own We do not eXII
Of Seen from the nearest of the stars, t
bt enormous sun that illuninates US
T. itself no more than little point, wa
at dering in the infinite labyrinth of /
70 worlds.