Morning journal and courier., 1888-06-15
THE PLANETS IN JUNE.
Popular Astr0nomy for the month'

[From the Providence Journal.I
 Mercury is evening star in the best condi- tion for observation with the naked eye that will occur during the year. He reaches his greatest elongation on the 18th at p. m., and is then twenty four degrees and twenty four seconds east of the sun, nearly his max imum distance, and is also in high northern declination. These two conditions bring him out to the best advantage for northern observers, and he may be easily found by anyone who knows his position in the sky. He sets nearly two hours after the sun on the 18th, when he arrives at his most distant point east from the sun, and must then be looked for in the northwest, forming tri- angle with Pollux and Procyon, the planet being west of the stars. Mercury will be visible for week befere and after his great est elongation. An opera glass will aid the search, and when once found in this way the unaided eye will easily follow the planets course and recognize his wonderful brillian- cy. His movement among the stars before elongation will be eastward; after elongation it will be westward. Mercury is in the cons stellation Gsmini. He sets on the first at 8h 57m p. m. On the 30th- he sets at 7h 50m p. m.
 Jupiter is evening star-one of the chief attractions of the ssarlit sky during this summer month when the atmosphere and the temperature invite observers. The planet is retrograding or moving westward, as is plain ly perceptib1c in his increasing distance from Beta, the star he almost touched on May 90. Jupiter set on the 1st at 3h 40m a. m. On the 30th he sets at 1h 36 m 8. 10.
 Mars is evening star, losing his ruddy hue and decreasing in size as he recedes from the earth, and will soon become com paratively insignificant. He has changed 1ia Ia vard md will continue to travel in a direct course until the end of the year. Uranus is re- trograding or moving westward, and the planets pass each other for the third time during the year. The first conjunction was on January 9th, the second on May 9th, and the third takes place on the 9th at midnight, when Mars IS south of Uranus. After the last encounter the planets will separate, and will not meet again until Mars has made 8 complete revolution and overtaken the slow-moving planet. Mars is in some respects an unsatisfactory celestial neighbor. It takes him seven hundred and eighty days to move from one opposition to the succeeding one, and favorable con- ditions for observation continue about 6 month before and after opposition. The oppositions when Mars and the earth are at the nearest point to each other are sep arated by the long interval of fifteen years. The completion of this cycle will take place in 1899. Mars will then be four times as bright as he is in expedition when the two planets are farthest apart. Mars set on the 1st at 1h som .. m. On the 30th he sets at 11h tim p. m.
 Uranus is evening star. He is stationary on the 20th and after that time changes his course, moving eastward for the rest of the year. His third conjunction with Mars has been referred to. He is in the constellation Virgo. Uranus sets on the first at 1h S5m a. m On the 30th he sets at 11h 41m p. m. Saturn is evening star. He is moving east ward and passes the cluster Pr@sepe during the month. Be may be found at the close of the month near Gamma and Delta Caneri, two stars of the fourth magnitude. Saturn is in the constellation Cancer and sets on the 1st at 10h 40m p. nn. On the 30th he sets at 8h 57m D.. m. Venus is morning star and entirely hidden in the suns rays, rising about ten minutes before him at the close of ! the month. Venus is in the constellation 1 Taurus; rose on the 1st 3h 42m a. m On l the Both she rises 4h 4m a. m. Neptune is morning star, also very close to the sun and in the constellation Taurus. He rose on the