Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1888-03-04


In the month % March the sun COM
pletos ia.f of rs apparent nonlerly
journey across the iirUlmclt. Ou Narcn
Dist the sun bushes across the equinox
or celestial equator, and nj that ime the
day aul the uieLt viii be equal In Jum-
ton all over the world except ia the re-
mon Immediately surrounding 4le poles
The movements OF tile moon uuIinp
the month vii. bring i'm cIoso prOy.mity
to the various planetary members OF tlc
systcm. On the 'st it VIII be in con
junction with Mars ON the "a with 'uri-
ter on tie g,h with Venus. on the luth
with Mercury, on tie l.th with Neptune,
and on the 22d With Saturn. On the ->ih
the moon VIII, with respect to the plan
cts generally, arrive near the point where
It was on tho lst, and vii make a close
approach to Mars. Three days later it
viii he in conjunction With Jupa-r
The only planets which will be above
the horizon throughout March when the
sun sets are NEPTUNE and Saturn. Nep-
tunes distance from the san and earth
makes it the least Interesting OF all the
planets for tAe average amatciS. tbs
Invisible 90 the unpiied vision. Saturn
will he in g favorable position for obsorvl-
ton throughout March. II is still in the
constellation Cancer. IN the ea,tsrly side
Of the armament. where 1t may bciouud
during the whole m0uth. About cigh-
teen degrees south OF Saturn. ami near
the same distance above the elsler.y
horizon as Saturn is. is the brilliant Star
Procyon. in the constellation OF the
Lesser Dog, and about twenty-five de-
erees south of procyon is Sirius, the
bright st of all the "dXed stars" Ike
two bright stars higher above the horizon
than Saturn, aud farther north than that
planet. are Castor and PoiluX. the prin-
cipal luminarics in the constellation of
the Twins.
Mercury March Sd is in CONJUNCTION
with the sun. At the end Of March ii
will appear above the easterly horizon
about an hour earlier than the sun, and
may perhaps be visible to observers who
search diligently for it near the sunrise
point thirty or lOrty minutes before the
advent OF the orb OF the day.
The other planets are all morning stars,
and make their appearance above the
easterly horizon in this order: Uranus.
Mars Jupiter. Venus. Both Uranus ana
Mars are in Virgo. The former viii be
five degrees northeast OF the bright star
Spica, the leading brilliant in Virgo
throughout the month. and the latter
will be about ten degrees northwest of
Spica when the month begins and eight
degrees northwest Of it when the month
ends. Uranus viii appear above the
easterly horizon at o'clock in the eve
ming on tina lst OF the month and Mars
about an hour later. At the end OF tie
month they will rise two hours earlier.
Uranus is too faint at present to be seen
with the unaided eye, but Mars ranks as
star of the first magnitude.
Jupiter holds the place ofhonor among
the morning stars during March. 1t
rises at the beginning Of the month
about four hours before Venus, and it
gains three hours more upon It's fair rival
between that time and the months end.
1t is in the constellation Scorpio. Shortly
after midnight ON the lst it will make its
appearance above the easterly horizons
and from that time until sunrise it will
be the most brilliant object in the frmar
ment, the moon excepted. The bright
red star which will be seen eight degrees
south of it is Antares, the most conspicu-
GUS luminary in Scorpio. Jupiter will
rise about 10 o'clock in the closing days
OF the month.
VEINS will rise about an hour and a
third before the sun when March begins,
and little less than an hour before it
when the month ends The planets re-
moteness from MS and its nearness to the
solar orb dims It's rays, and robs il Of
much OF the splendor by which it irradi-