Butte semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1886-1890, 1889-07-20
STAR GAZING.


OoA0DA1A WOuu0rB n0v64le4 Dy the Urea
Lick Telescope.
From the Ban Francisco Alta Jun
II: On the 18th If last month the posi-
tions. peculiarities and dissimilarities o
Mercury and Uranus, two primary plan
cts, were described in these columns, AMI
on account Of their aspects. az seen
through the telescopes at Mount Hamilton
on tho occasion Of the meeting Of the As
Economical Society Of the Pacific, May 20
may be Of further interest. Long befor,
sunset Mercury was viewed through thu
excellent 12-inch equatorial in the north
circular room, with q magnifying power o.
15O, which transformed the twinklinl
star, often not easily discovered in tbs
twilight, into a pale tinted crescent nearly
AZ large as that Of the young moon. The
position was horizontal, like the lunar
crescent OF the evenings OF March, but az
9 refraetor inverts objects, the convex
side appeared uppermost instead Of facing
the receding sun. Early telescope
observations seemed to reveal an appear
ance Of bluntness at one Of the points OF
the crescent at times, as il q lofty mount
ain peak obstructed the due extent OF sun
light, but the most perfect instruments OF
the present day do not corroborate this
supposed discovery. 1t is also an unset
tied matter whether this planet 10 envel-
oped in atmospheric vapor like Venus, or
is q dead sphere, with dry, u~nproductive
surface like the changeless moon.
The view OF the swiftly-1yinR orb that so
easily evades human vision was most sat-
isiactory, but a far grander sight was that
OF Uranus and his four moons through the
thirty-six inch lens. To those who have
yearly discerned with some difficulty the
faint star ON the path OF the sun it was q truly
thrilling surprise to behold the dim gleam
Withdrawn IRON the obscurity OF space and
tor with nearly the size and brightness Of
the full moon. Rarely, perhaps, are the
marvels OF magniiying power more strik-
ingly examplifed than in this case. In
the bright yellow, nearly circular disk,
with it's attendant moons, mere pictures
of the imagination to many, it was
difficult to recognize the most distant Of the
visible planets, an almost unknown orb, ex-
cept to telescope observers. Titania and
Oberon, the satellites discovered q century
ago by Herschel, shone distinctly on the
side OF the planet at q distance OF
about four times it's diameter, Ariel and
Umbriel being discernible on the west side
at about half the distance of the outer
and larger moons, ali appearing, however,
in reversed position, an effect that is some
in astronomical obserya-
ton. The two smaller moons have until
now been difficult objects to discern, though
about forty years their existence and
periods were established facts.
While the motions of the sun on it's axis,
OF the major and minor planets around the
sun, OF the DON Of Saturn, Jupiter, Mars
and the earth around their primaries, and
of such spheres of the solar system as are
known to have an axial rotation, all take
place in a direction from west to east, these
distant satellites of Uranus, for some unex.
planned cause, revolve in orbits almost per.
pendicular to the plane of their primary's
path around the sun, which makes an angle
OF only i~orty-six with the ecliptic. Their
motions are regarded as retrograde, orfrom
east to west, and in certain points Of their
orbits they actually do move in q direction
opposite to that Of the other satellites
in q corresponding position. Ariel, the in.
ner satellite, with IN orbit half the diam
eter Of the moons orbit, completes it's rev.
in the amazingly short period Of
two and . half days; Umbriel, at distance
OF 1900 miles from it's primary, in four
days three bours; Titania, the brightest,
and 40, 1000 miles further from Uranus than
the moon is from the earth, in about one
third OF q lunar month, and Oberon, the
in thirteen aud q half days. 1t
is q deeply-interesting observation to watch
these distant spheres pursuing their course
with uninterrupted glimmer. the perpendic-
OF the orbits leaving them free from
or occulation, which phenomena
would be Of little interest at such an inn.
mense distance.
Few of the celestial wonders rescued
from almost invisibility by the Lick tele-
scope produce a greater impression OF it's
power and superiority than this remote
especially when the observer turns
the eye piece and sees through the
open slit Of the dome the almost imper-
ceptible planet apparently alone in the
dark depths OF space.