Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-08-04
THE HEAVENS IN AUGUST.
A Summer Story OF the Distant Stars
and Their Majestic Motions.

THE HEAVENS IN AUGUST.
| A Summer Story Of the Distant Starr
and Their Majestic Motions.
The New York Times Of yesterday saws: tn.
speed Of the sun as It hurries in its southw
| career toward the equator increases rapidly
during August, there being more than nine de.
| grees decrease in northerly declination between
| the first and the last days Of the month This
| means very perceptible lessening Of our day
| light, with a corresponding iengthening OF
darkness. The rising hour this morning was
about o'clock and this evening the sun will
| set soon after z, whereas on the last Sunday in
| the month, which is also the last day OF
| August, the length Of the day will have dc
| creased somewhat over an hour. This change
will be found to add materially to our comfort,
| as the earth will have that much longer to cool
after the overpowering heat and disagreeabl
humidity.
The moon IL in last quarter on the It'll. new
moon the 18th, first quarter the I'd and full
| moon the 29th. The moon and Saturn are in
conjunction on the day following the new
moon, but the distance between the two is
rather too great to attract particular notice.
On the day following Luna and Mercury ex-
change compliments. a still greater distance
separating the two than that of the previous
day. Venus and the moon come as close to-
gether on the 18th a. they will be on any day
dnring the month, and, although not quite
close enough to offer a remarkable grouping
the effect will be well worth more than passing
notice. Uranus next receives attention, but as
he himself Is rather too faint to be easily dis
tinguished the conjunction has no particular
significance. On the oath, the day after the
moon quarters, she and the warrior planet pass
each other at distance of four degrees in
declination apart, the planet being the further
south. The moon, two days before the full, and
Jupiter afford charming celestial picture as
they make their way above the eastern horizon
and travel the heavenly arc in fairly close prox-
unity throughout the evening. 1t is hard to
realize, as we compare the two in size and find
our satellite apparently SO very much the
larger, that the planet has a diameter about
forty times that Of the moon, or, in other
words, we compare their volumes and repre-
sent the moon as the size Of Q pea, Jupiter will
be as large as q pumpkin.
THE ONLY MORNING STAR.
The month opens with Neptune as the only
morning star, all the beautiful planets that are
in pleiner view being grouped as evening stars,
and as this sole twinkler of the morning skies
Is rather too far away for Us to see him his
whereabouts is most easily found by his imme-
diate neighbors, which for the constellation
OF the Bull, having Aldebaran as the brightest
star. This group may be seen coming up above
y
ally later each succeeding evening, an avant
courier OF the beautiful consultations that
make the skies throughout the winter evenings
30 wonderfully radiant.
Venus, in her role Of Hesperus, is the first
object in the western sky to attract attention
as the sun goes down below the horizon, and
those having sharp vision and who know ex-
acty where to look could no doubt find this
planetary queen before the sun was actually
sunk to rest.
Saturn is gradually approaching the sun, and
is in conjunction with the center of the solar
system on the 3oth, and his soft yellow light
will be lost to us for some time. When he re-
appears it will be on the other side Of the sun
as one of the morning stars.
Uranus is also an evening star, but is SO far
distant that 1t is invisible to the naked eye ex-
cept when the circumstances particularly
favorable. Even when viewed through tele-
scope he appears not unlike small golden
marble. He is moving slowly through the con-
stellation of the Virgin, the bright star Spica,
to be found in this group, marking his posi-
ton closely enough to give an idea Of where he
is to be found. The moon on the 10Th will be
in conjunction with Uranus, and that will fur
nish another ordinate to determine his position.
This planet moves so slowly-at least his great
distance makes him appear to be going much
slower than the planets we are accustomed to
watch-that it takes him about seven years to
pass through each Of the zodiacal consultations.
MARS AND HIS SNOW CAPS.
Mars is in the constellation Of the Scorpion
and comes to our meridian about 7:15 this
evening and an hour earlier at the months
close. His semi-diameter shows a lamentable
decrease, proving that this orb that has been
so striking and brilliant is slowly bnt surely
becoming DINNER as he gets further and fur
Their from us. Scientists took every advantage
possible when Mars was nearest and in a posi-
ton most favorable for observation to photo
aEab 1Iaya nd fhau liucnu rod I,
spots about his south pole. 1t is believed that
these spots are the ice and snow caps of the
Martial polar regions, and the enlargement of
these spots that was noticed when observations
were taken upon consecutive nights are held
to be the indications of great polar snow
storm.
Jupiter, the furthest east Of the evening
planets, rises just the sun is about to set and
appears in the darkened backgrC und as though
suddenly raised by some enchanted power, q
sublime object that cannot fail to impress every
Deholder. He ~ now i'll a most favorable posi-
ton, being so far from the sun that there is
nothing to detract from his dazzling brilliancy
Mercury and Saturn pass close to each other
on the 9th, the former fastening away from
the effects Of the suns heat, which are said to
be ten times greater than that We are at present
subjected to, while the latter, drawn by an
irresistible attraction, is fast approaching the
fiery region.
The ruling constellation OF the zodiac this
month Is SaSlttarluS the Archer.
The Milky Way toward the south is at this
season well worth studying, and as we view it
with unassisted vision it is rather difficult to
imagine that the faint stream of misty light is
made up OF clustering stars numerous as the
sands on the seashore each star being q sun
glowing with its own inherent light Where
this wonderful celestial starry stream crosses
the eastern sky its beauty is intensified by the
singularly bright space i'll the constellation of
the Swan.
Pegasus, the winged horse, which may be
seen above the eastern horizon, is the same con-
stellation which eight months ago was above
the western horizon.
THE AUGUST METEoRs
The astronomical writer of the Philadelphia
Press says:
On the evenings Of the 9th and 10th Of the
month look out for the August meteors, or the
''Perseids, as they are styled by astronomers
The radiant of this system OF mcteors-the
point from which, in whatever part Of the
heavens they are seen, they appear to proceed
is the constellation Perseus, the situation Of
which has already been pointed out. This sys-
TEN is quite broad or diffuse, and the earth
occupies several days in passing through it,
being liable to pick up thanking members of il
any time from the latter part of July to the
Goth of August; but the central line il passed
on the dates given above. The meteors OF this
system are not numerous, but they are often of
a rare brilliancy.
DRY AS DUST.
H. Il. L.. S@AA