Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-02-03
STAR GAZERS' GOSSIP.
Pointers About the Principal Planets for
Febrnarv-The Sun to be With us
an Hour and Seven Minutes

Febrnarv-The Sun to be With rs
an Hour and Seven Minutes
Longer in Four Weeks.
Despite the fact that the weather of late
has not been particularly favorable for star
gazing, the planets will do their duty and
will furnish US for the month of February
with as many interesting events as usual.
Mercury reaches elongatlon and may be
seen during the latter part of the month;
Venus disappears as morning star to adorn
the evening skies with her presence in the near
future; the fiery god OF war and the prince of
planets, Jupiter, are coming into view in the
morning. while Saturn leads the van by getting
into opposition with the sun on the 18th Of the
month, at which time he rises at sunset and
graces the whole night with his presence. His
solar majesty, too, begins to make us longer
visits, remaining above the horizon for 10 hours
and minutes on the first and for II hours and
IL minutes on the last day of the month.
Mercury should rather have been named after
the Greek divinity Hermes than the Roman
Mercurius Hermes was the messenger Of the
gods, swift with his winged sandals. Mercurtus
was originally the patron OF merchants, but aft
erward the Romans identified him with the
Greek god. The planets name was doubtless
suggested by his celebrity of movement, as he is
so far as known. If any PLANETS exist between
him and the sun they, Of course, move faster
than he, as the velocity of planet depends on
its nearness to the sun.
The question of intra-Mercurial planets, as
such possible bodies are called, has been agi-
tated for long time, and at present does not
seem to be in fair way to be decided. As
Mercury is so hard to it is evident that there
would be great difficulty in observing planets
still nearer the sun. They would rise and set
at so nearly the same time as the sun
that there is little hope of seeing
them when the sun is below
the horizon. There remain then but four ways
of detecting such planets: First-By direct
observation in the day time. This method will
probably not be successful, as these possible
bodies would be too small and too near the sun
to be seen in that way. Second-Mercury and
Venus occasionally come directly between us
and the sun, crossing the suns disk as black
spots, but distinguishable from solar spots by
their round and sharp appearance, and by the
rapid1ty of their movement. lntra-Mercurial
planets would do the same, and might in such
cases easily be seen by the host of observers
who are watching the sun. Third-During
eclipses of the sun few precious moments are
afforded during which bright stars may be
seen. But the first method has yielded no fruit
at all, and there has been SO much uncertainty
about observations coming under the two lat
ter heads, that the whole question is still in
great doubt. Another resource remains, that
of watching Mercury to see IL it appears to be
affected by the attraction of another planet
the method by which the planet Neptune was
so happily discovered in lS46 But neither has
this method yielded any fruit.
Saturn bears off the palm for the month, as
on the 18th. at IL P. M, he reaches "opposi-
tlon," or the point at which he is 1902 from the
sun. He rises at sunset and shines during the
entire night, He is a few degrees east of Rlgu-
lus. and may be easily distinguished from sur
rounding stare by his brightness and calm, yel-
low light, not twinklng.
Uranus is morning star, rising about mid
the parlV the month Nantnnn
is evening star, reaching quadrature on the
10Th. BERT E. V. LUTY.