Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-02-03


From the New York sun
Everybody must have noticed during ths
past few weeks the gradual drawing together Of
the brilliant planets Jupiter and Venus. Out
shining all the other stars they have added
greatly to the beauty Of the evening sky. Dur
ing the present week they will continue TO ap-
proach one another until on Saturday morning
they will be so close that to the naked eye they
will actually seem blended into one. Unfortu-
nateiy the hemisphere Of the earth which we in
habit will be turned away from the place they
occupy IN the sky at that time. that we shall
be unable TO witness this interesting conjunc-
ton. But on Friday evening the two planets
will already have drawn SO near together that
their aspect will be that of most splendid
double star.
The observer will notice at once the unques-
tionable superiority of Venus 20 her giant
brother in brilliancy. This, Of course, IL an
effect Of distance, for although apparently 10
near together that they almost touch, the two
planets are really more than four hundred
millions OF miles apart, their conjunction in
the sky arising simply from the fact that Venus
in swinging around ITS orbit happens to come
almost exactly INTO the line OF sight from the
earth to Jupiter. Jupiter is more than 1, 400
| times large as Venus. and il II were really
placed side by side with Venus would be at least
1870 times as bright the latter is. In short %
would resemble a small but dazzling moon.
But il is only when one considers what these
TWO plaDets are lL1t true interest tlls
weeks celestial spectacle IL developed. They
represent respectively the two great types or
groups into which the suns family of worlds
NAV be diyided-the terrestrial group, whose
members, like the EARTH of comparatively
moderate dimensions. while their surfaces have
become cool and encrusted with rocky rind,
on which great variety of life iourishes or
may fourish-and the Jovian group. to adopt .
name from their greatest representative, Jupi-
ter. in which much earlier stage of planetary
faces have not yet cooled down OF assumed q
permanent form. These half-developed globes
are all of gigantic dimensions and low spechc
gravity.
During the past year Jupiter has shown signs
of tremendous disturbance in the dense cloudy
atmosphere by which il il surrounded, and the
fact has been noted that such disturbances
upon Jupiter show q tendency to coincidence
with the return Of the maximum sun-spot Pc
riod. Just now the sun is becoming from
month to month the scene of more violent ac-
tiyity than it has displayed since 1853 or 1854.
and at the same time the great belts and spots
upon Jupiter brighten and glow with color and
exhibit changes Of wonderful rapidity and
variety. We cannot vet precisely interpret the
processes Of world making which are going
there but they are intensely interesting 10
watch.
Venus too, attracts particular attention Just
now, because observations to be made during
Its present visit to our side of the sun may
settle the question that has been raised as 10
the correctness of Schiaparelli's conclusion,
announced less than two years ago, that Venus
always keeps one side turned sunward, or
makes but one &c tation on lite axis In the course
of a revolution around the sun. II this strange
state of things really exists upon a plar.et
whose size entities it to be called the twin of
the earth, so many consequences follow. bear
ing upon the question of lts Availability, that
there is hardly any direction In which investi-
CATION and discovery could prove more fruitful