The morning call., 1892-07-03
THE HEAVENS In JULY.
Venus Gradually Approaching the
Sun.
Our Neighbor Mars travelling Nearer.
Belted Jupiter and His
Satellites.
written for THE MORNING CALL.

With the advent of the present month we
lose the services of the planet Venus as
evening star" She was at greatest brill
liancy on June 2. and since that date has
been gradually approaching the sun and
also decreasing in brightness from day to
day. When the new month opens this
beautiful planet follows the sun below the
horizon in less than an hours time, and on
July 9 will be In inferior conjunction" :"
therefore rising and setting exactly with
the chief luminary. Thenceforth her prog
ress into the morning sky Is quite rapid, and
when July 81 arrives we Will ind this fair
est of stars the chief ornament OF dawn,
and preceding the rising OF the sun some
two hours.
The shy planet, Mercury, was found with
in less than five degrees OF Venus when
July made his entry on the calendar. But
while the latter planet is progressing rapid
ly toward the sun Mercury is increasing bis
distance, and will be evening star until
about the middle of August. The greatest
eiongatioD east OF the sun Is calculated for
July 2S, at which time the angular distance
separating them is over q degrees. On this
date Mercury will follow the sun into the
Pacific Ocean nearly two hours later in the
evening, disappearing below the horizon at
half Iast o'clock.
So much for the two interior planets, the
orbits Of which lie between us and the sun,
so that we never see them except shortly
before sunrise and after sunset. Mercury
and Venus are always popular favOritss.
The latter especially on account of her ex-
treme brllliancy is doubtless the best known
OF all the stars and planets, but neither is
particularly interesting to the telescope
amateur. For the reason that they are
both always seen close TO the horizon and
also because each planet Is. so FAR as we
know. surrounded by dense atmosphere,
which permits but little study of the true
surface, neither Mercury nor Venus pos
sesses any great fascination for the users of
small telescopes.
OUR NEIGHBoR MARS.
But the very first mention Of the next
planet-in order of distance from the sun
awakens pleasant anticipations in the mind
of the astronomical student. Mars is now
seen under the most favorable conditions
we could possibly hope for. Early in
August comes the opposition " of this
planet which means that it Is nearer to us
tnan at any time for two years; aud at this
particular opposition Mars will be separated
from us by shorter distance than at any
opposition since August 1877, when Pro
fessor Hall discovered the two little satel-
lites. Since the planet is over 20 degrees
south of the celestial equator the arc de-
scrbed in the sky between rising and set
ting is quite small, the planet only being
little over nine hours above the horizon.
Mars will be nearly stationary In the con-
stellation Capricornus during the month Of
July, and NAV be seen to rise about a quar-
ter or half past 10 o'clock In the evening
when the month opens--a bright star of re-
maTkable rednesS. and the most conspieu-
Gus object in that particular portion of the
sky.
coast capable of showing the two minute
satellites of Mars. even under the most
favorable conditions. OF course, the Sc
inch and I2-ineh Lick refrac;ors are quite
equal 10 the task with the former glass
Professor Keeler said in 1883, during an
unfavorable opposition, that they were
'easy'O; but 1t is not likely that the Chabot
S-inch or the Davidson 61a-inch would sue
ceed in locating these tiny bodies. Mars
and the moon VIII rise on the night of July
IL almost touching each other. On the
Eastern coast most interesting phe-
nomenon will be witnessed. for the planet
will disappear behind the disk of the moon,
in occultation as 1t IS called. AT Washing
ton, Mars will be behind the moon for one
hour and two minutes. Unfortunately all
this takes place below the horizon of San
Francisco, and it will doubtless be all over
before the objects appear TO cur sight. at
all events we will see very close approach.
In September, with good. luck and a clear
atmosI here, we will probably see an actual
oceultation of the planet take place.
JUPITER AND HIS SATELLITES.
Jupiter rises exactly at midnight the first
part of the month. There will be no diff
Guilty in recognizing him at about 1 or
o'clock in the morning, for he will be by
long odds the brightest object in the neigh
borhood and will be seen by looking due
east. Quite small telescope will easily
show the belts and all four satellites. The
phenomena Of the moons, which are always
disappearing in or reappearing from eclipse
or passing behind the body of the planet,
or else transiting across the Joyian disk;
all these things afford no end OF enjoyment
TO the intelligent user of small telescope.
About 200 OF them are given in the alma
macs each month, almost any night an
eclipse or an oceultation, or transit Of one
Of the satellites may be observed by the
amateur.
Saturn is rapidly getting out OF good posi-
tion. and cannot now be well seen after
o'clock at night He is Just about mid way
Spica. With the end of July this beautiful
planet will be lost TO our telescopes until after
he shall have regppeared from the suns rays
in the morning sky. The rings are now
commencing 10 open out little. and good
view of this most interesting object may yet
be secured through an ordinarily good tele-
scope.
SUGGESTIONS TO AMATEURS.
Any Of my readers who NAV possess. say
a four-inch astronomical telescope, with
circles. etc. will find IL of interest to look
up the place of Uranus, or "Herschel," as
our grandfathers called it. At any time
during the month of JaIy this sgow- moving
planet may be picked up by setting the
telescope at exactly IA hours OF right ascen-
sion and 1iA4 degrees of south declination.
This is not far from the position of the star
Spica. Neptune Is too near the sun to be