Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1892-06-05
PERMANENT IN JUNE
Avn rue BEGINNING OF THE AsTRo-
NomICAL SUMNER.
-. ,sox.ments Of tho Pianets-Thc sun rs
Factor In Terrestrial Life-A "o''
Ahout Comets and Their Tails

The choices, GIFT in the power OF Junoto
ho,,ov ia the summer solsticc. according
20 Tho New York Times. which occurs on
the Goth at six hours sixteen m'nu'e' -
the evening. as the sun enters the s'Rn u
the Crab and astronomical Summer oesin'.
rho elimination Of old Sops power III 'hc
northern hemisphere will then be reacheu'
U,s height nj noon is the greatest, tue sun
rse and sunset points are furthest hor."'
and the longest DAY is succeeded ny '"o
| shortest night. ,,~oa.aet
| factor in the support OF terrestr,a, .'iv
| but his intense heat - temperea nnu
erned by the elements, ar anu wa.. an
out which life az at present constitutes pn
our globe would be unsupportaoie' -,
| tot.I area of the earth's surface Is ABOUT
| oo1 Oo0 00D square miles, and OF TINS only
| ab,ut one fourth Is land. Inc mean v'c-
vet,on of the land above tho sea Is less
| than $500 feet, while the mean ueptn oi
| the ocean is probably ABOUT i-'vVo a.
The total volume of the land above the
| sea level, therefore, 10 only aDout oh'-
twentieth of the volume OF the ocean
| The surface of the ground quickly De-
comes heated by the direct rays OF the sun,
| but II also quickly radiates its heas H. H.
| the air producing On aerial current ih1
| surface OF the water. on the onner nanu'
absorbino the suns heat, rapidly conmu-
nicates Il 10 the adjoining stratum. and,
| radiation from its surface being COMPARE
| tivelv slow. its currents transfer the neat
| 90 acquired TO distant points. Inc tenn
/ porary influence on the climate Is the
| wind. taking the heat and moisture from
| this heated water and transferring IL TO inc
| land.
| cosJUSCTIoSs.
| int ha
| Of the ID of June. and the following day II
| i'm conjunction with Saturn. On the 6tn
| there Is conjunction with Uranus, ana as
| the distance between the two Is little
| less than two diameters of The moon we
could form a fairly close estimate OF the
| planets whereabouts TO the SOUTHWARK Oh
our satellite could we but see the meeting.
| The next conjunction Is with Mars on
the 18th. followed five days later by
Iuniter. and the waning crescent beng at
| their closest for the month reptune's turn
| comes next. and there is too great a dts-
| tance between the two for pretty erect,
even were they no further removed from
the sun. On the oath Mercury ana the
| young moon hobnob together, and on tne
25th we have Venus in conjunction with
| out there being anything noteworthy III
the event, The series closes on the 25th
lust before the month ends by Saturn
| again exchanging compliments with the
far Luna. This second visit, although
little closer than the first has nothing to
particularly recommend II to our con-
| sideratiOn.
| Venus graces the month by appearing IN
her role of greatest brilliancy. She Is still
pursuing us "a we revolye about the sun,
and as she draws nearer her size increases:
She j.. however. yielding TO the STRAIN OF
the chain that binds her TO the sun, anu
before the month closes the beautiful
queen Of the night will be lost to us. we
NAV still find her in daylight II we nave
| sharp enough eyes, Us she comes TO our
| meridian about two hours ana three quar-
tiers after noOntime, and - then about
| one sixth of the distance from the zenith
to the horizon.
MORNING STAR.
Mars IS morning star. although no rises
little after II O'Clock in the evening and
gets mp earlier and earlier as the month
advances. tie is in conjunction with the
| moon on the 18th, and is In the consteila-
ton of Capncornus. He is growing larger
quite perceptibly and at the close OF june
| will be four times the size he was when the
| year began. In August when he Is IN OPP
position he Will be a most glorious object,
| and we shall have his rudy face To gaze
upon throughout the night.
Venus and Mars have. from one point or
view, quite peculiar claims on our atten-
| ton. They are our nearest planetary
neighbOrs on either side. We may nstu-
rally expect TO learn more OF them than
of the other planets further on. In
the case of Venus. however, this anticipa-
ton can hardly be realized. IS Its dazzling
? briiliancy prevents Us from making q
really satisfactory telescope examination.
When we turn to our other planetary
; neichbOr Mars, we are enabled to learn
3 good deal with regard To his appearance
/ Indeed. with the exception OF the moon,
We are better acquainted with the details
Of the surface Of Mars than with those OF
any other celestial body. -,
Q saturn is evening star and in the small
: hours of the morning of the 18th he Is IN
| uuadrature. or 80 degrees removed from
the sun. His steady light, OF slightly
ruddy tinge, makes him quite easily dis
| unguished, as he bears south about Z
| O'Clock and Is about half way between
| overhead and the horizon. He has again
resumed his eastern course among the
stars and will continue TO hold 1t the re-
mainder of the year.
He performs his mighty revolution
around the sun in a period Of quarter OF
century. This gigantic orbit formed the
. | boundary to the planetary system, so tar
| a. il was known to the ancient5.
Jupiter i morning star and rises about
| 9 o'clock He Is nearly at the average dis
o | lance from the earth, but is gradually ap.
|
ing in brIlliancy and size. He is in con
junction with the moon on the 18th, and
Ialthough not "A very close meeting. the
waning crescent and the beautiful star will
form a lovely picture in the early morning
skies.
| A MIDNIGHT MEETING.
/ Mercury and Neptune have a little meet
INC of their own about midnight on the
10th. but as they will at that time be be
/ low the horizon, we shall not be allowed
. the privilege of seeing it. A few hours be
: fore astronomical summer begins Mercury
& is in conjunction with the sun, so thai
e when next we see the elusive planet he
# will be an evening star. He Is always Sc
near the sun, and is so constantly lodging
III and out of the rays of the larger body
that we seldom get "a look at him. On tn,
oath Mercury and the new moon come e
their nearest for the month.
Neptune and the waning crescent are II
l. conjunction Just before the old moon loses
!. itself to reappear as the new. So from
this we can concinde that the planet ha'
e ranged himself under JupIter's banner anC
4, now forms one of the morning stars. Or
the 9th. early IN the morning, Uranus anc
the moon are In conjunction. the meetin.
r being the closest for the month.
:. A line from the pole star through thu
~ end of CassiopeIa produced "a far agar
will conduct the eye to the centre of thu
Great Square of Pegasus Near the uppe
corner star of this square is comet tina
is rushing along at the rate OF hundreds o
miles In a minute. Exactly where 1t CAM
- from. Just where it is bound. or when W
10 are to see it again are matters that are no
III at present satisfactorily settled.
Comets appear sometimes with almos
re startling unexpectedness; they rapidly
swell in size to an extent that in superstl
IN tious ages called forth the utmost terror
20 again they disappear, often never. TO b
10 heard of more. Modern science has m
9. doubt removed q great deal OF the mys
tery which once invested the whole suD
iect of comets. Their movements are nov
to a large extent explained. and some al
ne dItions have been made to our knowledg
r of their nature. though i. must still be con
Y. fcssed that what is known bears but yer
.pall proportiOn 10 what remains un