New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1892-07-15
THOSE LITTLE MOONS OF MARS.
ON The Providence Journal.

From The Providence Journal.
The of Mars were discovered few years aSs
washington by Professor Asaph Hall lie viii be &C.
lively interested In the observations OF that planet
August next by astronomers ali over the world Since
the discovery OF the moons in 1857 this Is the first OPP
shey are SO small rs TO be- pereepuble only at close
range once In every fifteen years Mars reaches u:
nearest point 10 the earth Eight weeks hence II VIII
be within 330O000O miles OF us whereas It's greatest
distance Is l4l, 100000 miles Great interest At.
aches TO the matter. because this sister world I. 20
conditions that II may reasonably be supposed 10 10
There at least twenty moons In the soly system.
saturn alone has eight the biggest Of them Titan. be-
ing nearly twice the size OF our moon. and Jupiter pos
four ranging In dimensiOus upward from Euro
pa just about large as the orb OF terrestrial night to
anymede, greatest OF all known moons. with diane
ter Of $3.50 miles, whereas the moon belonging 10
this world Is only 2.lGO miles through
Though our moon is supposed to be dead and cold,
similar conditions are not assumed TO govern all the
satellites OF the sister planets Some OF these pertain
Ing to Jupiter believed TO emit light OF their own,
showing that they still hot However, astronomers
are usually eager to hnd evidence of life on other
spheres even discovering on the earths attendant oro
fcc- the imagined creation OF races being long ex'
tnct-such the stupendous bridge that appears TO
srs' are Of 4y AFFAIRS o jupiter T Of
its satellites ecpsed at every revolution OF thai
GLOBE SO that rar 3 sr ,nsre g %e s
about the same number g q s sun BY , b one
the earths satellite Is close to the planet IN Its
circng that II seems to cross the face OF the latter
u an astonishing rate Of sped So 81 the Oths
niles Rhea /. 200 miles, Dione and Thetys nch 500
miles while Enceladus and Hyperion very little
fellows. Several Of them In the sky together. with
the flaming ring OF star dust stretched athwart the
heavens must make gorgeous spectacle by night on
the Saturnian sphere.
Through the telescope II is interesting 10 watch
the shadows thrown upon Jupiter by that GAM
panet's moons, observation OF the eclipscs OF which
furnished the hrst data for estimating the velocity
light. Uranus has four little moons-Artel Cmbrei
Titana and Obcronwhich. funnily enough rise In the
north ana set In the south single dlminutive one
belonging to Neptune, uaverses the sky from south
west to northeast Neither Mercury nor Venus mas
ANY satellites.
But the most interesting Of all moons are the two
that attend Mars each about sixty miles In dameter
That planet is Just one half the size OF the earth iu
surface is divided into continents and seas. having W
frequently concealng It's face. and its seasons are
Because OF It's moons travels around IL three umss
fast Mars Itself turns, II appears 10 rise IN @
and set In the east while the other really crcnns
In the same direction at speed Comparatively h,tH
rises In the east and sets In the west. Thus o1.S
are seen In the heavens at the same time guns
opposite ways. MA.
made by Dean swift, who. century before the noVns
~ Mars discovered, made Gulllver say Oh Wy
astronomers OF Laputa "They have found two sae'
ftcs which rev0lve about Mars, whereof the innermo
the planet the former revolyes In the space OF Vi"
hours, and the latter I'm twentyone and half nVurs
In fact the latter moon Is 10000 miles IRON msN
Whereasthe diameter Of the planet being 400o m' Ia,
tho outer moon he gives 20 1000 miles Tor , ,ws Of
lance which Is really $4,000 miles. the umr ma "a
revolution for the inner moon Is actually seven " pro-
half hours and for the outer one thirty nouls,1 Pho
lessor Hall has named these moons Deimos aa s 80
hos. after the attendants OF the god Mars WIZ ~
mentioned W Homer's "Iiac-"