Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1892-08-18
To he Continued.
LITTLE MOONS OF MFRS
Ind the other Little Satellites in Ga,
Solar System.

Ind the other Little Satellites IA, Ou,
Solar System.
The moons of Mars We're discovered
few years ago through the telescope
of the naval observatory at Washington
by Prof. Asaph Hall. He will be ac-
lively interested in the observations of
that planet and its neW-found satellites,
which will be made in August next by
astronomers all over the world. Since
the discovery of the moons in 1887, this
is the first opportunity afforded for
examining them, inasmuch as they are
so small as to be perceptible only at
close range. Once in every 10 years
earth. Eight weeks hence it will be
within 35,000,000 miles of us, whereas
it's greatest distance is 100000
miles. Great interest attaches to the
matter, because this sister world is so
much like our own in respect to its eli
nate and other conditions that it may
reasonably be supposed to be inhab-
tied.
There are at least 20 moons in the
solar system. Saturn alone has eight,
the biggest of them, Titan, being near
" twice the size Of our moon, and
Jupiter possesses four; ranging III
dimensions upward from Europa, just
about as large as the orb of terrestrial
night, Ganymede, greatest OF all
known moons, with a diameter of
3,4S0 miles, whereas the moon belong
ing to this world is only 2,16O miles
through.
Though our moon is supposed TO be
dead ard cold, similar conditions are
not assumed to govern all the satellites
Of the sister planets. Some of those
pertaining to Jupiter are believed to
emit light of their own, showing that
they are still hot. However, asTonon-
ers are usually eager to find evidence of
life en- other spheres, even discovering
on the earth's attendent orb apparent
traces of mighty works Of engineering
artifice-the imagined creation Of
races being long eXtinct-such as the
stupendous bridge that appears to
span a crater of the moon volcano call
ed Eudoxus. Ecipses are everyday
affairs on Jupiter. Three of its sat
elites are eclipsed at every revolution
of that mighty globe, so that a specta-
tor there might witness during the
Jovian year 1900 eclipses of moon and
about the same number of the sun by
moons.
One of Saturn's moons called MiMas,
about half the size of the earth's sat
elite, is so close to the planet in its
circling that it seems to cross the face
of the latter at an astonishing rate of
speed. Of the seven others, Titan has
q diameter of $500 miles, Iapetus 1,SOO
miles, Rhea 1000 miles, DiOne and
Thetys each 500 miles. while EnceladuS
and Hyperion are very little fellows
Several Of them in the sky together,
with the flaming ring of star dust
stretched athwart the heavens, must
make a gorgeous spectacle by night on
the Saturnian sphere.
Through the telescope it is very in
teresting to watch the shadows thrown
upon Jupiter by that giant planets
moons, observation of the eclipses of
which furnished the first data for es-
timating the velocity of light. Uranus
had four little mOons-Ariel, Umbriel,
Iitania and Obernon-Which, funnily
enough, rise in the north and set in the
south. A single diminutive one, belong
ing to Neptune, traverses the sky from
southwest to northeast. Neither Mer-
curry nor Venus has any satellites.
But the most interesting of all moons
are the two that attend Mars, each
about SO miles in diameter. That
planet is just one-half the size of the
earth; it's surfac is divided into CONT
nentS and seas, having as much land
as water; it has an atmosphere, clouds
frequently concealing its face, and its
seasons are about the same as here,
though the waters are colder. Because
one of it's moons travels around at
three times as fast as Mars itself
turns, it appears to rise in the west and
set in the east, while the other, really
circling in the same direction at q speed
comparatively slow, rises in the east
and sets in the west. Thus both
moons are seen in the heavens at the
same time, going opposite ways.
One of the most remarkable guesses
on record was made by Dean Swift,
who, a century before the moons of
Mars were discovered, made CULVER
say of the astronomers of Laputa
''They have found two satellites
which revolve about Mars, whereof the
innermost is distant from the planet ex-
actly three diameters of the planet;
the former revolves in the space of 1C
hours and the latter in two and one
half hours. In fact the latter moon is
10000 miles from Mars, whereas-the
diameter of the planet being 1000 miles
--Gullivers estimate would place it
1000 miles. For the cutter moon he
gives 10000 miles for the distance,
which is really Is, 600 miles. The tiue
Of revolution for the inner moon is ac-
tually seven and a half hours and for
the outer enc 80 hours. Prof. Hall has
named these moons Defines and Pho
Dos. after the attendants of the god
Mars who are mentioned in Hcmers
"Iliad. "-Providence journal.
DTFFICULTT OF SPEECH.
II hs,