The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1892-09-06
No Nights in the Year So
Beautiful as September's.
JUPITER COMPETING WITH MARS
Popular Folklore and Scientific Truth
Concerning the First Month OF
Charming Autumn.
New York Times.

,
domain reaches its fruition. The flowers
take on their deepest hues, the trees that
bear fruit are most heavily limbed and
rich harvests reward the husbandman.
Simple existence is blessing in the
charming days of autumn, filled with sun
shine and pure air, and in the peaceful
autumn nights when the moon foods the
earth with silvery light and the suns of
space shine in solitary splendor or cluster
together as they make their stately march
over the spacious armament.
The suns declination on the LIST il de-
grees minutes north, on the 3Oth it 10 3
degrees 5 minutes south. the autumnal
equinox, or the time when the sun changes
from north to south, declination having
interviewed on the 22d. The observer will
note the rapid progress Of the sun south
ward when at or near the equinox in the
movement of the sunrise and sunset
points southwark and in the lessening me-
ridian altitude of the sun, OF, in other
words, of q lessened height to which it
climbs at midday.
The September full moon is popularity
known as the harvest moon, q celestial
phenomenon that all observers of the
times and seasons agree in admiring as the
browning glory of the autumnal evenings.
The average difference in the daily risings
and settings of the moon is about fifty-one
minutes, the same as that Of her passage
over the meridian. The actual difference
in the daily rising of the moon is, how
ever. subject to great variation on account
OF the moons changes in declination and
the inequalities of her motion in right as
cension. These variations attract the
most attention when they occur at the
time Of full moon. When the retardation
is the least possible the moon rises soon
after sunset at nearly the same time for
several successive evenings. The moon
this year fulls on the 9Th, little more
than two weeks in advance Of the equinox.
The full moon, az We know very we'll by
this time, is always opposite the sun, so
that the latter being in the constellation
of the Virgin we shall find the moon in
the group called Pisces. or the Fishes. In
olden times it was the belief that by
direct interposition Of Divine Provi-
dence the moon rose night at
ter night at nearly the same
time during the season Of harvest to
lengthen the day and assist the husband
men in earnering the fruits of the earth.
Men have grown wiser, SO they say, and
clearly understand that harvest moon is
inevitable every year, and that it has no
connection with vegetation one way or
the other; but they reverently retain the
name made classic by the sacred associa-
tons of the past.
The evening skies are graced by two
beautiful planets as well as by numbers Of
most brilliant stars. Mars has been most
prominent of all the heavenly bodies for
more than month, and astronomers are
still taking advantage of his nearness
hYii n isl
zee il something new about him and his
two moons cannot be discovered. The
warlike planet comes to our meridian
about 10 o'clock, and will arrive there
earlier and earlier as the month pro-
crosses. He has already begun to lose in
both size and brightness, facts that will
become palmer each succeeding night.
When on beautiful starry night we ex-
anime this world through telescope.
when We see its polar SHOWS that melt in
the summer, its delightful and varied geo.
graphical coniiguratIon, we cannot refrain
from asking whether the sun that lights
this world as it does our own shines upon
nothing living there; whether the show
ers fertiliZe nothing; whether Is atmOs-
phere is breathed by no living being, and
whether this world of Mars which. whirls
with such rarAdity through space is like
Railway train travelling empty without
passengers and without merchandise.
Considerable has been said about pro-
lects for communicating between the
planets and our own world. When the
time comes to put such projects into prac-
tice We shall find that it will not be mat
ter of geometrical fieuers on small
scale, but that squares, circles and
triangles will be perfectly huge in
their proportions. We must also
act on the hypothesis, saws NJ. Camille
fiammarion, that the planet is inhabited;
that It's inhabitants are versed in
astronomy; that they have optical instru-
ments of sufficient power, and that they
observe our planet with care-a planet
which is to them splendid star of the
FIRST magnitude, the morning or the even
ing star, and. in fact, the most brilliant
star in their sky,
Jupiter, plainly visible in the east In the
early morning, reaches the meridian in
the morning some four hours or more after
Mars. His peculiar position in the heav-
ems causes him to be classed as a morning
star. but he is moving swiftly toward the
point in which he will be in opposition to
the sun, after which he will be chief
OF the evening stars. We see him now.
however, throughout the evening, and the
rnddy planet has been forced to yield him
the first place of honor among the starry
wonders. We have fine opportunity for
comparing the light power of these
Planets. Jupiter when brightest gives out
TWO and a half times more light than
Mars, owing, it Is said. to the rejecting
power of the clouds surrounding his disk.
ii is quite hard to realize that the compar-
ison IN size between the two is that of q
marble TO pumpkin. Jupiter being repre-
sented by the latter. On the 9th Jupiter
ana the moon are at their closest tor the
month, the two being but fifteen seconds
OF are apart. The planet has for the past
Two weeks been retrograding or moving 10
the westward among the stars.
Venus rises at about 12:45 O'Clock in the
morning. IN time 10 adorn the eastern
skies before Mars sinks out of sight in the
west and 50 continues until daylight the
seSeiy panorama which begins as the sun
IS setting The gracious and graceful
presence 81 the Queen of the Skies adds a
special charm To the morning hours OF
'ae early September days. She IS
equally beautiful whether she rises ahead
u the sun 10 herald approaching day. or
saesher she remains above the horizon
S,ter Old Sos head has sunk from sight.
having reached her most luminous point,
s'e, too. Is Withdrawing from our view
ana Is already less than half the size she
Vas TWO months ago. On the 10Th ehe
reaches her position Of greatest westerly
sohssiion from the sun, at which time 3
aIssance OF tortv-slx degrees separates the
NO. She then begins 10 move toward the
eehset OF the solar system, and We SHAH
so1n De abe 20 notice dlIuinQtlon OF her
light.
Mercury Is also morning star, and have
ing Deem III inferior conjunction with the
sah on the 2AJa he is now moving TO the
,1es'"aFd aad gradually emerging from
."e rays ihat nave So completely en-
seioped HIM IS 10 hide him from our
View. This heavenly body is 50 very
ssusiVe snd doiges in and out PLAYING