The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1892-02-10
Celestial Phenomena.


stellar glories, but the heavens in the even
ings of early February have had for star
gazers attractions that were passing beauti-
full. Through the autumn aud the early
winter nights Jupiter, king of the planets,
had swung in mid heaven. With the new
year, Venus, loveliest of the wanderers,
appeared above the western horizon. Night
by night she has climbed the blue concaye
till her silvery beacon CLEANS radiantly high
above the western hills, even while yet
The western waves of ebbing day
Jupiter espied the goddess of love and
beauty, and the divinities, imperial in
mythology and among the wonders of the
skies, fastened to greet each other. On
Sunday evening of last week the planets
and the crescent moon were grouped above
the western horizon. 1t was a striking as
semblage. Round about them were the
stars and consultations of winter, glitter
ing pageant. Orion paused with upifted
club; Taurus fiery eye was diverted by the
brilliant conclave Sirius bore his blazing
torch to add to the splendors of the scene,
and Procyon held his lesser light Perseus,
Cassiopeia and Andromeda gave courtly
grace and dignity to the great occasion, and
even the monsters Of the frosty north were
awed to silent contemplation.
The clouds of the following evening con-
cealed the celestial trio from observers in
this vicinity. Had the veil lifted, Venus
would have been discovered reposing within
the moons slender crescent, with Jupiter
degree or two nearer. Beautiful and i'm
pressive as the spectacle was on that last
evening of January, a clear sky at sunset of
February would have shown the two
planets and the earth's satellite more closely
and more dramatically grouped, an arrange
ment and an association of celestial splen-
doris that is not often vOuchsafed to mortal
eyes. The evening of February was clear
Luna had withdrawn from the grand aggre-
CATION of glories and was well up toward the
zenith on her winding way around her lord
and master. The planetary celebrities were
down on the astronomical bills for " con-
junction" on the sixth inst, and they were
rapidly approaching to fill their engagement
1t was, however, to be an exceedingly exclu-
sive affair. Profane eyes were not to in
trude upon the privacy of the meeting.
Even the reporters were excluded. Jup-
ter's greeting of his beauteous consort was
arranged to take place at the unreasonable
hour of five O'Clock on Saturday morning,
behind the curtains Of the east. On Friday
evening, however, before they had drawn
the drapery of the western horizon around
them, scarcely a hands breadth separate d
them. The spectacle was full of liveliest
| interest. On Saturday evening, when the
eye had singled out the pair in the red
track of the setting sun, the planets had
exchanged places. Jupiter was a degree
west of Venus. The monarch of the plan
etary system had hidden his queen hail and
| ldFeWell anu was pursuing his tltIudl COURSE
around the sun, to hobnob in turn with other
celestial dignitares.
To mortal eye Jupiter and Venus had met
! in close embrace. As matter of fact, their
salutatiOns had been exchanged across a
void of some four hundred million miles at
their nearest points of approach The Curl
GUS reader can figure the time in which a
modern passenger mogul, having speed of
mile minute andltraveling without rest,
would traverse this distance, and will thus
gain some faint conception of the illirnitable
space that separated those shining orbs, APP
parently so near and yet so far" Jupiter
seemed the smaller of the twain, but as
tronomers tell us his diameter is 50 600
miles while that of Venus is 1900 miles
that if a pea be taken as the measure
of the size of Venus and Earth, Jupiter
would be represented by moderate-siZed
orange; that Venus distance from the sun
is computed at GO, 900, 900 miles, Jupiter's at
AIS 600, GOO miles; that Venus completes her
course around the sun in about two-thirds
of an earthly year, Jupiter in twelve years
of Earth's time.
AT about five o'clock on Saturday morn.
ing, while the planets were yet below the
eastern horizon the injunction noted
above occurred. Earth, Venus and Jupiter
were in nearly the same plane and line OF
observation. Venus passed between Earth
and Jupiter the space intervening between
the two bright planets being so small the
eye would fail to perceive il and they would
appear to be joined together, Venus passing
over and hiding Jupiter similar con.
junction of Venus and Jupiter occurred
July 90, 1859, says the astronomical writer
of the Providence Journal, at about half
past ten o'clock in the evening. The dis
lance between the two planets was exactly
the same as in the conjunction of last week
although their position in regard to the sur
was entirely different. 1t is much regretted
by observers in this part of the earth's do
main that our celestial neighbors at theil
recent meeting did not choose a more con
venent hour for the exhibition.