The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1892-02-07
JUPITER AND VENUS.
Brilliant Conjunction in Early Evening
in Western Sky.

Many in Seattle have noticed in the early
evening two very bright stars close together in
the western sky. These points OF light-thc
planets Jupiter and Venus-have been coming
nearer and nearer to each other, and on Friday
evening they were so close that lead PANEL or
an object even smaller held before the eye
would have covered them both. Shortly after ?
o'clock yesterday morning the two planets
came into con junction, but unfortunately they
were then below the western horizon and could
not be seen from here-nor were they visible
from any part of the United States. Last even
ing also Jupiter and Venus were close that
the unassisted eye would have had some diff
Guilty in distinguishing them, had it had the
chance, for the sky was overcast
Such close approach of these two planets Is
very rare, and those now living may probably
never see another. In the field of view of a tel
escope of very moderate power the planets pre-
sent magnificent spectacle, Jupiter being sur
rounded by his four satellites and Venus
showing gibbous phase, or only four-fifths of
her entire disk. Although the planets have
such apparently close relations, their distance
apart is very great, being about four and half
times the earth's mean distance from the sun,
or, in round numbers, about 4ls,0oOlOo miles
In former times, when the cause of such phe-
nomena was not understood as at present, the
ignorant and superstitious looked upon con-
functions of the planets as the forerunners of
some civil or physical commotion, such as wars,
famine, earthquakes. Such phenomena take
place when the earth and any two planets come
into the same or nearly the same straight line,
and since all the planets, the earth included,
volve around the sun in the same direction and
with different velocity, they must necessarily
arrive at the same relative positions again and
again.
1t will be both interesting and instructive to
follow the apparent path of these two planet.
for the next few months Both are moving
eastward among the fixed stars, but in conse-
quenee of the apparent motion of the sun in the
same direction, and which is intermediate be-
tween those of Jupiter and Venus, the former is
apparently approaching the sun and will be lost
to view in the splendor of his rays the Goth Of
March, after which he will become morning
STAR the latter, however, is apparently reeeding
from the sun and approaching her greatest
elOngation, which will occur on the 10Th of
April when her angular distance from the sun
will be about asa degrees and just about fifteen
minutes before her greatest elongation she will
be occulted by the moon, but the oceultation &C.
ours near midnight and therefore invisible in
this country. On the I'd of June she will attain
her greatest brillianey, which viii bo nearly
three times greater than at present At this
time she win be visible to the naked eye during
the day, and at night will cast quite strong
shadow On June 18th she will become sta
tionary for q short time At this point in her
apparent course, she will be moving directly to-
wards the earth, or, to b more exact, the
straight line joining the earth ana Venus moves
parallel to itself. SO that to a spectator on the
earth, the planet viii appear to preserve the
same absolute direction in space. Up to this
point, her apparent motion has been eastward
or direct, she now, however changes her course
or retrogrades, passes between us and the sun
on July 9th, when she becomes a morning star,
and again arrives at 6 stationary point on July
Sist, after which her apparent motion again
becomes direct