The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-08-24
o.HEa MOONS THAN OURS.
Dean Swift's Rem arkable Guess About
the satellites Of Mars.
From the Providence Journal.

Dean SwifG's Rem arkable Guess About
the satellites Of Mars.
From the Providence Journal.
The moons OF Mars we're discovered a
few years ego through the telescope Of the
naval observatory at Washington by Prof.
Asaph.
There are at least twenty moons In the
solar system. Saturn alone has eight, and
Jupiter possesses four, ranging from Europa.
just about AZ large as the orb of terrestrial
night, to Ganymede, greatest of all known
moons with a diameter of $3.50 miles,
whereas the moon belonging to this world is
only 2, 100 miles through.
Though our moon is supposed to be dead
and cold, similar conditions are not assumed
so govern all the satellites Of the sister
planets. Some of those pertaining TO Jupi-
ter are believed to emit light Of their own,
showing that they are still hot. However,
astronomers are unusually eager to find evil
dence of life on other spheres, even dlscov-
ering on the earth's attendant orb apparent
traces of mighty works Of engineering art-
fice-the imagined creations of races of be-
ings long extinct-suoh as the stupendous
bridge that appears to span crater of the
moor volcano called Eudoxus.
Eclipses are everyday affairs on Jupiter.
Three of its satellites are eclipsed at every
revolution Of that mighty globe, SO that
spectator there might witness during the
Jovian year 1850 eclipses Of moons and
about the same number of eclipses of the
sun by moons. One of Saturn's moons,
called Mimas, about half the size Of the
earth's satellite, 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 diameter
OF $500 miles; lapetus, 1900 miles; Rhea,
1900 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 gorgeous spec
tacle by night on the Saturnian sphere.
Through the telescope it is very interesting
to watch the shadows thrown upon Jupiter
by that giant planets moons. observation
of the eclipses of which furnished the first
data Tor estimating the velocity of light
Uranus has four little moons-Ariel, UNI
briel, Titania and Oberon-wh ich, funnily
enough, rise in the north and set IN the
south. A single diminutive one. belonging
to Neptune, traverses the sky from south
west to northeast. Neither Mercury nor
Venus has any satellites.
But the most interesting Of all moons are
the two that attend Mars, each about sixty
miles in diameter. That planet Is Just one
half the size of the earth; its surface is di-
vided into continents and seas, having as
clouds frequently conoealing its face, and
its seasons are about the same as here,
though the winters are colder. Because one
of its moons travels around 1t 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 direc-
tion at a 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 ODEOSite WAYS.
One Of the most remarkable Ruesses on
record was made by Dean Swift, who a cent
ury before the moons of Mars were discov-
ered made CULVER say Of the astronomers
of Laputa: They have found two satel~
lites which revolve about Mars, whereof the
innermost is distant from the planet ex-
actly three dameters OF the planet; the
former reyolves in the space of ten hours
and the latter in twenty-oue and one half
hours" In fact, the inner moon is 10000
miles from Mars, whereas-the diameter of
The planet being 900 miles-Gulliver's es-
innate would place it at $4,000 miles. For
the outer moon he gives 90 600 miles for the
distance, which is really IL, 900 miles. Tho
time OF revolution for the inner moon is
actually seven and one half hours. and for
the outer one thirty hours. Prof Hall has
named these moons Deimos and Phobes
after the attendants Of the god Mars, who
are mentioned in Homer's "lliad."