The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-08-04
OrEEyOF THE EVENING SKY
Venus RGSplGRdent In All lis Beauty
This Month.

overcome by Venus and Almost In
,,isible-Jupiter the Star for Early
pisers-Saturn for Those Who Gaze
in The Early Evening-The constel-
1ations and Fixed Stars.
The planet Mercury, which was visible
4, evening sky till the, middle of last
month. has passed out of view below the
western horizon. 1t will reach its inte-
-;or conjunction on the Sth, and on the
95rh it will attain its greatest western
elongation when it may be seen as morn
ing star.
VENUS.
This resplendent planet is now queen of
the evening sky, and every day Ii rises
higher in the west and grows more brill
liant It is the brightest star in the west
after sunset Its diameter is 1900 miles,
and it revolves around the sun in 225
DAYS at a distance of 81 ,000, 900 miles from
thai luminary. Very little is known of
its physical condition as the dense white
clouds With which it is surrounded con-
ceal the real body of the planet from our
view. In the telescope 1t presents all the
phases of the moon and at present it is
gibbous.
MARS.
Mars is not far from the apparent posi-
ton Of Venus, though its great distance
from us now and its proximity to the sun
reuderit almost invisible. Several months
must elapse before we can see this planet
TO the best advantage.
JUPITER.
Jupiter is now morning star, and it may
be seen before day-break blazing in the
east. 1t rises about IL o'clock and crosses
the meridian about B. Although this gi-
rantic world is not yet in the best position
for observation, still a telescope even of
moderate power will reveal its moons re
volving about the planet with beautiful
precision. Jupiter rises earlier every
night, and in few months we may OBJ
serve its interesting features in the early
evening.
SATURN.
High up in the southwest at dark a
large bright star may be seen almost in a
line with two other smaller stars west of
the large fixed star Spica. This is the
planet Saturn. We are now receding
from this interesting world at the rate of
10000 miles an hour, still the telescope
will show its rings turned obliquely across
the body of the planet itself. Saturn has
eight moons revolving around il, one
of which is larger than the planet
Mercury. The motion of the planet is
now direct and it will be interesting to
watch it approach and pass the small
fixed star to the east Of it,
URANUS AND NEPTUNE.
Uranus is still in the constellation
Virgo about 15' east of Spica, the bright
est star in that constellation. On the
18th the moon will pass L So to the south
of the planet. 1t is barely visible to the
naked eye. Neptune is not now in fav-
orable position for observation. Its great
distance from US, and its relative posi-
ton to US and the sun, forbid a satisfac-
tory view of the far-off world.
THE CONSULTATIONS AND THE FIXED STARS
In the north Ursa Major is west of
Polaris, and Cassiopeia below and to the
east Andromeda is just rising in the
northeast, and higher up Vega, the large
blue star in Lyra, dominates this quarter
of the heavens. The beautiful
circlet of the northern crown is near
lY directly overhead, and little
further to the west Arcturus, in Bootes.
shines with reddish light This star is
moving towards us at the rate of 90 miles
per second. In the southeast, Scorpio,
with its brilliant array of stars, sweeps
the horizon with its long, curving tail.
The brightest star in this constellation is
Antares, easily distinguished by its fiery
red color. On July % this star was oc-
Quilted by the moon. This phenomenon
will not occur to US again in nineteen
years. Extending across the heavens,
from northeast to southwest, is stream
OF pearly light known as the Milky Way.
II will be noticed that the stars are much
more numerous in this region than in any
other quarter of the sky. Indeed, the
faint, milky-looking light, which charac-
terizes this part of the heavens, is but the
blended beams of millions of stars aggre-
gated in an enormous ring around the uni
verse The telescope resolves the greater
portion of the Milky Way into IN yriads of
minute stars, each of which is a sun, at
tended, in all probability by worlds like
our own, and peopled by an immense life,
scarcely guessed at, in the vast creation
OF God. OTIS AsHMoRE.