Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1895-01-10
THE SKIES IN JANUARY.
Eclipses During tho Year--The Planetary
Aspect = Nebuiar hypothesis - Fixed
Glars.

Aspect = Nebuiar hypothesis - Fixed
stars.
Baltimore Sun.
The lunar phases during tho month
OF January will be as follows: First
quarter on the Sd, full on the 10th, last
quarter on the 18th and new on the 25th.
In course of the year 1895 five ecipses
will take place, of which three will be of
tho sun and two of the moon. The solar
eclipses will all be partial and not visi-
bic in the United States; the lunar
eclipscs will both be total and both
visible in this country. The solar
eclipses will take place on March Goth,
August goth and September 10th, and
the lunar in the night from the 10th to
the 18th OF March, and in that of the Sd
to the 4th of September.
The planets Venus, Mars and Jupiter
will form in the celestial vault three
beautiful objects in the star-lit nights of
the month Of January. Venus is even
ing star, in which capacity she will act
until the 10Th of September, being at
present in the constellation of Sagat-
tarlus. Mars is in Aries, the first of the
consultations of that remarkable belt
of 12 steller groups called the zodiac,
within which the sun, moon and all the
planets perform their apparent revolu-
tons around the earth.
The monarch of the planets (Jupiter)
also acts as evening star, and will con-
tinue doing 50 until the 10th of July,
after which he will shine as morning
star during the remainder of the year.
He is still lingering on the outskirts of
the bright constellation Gemini The
planet Saturn is in Libra, which will
not present itself to the view during the
earlier part of the evening before the
coming month of May.
1t is singular fact that the sun, earth
and all the other planets have their
aerial and revolutionary motion in the
same direction, viz, from west to east,
and, with few slight exceptions, the
satellites also. In face of this fact the
thought must necessarily obtrude itself
even upon persons who are not in the
habit of seeking for the connection be-
| tween cause and effect, that this uni
| tormlty of two kinds of motion cannot
be matter of mere chance, but must
arise from some fundamental cause
which accounts for this otherwise
strange coincidence. One of the pro-
foundest thinkers in the science of mathe-
mates and the two finest applications,
mechanics and astronomy, the French
man Laplace, made the first great, and
on the whole, not unsuccessful attempt
of building up satisfactory cosmical
theory. This, for reasons that will APP
pear presently, has been called the nebu.
lar hypothesis. According to this theory
the space which the solar system occu-
| t1ipg nFininn1lHr tillnH rt,ttI, ,,ah,,tFNb
matter in an incandescont state, and
this mass was rotating from west to
east. BY means of gravity and centrifu-
gal force this rotating mass assumed
a spherical, or rather spheroidal
shape. In consequence of the radiation
of heat, the nebular mass suffers con-
traction which accelerates the rate OF
rotation until ut last ring is thrown
off which after countless ages assumed
the globular shape. According to this
extremely ingenious and plausible
theory, therefore, the planets and theiI
satellites were all each rings once, the
former, when yet in their gaseous con.
dition, throwing off such rings. The
rings Of Saturn form strong corrobora.
ton of the nebular hypothesis.
Some of the considerations which, dur
ing tho month Of December, could still
be seen during the evening hours have
set or are setting. The Square o.
Pegasus is near the horizon. Aurigo
with the brilliant star Capella, anG
Taurus, with the remarkable group o
Plciales and Hyadcs and bright Aide
baran have reached and partially
passed the meridian. The splendid con
stellatiOn Orion is in full view, and two
more remarkable consultations, Canii
Major and CAMS Minor the Two Dog
have risen. The former contains
the most brilliant fixed star in Til,
whole heavens, Sirius, the dog star
which in Ustre vics with the brighter
planets. 1t is almost in straight lin
with the belt of Orion, and forms, will
Betelgeuse IN Orion aud the first migni
tude star Procyon, III Uunis Minor,
, large, magnificent equiateral triangle
each side OF which measures about 2Go
Procyon rises IN one latitude about hal
, an hour before Sirius, for which reasol
it received its name from two Greel
words signltying "before the dog.
Orion, with the Two Dogs and the othe
/. consultations grouped around il
forms the most striking and beautiful
portion in the whole armament
Seven of the twenty stars of tn
first magnitude are in this immediat
, neighborhood, forming a configuratio
! which cannot fail to make a profoun
D impression upon any one in whom tn
sense of the beautiful and truly gran
. is not wholly extinct. 1t is not to b
0 wondered at that some of the creates
: epic poets have given expression to tn
Q deep admiration which the contcmpls
!, ton Of those wonderful tar.picture
= awakened in them, but just as strang
is it that there are yet so many vii
| allow the transactions Of daily lif
c which in face of the glorious heaven
!, above them cannot but appear III
' spcakably pretty, to kill in them ever
4 conception of the grandeur and majest
G OF the structure of the universe.
a Old New Years Days.
| Ia, 7 i,.,,s 81