The evening times., 1896-09-02
Brilliant Consultations to Be
Seen Above This Month.
THE STARS IN SEPTEMBER
The Great Square of Pegasus Will
Appear in AL Its Glory IN the
Northern Heavens-The Planets,
Too, Show Up Well, Notably Venus
and the Crescent Moon.

tumnal atmosphere of the September skies
Among them may be noted the great square
of Pegasus rising in the east, and low down
in the northeast is the lovely cluster OF the
Pleiades.
The three stars, Arcturus, Vega and Ca
pella, known as the northern brilliants, are
especially worthy OF observation, for they
are all visible, aud opinions differ as to
which is the brightest OF the trio.
AT the close OF the first third OF the month
Arcturus is the brilliant red star near
the northwest horizon, and is at the
terminus OF a line from the North Star
through the end star in the handle OF the
Dipper. Vega, the superb star. high in
the north, not far west Of the meridian.
and Capelia will be found In the northeast,
outshiuing its neighbors.
The three stars form together an irregular
triangle. But planets aud stars will lose
their luster when toward the latter part OF
the month the almost full face OF the harvest
moon shines in the eastern horizon, just a
short while after the sunset glow has dis
appeared, and rises slowly to the zenith.
putting out the light OF the fainter stars,
flooding the sleeping earth with silyery
light, casting weird shadows over the
beams rest, pictures OF ineffable lowell
ness that mortal penclc Itever reproduce.
GALnEOs STARS.
Calico made u map OF eighty new stars,
which ~ had discovered in the constella-
tion of OrioB's Relt, and the Sword" and
since then astronomer after astronomer, as
is well known, has added various groups
and galaxies to the two or three thousand
conspicuous stars of the first six nagni-
tudes which can be always seen with the
naked eye.
1t is curious and rot otconip!imentary to the
good sense OF mankind that those stars
should have been looked upon as merely in
tended to spangle the sky and give light
at night. Is lamps, they were always a
failure.
Sixty times the total starlight on the clear
est night would not equal the illumin alton
given by the moon, aud 33 coo eco times
their radiance would be required to equal
sunlight. Yet the stars which are seen
wellby a powerful telescope are now known
To he only an Insignificant proportion OF
those actually ex listing inside visible
space"
Telescope photography, as practiced to-
day in all the observatories, reveals, in
almost every apparently blank region of
the celestial sphere. countless new aud
distant worlds, lying far beyond all methods
of mortal computation and measurement.
The only foot-rule with which we can at
all estimate the scale of distances in the
visible universe is light. This travels
along the ether at the rate of l Sc 900 miles
q second. so that the ray which we receive
from the sun left his surface eight minutes
before it reached our eyes.
THE DISTANCE.
By ingenious processes, based on complex
arithemetic, astronomers have determined
the distance of-about eighty stars, and the
nearest ofall of them to our system is Alpha
Centauri, The radiance OF this star takes,
however, about four years to reach human
vision. while that which we perceive from
Alpha Tauri, or Aldehran, as lis more
popularity known, was projected from its
glittering source twenty seven years ago,
and most of those seen deeper in the night
sky are SO far off that their present light
left them some 300 or 400 years back.
Many are today visible whose beams have
travelled to our gaze after a lapse OF thou
sands of years. and there must be radiant
streams now on their way from heavenly
bodies in the empyrean, which will only
reach the eyes of our very far off posterity.
One of the most interesting features OF
the month lies in the fact that the sun
reaches the equator, and starts off on his
six months journey in south declination.
This autunnal equinox, as it is called,
gives US equal days and equal nights the
world over. 1t has been found that there
is slow retrograde motion of the point
Of the SUMS crossing the equator from
cast to west, or contrary to the order Of the
signs of the zodiac, as il the point ad-
vanced to meet the sun on each annual
return. To this phenomenon has been Civ
en- the name of the procession OF the equi-
noXes" This motion is at the approximate
rate of a degree in III years, the equator
moving on the ecliptic while the latter
retains its position nearly unchanged among
the stars.
The September moon is new on the 1th,
and passes through the phase of quarter
ing on the 18th. On the 21st 1t is full
moon. few hours in advance OF the time
the sun crosses the line, ami astronomical
autumn begins The last quarter takes
place on the 29th.
The series of lunar conjunctions tegins
very close meeting. indeed, but the planet
has been too recently in conjunction with
the sun to admit of our seeing his face
Just at present. and so the human eye is
not permitted to DIV ell upon what must be
beautiful picture.
CLOSE TO THE MOON.
On the sth Venus and the three -day-old
crescent are in line. but all too far apart
to prove particularly attractive, although
any tabieau in which these two take a
prominent part is well worthy of our ad-
miration. Mercury, on the 9th, is fairly
close to the moon. and, as we can see
this elusive planet on that night, it will
be somewhat rare spectacle, although
there are more than two degrees of clear
sky betwe cen the principal actors. Saturn's
turn is next. on the 11th, and Uranus a
few hours later the same day but beyond
mere passing notice there is nothing to
be said of these meetings.
There is now quite number of days in
terveping before the next meeting, which
is with Neptune on the 2sth, the list closing
three hours later. with meeting between
the moon and the warlike planet.
Jupiter, having been in conjunction with
the sun about the middle of last month,
has now become morning star, and win
shortly assert himself as the most con-
spicuous object in the early morning sky,
although just at present his whereabouts
is not disclosed to the unaided human
vision. owing to tco clcse proximity to
the sun.
Venus, decked In all her new finery and
loveiiness, has taken her fnmilfar place