Delaware gazette and state journal., 1897-06-03
THE SKIES IN JUNE.

moon Will bo IN her first quarter on the
Sth, full on the l4th, in her last quar-
ter on tho 2lst and new on the 29th.
She will be nearest the earth on the
18th at 10 a. m. and remotest on the
20th at 8 p. N. On ths first of the
month the sun will be but little more
than degree 10 minutes south OF the
summer solstice, which it will roach on
tho 2lst, whence il will almost imper-
ceptibly move southwark again, but
mako less than half a degree during
the remainder of the month.
The planet Mercury is in Taurus, in
which extensive constellation it will
remain throughout the entire month.
Venus will he iu Aries during the
greater part of the month, but enter
Taurus toward its termination. 1t will
shine as morning star, rising at about
3 O'Clock in the morning so that it may
be seen ere the morning twilight begins
and on account Of its brilliancy even at
a time when the twilight absorbs the
light OF all the other stars. The planet
Mars will first be in Cancer, but later
ip the month pass into Leo. 1t will set
little before II O'Clock in the evening.
Jupiter will form the most brilliant
object in the nocturnal sky. 1t is still
in close proximity to the star Regulus
in Leo, ana will reach the western
horizon about IL O'Clock. Saturn ia in
Libra and will not set before o'clock
10 the morning, 80 that it will present
itself to the eye nearly throughout the
entire night. Saturn. though pertain
ing to the bright planets, can scarcely
vie in brilliancy With Jupiter, and for
this reason both planets, which for
some hours of the evening may be seen
simultaneously, may easily be distin-
guished from each other. Looking at
the sky with the unai,led eye any one
not familiar with the shape of the con-
stellations and the position OF certain
stars and planets, visible at the differ
ent seasons of the year, may possibly
confound such planets as Mars when not
10 favorable position, and Saturn
with such first magnitude stars as
Sirius. Arcturus. Capella, Vega, Betel-
gueze. Rigel, Affair. Antares. but this
will no louger be the Case after he has
familiarized himself with the peculiar
shape Of the constellation. When now
with his acquired knowledge he sees
new bright object in these constella-
tions, he is forced tn draw the conclu-
sion that it cannot be anything else but
a planet.
As to Venus he will not likely be in
doubt, as it's surpassing brilliancy and
the fact that it can act only as either
morning or an evening star renders it
too familiar an object to even the most
ignorant in the knowledge of tho starry
heavens to be taken for anything else.
AS regards brillance, the same remark
applies 10 Jupiter. The peculiarly red
tinge of Mars renders this planet easily
distinguisbable. The long sidereal
period of Saturn, being about 90 years,
causes il to change its position among
the stars very slowly, so that it is an
easy task to follow it from year to year.
The same remark may be applied to
Jupiter, whose sidereal period is 12
years. As all the planets move in the
narrow belt of the zodiac, nons must
be sought outside of ii.
When viewed through magnifying
glass all the planets, with the excep-
tion of the asteroids, present very per-
ceptable disk, which fixed stars never
do, even when observed with the most
powerful telescopes.
Mars being superior planet. that is,
one the orbit of which envelops that of
the earth, the reader will readily com
prehend why in it's various phases il
can never assume the crescent shape,
but only the gibnous and full. The
time OF its axial rotation does not differ
muGh from that of the earth. We have
once before remarked that in general it
is no easy task to determine the time
of the rotation of planet about its
axis but the disk of Mars is SO strongly
marked as to enable astronomers to
solve this problem in the case of this
planet with great accuracy. Not until
1877 the discovery was made by Prof.
Asaph Hall, the director of the Wash
ington Observatory, that Mars has two
satellites, the exceeding smallness of
which had eluded till then the search
ing eyes of astronomers.
A map OF the surface Of Mars presents
very strange picture of very numerous
small arms OF the sea and as numerous
small bodies Of land, but few of which,
If any, rise to the dignity of an ocean
or continent. According to more or
less reliable observations, the climate
OF this interesting planet must he, for
some reason or other, SO mild as almost
to justify belief 10 the possibility of
its habitability by beings physically
and mentally constituted like ourselves.
Some of our readers will perhaps recol.
lect that in the year 1877 and again in
1881 certain "canals, connecting the
larger bodies of water on the surface OF
Mars, were seen, circumstance which
excited no little interest and no few dis
cussions in the papers. This discovery
gave rise to great deal of speculation,
and led not few to the belief that
these canals were the work of martial
engineers, Just like that of Suez, on
our own globe.
The habitability of the planets and
of the stars too has always been matter
of great curiosity, and these canals of |
Mars, seemingly being the work of in.
telligent beings and not of nature, gave |
a kind of plausibility, il not absolute |
certainty, to the hanitable condition of |
that planet. The fallacy OF this con.
clusion. however, lies in the fact that
the existence OF these canals has not |
yet been proved to be the work of art.
In the course of the month of June,
at about 9 o'clonk in the evening, the
Bootes, Libra. Corona,
Borealis, Serpens and Ursa Minor will |
come to the meridian. Bootes. or the
J lluntsman, is easily recognized hy its
principal star Arcturus, which,
amongst the stars that are visible in |
our latitude. ranks next to Sirius in
brightness. by extending the line
which joins the last two stars in the
handle of the Great Dipper it will pass
near this fine star.
1t forms with Spica in Virgo and
Denebola in Leo large eauilaternl