The evening times., 1897-03-02

such an extent as to destroy its stability
| and to cause it's utter destruction, an awful
| thought, well calculated to send a thrill
OF horror through the human soul
Laplace, a French ast ronomer, an whom
none ever evinced an acuter mathematical
genius, has proved that not only such a
| destruction can never ensue in conse-
quence OF these perturbations, but that
| even the attraction Of the larger planets
win not sensibly alter the existing state
Of things as a harmonious whole. We
must not, however, draw the inference
from this that other actions may not in
| course of time bring about final catas-
trophe. Much as science knows now, it
has not yet succeeded, nor in all prob
ability viii ever succeed, in lifting UP the
veil that hides future events from our
eyes.
At about 8 O'Clock n the March evenings
the two consultations Argo Navis and the
Zodiacal constellation Cancer are overhead.
The former is 4 very large constellation
consisting of 1873 stars, visible to the
naked eye, though only few Of these can
be seen in our latitude. 1t is south of
CAMS Ma joT and contains two stars of
the first magnitude, Eta and CanOpus
Eta is one OF that remarkable class Of
stars called variable. The famous English
astronomer, Haley, observed il in 1877
as a star of the fourth magnitude At
the beginning OF this century it quite
suddenly grew brighter, and in the year
S43 it's magnitude placed it next 10
Sirius in the list Of first magnitude stars.
It then began rapidly TO lose its bright
ness, and at present it has dwindled to the
seventh magnitude. This Strange behavior
has not little puzzled astronomers, and
there is no certainty whether or when it
will increase in brightness again. The con-
stellation Cancer, or the Crab, is not dis
tingUished by solitary bright star, but by
a cluster called Praesepe. or the Manger.
or sometimes the Beehive
Two stars, Gamma and Delta, in this con-
stellation, are near Praesepe and are called
Asell, or the Donkeys. If Cancer is not
conspicuous by its bright star, it may easily
be recognized by its position between the
two fine and prominent consultations,
Gemini and Leo, the former on the west, the
latter on the east Of it.
Although Auriga has passed the meridian,
it is stil high up and with beautiful Ca
pelia adorns the skies. Orion, the Greater
Dog, with Sirius, the Lesser Dog with
PIocyon the Tw ins with Castor and Pollux,
Taurus with Aidebaran and the two clus-
ters, the PIeiades and Hyades, though
all bending toward the western horizon,
are still in full view during the hours Of
the evening, and present a picture which
we have been admiring for several months.
and which is enhanced 10y tie three bright
planets, Venus, Mars and Jupiter, 10 po-
sition Of which we have described above
The Great Bear is low down in the north,
and on the opposite side of the Pole Star
we see Cass:oepia. AndTomeda is near the
western horizon, soon to sink beneath it
until its rising again will announce the ap-
pToach OF the autumnal season. To the
behoider Of serious turn this coming and
going OF the consultations with their
glorious host of stars will make visible
the flight OF time into eternity and arouse |
a deep sense of the grandeur of the universe |
and its Creator.