Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1898-03-25
The Zodiac.

ers and you will find that it still
exists in mild form. Zodioc, (com.
monly derived from zoon, an animul)
the name given by ancients to all
imaginary band extending around
the celestial sphere, having as its
mesihl line the ecliptic or appai ent
path of the sun. 1t was fixed ut
about 16 degrees in width, for the
purpose of comprehendirg the paths
of tho sun and of the five planets,
(Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and
Saturn,) which were then known;
and as, of these planets, Mercury
has by far the greatest inclination
of orbit to the ecliptic, and the val
ue Of the element in his case is on
ly7 degrees. 8 seconds, the width
given to the Zodiac, was amply suf-
ficient for the required purpose.
But when the career of the planeta.
ry discovery commenced in the be.
ginning of the 10Th century, the
first three which were discovered
Ceres, Pallas and Juno) ut once
destroyed the idea which had been
long seated in mems minds, that no
planet existed beyond the limits of
the Zodiac, by exhibiting orbits in
clined to the ecliptic, at no less an
giles than 10, 81 and 13 degrees, and
a large number, since observed have
been found to wonder from zero to
ls degrees beyond the Zodiac, from
which circumstance they have, along
with the three above mentioned,
been dominated ultra zodiacdl plan
cts.
The stars in the Zodiac we're group
ed into twelve consultations to each
of which 80 deg,ees or one twelfth
of the whole circle, was assigned,
though it after did not fill up that
space, but was only situated in it,
and this equable division into signs
was of great advantage in defining
the petitions of the sun and planets
at any epoch
AS one half Of the ecliptic is to
the north and the other half to the
south of the equator, the line of in
tersection of their planes is q diane
ter to each, and the points in which
this line meets the celestial sphere
are known as the equinoctial points.
The comparative immobility, with
with respect to the ecliptic, of these
points, suggested ut once tho em-
ployment of one or other of them
as a point from which to reckon, and
accordingly that point at which the
Sun CROSSES the equinoctial from
south to north was fixed upon, and
called the first (or commencement
OF Aries. After the sun had ad-
vanced eastward through this sign
i. g., 30 degrees along the ecliptic
he entered the sign of Taurus, con-
tinuing his course onward
through the others in the order
in which they are given in our alma.
macs, again crossing the equinoctial
southwards at the point where he
emerged from Virgo, and enter ed
Libra. This was the case with the
sun during the time Of Hipparchus,
but though the equinoctial points
move very slowly, yet they do SO
with great uniformity. and the ives.
terly motion of fifty seconds an.
nually which they describe along the
ecliptic has at the present time sep.
arated the sign Aries from the con-
stellation Aries, and caused the form.
er to correspond almost to the con.
stellatiou Pises, it is said that this
retrogression of the signs through
the consultations OF the Zodiac will
continue till they accomplish, 10
about 25,S6S years, complete circle;
after which period the sign and con-
stellation of Aries will coincide, al
they did in the time Of Hipparchus.
Neither the Zodiac nor it's constel.
lations are OF much use now in as.
tronomy, except as, like the other
consultations, affording an easy,
though somewhat fantastic nomen.
clature for the stars, and rude, but
sometimes convenient mode of ref.
erence to their positions. Then
what is our present sign7
"Sager."
Shawvers Mills, Mar. 1S, 1898.