Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1898-08-04
Radiate Nightly From a Point
In PerSeuS.


~ seconds In uecllnHtiOn uuriuB Jus |
raonth, an ara nearly twice az. large aa |
that of lust month. While on the lat |
of the month tho sun rose % degrees IL |
minutes north of this true eaBt point,
it will rise at lite Termination q little
moro than IL degrees north Of 1t.
Whilst the suns motion in the plane
of the equator or In circle parallel
or s,erpendicular to it. would render
calculations far simpler, It would do
away with the seasons and uniform
climate would prevail in all placssiof
the same latitude. Ii the path of the
sun we're in the plane Of tie equator
tho sun would shine in the tropiual
zonep throughout ths year with the
same intensity, the temperate zoneu
would have the same Temperatures all
the time, and in and near tho polar
zones tina same degree of cold gould
obtain, and a considerable portion of
the earth Q surface would lie oternally
| covered with ice that would never melt,
| making these vegions utterly .uBin-
| babiLabie. by the SUMS motion in
| circle, inclined at an acute angla to
the equagpr. the hot temperature IN
| the tropical Regions is tempered
| and whole regions situated oven beyond
| thu confines of the temperate zones are
made hnbitable. No wiser and more
practical arrangement than the
actually existing one can be imaginnd,
| and no human ingenuity could possibly
| improve it. The wonderful laws on
| which the system of the universe, in
its whole and in its details, ara bnsed,
| mike q 'chancs" creation, even from u
scIsntiiic pnint OF view. an incongruity.
The marvellous harmony that reigns
throughout tho universe 10 more than
common evidence OF a divine origin
Of it, and renders such an origin an
almost, il not an entirely, incontfo-
vertible automatic truth.
Tne planet Mercury will stay within
the boundary Inns Of Lvo during the
whole extent of the month, and during
the earlisr portion Of it may be seen by
means of q telescope as an evening
star. On the 9th it will have its
greatest eastern elongation and at that
. time will be in the most favorable
position for observation, and tbe at
tentivs observer may then get GLIMPSE
Of it even without the aid of mag
] nifying glass. While Venus will also bt
in Leo during the entire portion o.
, August, she will enter Virgo abou
the 18th, and toward the end be neal
Spiua. the brightest star in that con
} stellatinn. This ever beautiful planet
acting 1T present as an evening star
will at the beginning of the month ss
at nearly $50 o'clock and toward tn
: end about 10 minutes after that hour.
, Mars 10 in Taurus and will rise abou
. midnight. Ii may be seen as morn
o ing star before this morning twilight
: ushers In the kings of tine day. nh
9 great planet Jupiter 10 still 10 Virgo
r On the 10th Of the month tha two mos
/, brilliant of all the planets, Jupiter an
Q Venus, will approach each other with
o a distance 0ne-half of that of the tw
n Pointers in the Great Bear. AS 500
j as the evening twilight has suliicientl
i deepened, these two planets will has
:, forth their refulgent light from tn
v same constellation at short distanc
IL from each other. thus adding lustrs nc
d alons to the same constellation, but
Is tho whole western sky. The preaene
of these two glorious planeta in cor
junction with the first mangitude stf
Spica will make Virgo for a shdrt tim
the must brilliant of all the conste
= lations, at present shining in the ever
= ing skies. Saturn is still 10 Scorpit
= and the presence of this fine planet
- renders ii an exceedingly conspicuol
!. star-picturs. The rcd star AntHres 40
- Saturn, in the same constellation. cam,
|: fail to arrest tina attention OF every OF
TO whom there is beauty in the Sky.
~ We have had occasion to speak
"a those metenric showers when SMOOTH
u stnra, instead OF appearing at intsrya
Z of several m nutsa in any portion OF q
!. Hky will appear by many th0usaudp.
this connection we have mentioni
" that on such occasions thoy aeenl
radiate from common statioEa
puint, called the radiant, The sta
Nv showers whose radiant is in the co
M siellation Andromeda ure called A
ar dromudes, those ra'ilnting from poi
81; IN perseua ars callsh i'erseits, and tn
y We have from the names of the 7
Mt spectiva consultations GeninidH al
re Lyrius, So These meteor ewarr
nv pursus a regular orbit around tho su
Ia and, as matter Of course, the earth
NJ ite revelation around the sun eau @
No counter these swarms only when n
orbit intcrseets the meteoric path.
followa from this that, ut amy rate fol
long timo, the different showers oee
he only in certain months. The GIL
q portion of the month OF August is t
ne only possible time for the appeRran
% of the perseids, tins radiant of who
aa tho name indicates. ia situated
the constellation l'arseus, which.
present, may be seen at about o. clio
in the evening low down in the uor'
nv east. During the earlier portion
August the attentive observer is vt
apt to see greater number of shouti
st, stars in that direction.
The principal consultations that
course of the month nf August come
,y the meridian at about O'Clock in
~ evening are Draco, Lyra and Sag
tarius.
Draco, or the Dragon, is one OF
circumpolar consultations, that
such an never SET In our latitude. sir
the circle they describe around
pole once in "a hours never interso
tho horizon. This long Gonstellut
winds itaolf between the two BE
forming throa loops Or coils. The ht
OF the Innnstor is marked by a {
pezium Of four stars, the two most C.
spicuous OF which are Beta, or RaRtb
and Gamma, or Etunin. This C
r. iiguration Of the Dragons head
always noar tho fina fret magnit,
!. star Vega, in the constellation Ly
- though the latter will rise and {
whereas tho former is always above
horizon. Half way between the u
Gamma, in tho bowl of the Lii
=. Dipper, and Theta, or Mizar, in
handle Of the Great Dipper, ia sta
the third mangitudv, called All