The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1898-07-11
THE NIGHT SKIES OF JULY.
The Planets and the Consultations. and
Whittier the Whole Solar System is
Rushing.

| soon after the setting of the sun we
may see pretty high above the western
horizon star which by it's great bril-
liancy and beauty will at once be recog-
nized as the planet Venus. 1t will be in
Cancer during the earlier part of the
month, but in Leo during the remainder.
About the middle of the month it will be
close to Regulus, the brightest star In
that constellation. The constellation Oh
Leo bears a strong resemblance to
sickle, the handle of which is marked by
Regulus. Venus will not set before 9
O'Clock. so that it may not be seen for
considerable part of the evening. Mars
will be in Aries during the greater por-
ton of the month, but will enter Taurus
toward its termination. This planet rises
little after midnight, and will shine as
morning star, though inferior in
brightness to Venus, Jupiter and Saturn.
The peculiar red color, however, renders
Mars, even when lacking in magnitude,
always sufficiently conspicuous object
in the sky. Jupiter is still in Virgo,
and does not set until little past 10
O'Clock, shining like Venus as an even
ing star. Saturn is still lingering in
Scorpio, and will pass the meridian about
| $50 O'Clock, being the third planet that
will, for some time, act in the capacity
of an evening star. Although its vol
ume is 760 times that of the earth, ma
king it the largest but one in the whole
group of planets, its density is so small,
being only tive-sevenths that of water and
one-eighth that of the earth. as to reduce
its mass to only 95 times that of the
earth.
During the month of July two eclipses
occur, a partial eclipse of the moon on
the Sd and an annual eclipse of the sun
on the 18th, both being invisible in our
latitude. The reason for an annular
eclipse of the moon being impossible lies
lin the fact that the breadth of the enrths
|shadow at the place where the moon pas
SEES through it is always greater than
the moons diameter. so that 1t is either
totally or partially, but never annularly,
Ieclipssd. With solar eclipses it is differ
lent, for sometimes at the time of the
moons passing the suns disk the former
does not cover the latter completely, and
Wne0 IN SucQ a case C06 eclipse Is central
d luminous ring is left.
The principal consultations that in our
latitude will come to the meridian about
9 O'Clock in the July evenings are Scor-
Ipio, Opiuchus and Hercules. Scorpio is
of the twelve consultations of the zodiac
the finest, and certainly the most beauti-
full of all the summer consultations. Its
striking resemblance to o boys kite with
a long tail re nders it one of the most cas-
lily recognized consultations in the heav-
ems. The brightest of its constituent stars
is in the kite portion, and especially dis
tinguished by it's fiery red color, which
lends it a strong resemblance to the PLAN
ct Mars Its name is Antares, meaning
the rival of Mars, the Greek name of Mars
being Ares. 1t is of the first magnitude
and a double star; its companion being
of a green color, though not easily seen
! with a small telescope. The second
brightest star in this con stellation Is Beta
Scorpio. 1t is at small distance north
west of Antares, and situated in the arch
Eof the kite bow. Northwest of Scorpio
we see the constellation Libra. There
| prevails some confusion among uranog-
raphers as to the boundary between the
! two consultations Scorpio and Libra. In
no case the boundary lines of the different
| consultations are SO automatically def
mite as not to produce sometimes an I'M
certainty as to which of the two constel-
are to be reckoned.
| North of Soorpio are tho two constella.
tions Ophiuchus and Serpens, which with
great propriety may be treated as one
constell ition. The meaning of Ophiuchus
is 'serpent holder,'' and in all probabili-
ty commentaries the great physician,
| Esculapius Ophiuchus is standing with
his feet on the Scorpion andstaking hold
of the serpent with his two hands. The
head of the Eserpent holder is marked by
a triangle, the northern vertex of which
is Alpho Ophiuchi, or Ras Alhague,
forming with the two first magnitude
stars Vega and Affair, an equilateral tri
angle. The stars in the serpent form an
Extensive circular ar from east to west.
The whole constellation occupies large
space in the heavens, and, though the
stars constituting it are for the most part
of a lower magnitude, it is sufficiently
prominent to be recognized without any
difficulty. Some consultations are dis
tinguished by some brilliant fixed stars,
others by their speouliar contour, others
again may be recognized by some neigh
boring consultations of a more striking
form.
To make ones self thoroughly familiar
with the geography of the heavens fire.
quent contemplation of the stars becomes
Indispensable. Between Ophiuchus and
the oircumpolar constellation Draco we
see the line constellation of Hercules,
whose distinguishing features are quad
rilateral and a somewhat larger triangle
south of 1t. The vertices of the triangle
are Alpha, Beta and Delta Hercules, the
first two being also, respectively, called
by the special names of Ras Algethl and
Rutilious. Alpha marks the head of the
giant and is a fine double star of blue
and orange colors. The stars of the quad
rilateral are HEpsilon, zeta, Eta and Pi.
The costellation Hercules is of special in
terest and Importance for us, US it has
conolusively been proved that the sun,
with all his noble retinue OF planets, is
sailing toward that constellation. The
point in Hercules toward which our
whole solar system is now moving is
called the "apex of the SUMS way, !"
whose right ascension is 267 degrees and
declination 81 degrees. Very close to the
star Pi, in the northeastern corner of the
quadilateral is star, Rho of the sixth
magnitude, which is this "apex.''
The orbit of the sun is so immense that
as yet no curvature in its path has been
detected, though it cannot admit of any
doubt that the sun, like our planets and
satellites and the binary stars, moves in a
; closed curve and not in straight line.
| Mopy aOpS howavar will elaDso before