Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1898-09-08
THE PURE AUT UMNAL ATMOSPHERE
WILL ALLOW A CLEAR VIEW.
Venus tho star OF Evening - Const eilat, on s
Which Will Cluster II tho skies of the
Coming Month Equal Days
and Nights.
(From the New York Times.)

I
cnioymcnt-no month of all the year be
ing mere lavish in the bestowal of gifts
than is September. She sits like q queen
enthroncd while heaped UP before her
are the abundant harvest the fruits and
flowers elaborated by the sovereign power
Of the great central lumlnary that rules
the solar scheme.
I The September sky will be alive with
clustering consultations shining with re-
newed lustrc in the crisp and pure au-
tumnal atmosphere. Among them may lie
noted the great square of Pegasus, rising
in the east, and low down in the north
east is the lovely cluster of the Pleiadcs.
The three stars, Arcturus. Vega. and
! Capela, known as the northern brllliants
are especially worthy of observation, for
they are all visible. and opinions differ
as to which Is the brightest of the trio.
At the close of the first third of the
month Arcturus is the brilliant rcd star
near the northwest horizon; Vega the
superb star high in the north not far
west of the meridian, and Capella will
be found in the northeast. fairly outshin-
Ing her rivals according to the verdict of
her numerous admirers, but not better
than Il good second. according to the
champions of the other two.
But planets and stars alike will lose
their lustre when toward the close of the
month the full face of the harvest moon
shines in the eastern horizon just about
as sunsets glow is disappearing and rises
slowly toward the zenith, quite putin =
out the smaller stars, flooding the sleep
ing earth with silvery light, casting weird
shadows over the landscape, and painting
wherever her beams rest pictures of in
enable loneliness that mortal pencil can
never reproduce.
EQUAL DAYS AND NIGHTS.
One of the most interesting features of
the month lies in the fact that the sun
reaches the equator and starts off on his
six months journey in the south declna-
ton. This autumnal equinox. as II is
called gives us equal days and nights .he
world over. 1t has been found that there
is a slow retrograde motion of the point
of the suns crossing the equator, from
cast to west, or contrary TO the order Of
the zodiacal signs as If the point advance
ed to meet the sun on each annual re-
turn. To this phenomenon has been given
the name of the procession of the equn-
oXes." This motion is at the approximate
rate of a degree in seventy-one and seven
tcnths years, the equator moving on the
ecliptic while the eciptc retains its posi-
ton nearly unchanged among the stars.
I This popularity is said to be caused by
the combined action of sun and moon on
the mass Of matter accomplished about
the carth's equator. In consequence of
this motion the longtudes of the heaven
ly bodies are increasing, while. on COM
pairing their ATTITUDES as found by the
ancient astronomers with those of to-day
only little change indeed is found. The
credit for this important discovery is due
TO Hipparchus whose researches were
made more than a hundred years before
the Christian era. One other effect of
this procession ia of interest to us, and
that Is its bearing on the position Of the
signs of the zodiac whose limits do not
now agree with the consultations which
bear the same names. For example tine
sign of Aries is now In the constellation
of Pisces and so on, each sign having
backed" 80 to speak into the constelld-
ton west of II.
Mercury opens the monthly events by
being in inferior conjunction with the sun
on the 9Th. after which it becomes a
morning star and swings away to the
westward on its journey about the sun.
Just before the old crescent fades from
view it and the planet are in conjunction,
but both are too near the sun to admit
of our seeing them. On the 2lst the point
of greatest western elongation is reached
and Mercury again turns toward the sun.
VENUS IN THE EVENING SKY.
A few hours after Mercury arrives OF
furthest western point fair Venus reaches
her furthest eastern limit, which Is al
most three times as far from the central
point as Mercury gets. From this on
' ~,
early in December, she will be in conjunc-
ton with the sun, and will for a time
cave the evening sky. She will, however
be with us for a number of weeks yet.
and her lustrous disk will he increasing
in size until. overcome by Old Soils more
powerful rays, she fades from our view.
Venus requires altogether n year and sew
en- months to run through her changes,
so that If you find her a bright star to-
night you may feel sure that she was a
bright evening star a year and seven
months ago, and that, after a similar pc
Rod, we shall once more have her shin
ing as queen of the evening skies. -'er
dark or an hour or two before sunrise
one must never expect to see Venus right
overhead. She Is always at such times.
when at all to be seen, either in the
west or the east. So that, unless the al
manac says that Venus is an evening or
morning star, one need not trouble to
search for her. OF course 1t is hardly
necessary to say that Venus can never
be an evening and a morning star at the
same time.
Neptune ranks among the morning stars
and is at present to be found in the con-
stelaton OF the Bull, the brightest star
of which is Aldebaran. This star is at
the eye of the Bull, and Is found by fol-
lowing Orions Belt upward and to the
right. Aldcbaran Is of so ruddy a color
that beginners arc sometimes apt to con-
fuse 1t with the planet Mars, to which
under certain circumstances. it certainly
bears a resemblance Neptune is work
ing his way toward the position of quad
nature. where he will arrive on the nth
which will mark the half way post be-
tween conjunction and opposition. After
reaching opposition in the month of De-
cember, the planet will again be of the
evening group.
THE OCCULTATION OF MARS.
Mars also finds itself among the morn
ing stars, and two days after last quar-
tering Luna occults the planet. Were It
at moro favorab BILE hour. and were it
not that the moons face will be rather
brilliant at the time. it would be extreme
y interesting watching the two approach
one another, thar. see the planet APP
parently dodge in behind the disk of the
moon, to reappear after a while on the
other edge. The scientists, with their
powerful telescopes at such times have
the layman at great disadvantage. Mars
as a performer on the celestial boards
really ought not to be ranked as a star
just at present, but when he really does
come before us In that light, he will have
all the world interested as observers.
JUPITER, SATURN AND URANUS
Jupiter is now about taking we'll
needed rest, after having played a part
In some most interesting and fascinating
tableaus. He will be in conjunction with
the sun early in October. and when next
we see him In November, 1t will be as
the herald of day. to whose light alone