Arizona republican., 1899-08-09


 reaching the equinox approaches, and
 we find that at the mon.h's close nine and one-ha1f degrees of northern de
 clination have disappeared The fn-
 tense heat of the month is greatly modified by the lengthening nights,
 which are gradually taking unto ths1n-
 selves many minutes from the light of Iday
 The August moon is new on the 4th. reaches the phase of first guar, 1T
 on the 14th is full on the 20th, and 1 passes into lass quaTcer on the 21th.
 It Occults Mercury on the 7th, and we would have a charming picture to gaze upon if it were not for the fact of the 1 planets invisibility on that occasion. Amos. all of the conjunctions be- tween moon and planets take place this month between the new and the full moon, so that we have the major ity of the wanderers as evening stars A notable exception to this distribu- tion Of the planets is found ii Nsp- tune which is twice in conjunction with the moon. once on the 2d and again on the 18th. We miss 50 many pleasant tableaux in not being able Q see this magnificent planet. whose aC- breaches to the moon are, for this month at least. closer than almost all the ether planets.
 Venus is now rising only three-quar ters of an hour ahead of the sun. and her 1aziness in this particular is great ly to her discredit. as the nearer she gets to the sun the dinner grows her disk, and shortly she will be shU'5 en- tirely from view. However. she VIII not be out Of sight very long. and when once we get her as an. evening star we shall have the pleasure of her company for the remainder of the year. from the times of sun-setting until the planet herself hides her fair face be- hind the The of the western horizon.s
 Mercury is at present an evening star but having swung as far to tEe eastward as the line that tethers him to the sun permits him to do, he is now bound the c..her way. and reach ing his point of inferior conjunction with the sun on the 18th. he joins the company of the morning stars and re- mafrs there the rest of the month w. sometimes complain of the hes.. of the sun: but what is our p0or luminary compared with the dazzling furnace of Mercury? It is as if ten suns together darted their rays on our hsads a no0ntime So that if my Mercur.aa drops down upon Us he'd fancy him self in the Arctic even Were he 50i bring uD in Central Africa or hottest Asia Mars comes to our meridian in the middle of the afternoon, some three hours or so after the sun. He is m the constellation of the Lion. Un- fortunately he $ very small at pres ent, and Fls size diminishes daily, but his clear, steady light still admits q, his being distinguished ia the setting of brilliants surrounding him.
 .Tupiter's approach to the sun can be noticed very easily now, for we find him at sunss'. further and further down in the western side Of the heav- ems. We shall hold onto him. how ever, until November. as he does no. i cease to be an evening star until his 1 conjunction with the sun on the 18th 1 of that morth
 Uranus reaches the position of | 1uadrature with the sun on the 27th. ! and still ranks among the evening ! stars. He is in the constellation of | the Scorpion, and comes to h:s highes's | point on our meridian shortly after 1 o'clock in the evening
 Saturn and the moon are in fairly | close proximity on the 18th. This will | readily be the most picturesque of the 1 conjunct:ons, and :t is unfor- | -unate that the planet is not as large 1 md as brilliant as We sometimes have t.-N Y Times