The free lance. (Fredericksburg, Va.) 1885-1926, 1899-06-13
A CELESTIAL PHENOMENON
Great Jupters Pres nj Exhibition oil
Planetary Wonders.

CG + Serviss IN New York Journal }
z \ world 1 300 times bigger than ours
That's the size If the phenomenon just
now hanging in the sky in plain sight,
every evening Look toward the south,
about . o'clock. lift your eyes up lit
tie. and there IL IL. Astronomers cali
il Jupiter. and the ancients who gave
1t that title knew what they were about
when they named II after the chief of
the gods The stars, sprnslrd all
around it. look pitifully faint IN COM
parison with the golden spleudor. Even
the famous Spica. which Is seen Few
degrees west Of the great planet and
which ranks in the first order cf the
fixed stars. is pale and insignificant be-
side Jupiter.
When any of the inhabitants II the
earth get vainglorious II is we'll for
them 20 look at Jupiter and consider
his gauge II is fortunate f1r our
naughty little planet that Jupiter is -0
far away II we got within 2i. 000 oo1
miles uf him We should become one Of
his moons Luckily, We never can get
nearer than about 3Gg 600 600 miles, so
our independence is safe. unless rcvo-
luton should occur in the solar sys-
tenn.
It is wonderful sight to see Jupiter
with q telescope Ills huge globe more
than SG. coo miles in diameter, l. So
much nattened at the poles 10y the
swiftness of his rotation that he looks
almost pumpkin shaped. Every point
on his equator is flying At the rate Of
over -. 900 miles in an hour II sou
watch it for A little while you can sce
the motion, just a. you can see the
crawling forward Of the hand IF great
clock.
Jupiter is no sluggard, although he
is a giant II takes him less than 10
hours to turn round, while the lazy ht-
tie earth requires II hours for that bit
Of daily exercise. From sunrise 10 sun
set at Jupiter only five hours elapsed.
People mp their must look alive Our
slow methods would not answer fcr
them
But their years are almost II times
as long as ours Nine thousand five
hundred Of Jupiter's days is one Of Ju-
piter's years. Behold planet where
the inhabitants have chance 70 give
New Years resolutions fair test! II
is world Of short slumbers and quick
work, and with everything on a stu
pendous scale
There is strange fascination In the
swift whirl Of Jupiter on his gigantic
axis. What terrific amount of energy
gone to waste But perhaps II does not
90 altogether to waste perchance there
is an exhilaration in the life Of such a
planet that inspires it inhabitants with
physical and mental energy far beyond
anything that we dwellers on the slow
earth can command
SO great a planet as Jupiter Is and
one so full of tremendous power. ought
10 have inhabitants prOportioned to It's
own magnificent self. Some astrono-
mers have taught that Jupiter II IN
habited at all, contains only pygmies'
because large creatures would be over
whelmed by their own weight there.
But, no, Jupiter is too grand a world
for dwarfsl The rapidity Of its rota-
ton, contradicting the ordinary rule
that large bodies move slowly. proves
that Jupiter is not the home of the
commonplace and the usual, any more
than it is Of the indolent and sleepy. IL
is emphatically the world of the wide
awake, and would do millions OF
Adam descendants good to 90 there
and take lessons.