The daily morning journal and courier., 1901-11-19
SATURN, JUPITER, VENUS
THREE CHILDREN OF SUN NEAR
 ING ONE ANOTHER.
Planetary Conjunction VIII Occur
 This Week in Southwest Sky.

The tract from which some of the
 great celestial phenomena may be ob-
 served is often limited in extent, but
 the planetary conjunction which will
 occur on the 17th and 18th of this
 months may be seen from any point on
 earth The three planets which will
 then be in apparent close proximity
 are, in order of size, Jupiter, Saturn
 and Venus, the first and last-named
 two of the brightest points of light in
 the night sky. Indeed so bright is the
 light of Venus that very excellent pho
 tographs have been taken by it. On the
 evenings mentioned these planets will
 be situated in the southwest sky, and
 will be visible soon after sunset, but as
 they set early the time for observation
 is limited. Since Calico first turned
 his crude telescope skyward much in-
 formation has been obtained regarding
 these three children of the sun, and
 their conjunction is a fitting occasion
 to tell briefly little of what is known
 of them.
 Saturn, the ''ringed," until 17S1 the
 frontier world of the solar system re-
 wolves round the sun at a mean dis
 tanee of about SS5 millions of miles,
 with velocity of almost six miles per
 second, making it's year equal to 2946 of ours. Tn point of size it ranks sec ond among the planets, its equatorial diameter being about 75,00O miles, an enormous globe when compared with our little earth with it's 1918 miles of diameter. It's volume is, however, con- siderably lessened by it's greater polar depression, but nevertheless exceeds the volume of the earth some 729 times. Its density is low, the lowest of all the major planets, being less than i, com pared with the earth's 566, and it's mass, or weight, therefore exceeds the mass or weight of the earth only some ninety-seven times With it's wonder fu system of rings and it's attendant 1 train of eight satellites, Saturn stands unique among known heavenly bodies, l and forms an entrancing spectacle when | viewed through a powerful telescope.
 Jupiter, the "belted," prince of | planets, revolves at mean distance | from the sun of 4S3 millions of miles | with an orbital velocity of over eight | miles per second, performing his jour l ney round the sun in 11.S6 of our years. | Its mean diameter is 1000 miles, and l thirteen hundred such globes as ours | would be required to make up it's vast | volume. But as its density is, as in the case of Saturn, much less than the earths it's mass exceeds that of our globe only some BIO times One of the first achievements of the telescope in the hands of Calico was the discovery of our Jovian moons, but in 1892 Pro- lessor Barnard with the great Lick refractor, detected a fifth satellite re- volving so close to it's great primary as to be almost indistinguishable in the fight of the great planet. Jupiter, with It's offspring, is a reproduction on small scale of the solar universe itself, and as one looks on this world within , world, this universe within universe, he mind of man, reaching above the petty things of earth, comes face to 'ace with some of the great problems md mysteries of the Infinite
 Venus, the shepherds, lovers's and poets star, the Vesper and Lucifer of he ancients who believed in the ex- stence of two distinct planets, revolves the earth and the sun at mean distance of 67 millions of miles rom the latter, in an orbit almost cir ular. It is our nearest known neigh DOT in space, anl is, in many respects, he earth's twins. Its equatorial diam ter is only 12S miles less than ours: ts weight is 0.79 and it's density 0.81 of he earth's. Long anl careful observa- ion has demonstrated that Venus is ( urrounded by an atmosphere alSost vice as dense as that surrounding the ( arth, fact that may we'll be set unbe levers in the existence of "other worlds ' han our' thinking. I
 These then are the three worlds which ( re rapidly drawing near and will soon ( e in close proximity to each other, f hillren of that great family of which l UT own globe forms part, and which,
 ot only because of their close rela- ionship to earth dwellers but because f the beauty and majesty of the spec acle their conjunction will present, t hould attract, for a brief time at least, UT best thought, and attention. 2
 On November 28, Saturn anl Jupiter q 1ill be in closer conjunction than they f ave been since 1883, or will be again z ntil 1961.-Henry J. Clark in Boston . ipt l