Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1901-10-10
THE SKIES IN OCTOBER.

Baltimore sun.
In the course Of the month of Octo-
Der the moons phnsss will be as fol-
lows: Last quarter on the 4th, new on
the 18th, first quarter on the 10th, and
full on the 9th. On the 18th she will
be most distant from the enrth, and on
the 9th nearest. At tho beginning OF
the month the sun will be almost ex-
actly 3 degrees south OF the equator,
and in the course OF the month will
sweep through large arc Of more than
IL degrees of south destination. The
position Of the sun with reference to
the equator, or, technically speaking, |
his declination, is of the utmost i'm
portance, aa the seasons Of the year |
depend upon 1t, and know ledge OF |
the declination Is Indispensable FOL
calculating the rising, southing and
setting of the sun and the STARS. Fol-
each degree of deolination the diurnal
circle OF the sun 10 different, in con-
sequence Of which the rising and set
ting points on the same horizon vary
throughout the year.
The planet Mercury will be, at first,
in Virgo, but during the creator portion
of the month in Libra. Venus will be
in Soorpio throughout the whole month.
She will set soon after z clock. Mars
is also in Scorpio, not far from Venus.
Mars will 60 down but a few minutes
after Venus, between Z and 8 p. m. On
the 10th OF October both planets, Mars
and Venus, will be in very close con-
junction, their spherical distance from
each other not exceeding 90 minutes.
On that day both will set about 7.20
O'Clock in the evening, Mars from three
to four minutes before Venus. Such
close proximity OF two Of the brightest
planets is by no means q common
As to Mars, most OF our readers, we
presume, know that his two satellites
were not discovered before August,
1877, by Prof. Asaph Hall, at the
Washington Naval Observatory, but we
are very much inclined to think that
but few know a very remarkable
piece of prophecy connected with these
satellites of Mars. In that classic
English book "Gulliver's Travels" hy
| the greatest OF all English satlrists,
the famous Dean Swift. the author,
| describes the astronomers OF Laputa as
| having discovered two lesser stars, or
satellites, which revolve around whereof
| the inner most is distant from the centre
| Of the primary planet exactly three Of
| his diameters and the outermost five.
| The former revoIves in the space of 10
hours and the latter In 211h." Tbie IL
a wonderful anticipation. especially as
to- the time Ot revolution. and 81 we
substitute "radii" for diameter" the
distances are also very near. Consider
lug, in the first place, that the Dean
was not an astronomer, and, in the
second place, that be gould not have
possessed the means Of looking through
a powerful telescope, by means Of which
alone these exit emely minute bodies
can be seen, we have here one of the
most remarkable prophecies that have
ever been made. How will the student
Of mental philosophy or psychology ex-
plain such striking coincidencer
Jupiter ana Saturn are still in Sagit'
tarius, the former setting but a short
time before the latter, about 8 O'Clock
in the evening. On OctOber 18th q
partial eclipse Of the moon will occur,
which. however, will not be visible il
our latitude
Even from those who are ignorant Of
or have, at most, but crude ideBs of
the universe and the countless world
that fill 1t and manifest their existence
by their appearing as shining point
OIL bHb C6lbbbiHl vault VIZ E-uutlbt
sky, especially In q moonless and cloud
, less night, is an object that cannot fai
/ to elliott admiration. For those who's
, knowledge enables them to gain NOR
i adequate conception Of the immensit.
Of the universe and the shining orb
3 that tenant it, aud who know some
\ thing about their nature and com
| position, this feeling of admiration |
{ vastly enhanced, and nothing can eradi
cate it from their recollection. Men @
8 the profoundest intellect have devote
o their lives to understanding more an
Q more that wondIous universe and hav
y succeeded in penetrating far into ii
. depth, having heen aided by instru
d ments of the highest workmanship
o Still even the greatest OF these rt
o searchers of the mysteries Of the uni
9 vefs e have been forced to admit thai
X il to limit or end of the universe
l. they are as far away as ever, and the
e feel that they can never get nearer I
n at than the consciousness of an il
J. scrutable power, manifested to l
I. through all phenomena, which tt
Is English philosopher considers to |
" the logical and the utmost outcome
the most far-reaching human wisdom
B. In the star-gazer who knows svmethir
y OF the well-nigh Unreasonable distano
st OF the stars 1t cannot but engender
Is strange sensation that when he gaz
\. on bright Sirius he sees 1t not whei
to and as he IS at that moment, but whe
Is and as he was nine years ago. I'll
I'd latest intelligence Vega gives him Is
% years old. Arcturus quilted In :.
ID seven tenth century the spot he appes
to TO us still to occupy. Terrestrial i
'e formation regarding the constellation
I'd the Great Bear dates back to the reil
pc of Queen Anne, and regarding the wo
We drous stars OF bright Orion to Que
g. Elizabeth. The sidereal heavens, ther
Is fore, belong to the past; their anna
es are ancient before they are write
be Contemporaneous knowledge of t
ty stars is unattainable, because there a
VI NO means of Instantaneous commur
I'll cation with them. The express me
oe senger they dispatch light-trav,
d, quickly, but be has long journeys
ot make, the shortest being SO great tns
re as expressed In number, it would &C
'ly vey no meaning even to those famili
with big numbers, and not cas-
daunted by them. We're, by sol
tremendous and to us inconoaivai
Al catastrophe, some OF these INNER
III worlds destroyed we should still
them for many years.. none for less th
"a three years and some for thousands
ne years. 1t is possible thai we may 10
~ at and admire a brightly glittering g
"a that is no more, and that was blot
"a out of existence many years ago
pa altar haar !thn recommendation 1