Barre evening telegram. (Barre, Vt.) 1898-19??, 1901-10-05
TIE STARS lNOcT0B@
UNUSUAL ATTRACTION, II WHW

Four Bright 41anct Wfto&n On0
Reach Of the Hye-ven.s, Mercury
and Jupiter VIII Ds Especially
Brilliant This henth-Dsw to Sec
the Stars to ne Best Advantage.
To those who are especially interest
ed in the planetary aspect Of tho sky
the menth Of October offers N unusu-
ally brilliant programme, says the New
York Evening Post. The spectacle Of
four bright planets within n reach
Of tho eye, while not an epochal event.
is quite out Of the ordinary and as
pleasing as 1t Is unusual October is
tho month perhaps Of all the year
most favorable for amateur study, and
the conditions this year for those who
desire to make a beginning in sky lore
can never be excelled.
BY far the best plan is to 60 out
soon after sunset, before the sky has
become thickly set with stars. Then
watch them as they develop n by
one, the planets first, then the first
magnitude stars and the lesser stars
following in order as the shadows
deepen. 1t gives a most surprising
evidence of the unreliability of the I'M
trained eye when two stars Of SEEM
ing equal brightness when seen against
the background of a dark blue sky are
seer most unequal under the test of
twilight.
Look first to the west and gaze upon
the tender star of love-" Venus,
whose brilliant rays break forth be-
fore the gold and purple Of the set
ting sun has faded from the sight.
Then look to the south and see another
star of exceeding brilliancy, second
only to Venus of all that are In the
sky. This is Jupiter, vastly more dis
tant than Venus, but rejecting from
his mighty disk Of $4,000 miles dame
ter so much of the suns rays as to
make him one of the most conspicuous
objects of our Sky.
In the few minutes that have elapsed
since we came out a number Of the
i~i~hter stars have emerged from their
hiding and are seen scattered over the
c.~c. ONE of the sky. Another ap-
pears near Jupiter, a little to the left,
as vic'"ti from this locality. This is
Saturn, The next greatest of the plan
cts and the most distant Of those OBJ
served by the unaided eye. A telescope
is Of course needed to see his rings,
and those who have the opportunity
to look through such an instrument
should make haste to do so as the con-
ditions will grow less favorable for sew
eral a to come. To the naked eye
Saturn appears as q standard first mag
nitude star. with a light pale, but
clear and strong.
Turning again to Venus we find a
not particularly bright star in her
near vicinity-a star right enough,
however, to be at once identified. This
is Mars, whose increasing distance
from the earth and the fact that his
face is partly averted from the sun
combine to lessen his erstwhile bright
ness. In a few weeks he will be hid
den in the rays Of the sun, and we shall
see little of him until 1903. Mars and
Venus will be in conjunction on the
morning of the 10th and may be looked
upon the evening before and after.
Mars will appear about two moon
breadths north Of the brighter planet.
On the evening Of the 10Th the crescent
moon will hover above the two planets,
a rarely beautiful sight and n which
only cloudy weather should be an eX-
cuse for missing.
In this neighborhood on the evenings
from the 18th to the 18th we may
look for the elusive planet Mercury.
He will be seen quite near the planets
just described Il little toward the hori-
ION. There will be no other star in the
neighborhood to confuse, and so mis-
take is impossible. The view of Mer-
curry is exceptionally favorable this
month, for he is seen at the unusual
distance of % degrees from the sun.
This happens because we see him at
his greatest angle only Il few days
from the time of his aphelion. Though
seldom seen, because usually in the
daylit sky, Mercury shines as a very
bright star, this because, being very
near the sun, the planet receives an
amount of light.
This gorgeous planetary programme
does not in the least mean that WI
should forget our friends, the ever
faithful fixed stars. In the region
about midway between the two planet
airy groups we see a single first mag
nitude star whose rudy color Is at
once apparent. This Is Antares in the
constellation Scorpio. The winding
figure of the scorpion is easily traced
II the night Is dark and clear.
Almost due south at this hour Is
another first magnitude star Of a pale
white color, suggesting Saturn. This
Is Fomalhaut in the Southern Fish. 1t
Is the most southern first magnitude
star ever seen from this latitude.
Turn to the north and behold once
more the Great Bear, or Big Dipper,
the most marked through all ages and
in every land Of all the figures In the
sky.