The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1902-04-08
THE APRIL SKIES
Six Planets Mercury Venus Mars, Jupiter Saturn and
Uranus Are Visible This Month:.-Circum.
poia Consultations.
fBy WILLIAM GATHRlGHT.
poia Consultations.

by WILLIAM
The surface Of the moon. like that Of.
eur earth, is diversified by hills and
plains, mountains End Valleys. The
plains on the moon were once thought
, TO be lakes or oceans, but in the clearer
lights Of science they are NOM regarded
as level uacts of land. indeed, 1t IS
now thought that there is no water at
Oil on the moon. and that she does not
possess vegetable or animal life OF any
Kind: but that desolation and death-
like Silence rcigns supreme.
That there arc mountains on the moon
has been proven by the most lndispnta-
bile evidence. For instance. when she Is
increasing. certain places on her surface
are Illuminated sooner than the sur
rounding regions. appearing ike bright
epots within the dark PORTIONS OF her sur
face and then after the terminator tthe
ieIminator is the line which separates
the dark from the enlightened portions
CT the moons surfaccl has passed oNsc
these bright spots. they cast their shad-
oos upon the enlightened portions OF her
surface opposite 10 the sun. These shad--
rows correspond in shape to the form OF
sne mountain or mountains which cast
chem.
There is one remarkable feature in the
moons surface which bears no resen-
blance to anything to be seen on This
Garth. These are the great circular cav
aties which appear on every part OF her
surface Some Of these tremendous cav
ems are about forty miles in diameter
and four miles deep.
II is now generally conceded that the moon
has out very little, if any, atmosphere.
Y and in support Of this theory several very
strong reason can be advanced. For IN
stance. there are no indications of twi-
light. a phenomenon that implies the
presence Of an atmosphere For If she
;~b,t no Org
transition from the light to the dark
portions. but no such transitions occurs
oil the surface. but there is a weii-defined
line between the light and dark portions.
1t is an Interesting contemplation Tor
Us 10 try to realize how the earth would
appear as viewed from the moon. The
surface of the earth would appear about
thirteen times as large that of the
moon viewed from the earth. This fact
would add immensely TO the beauty OF
lie starry heavens. IS viewed from our
faithful lunar companion. However. we
must not suppose that because the earth
appears so large that her physical fea-
lures become more distinct. Indeed, it
is Just otherwise: for, owing to the
dense atmosphere Of the earth. 1t would
render clear view of hcc surface q.
matter of great difficulty, if not of abso-
: lutte iInpossi,,iity.
OUR BEAUTIFUL MORNING STARS.
The morning skies during April are
honored by the presence of the six planets
Mercury. Venus, Mars. Jupiter. Saturn
and Uranus-wliict is an occurrence By
no means common. The first one of
them to make his appearance on the
eastern horizon is Uranus. which now
rises about 1890 in the evening. AID is
consequently high up in the heavens be-
fore daylight. Under favorable circGm-
stances Uranus may be seen with the
naked eye by those who know eXa city
u-l,c 70 i'm ( however.
only with telescope that we can get
good look him
Saturn rises about 1870 in the morning.
and is distinctly visible to the naked eye. 4
iefis now situated in the constellation
-Sali,taTius, and may he easily distin-
guished from the fixed stars by his pale.
tseble and steady light The rings of
Saturn, which distinguish him from
every known planet, are now distinct
and growing more 50 every day: so those
Of our friends who possess teiescopes
will make a great mistake if they do not
take occasional peeps at this great and
wonderful world.
About one hour after the rising of
Saturn we see the mighty Jupiter just
looming up above the eastern horizon.
but a; point few degrees to the north
OF where Saturn first appeared. Both
this planet and Saturn are now daily
rising earlier. and appearing higher and
hra hter in the morning. The volume of
Jupiter is about thirteen hundred times
larger than the earth. and he exceeds
beth In bulk and mass all The other
planets combined. No wonder lac is
known as the king OF the planetary
host and that the ancient Romans
called him the god of the air. Jupiter
now rlonors with his royal presence the
constellation CapiicornUs. or the goat.
Nothing is easier than to trace his Jour
ney through the stars. for he passes at
a mean rate over Just one constellation
OF the zodiac in year. AS he is now in
the constellation CapIicornus. We must
lock for him next year this time in the
constellation Aouarius: two years hence
,n the next constellation Pisces and so
on. Therefore. it takes just twelve years
to make one complete journey around
the sun.
Venus nov rises about $3.50 in the morn
ing, or about one hour after Jupiter.
The point on the eastern horizon swhere
she rises Is about ten degrees 10 the north
OF the point where Jupiter first appeared
10 our view. Venus. Jupiter and Saturn
are now al almost an equal distance
from each other. and. if a straight line
l,e drawn from Venus 10 Saturn. 1t will
pass Just a little to the north of Jupiter
Venus is now the most beautiful object
in the morning skies. rising nearly two
hours before the sun. She Will be high
est above sunrise on April 25th. or to
use technical expression. will be at her
greatest elonsation west OF the sun. She
Is now so bright that we may even get