Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1903-08-20
EVENING STARS
VENUS AND MARS FOLLOWED RM
SATURN AND JUPITER,
LIGHT UP THE WESTERN SKIES
Many Consultations Conspicuous Dur.
ing Ausust-venus an Interesting
Planet-visible All Of the Present
Month.

Ottumwa boys and girls who stroll
the streets these pleasant evenings
have their pathways abundantly favor
ed by both Venus and Mars, the god
dess of love and the god of war. These
two stars light up the western sky d.
rectly after sunset and as they later
disappear Saturn and Jupiter arise to
take their places. Uranus is also in
sight but is not conspicuous.
| At 8 p. M. Venus has not long set.
Mars will soon follow her, but he is
still few degrees above the western
horizon. The most conspicuous star
in the western sky is Arcturus. which
Is about half way down from the
zenith.
Far to the southwark, beyond Ophiu-
chus and Serpens. is Scorpio, still well
visible just past the meridian, while
Sagittarius is farthe east.
Following up the Milky Way from
these consultations Aquila is first
reached, after a vacant region. Then
come Cygnus and Lyra, the latter al
most directly overhead.
The great square of Pegasus is the
most conspicuous conf1guration in the
eastern sky. To the north of it are
Andromeda and Perseus just rising to
the south are Aquarius and Capricorn
us, themselves inconspicuous, but now
rendered brighter by Jupiter and Sa-
| turn.
Cassiopeia is on the right of the
pole, Draco almost above it, and Ursa
Major on the left.
Hercules and Corona, which lie be-
tween Vega and Arcturus, complete
the list of conspicuous consultations
now visible.
The Planets.
Mercury is evening star throughout
August, but will not be easy to see, as
he is too far south of the sun. Even
at the end of the month, when he is
farthest from the sun he sets but forty
minutes later. On Aug. % he is in
conjunction with Venus, but the two
planets are far apart-more than six
degrees-and too near the sun to be
well seen.
venus is also evening star, and was
conspicuous during the earlier part Of
the month, reaching her greatest bril-
nancy on the twelfth. But as she is
now rapidly swinging into line between
the earth and the sun, she sets earlier
and earlier from night to night, and by
the end of the month she will be hard
to see. Her apparent motion among
the stars is small. and she remains in
virgo, about midway between Spica
and Regulus, throughout the month
On the first she set about O'Clock
but on the thirty-frst she disappears
Ibefore o'clock.
| Viewed with the telescope she ap--
pears as a crescent, which steadily
narrows as the month advances. the
illuminated portion of her disk vary
ing from one-third on the first to one
tenth on the thirty-first. In her pres
ent position, Venus appears larger
with the same magnifying power than
any other planet ever does, and 1t is
easy to see the crescent phase with
any powerful field glass, that is, one
which magnifies six or eight diane
tiers. Even with an instrument of half
this power, the crescent phase can be
detected by trained eye.
Mars Evening Star.
Mars is evening star in Virgo and
Libra. On the first he was not far
from Spica, and sets at about 1910
p. NJ, but at the end of the month he
| Van1SheS an hour later. Si
| On the twenty-ninth he passes south
OF the third magnitude star, Alpha
Libra, at distance of about one and
one-half degrees. The two objects
will afford a pretty field for low
| power glass, as the star in questions
is wide double, whose companion
is just too faint, and too near its
! primary, to be seen with the naked
eye.
Jupiter is on the borders of Aquar-
Jus and Pisces, and is rapidly becorh-
ing conspicuous in the evening. At
| the beginning of August he rose at
about 9:15, and month later at ISIS.
He can be instantly recognized by his
| brightness, which far exceeds that OF
any Of the fixed stars
| Transits of his satellites, interest
| ing to watch with good telescopes, oc,
cur before midnight on the evenings
Of the twenty-third and thirtieth. The
| sixteenth was particularly interest.
| ing night, as all four satellites took
part in the performance, though not
all at the same time.
Saturn is in Capricornus. and is Wis
ible all night long, passing the merid-
Ian at little before IL p. M. Though
| very far south, he is fine telescopfo
object.
Uranus is evening star in Ophiuch-
! us. His position on the fifteenth was
in right ascension 17h. PAM, declina-
| ton % degrees 20 minutes south
about liz degrees north and 2 de-
grees east Of the third-magnitude star
Theta Ophiuchi. He comes to the
meridian little before 1880 p. m.
and is just visible to the naked eye.
Neptune is in Gemini and rose about
2 a. m. on the fifteenth.