Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1904-12-02
TIE DECEMBER SKIES.
phase. Of Moon-The Winter so's''ee
-position Of Planets.

,.r nm tho I4th full on the gu ai'
,u.r,er on the 2sth. she VIII "- "
1.ar,oee on the I'd and 9th ana III app
pee on the 14th. =,
.xac,,v s minutes past ! A VI. Vi
The asd day of the month, the sui' ~.
his annual motion north ana South ia
W. equator. will reach MS sou'heiH
,noat limit, the winter solstice, al men
1xac, moment the winter season oe
,,irs At this point he will linger lot
$50 time since there his path IN MS
motion in declination is parallel 10 'te
.o,,ator. and then turn north"afu
again.
The planetary aspect during the De-
cernbe7 nights Is a very attractite ~
since the two most brilliant piahe'9'
Venus ard Jupiter. are IN fuli
and By their iustre enhance 'he -!
ITCH, beaut- of the skies. The planet
u.rcurv is at first lowering over the
boundary line Of ScOrpio ana Sasild-
,hs Int will soon be in the latter con-
.,.lIatinn While Venus at hrst VII!
d. ia Sagjttarius, she VIII soon enter
r,uricornus and iinger WilhIh 'tiiht
constellation during the reshaiHae' vi
the. month. For some time tiIls si"Ii
ous Dlauet has been ATTRACTING nv
,,.zers attention by her brilliant APP
n.,r,nc. and acting in the true sense
M the word in the capacity Of evening
.,.r Since the sun sets early ana
y.rn. does not disappear from the
,o,,urual skies before about nall past
ohe ain be III full view for consid-
mi. Time ON the 9th OF the fnoilth
I.uus viii b4. in close conjunction with
,he rIIne. Saturn. their distance from
.ach other on that evening being less
,t,,, degree therefore conSidrlhblE
less than two consecutive stars IN the
t.I, of Orion. Both planets at the
Tim. OF their close conjunction VIII be
jr ,.,nricornus. Mars will be in Leo
fn, = short time. but in Virgo during
tho greater port ion Of the month. ms
rlnpe, will rig between one and wv"
O'Clock I'm the corning and thus act AZ
morning star. II Venus by her IN
,,iusic 'Iustre cannot fail to arrest IN"
attention Of anyone who in serel'e
njeht looks up to the vault OF heavens
IN. great planet Jupiter VIII scarcely
do less Since Jupiter eliminates be
tween seven and eight O'Clock IN the
evening and does not set before htlf-
hast one in the morning. he VIII D" IN
such n posltinn az scarcely to escape
even u casual glance at III" heavens.
No other celestial object. save IN"
moon. win in that portion Of the skies
present such a magnificent appearance
for the only rival of the great planet
Venus, can neither as morning MOI
evening star be seen in that portion or
tho sky. Saturn is still lingering In
Capricornus and will set between eight
and nine o'clock. AT the time Of his
close injunction with Venus. on the
21th of the month. the reader will be-
abb. to make a comparison between
these two planets. Uranus IS In Sagit-
:arius and Neptune in Gemni.
II must appear strange that II is but
IT little more than century since man
gained an insight into thu. composition
Of the air he breathes. While up to a
comparatively recent period the air
vas considered with fire. water and
earth among the four elements whose
virious combinations gave birth to all
other substances. it was not until the
Il Of modern chemistry was opened
tlat such crude conceptions were ex-
PEELED. II is owing to Priestley. one OF
the pioneers of the new science of chem
one of the two principal constituents
of atmospheric air. These two alone.
however. would prove insufficient for
animal and plant life without the pres
ence of carbouic acid and ammonia in
the atmosphere. BESIDES all these
gases which play such Il conspicuous
part in the economy of nature ana
forin the permanently elastic envelope
Of our globe. the atmosphere contains
"A f.uctuating quantity of aqueous VA
por which is subject to all the varia-
tious of pressure and temperature OF
the common atmosphere. but through
limits far wider. and Ia changes of
physical condition from an invisible
gas to the massive weight of the hail.
stone. which the other. from its para
mount gaseous character. never pre-
Sents. Though aqueous vapor forms
but a very small percentage Of the to-
tai volume of our atmosphere. IL is OF
no less paramount importance to the
existence of organic life than its chief
constituent. oxygen. itself. The mole
cul"s Of aqueous vapor consist OF tw"
atoms of hydrogen to one OF oxygen
and mingle as little trads among the
monads Of nitrogen and oxygen which
constitute the great mass Of the at
moSphere. As 10 the smalneSs OF
these elementary monads and mole
cules we cannot do better than to
quote a passage from the writings of
that corypheus of modern physical sci
ence. Tyndall:
The distances Of stellar space give us y
fewildering sense of vastncSs. without
leaving any distinct impression on thu
mind. and the masni,udes with which We
have here to do bewildpr us equally in
the opposite direction. We are dealing
with inhni;esimals compared with which
the test objects of the microscope are
literally immense. The atoms of mole
culcs Of the atmosphere are in con-
slant state OF repulsion. in virtue OF
which they possess the most perfec;
mobility and are continually tending to
occupy greater space. But this tenden-
cy is counteracted by the earfh's attrac-
ton, which prevents their rushing away
into infn'tude and forces them to en-
compass the globe. as IL were. with an
aerial shell. All these atoms or mole
Cules are. moreover. surrounded or en-
braced by n common medium. the Iumi-
riferons ether. which exists within our
atmosphere rs a second and finer atnos-
phere, and must he conceived as Infinitely