Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1904-07-09
THE JULY SKIES.
The Planets--Earth at Creatsst n.
lance from the Sun.

Ing four are so nearly In line with ~
sun that they cannot be seen tn "a
vantage.
Uranus Is most favorably placed a,
it rises before sunset and is at ito ,,yl,
est point in the south between o ga
II p. M. 1t is, however, very far snu,,
of the equator, moving across the Gu
i'm nearly the same path that tho am
pursues in mid-winter. 1t is in the
western extremity of the area occupial
by Sagittarius, but is not near anu
bright star. 1t can be seen with dim
| Guilty W.:h the naked eye, but 1t can Re
readily found with n small telescope
| Saturn is conspicuous in the latter
part of the evening, rising on the first
ut 9.33 p. NJ, and on the 31st at 7.30 p
| NJ. 1t is in Capricornus. near the east.
ern angle of the large triangle which
marks the constellation, or by its in.
trinsic brightness. as there are no con-
spicuOus stars in that part of the skv
1t is also nearly in line with Affair and
Fomalhaut, about halfway between
| them.
Jupiter is the brilliant star visible
| after midnight. 1t rises on the LIST AT
1918 p. NJ. and on the 31st at 10.2OP.
NJ. II is moving north as well as east
following closely the path which the
sun pursued i'm April. 1t is near the
boundary which separates the con-
stellation Pisces and Aries, but can be Z
recognized from its great brightness
rather than from it's present place
among the stars. On the 21st 1t is In
quadrature, or exactly 80 degrees dis
tant from the sun.
The four planets whose direction
from tho earth is nearly the same az
that of the sun, and which, therefore.
are hidden from our view, are Mercury.
Mars, Venus and Neptune. These five
bodies change their relative position in
an interesting way during the first de-
cade of the month, as all are moving
in the same direction among the stars,
but at different rates of speed. On the
1st the order from west to east is Mer-
curry. Mars, Neptune, Venus, Sun.
Mercury Overtakes Mars on the % and
Neptune on the 4th. Venus passes the
sun on the Sth and Mars passes Nep-
tune on the 9th and with Venus on
the 10th. The order then is Neptune,
Mars, Sun, Venus, Mercury and re-
mains the same for several weeks. But
for the overpowering brilliancy of the
sun these variations of position would
be readily seen.
Mercury changes from morning to
evening star on the 9th. but does not
advance far enough from the sun to
he seen until the month closes, when
ii sets about an hour after the sun.
Venus, in the same way, changes from
morning to evening star on the Sth;
on the list, as it sets but twenty-five
minutes after the sun, it is still lost in
the brlliancy of the sky after sunset
Mars rises at the end of the month at
sos A NJ or one and a half hours be-
fore the sun, so that it can be dimly
seen as the twilight begins. Neptune
can be found with n telescope, as it
rises on the 31st at 40 A. NJ, an hour
before Mars.
The moon passes the planets on the
following dates: Isl and 2Sth, Saturn;
9th. Jupiter; 18th, NEPTUNE and Mars;
18th, Venus and Mercury; 2Ith, IRA
nus. 1t will be new on the 18th, full
on the 27th, So that pleasure seekers
the first half of the month will be fav-
oIeu WIFI I1ponllt evenings Inc CllleL
astronomical event OF the month is the
arrival of the earth at its greatest dis
tance from the sun on the 4th--a &C.
lestial celebration of the national Holt
day. That this event occurs annually
in midsummer shows that the varying
distance between the earth and sun is
not the chief cause of the change Of
seasons. AS 4 matter of fact, its eff
feet on the temperatures experienced Is
completely masked by other variations.
The midsummer month contains the as
Economical forecast of the coming winter,
for the sun moves more than % south
ward, and the days are three-quarters OF
an hour shorter at the close of the month
than when longest in June.
Among the subjects of astronomical
study none Is NOR important than han those hose
more difficulties to the investigator. The
textbooks try to keep the student in
formed of the results of the study, of the
sun. If you will take the trouble to
compare what is written now with what
was published twenty years ago he will
see that our knowledge of solar condi-
lions has materially Increased. Even in
the last two or three years important
facts have been added which have been
announced in the technical journals. but
have not yet found their way into the
An article in the Popular
Science Monthly for May, l90l. Dy frO-
fessOr Hale. director of the Yerkes OBJ
servatory gives an excellent account OF
the work which is now being done and
some of the remarkable results already
obtained. 1t is the tremendous brilliancy
of the sun which prevents our studying
its surface structure, and this apparently
difficulty has been great
ly reduced by the ingenious applications
of spectroscopy. which are Professor
Hales own invention. The noteworthy
results are the revelation to us of the ex-
istence of vast clouds Of calcium and ny
drogen, and presumably of other sub
stances, upon the surface OF the sun.
which show great variations In condition
from time to time. The observer of these
changes is much in the position of
who should try to study the
cloud changes in our atmosphere not
from the earth's surface where he looks
up to them from below. but from the
moon or from a more distant point where
he sees them projected on the surface be-
meath. Patient study, however even nn,
der such unfavorable conditions, should
give us better knowledge of the constltu-
tion of the sun itself. and OF the changes
now going on, which point backward 10
its past condition and forward also to IT'S
future state. In this article Professor
Hale enumerates the instrumental i'm
provements which may lead TO greater
results than those already obtained ~
LIMOS