Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1917-08-01
VENUS. EVENING STAR.
Barton Astronomer Gives Interesting
Data Concerning
Heavens.

NJ. J. Smith, one of Barton's veter-
an business men and longtime resi-
dents, became a student of astronomy
in Scotland before coming TO this
country and continued his studies even
after coming here. He wishes more
people might interest themselves in
the science and gave the editor the
following letter which will be of in
terest to ALL
Venus, now an evening star, is
visible in the west very soon after
sunset. There are few persons who
have not observed beautiful star in
the west little after sunset, called
the evening star. This star is We
nus. Venus and Mercury are called
interior planets because their orbits
are within the earth's orbit, or be-
tween it and the sun. The other
planets are denominated exterior be-
cause their orbits are without, or be-
yond the orbit of the earth.
venus is the second planet from
the sun. 1t is the brightest star in
the armament and on this account
easily distinguished from the other
planets. As Venus never departs
quite AZ degrees from the sun it is
never seen at midnight nor in appo-
sition to that luminary being visible
only about three hours after sunset
and as long before sunrise. At first
we behold it only a few minutes after
sunset. The next evening we discov-
er hardly any sensible change in its
position but after a few days we per-
ceive that it has fallen considerably
behind the sun and that it continues
TO depart further and further from
him, setting later and later every
evening, until the distance between it
and the sun is equal to a little more
than half the space from the horizon
to the zenith or about 46 degrees.
About the 26th of August it begins to
return toward the sun, making the
same daily progress that it did in
separating from him and sets earlier
and earlier every succeeding evening,
until it finally sets with the sun some
time about the last of December and
is lost in the splendor of his light.
"a few days after the phenomena
we have now described we perceive In
the morning, near the eastern horizon
bright star which was not visible
before. This also is Venus, which is
now called the morning star. 1t de-
parts further and further from the
sun rising a little earlier every morn
ing until it is seen about 46 degrees
west of him where it appears station
airy for a few days. Then it resumes
its course toward the sun, appearing
later and later every morning until it
rises with the sun and we cease to be-
hold it. In a few days the evening
star again appears In the west very
near the setting sun, and the same
phenomena are again exhibited. Such
are the visible appearances of Venus.
'Venus revolves about the sun
from west to east in pa days at the
distance of about 6S,000,000 of miles,
moving in her orbit at the rate of 3d.
600 miles an hour. She turns around
on her axis once in % hours, 21 min
utes and seven seconds. Thus her
day is about 25 minutes shorter than
ours while her year is equal to seven
and one-half of our months, or 80
weeks. The orbit of Venus is within
not she would be seen as often In ap-
position to the sun as in conjunction
with him, but she was never seen rls-
ing in the east while the sun was
setting in the west nor was she ever
seen in quadrature or on the meridian
when the sun was either rising or
setting.
"The mountains of Venus, like those
of Mercury and the moon, are high
est in the southern hemisphere, ac-
cording to Schracter, German as
tronomer, who spent more than ten
years in observations upon this plan
ct. He states that some of her
mountains rise TO an enormous height
of from ten to twenty miles. The OBJ
servations Of DR.. Herschel do not in
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