The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1921-01-07

udZAlluS Ul1lldICy Vi IIl0 plAut
their discovery an impossible
This brightness has also Sc
a bar to the accurate determine
the length of her day, which, hid
has been estimated to be a q
over thirty-eight minutes les
that of the earth.
This calculation was arrived
fixing attention on a mountain
southern horn of the planet, I
instead OBJ being sharp as the hid
a crescent of perfect sphere
be, was discovered to be very
This was assumed to show
whereabouts of a mountain,
which is luminous point suppl
be the top of another mountain
rises into view and sinks into darI
i nthe same manner as any brilli1
Illuminated peak would do.
Venus has an atmosphere, an
is watery vapor, and she is divid
torrid and temperateaEanaSN
overlap each other, tn
having alterntely at
torrid atmosphere and
prolonged arctic cold.
The inequality Of Ii
been found to be very mi
heat and light are doubl
earth, while the circular
planets orbit gives nea
length to it's four season
When a planet is in j
Junction. phase explain
it some times passes in Fl
sun, and appears to us a
black spot, swiftly moving
disk.
This is called transit,
great importance in astrond
furnishes the scale whereby
verse is measured. We may
instance, how far Jupiter is
sun in proportion to what It'd
from the earth, but unless the D,
from the sun to the earth is KIN
terms of some familiar measuj
we are in aquandary.
By observing the passage of
across the suns disk from two 4
on the earth, the distance of v
is known, we are enable to Gale
the distance in miles of the sun
thence the distance throughout
universe. Thus, so to speak, we
discovered an immense meas1
stick. Fifty years ago this stick
supposed to have a length of $500
miles, but subsequent re-mea
ments, made in 1874 and 1882, sh
that a discrepancy existed, and
mile measure was 100000 !
shorter than it was thought to By
Kepler, one of the greatest as
mers the world has ever seer
dicted in 1927 that transit of !
would occur in 1851, and the Gasd
an eminent French philosopher
mathematician, watched for this
sit in vain.
This failure is not to be donwere
for the long-looked-for event happ
at night when the philosopher leas
pected 1.-THE succeeding genera
will not have a chance to observ,
next transit of Venus, as it will
occur until June, 1904.
A young English clergyman n;
Horrax earned the distinction o
ing the first person on record tt
serve one of these transits. He
set himself the task of computing
orbit of this planet and discovered
transit would take place in 1853!
so happened that it would occur
Sunday, whe nhe would be engag'
conducting rtligious services.
AS a matter of course, this wo
the enthusiastic astronomer;
true to his duty, he resolved NJ
secure a substitute, but to atter
the church work, and observe the
sit, of time permitted.
At nine o'clock in the morning
held a short service, and an hour
FASTENED to observe the sky. but T
nothing remarkable about the sap
ance of the sun. Another service
gone through at midday, and at
he was again an anxious watche
Still there was no sign of thu
pected event, and, to add to his
appointment, the sun became obsC
by clouds.
Still another service had to b
tended to, but shortly after
o'clock, his days duties were finii
and he was at liberty to renew
search.
The clouds had now disappd
and on the disk of the sun he
- A. dorI- cx1Of ho had en- any