The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1922-06-24
SUMMER is HERE
Official Warm Weather Season
Is Three Days Old.
Is Time for Heat, DrOuth, Mos
quitOes and Chiggers.
WILL CONTINUE FOR SO DAYS
Mars Is Now Performing by
Looping the Loop.
We VIII Be at Farthest Point
From Sun July 2.
WILL CONTINUE FOR SO DAYS
BY z. W. SCOTT.

BY E w SCOTT:
Summer Official SUMMERS near
ticed her coming on Wednesday at
the hour Of 1927 p. m, but at ap-
proximately that moment our worthy
day-star entered the zodiacal mansion
Gemini and summer was with US.
Summer-theOretica ninety-three
days duration: practically. one hun
dred forty to fifty days of alternate
heat and drouth and dampnesS; dust,
flies, mosquitoes and chiggers- But IT
is not of such unpleasantries that L
would tell; rather of the nights with
their deep velvety purple skies span
gled with a thousand scfntillating
gems to gladden. the eye Of mankind.
1t is Just a week, about. since our
Sunday evening at p. m they were
42,357. 900 miles off to the southeast
Gas Earthian direction goes-a mere
step or two away in astronomical fig
ures Mars is the rudy brilliant that
flames in the sky in the direction in
dicated. Even now our distance from
him is increasing and not again until
1924 will the visit be repeated when
the Martians will be. at one time, but
36,OOO,00O miles away.
Mars Is Performing Now.
Mars is now performing a celestial
circus stunt in apparently looping the
loop. In other words, instead of pro-
ceeding in an easterly direction as all
he is going west. Just west of Mars
is a red star-you can't fail TO note it
and its name is Antares. which
means similar to Mars" Note the
will soon see that Mars is apparently
it. This phenomenon
will continue until July 8 at 9 p. m,
when Mars Will pause and then re-
sumo his eastward journey, gradually
decreasing in brilliancy as he recedes
from the earth.
AS we come west and north we find
the first magnitude. bluish-white star
Spica, the heart of the Virgin This
is a constellation embracing some fifty
degrees of sky within whose confines
shine the orbs of Jupiter and Saturn.
The former is conspicuous as being
the brightest body in the heavens
overhead while Saturn is the yellow
grees farther in the same general di-
rectiOn is Regulus, another first mag
nitude sun of spring and summer
skies.
We will have to pass up Neptune
Just east of the Beehive, as the star |
cluster in Cancer is called. Neptune !
s never other than a telescope object |
but the cluster which is just visible to |
he naked eye becomes a thing of ut
most beauty IN good opera glass. /
Countless thoLsands of suns are clus- |
tered here until their separation is an
InlpOssibility.
Venus Is Most Brilliant.
BY this time we have reached
Venus, the most brilliant object in the
sky. She is now moving eastward. as
are Jupiter and Saturn, the latter hav-
ing ceased its retrograde motion on
June 4 and Jupiter on June 16. BY
he latter part of July these three
planets Will form a beautiful group
IN the evening sky that Will be well
worth a few moments contemplation.
Let us turn again to the east Just
over the horizon sparkles Aquila,
,lanked by its guardian lesser suns,
he thick envelope of air causing it to
lash with a thousand cOlors. Low in
he northeast the Swan rears its head
With Deneb a fitting eye for the heav-
snly bird. Higher up the vault of
heaven We climb and encounter Vega,
/ flashing blue-white beauty, lying
lear what is known as the apex of the
suns way or the apparent point in the
heavens toward which our solar svs-
EN- is travelling.
In this constellation, invisible, how
.ver. to the naked eye, iiei a solar sys-
EN- II the niaking,-the ring nebula
# Lyra- The ring shows that it will
.ventually separate into other rings
which will some time coalesce into
planets and form n solar system such
IS our earth is now a part Of
Now overhead swings Hercules with
IFS wonderful star cluster on his west
m edge: the Northern Crown. and
Arcturus and his sons A little farther
vest glistens the hair of Queen
3erenice. while the Hunting Dogs, the
little Lion and the Lynx are dropping
downward into the northwest
One thing more July we are at
,ur farthest point from the sun,
istance of 94,451.OO0 miles Our re-
urn trip will begin that day at 3 p. m
Hold on, and let's hope We don't skid
rhcn we make the turn. for our speed
; about 10 miles per second!