Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-02-27
THE STARRY SKIES IN MARCH


| venus is now far enough from tne
| sun to be seen easily. 1t will be in
much better position in the months
| to follow--at It's best in July. In
| figure we represent the motions of
| he earth and Venus during the time
| that Venus Is an evening star. The
dates at which the earth is in various
/ positions are marked. At each OF these
| times Venus is at the point OF its orbit,
which is Joined with that OF the earth
| by a straight line. Venus was first an
| evening star November IL, 1928, when.
| as may be seen from the figure. it was
| in line with the sun on the side of the
orbit opposite the earth. This position
is called superior conjunction. Venus
moves in its orbit faster than the
: earth. AS it is closer TO the sun. On
| March | Venus Is no longer in line
with the sun. but about "a degi ees
east of it. Thus it will set after the
sun sets, and may he seen in the west
after sunset. Al Philadelphia 1t sets
at 7:45 pm, and the time is nearly
the same elsewhere in the United
States. At the end of the month it
will set at S:54 pm. The difference in
direction of Venus and the sun, which
we call the elongation of the planet,
continues to increase until July 3,
when 1t reaches maximum value of
A5 degrees. as indicated on the figure.
The angle then decreases until Venus
il again in the same direction as the
sun on September II, but this time on
he same side of the sun as the earth.
This position Is known as inferior con-
junction. After September IL Venus
will be a morning star. The signiti
"ance of the figure will be understood
If 1rrE Of ~ l,.,y 81
ton of the earth, and then the paper
held so that the symbol for the sun is
in the direction of the real sun. The
line for March l Is made so that
when held in the natural position to
read it will be horizontal, which is
the direction of the sun at sunset.
Since the orbits of the earth and
Venus are each very nearly circular.
the relative motion can be indicated
easily. This will be done in a figure
next month. Both figures should be
preserved for use in succeeding
months.
The Race of Venus and Mars.
Mars Is now in the constellation
Taurus, as indicated in figure /. 1t
passes the bright star Aldebaran on
March IL. The star and the planet are
both reddish. and at that time will be
or the same brightness. It will be in
teresting to compare their redness.
Both Venus and Mars are moving
rapidly eastward. Venus moves "a de-
grees during the month and Mars Is
degrees. 1t will be interesting to
watch Venus gradually overtake Mars.
1t reaches Mars June 8.
Saturn rises at l am. March l, and
at 1859 pm. March 81. 1t is in the
fa1In
the bright star Antares of the con-
stellation Scorpius. The moon passes
very close to Saturn March "a about
3 am, Eastern standard time. The
planet will be occulted at places
farther south. Jupiter changes from
an evening to morning star on
March ]. 1t is now too close to the
sun to be seen. The sun crosses the
Equator March 81 at 9:59 am. Spring
begins at that time.
Early Astronomy.
Astronomy is the Oldest of the
sciences. No one can set a date at
which astronomy was unknown. AS
tronomy is an observational science.
since there could be no science of as
tronomy If we had no eyes with which
to observe. The rotation of the earth,
which appears as an apparent reVolu-
ton of the sun about the earth, is SO
striking that there was no escape
from observing It, 1t was also obvious
that the phenomenon was repeated in
intervals which seemed regular. The
motion and phases of the moon were
likewise striking, and the moon afford.
ed a means of reckoning time. Calen-
dars regulated by the moon were the
first to appear, and such calendars are
still in use. The recurrence of the sea-
sons likewise would very soon become
evident both by the changes of tenn
perature and vegetation. The neces-
sity for sowing and reaping. for the
preservation of life, was naturally
seen at a very early date, and the
connection of the seasons with the
positions of the sun established. The
influence of the sun upon terrestrial