The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1933-08-17
-Oietz on Science
TWO BRIGHTEST
STARS IN RACE
FINISH TONIGHT
Jupiter and Venus Will Be
Nearest Together in
Moving East.
BY DAVID DIETZ
seriDps-Howard Science Editor

Jupiter and Venus. contenders in
the second celestial race OF the sum-
mer. are just rounding the home
stretch. Grab a place at the rail
quick if you want to be in on the
finish.
To see the race. watch the western
sky each evening just after sunset.
As the sky darkens. you will notice
two brilliant star-like objects low in
the west. The brighter of the two
Is the closest to the horizon at pres
ent. 1t is VeEus. A little higher
in the sky is Jupiter.
They make sight of rare beauty,
Tor Jupiter is six times as bright
as first magnitude star, and We
nus is six times as bright as Jupiter.
Both planets shine with clear, blu
ish-white light. AS the sky grows
darker they increase in brilliance.
Both planets are moving eastward
in the heavens, but Venus is NOV
ing with the greater speed. Venus,
which is very much nearer the sun
than Jupiter, has the inside track
as they say in racing.
Nearest During Day
According to DR.. ]. j. Nassau, di-
rector Of the Warner & Swasey
observatory of Case School of APP
piled Science. the two planets will
be separated by only six minutes OF
arc tonight.
1t is unfortunate that the con-
junction does not take place at
night, for it would be a sight of I'M
usual beauty to see these two plan
cts, the two brightest star-like OBJ
Jects in the heavens, so close to-
gether.
AS already mentioned, this is the
second planetary race of the sum-
mer. The first was run off earlier
in the summer. The contestants
then were Mars and Jupiter. Ju-
piter was the loser in that race, also,
Mars catching up TO Jupiter and
BdooAllE IL VII Jullt =.
Mars. easily distinguished by it's
brightness and its reddish hue, is to
be found in the northwest sky to the
east of Jupiter
As Venus swings past Jupiter, it
may seem 20 you possibly that it
is going to overtake Mars in time
also. But this is not the case. BY
the end Of the month, Venus will
have advanced almost to the place
where Mars is now But by that
time. Mars. which also is going east
ward. will have moved sufficiently to
leave a considerable distance still
separating the two.
Distance Misleading
While the planets seem close to-
gether in the heavens, this, Of
course. is only an apparent state OF
affairs. Actually the planets are
millions of miles apart.
The apparent motions of the
planets in the heavens is a COM
bination of the earth's motion with
that of the planets. Here are some
facts about the earth and the three
planets under discussion which may
interest you:
Our earth is 1920 miles in diam
eter. 1t revolves around the sun at
an average distance of 100000
miles. with a velocity of 1872 miles
per second.
% Miles in Second
Venus is 7.700O miles in diameter.
a little smaller than the earth. It
is closer TO the sun than we are
and moves faster, circling the sun
at an average distance of O. 900 600
miles with a velocity of twenty-five
miles a second.
Mars is about half the size Of the
earth. having a diameter of APIS
miles. It is 141 .000,0 miles from
the sun and moves with a velocity
of fifteen miles a second.
Jupiter. the big brother of the
solar system is about eleven times
the size Of the earth. having a di-
ameter of S6.720 miles. 1t is 49,
100000 miles from the sun. more
than three times as far away as
Mars. It moves with a velocity of
eight miles a second.
Venus is the brightest planet in
the heavens for a number of rea-
sons. Its cloSeneSs to the sun. its
cloSeneSS to US, and the fact that
its surface is covered with heavy
white clouds which reflect light
easily. all conSpire TO give the planet
its position of apparent eminence.