The Chautauquan, Vol. 05, February 1885Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle
Philosophy
The Chautauquan, Vol. 05, February 1885
Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle
Chautauqua Institution -- Periodicals; Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle -- Periodicals
Rises on the 1st at 6:48 p. m., and sets on the 2d at 8:06 a. m.; rises
on the 15th at 5:48 p. m., sets at 7:12 a. m. on the 16th; rises at 5:47
p. m. on the 28th and sets the next day at 5:17 a. m. On the 1st, at 2:07
a. m., he is 4° 9´ north of the moon; on the 19th, at 2:00 a. m., in
opposition to the sun, that is, on the opposite side of the sun from the
earth; on the 28th, at 6:43 a. m., he is again in conjunction with the
moon, being 4° 27´ north of our satellite. During the month his diameter
increases two-tenths of a second, and he has a retrograde motion of 3°
24´ 8´´. The statement that Jupiter retrogrades some 3½° may puzzle some
of our younger readers, who have doubtless been instructed in what is
a fact, that not one of our planets has a retrograde motion; but that
all move from west to east about the sun as a center. What we mean by
retrograde is really only _apparent_ retrograde; and it was something
very puzzling to the early astronomers, particularly to those who thought
that the earth and not the sun was the center of our system; that the
sun and all the heavenly bodies revolved each day about our earth. When
it was discovered that the earth revolved each day on its axis, and
all the planets revolved about the sun, the retrograde motions were
_comparatively_ easy to understand. Let us see if we can obtain a clear
idea of Jupiter’s actions for this month. As we view him on the night
of the 1st he appears about five degrees _east_ and 1° 2´ south of the
bright star _Regulus_, which can be seen almost the entire night as the
brightest of the six stars forming the sickle in the constellation _Leo_.
Noting his position again on the night of the 28th, we find that he has
moved westward about 3½°, and is only about 1½° _east_ and 17´ north of
Regulus; thus, as we say, having retrograded about 3½°. To assist us in
understanding this, let us take an orange to represent the sun, a grain
(of mustard, for example) to represent the earth, a pea to represent
Jupiter, and a point of some kind for Regulus. Now place these objects
on a stand in the following order: In one line, at the beginning, the
orange; two inches distant, the grain; eight inches farther, the pea.
Next draw a line through the center of the orange so as to make an angle
of five degrees with the line through the orange, grain and pea, and at
as great a distance as convenient, stick a pin to represent Regulus. Now
move the grain and pea (the former about two and one-fourth times as
fast as the latter) about the orange as a center, in the direction of
the movement of the hands of the clock (that is, from left to right). We
can readily see that on account of the more rapid motion of the grain,
together with its being nearer the orange, that the pea will _fall
behind_; and if we sight along the line of the grain and pea, the latter
will be seen nearer the line joining the orange and the pin; and should
we continue the moving of the grain and pea, making similar observations,
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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