XII. MARS--HOW TO IDENTIFY MARS--WHEN AND WHERE MARS MAY BE SEEN--SIZE, ATMOSPHERE, AND TEMPERATURE--DISTANCE AND BRILLIANCY--DAY AND NIGHT, AND SEASONS--SURFACE ASPECTS--SATELLITES 151 XIII. JUPITER--PLACE IN THE SKY--DISTANCE, LIGHT, AND HEAT-- DAY AND NIGHT, SEASONS, AND ATMOSPHERE--SURFACE FEATURES--SYSTEM OF SATELLITES 183 XIV. SATURN--AROUND ONE CIRCUIT OF THE SKIES WITH SATURN-- DISTANCE AND SIZE--SURFACE ASPECTS AND CONSTITUTION-- DAY AND NIGHT--THE RINGS AND MOONS OF SATURN--SEASONS 206 XV. URANUS 225 XVI. NEPTUNE 234 XVII. THE LITTLE PLANETS, OR THE ASTEROIDS 244 XVIII. CONCLUSION 258 SYMBOLS USED IN ALMANACS 267 INDEX 269 ILLUSTRATIONS A WHIRLING SPIRAL NEBULA, TYPICAL OF THAT FROM WHICH THE SUN AND PLANETS WERE PROBABLY EVOLVED _Frontispiece_ MAP SHOWING THE CONSTELLATIONS OF THE ZODIAC AND THE LINE OF THE ECLIPTIC RUNNING THROUGH THEM _Facing p._ 76 THE LOVELY CRESCENT THAT VENUS SHOWS WHEN TO OUR VIEW SHE IS AT HER GREATEST BRILLIANCY " 136 RELATIVE APPARENT SIZE OF VENUS AT DIFFERENT PHASES OF ILLUMINATION _Page_ 137 THE TWO PHASES OF MARS _Facing p._ 152 MARS: DIFFERENCE IN ITS APPARENT SIZE AT ITS NEAREST, MIDDLE, AND FARTHEST DISTANCE FROM THE EARTH _Page_ 169 JUPITER, THE MAMMOTH MEMBER OF THE SOLAR FAMILY-- LARGER THAN ALL THE OTHER PLANETS PUT TOGETHER _Facing p._ 184 SATURN AND ITS RINGS " 220 THE WAYS OF THE PLANETS I ON MAKING ACQUAINTANCE WITH THE PLANETS It is sought in the following pages to give a simple account of what may now be said to be known of the character of the planets, and to describe with as little technicality as possible their movements and aspects and relations. An endeavor is made to impart concerning each one of them not, surely, profound learning, but just a good, every-day, practical notion, so that the mere name will call up a definite object, with its own attributes, appearance, and behavior, entirely distinct from any other planet or from any other object in the skies.