LITMIR.BIZ

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being projected on the zodiacal light, or outer envelope of the sun.20

      Mercury is said to have been occulted by Venus in the year 1737.21 But whether this was an actual occultation, or merely a near approach does not seem to be certain.

      The first transit of Mercury across the sun’s disc was observed by Gassendi on November 6, 1631, and Halley observed one on November 7, 1677, when in the island of St. Helena.

      Seen from Mercury, Venus would appear brighter than even we see it, and as it would be at its brightest when in opposition to the sun, and seen on a dark sky with a full face, it must present a magnificent appearance in the midnight sky of Mercury. The earth will also form a brilliant object, and the moon would be distinctly visible. The other planets would appear very much as they do to us, but with somewhat less brilliancy owing to their greater distance.

      As the existence of an intra-Mercurial planet (that is a planet revolving round the sun within the orbit of Mercury) seems now to be very improbable, Prof. Perrine suggests that possibly “the finely divided matter which produces the zodiacal light when considered in the aggregate may be sufficient to cause the perturbations in the orbit of Mercury.”22 Prof. Newcomb, however, questions the exact accuracy of Newton’s law, and seems to adopt Hall’s hypothesis that gravity does not act exactly as the inverse square of the distance, and that the exponent of the distance is not 2, but 2·0000001574.23

      Voltaire said, “If Newton had been in Portugal, and any Dominican had discovered a heresy in his inverse ratio of the squares of the distances, he would without hesitation have been clothed in a san benito, and burnt as a sacrifice to God at an auto da fé.”24

      An occultation of Mercury by Venus was observed with a telescope on May 17, 1737.25

      May transits of Mercury across the sun’s disc will occur in the years 1924, 1957, and 1970; and November transits in the years 1914, 1927, and 1940.26

      From measurements of the disc of Mercury during the last transit, M. R. Jonckheere concludes that the polar diameter of the planet is greater than the equatorial! His result, which is very curious, if true, seems to be supported by the observations of other observers.27

      The rotation period of Mercury, or the length of its day, seems to be still in doubt. From a series of observations made in the years 1896 to 1909, Mr. John McHarg finds a period of 1·0121162 day, or 1d 0h 17m 26s·8. He thinks that “the planet possesses a considerable atmosphere not so clear as that of Mars”; that “its axis is very considerably tilted”; and that it “has fairly large sheets of water.”28

       CHAPTER III

      Venus

      Venus was naturally – owing to its brightness – the first of the planets known to the ancients. It is mentioned by Hesiod, Homer, Virgil, Martial, and Pliny; and Isaiah’s remark about “Lucifer, son of the morning” (Isaiah xiv. 12) probably refers to Venus as a “morning star.” An observation of Venus is found on the Nineveh tablets of date B.C. 684. It was observed in daylight by Halley in July, 1716.

      In very ancient times Venus, when a morning star, was called Phosphorus or Lucifer, and when an evening star Hesperus; but, according to Sir G. C. Lewis, the identity of the two objects was known so far back as 540 B.C.

      When Venus is at its greatest brilliancy, and appears as a morning star about Christmas time (which occurred in 1887, and again in 1889), it has been mistaken by the public for a return of the “Star of Bethlehem.”29 But whatever “the star of the Magi” was it certainly was not Venus. It, seems, indeed absurd to suppose that “the wise men” of the East should have mistaken a familiar object like Venus for a strange apparition. There seems to be nothing whatever in the Bible to lead us to expect that the star of Bethlehem will reappear.

      Mr. J. H. Stockwell has suggested that the “Star of Bethlehem” may perhaps be explained by a conjunction of the planets Venus and Jupiter which occurred on May 8, B.C. 6, which was two years before the death of Herod. From this it would follow that the Crucifixion took place on April 3, A.D. 33. But it seems very doubtful that the phenomenon recorded in the Bible refers to any conjunction of planets.

      Chacornac found the intrinsic brightness of Venus to be ten times greater than the most luminous parts of the moon.30 But this estimate is probably too high.

      When at its brightest, the planet is visible in broad daylight to good eyesight, if its exact position in the sky is known. In the clear air of Cambridge (U.S.A.) it is said to be possible to see it in this way in all parts of its orbit, except when the planet is within 10° of the sun.31 Mr. A. Cameron, of Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, has, however, seen Venus with the naked eye three days before conjunction when the planet was only 6¼° from the sun.32 This seems a remarkable observation, and shows that the observer’s eyesight must have been very keen. In a private letter dated October 22, 1888, the late Rev. S. J. Johnson informed the present writer that he saw Venus with the naked eye only four days before conjunction with the sun in February, 1878, and February, 1886.

      The crescent shape of Venus is said to have been seen with the naked eye by Theodore Parker in America when he was only 12 years old. Other observers have stated the same thing; but the possibility of such an observation has been much disputed in recent years.

      In the Chinese Annals some records are given of Venus having been seen in the Pleiades. On March 16, A.D. 845, it is said that “Venus eclipsed the Pleiades.” This means, of course, that the cluster was apparently effaced by the brilliant light of the planet. Computing backwards for the above date, Hind found that on the evening of March 16, 845, Venus was situated near the star Electra; and on the following evening the planet passed close to Maia; thus showing the accuracy of the Chinese record. Another “eclipse” of the Pleiades by Venus is recorded in the same annals as having occurred on March 10, A.D. 1002.33

      When Venus is in the crescent phase, that is near “Inferior conjunction” with the sun, it will be noticed, even by a casual observer, that the crescent is not of the same shape as that of the crescent moon. The horns or “cusps” of the planetary crescent are more prolonged than in the case of the moon, and extend beyond the hemisphere. This appearance is caused by refraction of the sun’s light through the planetary atmosphere, and is, in fact, a certain proof that Venus has an atmosphere similar to that of the earth. Observations further show that this atmosphere is denser than ours.

      Seen from Venus, the earth and moon, when in opposition, must present a splendid spectacle. I find that the earth would shine as a star about half as bright again as Venus at her brightest appears to us, and the moon about equal in brightness to Sirius! the two forming a superb “naked eye double star” – perhaps the finest sight of its kind in the solar system.34

      Some of the earlier observers, such as La Hire, Fontana, Cassini, and Schröter, thought they saw evidence of mountains on Venus. Schröter estimated some of these to be 27 or 28 miles in height! but this seems very doubtful. Sir William Herschel severely attacked these supposed discoveries. Schröter defended himself, and was supported by Beer and Mädler, the famous lunar observers. Several modern observers seem to confirm Schröter’s conclusions; but very little is really known about the topography of Venus.

      The well-known French astronomer Trouvelot – a most excellent observer – saw white spots on Venus similar to those on Mars. These were well seen and quite brilliant in July and August, 1876, and in February and November, 1877. The observations seem to show that these spots

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