70 KANSAS CITY REVIEW OF SCIENCE. 



So much for the troubles to be caused by planetary declinations ; now for 

 the woes to be brought about by their right ascensions. " Achilles' wrath to 

 Greece," was not more prolific of tribulations than are to be the aspects of the 

 planets in June. They are to congregate in the same part of the heavens, and 

 start up a tidal wave, magnetic or electric, that shall surge against the earth and 

 make the nations mourn. If the reader should journey into space in the direct- 

 ion of the pole of the ecliptic on the fated day, far enough to look back and 

 secure a good view of the revolution of all the planets, the " collocation of the 

 spheres " would appear as laid down in the engraving. Sure enough the earth 

 is seen wandering alone, away out in heliocentric longitude 268° 30', and no 

 helping orb is near. Venus, Jupiter and Neptune are precisely on the same 

 straight line with the Earth, all centered in the fourteenth degree of Taurus; 

 Saturn, Mars, and the Moon, are nearly in the same direction ; Venus and 

 Saturn are quite near the same right line, while Mercury and Uranus are east of 

 the Sun ; but, all save the Earth, Venus, and the Moon, are north of the line 

 running from Aries to Libra, — the Equinoctial Colure. The line running from 

 Cancer to Capricornus is the Solstitial Colure, across which the Earth will pass 

 the next day after the eventful June 19th, when the Earth will enter the sign 

 Capricornus, and the Sun, Cancer. 



The Solstice occurs on June 20th, at fourteen hours. , As astronomical time 

 begins when the mean Sun is on the meridian, fourteen hours, June 20th, is 

 equal to 2 o'clock a. m., June 21st, at which time to the observer in space, the 

 pole of the Earth's equator, the pole of its orbit, and the first point in Cancer 

 will be on a line as can be seen in the diagram. Thence it is to be observed 

 that the cut is arranged for noon, June 19th, Kansas City time. The north 

 pole of the Earth is leaning toward the Sun ; the Moon is setting, and Uranus 

 has already advanced above the eastern horizon. The figures outside the 

 Zodiac beginning at i, 2, 3, and counting from west to east to 24, or no hours, 

 are hours of right ascension, which is the same as saying the angular distance 

 of a celestial body from the first of Aries, measured on the equinoctial. Each 

 sign is equal to two hours of time, each hour to 15° of space, or sixty minutes, 

 so that each of the degree spaces is equal to four minutes of time. The straight 

 lines drawn from the Earth through all the planets, and produced to the celestial 

 vault, are drawn simply that the reader may learn where they will appear to be 

 as seen from the Earth ; and that he may know that the right ascensions are 

 correct. Here are the right ascensions of the planets on the direful day. 



Sun, 5 hours 53 minutes; Moon, 15 m. ; Mercury, 7 h. 42 m. ; Venus, 2 

 h. 55 m. ; the Earth, — longitude 268° 30' ; Mars, R. A., i h. 48 m. ; Jupiter, 2 

 h. 54 m. ; Saturn, 2 h. 29 m. , Uranus, 10 h. 48 m. ; and Neptune, 2 h. 54 m. 

 It will be seen that the R. A. of Venus is 2 h. 55 m, ; Jupiter, 2 h. 54 m. ; and 

 Neptune 2 h. 54 m., only one minute difference. So we draw a straight line 

 from the Earth through all of them. The law of gravity is this : — 



" Every particle of matter in the Universe, attracts every other, directly as 

 to mass, but inversely as to their distance squared." — Newton. 



