ASTRONOMICAL NOTES. 591 
two of the southern parties are elliptical instead of being truly circular as they 
should be. It is very difficult to see how this could occur. 
It is to be remembered that the transit of Venus is only one of the methods 
used in obtaining the parallax of the Sun, and no one expects the solar parallax 
to be determined finally by this method alone. This determination will not be 
final till the results obtained from trigonometric, gravitational and photometric 
methods agree, and this will require the work of many years to come. 
Washington University, January 5, 1884. 
ASTRONOMICAL NOTES. 
PROF. W. W. ALEXANDER, KANSAS CITY, MO. 
The nocturnal skies during this month (February,) present an almost un- 
surpassed field of beauty and attraction, four of the largest and most resplendent 
planets in our system being visible in the early evening. First in the glittering 
array is Venus, situated in the southwest quarter of the heavens. Her motion 
during the month will be north and east. Seen with a telescope her disk will be 
gibbous, like our Moon at ten days past new; diameter on the ist will be 12" ; 
on the 29th, 15". It makes almost a bound north in decUnation, going from 7° 
S. to 6° 30' N. This planet moves around the Sun at a mean distance of sixty- 
seven millions of miles. Its orbit is more nearly circular than that of any of the 
other principal planets. It is very nearly the size of the earth, its diameter be- 
ing about four per cent less than that of our globe. Next to the Sun and Moon, 
it is the most brilliant object in the heavens ; by the last part of the month it will 
cast a distinct shadow of any opaque object on a white surface, such as a sheet 
of paper. It never recedes more than about 45° from the Sun, and is, therefore, 
seen by night only in the western sky in the evening, or the eastern sky in the 
morning, according as it is east or west of the Sun. There is, therefore, seldom 
any difficulty in recognizing it. When at its greatest brilliancy, i. e., by the 
end of the month, it can be clearly seen by the naked eye in the daytime, pro- 
vided that one knows exactly where to look for it. It was known to the ancients 
by the names of Hesperus and Phosphorus, or the evening and morning star, 
the former name being given when the planet was east of the Sun and seen in 
the evening after sunset, and the latter when west of the Sun, it was seen in the 
east before sunrise. It is said before the time of exact astronomy Hesperus and 
Phosphorus were supposed to be two distinct bodies, and that it was not until 
their motions were studied, and the one was seen to emerge from the Sun's rays 
soon after the other was lost in them, that their identity was established. To 
the unaided eye she presents the appearance of a mere star, distinguishable from 
other stars only by its intense brilliancy. 
We next come to Saturn. This magnificent planet is situated high up in the 
heavens ; it will be on our meridian in the evening twilight. It is in north declin- 
