THE PLANETS IN DECEMBER

Press, Volume XCVI, Issue 28448, 30 November 1957, Page 3

THE PLANETS IN DECEMBER

(Written for “The Press*' by K W ROTHI At the beginning of the month Mercury may be glimpsed very low in the west-south-west. ’ On December 1 it sets lhr 45min after the sun at a point on the horizon 40 degrees south of due west. Venus, the evening star, reaches its greatest brilliancy just on Christmas Eve. It is not as high in the sky now as it was in October and early November, but it is so bright that one cannot help noticing and admiring this beautiful star. Its distance from tne earth diminishes from 54 million miles to 33.5 million miles during December. With every second it comes 8 million miles nearer to us.

Viewed through a telescope Venus is now a waning crescent like a moon four to three days before new moon. Up till Christmas its loss in phase is more than balanced by the reduction in distance. Actually only one quarter of the illuminated area is facing the earth at the time of greatest brilliancy. After Christmas less light is reflected from Venus toward the earth, in spite of the decrease in distance, because the crescent becomes quite thin. A hypothetical observer on Venus would have a glorious view of the earth at present. The earth, being in an orbit about the sun outside that of Venus, would appear as a nearly fully illuminated disc. The illuminated area of the earth would appear nearly six times as large and, taking the somewhat smaller reflecting Jower of the earth into

tion, the earth would shine as a star four times as bright as Venus shines for us. Although Venus is far the brightest of all the planets and comes nearer to us than any other star. Mars included, very little is known about the physical conditions on Venus. This planet is permanently shrouded by a very dense blanket of carbohydrates and carbondioxide clouds which prevent us from ever seeing the surface proper of the globe. Jupiter is now a morning star. It rises about 12 degrees south of due east, at 2.42 a.m., 1.52 a m., and 0.58 a.m., on December 1, 16, and 31, respectively. The bright star above Jupiter is Spica, the main star in the constellation Virgo.