Familiar talks on astronomy, with chapters on geography and navigaton . Venus is west ofthe sun, rises before it, and is known as themorning star; 2 the remaining months it is eastof the sun, sets after it, and is called the even-ing star, — The star that bids the shepherdfold. When near the sun it is overpowered 1 Yet Thompson, in the Seasons says : — Sudden to heavenThence weary vision turns ; where leading softThe silent hours of love, with purest raySweet Venus shines; and from her genial rise,When daylight sickens, till it springs afresh,Unrivalled reigns, the fairest lamp of night — whic
Familiar talks on astronomy, with chapters on geography and navigaton . Venus is west ofthe sun, rises before it, and is known as themorning star; 2 the remaining months it is eastof the sun, sets after it, and is called the even-ing star, — The star that bids the shepherdfold. When near the sun it is overpowered 1 Yet Thompson, in the Seasons says : — Sudden to heavenThence weary vision turns ; where leading softThe silent hours of love, with purest raySweet Venus shines; and from her genial rise,When daylight sickens, till it springs afresh,Unrivalled reigns, the fairest lamp of night — which seems to mean that Venus rises at sunset and shines allnight, which is impossible. 2 Venus is an evening star for about 9 months; for the nextnine months she is a morning star. 124 Familiar Talks on Astronomy, etc. by its light, and it is brightest at its pointsof elongation. Its distance from the earth varies greatly;it being nearest to us at inferior conjunction,and farthest at superior conjunction, — the differ-ence being the diameter of Venus orbit; or. Fig. 8. about one hundred and thirty-three millions ofmiles. It exhibits phases as Mercury does;and, as in the case of that planet, the angulardiameter of the crescent is much larger than thediameter when full; it being then so muchnearer. Indeed its angular diameter at inferiorconjunction is about six and one-half times asgreat as when at superior conjunction. Venuscan sometimes be seen in the daytime with the The Planet Venus. 125 naked eye. It is then at one of its points ofgreatest elongation, and is at its brightest. Theearth, as viewed at Venus, would appear aboutas Venus does to us, — a little brighter, becauseit is somewhat larger. Venus was called by the ancients Phosphorusor Lucifer, when the morning star; and Hes-perus or Vesper, when the evening star, —hence Vespers. How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, sonof the morning ! — Isaiah. Hesperus, that ledThe starry host, rode brightest, till th
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