| NO. OF CHART—3 DATE—FEB 5 | TIME—5-6 P.M. |
| NAME OF PLANET—MERCURY | NAME OF NEAREST STARS |
| COLOR OF PLANET—PALE ASH | PHI & OPHINCUS |
| NAME WILLIAM BROWN | FORMALHAUT IN SOUTHERN FISH |
| COLOR OF STARS | |
| ALPHA & BETA, WHITE | FORMALHAUT, STRAW |
Fig. 69.—Plotting Position of Planet.
To plot the position of a planet, take a sheet of stiff paper or cardboard about 8 inches square and divide it into a square 6 inches on the side, as shown in [Fig. 69]. This will leave a margin of 1 inch on both sides, ½ inch on top and 1¼ inches at the bottom of your paper.
Fasten the paper to your starboard, described in [Chapter II], and go forth with it and your acetylene or flash lamp and find your planet. Having found it, mark with a pencil in the squares on your ruled paper the positions of three of the nearest fixed stars which are shown in the star chart of [Fig. 67]. Now mark the position of the planet as you see it on your chart by making a little circle and your outdoor observation is ended.
Once inside, mark down the chart number, the date and the time you made the observation; also the names and colors of the stars and the planet, and finish the record by signing your name. Should any of the other planets be visible at the time of your observation you will, of course, have to plot two charts, unless the planets are very near each other.
CHAPTER V
MOTHER EARTH, OLD ADAM’S PLANET
The Earth in the Making.—The Earth on which we live and find so much that is interesting was once a part of our Sun just as the other planets were.
When the Sun was being made of star stuff great quantities of gases were set into mighty whirls, and when these acquired enough force they shot off into space like so many cannon balls, and they are still a-whirling.
But these new-born planets could only get a certain distance away from the Sun, as we have learned, for the force of his attraction offset the force of their motion with the result that they are still held in space around him.
One of these whirling bodies was the Earth, and when it had comfortably settled in its orbit and slowed down a bit it began to cool off and a crust was formed on its liquid surface, just as ice is formed when water is frozen. Then some of the gases condensed into water and others became air and when the Earth had cooled down still further some millions of years afterward it became a more or less suitable place for human beings to live on.