Rensselaer Journal, Volume 10, Number 32, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 17 January 1901 — THE PERIHELIONS OF EROS, MARS AND THE EARTH. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

THE PERIHELIONS OF EROS, MARS AND THE EARTH.

The planet Eros has come to the aid of the astronomers. Though Eros was only discovered in 1896 it has been found that photographs of the heavens taken three years earlier show the little planet. Only the moon, of all the planets, is now nearer the earth than Eros, and the new measurements of planetary distances will be made, with Eros as a base. The importance of the discovery of the exact location of the orbit of Eros and the distance pf that planet from

the earth lies in the fact that with such knowledge astronomers will be able to accurately compute the distance of every heavenly body from this globe,” says Forest Ray Moulton, professor of Astronomy University of Chicago. “Compared with the distances measured the present errors are very small, but with Eros’ distance a known quantity these errors will be nearly eliminated. Eros now occupies the unique position of being the nearest heavenly body to the earth except the moon.”