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Photo by on Михаил Секацкий Unsplash TikTok became popular during the global pandemic and has not stopped growing ever since: In September 2021, it surpassed the mark of 1 billion active users in a month. The increasing popularity of this application haunted other developers, and therefore many so-called clone apps appeared on the mobile market. In the spirit of experimentation, the team tried to find out if there are any chances for them to steal at least part of the TikTok audience. Apptica Three Categories of TikTok Clones Total Copycats Apps like and (the last one is a TikTok alternative for Android users) bear an uncanny resemblance to TikTok. Clash, Byte, Dubsmash Likee Some total doppelgangers may replace the app in a specific country. For example, Indian , Chinese and Russian were purposely created to become a TikTok alternative. Chingari Kuaishou Yappy Apps That Created Something Unique Instead of creating completely different video apps, TikTok clones are trying to bribe users. For example, users of some applications can earn rewards for getting likes, shares and comments. app allows users to receive rewards that can be converted into real spendable money even by watching or commenting on videos that other creators made. Cheez Also users can participate in its unique online battles like DanceOff, which became the first mobile dancing game. and applications also give users an opportunity to earn rewards, but the last app also has Instagram-like stories that last for up to 48 hours. Vigo Video Kwai app that also looks like TikTok from first sight has more emphasis on creating more high-quality content rather than gaining more followers. Firework Meaning that even if you don’t have a large audience, a great video can really make you blow up this application. Firework also offers weekly challenges with cash prizes. Also this summer a kids-friendly TikTok look-alike called was launched. This so-called Social Media for Kids is a short-form video platform that has a mission to develop healthy social media habits for children. Zigazoo It allows them to scroll the feed or participate in various challenges or activities created by different organizations that work with kids – for example, the zoos, museums and TV studios – or by professionals like teachers and musicians. TikTok Lookalikes That Have Been Banned From Stores Certain applications that almost completely copied TikTok were removed from stores. For example, an app called that was funded by Kuaishou (which is a rival of , a version of TikTok for Chinese users), was banned shortly after its release. Zynn Doyin Besides being an identical TikTok twin, Zynn was accused of stealing user content from other apps. Another app that shamelessly copied TikTok – and because of this, had a pretty short life – was Indian . By the end of the spring 2020, this app had more than 5 million downloads and a rating of 4,7 in Google Play. Mitron Despite this, It was taken down from stores in summer of the same year for alleged violation of privacy policies. Why do Such Applications Appear? The simplest reason why lots of TikTok lookalikes have been storming the mobile market for past years is a banal desire to earn – popularity, users and large sums of money. However, some applications come out as TikTok alternatives in countries where the original music app is banned – for instance, India, Uzbekistan – and other places where this social network could be potentially blocked: Pakistan, Indonesia and Bangladesh have tried to impose a ban on TikTok earlier. There were also cases when companies developed TikTok clones to interfere with its growth. For example, Zynn project received support from Chinese company that wanted to prevent an increase in the number of subscribers. Tencent Also, many developers hoped to become TikTok alternatives if this social network was banned. And there have already been such cases: for instance, on 6th August 2020, former US President Donald Trump signed an order which stated the ban of this application in 45 days, unless it is sold by company. In June 2021, New President Joe Biden signed an executive order lifting Trump's ban on TikTok. ByteDance And recent restrictions that TikTok imposed on Russian content creators might also stimulate the outflow of users from this app to its analogs. On March 6, TikTok temporarily banned all new posts and prohibited live-streaming for users based in this country, in light of a new law on ‘fake news’ which was passed by the Russian authorities. Logically, due to this, (Russian TikTok clone) should have been gaining popularity dramatically — but for some reason this did not happen. Yappy According to , the number of downloads has increased since March 6, but decreased two days later: Apptica Can These Apps Beat TikTok in Popularity? Although some of these applications are well-made and provide functions that TikTok doesn’t have and have similar structure, there is no chance they can replace this social network – unless it is completely banned, of course. It is hard to disagree that TikTok, a true content-feeding machine, became a world phenomenon. The format of an infinite feed with tons of easily digestible personalized content created by ordinary users like you is probably the simplest concept that could possibly appear in a developer's mind. However, this simplicity makes it extremely hard to create similar applications that could be at least a little different from TikTok and bring something of their own into the mobile world. Besides this, TikTok has made itself a name that has become firmly established in our heads: we associate short looped videos only with this platform – and we even call them TikToks. This app became a non-beatable leader in shining armor made of uniqueness and worldwide fame, so its lookalikes have to put up with it.

What is the Deal With Applications That Copy TikTok?

Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea by Jules Verne, is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book . VIGO BAY here CHAPTER VIII: VIGO BAY The Atlantic! a vast sheet of water whose superficial area covers twenty-five millions of square miles, the length of which is nine thousand miles, with a mean breadth of two thousand seven hundred—an ocean whose parallel winding shores embrace an immense circumference, watered by the largest rivers of the world, the St. Lawrence, the Mississippi, the Amazon, the Plata, the Orinoco, the Niger, the Senegal, the Elbe, the Loire, and the Rhine, which carry water from the most civilised, as well as from the most savage, countries! Magnificent field of water, incessantly ploughed by vessels of every nation, sheltered by the flags of every nation, and which terminates in those two terrible points so dreaded by mariners, Cape Horn and the Cape of Tempests. The was piercing the water with its sharp spur, after having accomplished nearly ten thousand leagues in three months and a half, a distance greater than the great circle of the earth. Where were we going now, and what was reserved for the future? The , leaving the Straits of Gibraltar, had gone far out. It returned to the surface of the waves, and our daily walks on the platform were restored to us. Nautilus Nautilus I mounted at once, accompanied by Ned Land and Conseil. At a distance of about twelve miles, Cape St. Vincent was dimly to be seen, forming the south-western point of the Spanish peninsula. A strong southerly gale was blowing. The sea was swollen and billowy; it made the rock violently. It was almost impossible to keep one’s foot on the platform, which the heavy rolls of the sea beat over every instant. So we descended after inhaling some mouthfuls of fresh air. Nautilus I returned to my room, Conseil to his cabin; but the Canadian, with a preoccupied air, followed me. Our rapid passage across the Mediterranean had not allowed him to put his project into execution, and he could not help showing his disappointment. When the door of my room was shut, he sat down and looked at me silently. “Friend Ned,” said I, “I understand you; but you cannot reproach yourself. To have attempted to leave the under the circumstances would have been folly.” Nautilus Ned Land did not answer; his compressed lips and frowning brow showed with him the violent possession this fixed idea had taken of his mind. “Let us see,” I continued; “we need not despair yet. We are going up the coast of Portugal again; France and England are not far off, where we can easily find refuge. Now if the , on leaving the Straits of Gibraltar, had gone to the south, if it had carried us towards regions where there were no continents, I should share your uneasiness. But we know now that Captain Nemo does not fly from civilised seas, and in some days I think you can act with security.” Nautilus Ned Land still looked at me fixedly; at length his fixed lips parted, and he said, “It is for to-night.” I drew myself up suddenly. I was, I admit, little prepared for this communication. I wanted to answer the Canadian, but words would not come. “We agreed to wait for an opportunity,” continued Ned Land, “and the opportunity has arrived. This night we shall be but a few miles from the Spanish coast. It is cloudy. The wind blows freely. I have your word, M. Aronnax, and I rely upon you.” As I was silent, the Canadian approached me. “To-night, at nine o’clock,” said he. “I have warned Conseil. At that moment Captain Nemo will be shut up in his room, probably in bed. Neither the engineers nor the ship’s crew can see us. Conseil and I will gain the central staircase, and you, M. Aronnax, will remain in the library, two steps from us, waiting my signal. The oars, the mast, and the sail are in the canoe. I have even succeeded in getting some provisions. I have procured an English wrench, to unfasten the bolts which attach it to the shell of the . So all is ready, till to-night.” Nautilus “The sea is bad.” “That I allow,” replied the Canadian; “but we must risk that. Liberty is worth paying for; besides, the boat is strong, and a few miles with a fair wind to carry us is no great thing. Who knows but by to-morrow we may be a hundred leagues away? Let circumstances only favour us, and by ten or eleven o’clock we shall have landed on some spot of terra firma, alive or dead. But adieu now till to-night.” With these words the Canadian withdrew, leaving me almost dumb. I had imagined that, the chance gone, I should have time to reflect and discuss the matter. My obstinate companion had given me no time; and, after all, what could I have said to him? Ned Land was perfectly right. There was almost the opportunity to profit by. Could I retract my word, and take upon myself the responsibility of compromising the future of my companions? To-morrow Captain Nemo might take us far from all land. At that moment a rather loud hissing noise told me that the reservoirs were filling, and that the was sinking under the waves of the Atlantic. Nautilus A sad day I passed, between the desire of regaining my liberty of action and of abandoning the wonderful , and leaving my submarine studies incomplete. Nautilus What dreadful hours I passed thus! Sometimes seeing myself and companions safely landed, sometimes wishing, in spite of my reason, that some unforeseen circumstance, would prevent the realisation of Ned Land’s project. Twice I went to the saloon. I wished to consult the compass. I wished to see if the direction the was taking was bringing us nearer or taking us farther from the coast. But no; the kept in Portuguese waters. Nautilus Nautilus I must therefore take my part and prepare for flight. My luggage was not heavy; my notes, nothing more. As to Captain Nemo, I asked myself what he would think of our escape; what trouble, what wrong it might cause him and what he might do in case of its discovery or failure. Certainly I had no cause to complain of him; on the contrary, never was hospitality freer than his. In leaving him I could not be taxed with ingratitude. No oath bound us to him. It was on the strength of circumstances he relied, and not upon our word, to fix us for ever. I had not seen the Captain since our visit to the Island of Santorin. Would chance bring me to his presence before our departure? I wished it, and I feared it at the same time. I listened if I could hear him walking the room contiguous to mine. No sound reached my ear. I felt an unbearable uneasiness. This day of waiting seemed eternal. Hours struck too slowly to keep pace with my impatience. My dinner was served in my room as usual. I ate but little; I was too preoccupied. I left the table at seven o’clock. A hundred and twenty minutes (I counted them) still separated me from the moment in which I was to join Ned Land. My agitation redoubled. My pulse beat violently. I could not remain quiet. I went and came, hoping to calm my troubled spirit by constant movement. The idea of failure in our bold enterprise was the least painful of my anxieties; but the thought of seeing our project discovered before leaving the , of being brought before Captain Nemo, irritated, or (what was worse) saddened, at my desertion, made my heart beat. Nautilus I wanted to see the saloon for the last time. I descended the stairs and arrived in the museum, where I had passed so many useful and agreeable hours. I looked at all its riches, all its treasures, like a man on the eve of an eternal exile, who was leaving never to return. These wonders of Nature, these masterpieces of art, amongst which for so many days my life had been concentrated, I was going to abandon them for ever! I should like to have taken a last look through the windows of the saloon into the waters of the Atlantic: but the panels were hermetically closed, and a cloak of steel separated me from that ocean which I had not yet explored. In passing through the saloon, I came near the door let into the angle which opened into the Captain’s room. To my great surprise, this door was ajar. I drew back involuntarily. If Captain Nemo should be in his room, he could see me. But, hearing no sound, I drew nearer. The room was deserted. I pushed open the door and took some steps forward. Still the same monklike severity of aspect. Suddenly the clock struck eight. The first beat of the hammer on the bell awoke me from my dreams. I trembled as if an invisible eye had plunged into my most secret thoughts, and I hurried from the room. There my eye fell upon the compass. Our course was still north. The log indicated moderate speed, the manometer a depth of about sixty feet. I returned to my room, clothed myself warmly—sea boots, an otterskin cap, a great coat of byssus, lined with sealskin; I was ready, I was waiting. The vibration of the screw alone broke the deep silence which reigned on board. I listened attentively. Would no loud voice suddenly inform me that Ned Land had been surprised in his projected flight. A mortal dread hung over me, and I vainly tried to regain my accustomed coolness. At a few minutes to nine, I put my ear to the Captain’s door. No noise. I left my room and returned to the saloon, which was half in obscurity, but deserted. I opened the door communicating with the library. The same insufficient light, the same solitude. I placed myself near the door leading to the central staircase, and there waited for Ned Land’s signal. At that moment the trembling of the screw sensibly diminished, then it stopped entirely. The silence was now only disturbed by the beatings of my own heart. Suddenly a slight shock was felt; and I knew that the had stopped at the bottom of the ocean. My uneasiness increased. The Canadian’s signal did not come. I felt inclined to join Ned Land and beg of him to put off his attempt. I felt that we were not sailing under our usual conditions. Nautilus At this moment the door of the large saloon opened, and Captain Nemo appeared. He saw me, and without further preamble began in an amiable tone of voice: “Ah, sir! I have been looking for you. Do you know the history of Spain?” Now, one might know the history of one’s own country by heart; but in the condition I was at the time, with troubled mind and head quite lost, I could not have said a word of it. “Well,” continued Captain Nemo, “you heard my question! Do you know the history of Spain?” “Very slightly,” I answered. “Well, here are learned men having to learn,” said the Captain. “Come, sit down, and I will tell you a curious episode in this history. Sir, listen well,” said he; “this history will interest you on one side, for it will answer a question which doubtless you have not been able to solve.” “I listen, Captain,” said I, not knowing what my interlocutor was driving at, and asking myself if this incident was bearing on our projected flight. “Sir, if you have no objection, we will go back to 1702. You cannot be ignorant that your king, Louis XIV, thinking that the gesture of a potentate was sufficient to bring the Pyrenees under his yoke, had imposed the Duke of Anjou, his grandson, on the Spaniards. This prince reigned more or less badly under the name of Philip V, and had a strong party against him abroad. Indeed, the preceding year, the royal houses of Holland, Austria, and England had concluded a treaty of alliance at the Hague, with the intention of plucking the crown of Spain from the head of Philip V, and placing it on that of an archduke to whom they prematurely gave the title of Charles III. “Spain must resist this coalition; but she was almost entirely unprovided with either soldiers or sailors. However, money would not fail them, provided that their galleons, laden with gold and silver from America, once entered their ports. And about the end of 1702 they expected a rich convoy which France was escorting with a fleet of twenty-three vessels, commanded by Admiral Chateau-Renaud, for the ships of the coalition were already beating the Atlantic. This convoy was to go to Cadiz, but the Admiral, hearing that an English fleet was cruising in those waters, resolved to make for a French port. “The Spanish commanders of the convoy objected to this decision. They wanted to be taken to a Spanish port, and, if not to Cadiz, into Vigo Bay, situated on the northwest coast of Spain, and which was not blocked. “Admiral Chateau-Renaud had the rashness to obey this injunction, and the galleons entered Vigo Bay. “Unfortunately, it formed an open road which could not be defended in any way. They must therefore hasten to unload the galleons before the arrival of the combined fleet; and time would not have failed them had not a miserable question of rivalry suddenly arisen. “You are following the chain of events?” asked Captain Nemo. “Perfectly,” said I, not knowing the end proposed by this historical lesson. “I will continue. This is what passed. The merchants of Cadiz had a privilege by which they had the right of receiving all merchandise coming from the West Indies. Now, to disembark these ingots at the port of Vigo was depriving them of their rights. They complained at Madrid, and obtained the consent of the weak-minded Philip that the convoy, without discharging its cargo, should remain sequestered in the roads of Vigo until the enemy had disappeared. “But whilst coming to this decision, on the 22nd of October, 1702, the English vessels arrived in Vigo Bay, when Admiral Chateau-Renaud, in spite of inferior forces, fought bravely. But, seeing that the treasure must fall into the enemy’s hands, he burnt and scuttled every galleon, which went to the bottom with their immense riches.” Captain Nemo stopped. I admit I could not see yet why this history should interest me. “Well?” I asked. “Well, M. Aronnax,” replied Captain Nemo, “we are in that Vigo Bay; and it rests with yourself whether you will penetrate its mysteries.” The Captain rose, telling me to follow him. I had had time to recover. I obeyed. The saloon was dark, but through the transparent glass the waves were sparkling. I looked. For half a mile around the , the waters seemed bathed in electric light. The sandy bottom was clean and bright. Some of the ship’s crew in their diving-dresses were clearing away half-rotten barrels and empty cases from the midst of the blackened wrecks. From these cases and from these barrels escaped ingots of gold and silver, cascades of piastres and jewels. The sand was heaped up with them. Laden with their precious booty, the men returned to the , disposed of their burden, and went back to this inexhaustible fishery of gold and silver. Nautilus Nautilus I understood now. This was the scene of the battle of the 22nd of October, 1702. Here on this very spot the galleons laden for the Spanish Government had sunk. Here Captain Nemo came, according to his wants, to pack up those millions with which he burdened the . It was for him and him alone America had given up her precious metals. He was heir direct, without anyone to share, in those treasures torn from the Incas and from the conquered of Ferdinand Cortez. Nautilus “Did you know, sir,” he asked, smiling, “that the sea contained such riches?” “I knew,” I answered, “that they value money held in suspension in these waters at two millions.” “Doubtless; but to extract this money the expense would be greater than the profit. Here, on the contrary, I have but to pick up what man has lost—and not only in Vigo Bay, but in a thousand other ports where shipwrecks have happened, and which are marked on my submarine map. Can you understand now the source of the millions I am worth?” “I understand, Captain. But allow me to tell you that in exploring Vigo Bay you have only been beforehand with a rival society.” “And which?” “A society which has received from the Spanish Government the privilege of seeking those buried galleons. The shareholders are led on by the allurement of an enormous bounty, for they value these rich shipwrecks at five hundred millions.” “Five hundred millions they were,” answered Captain Nemo, “but they are so no longer.” “Just so,” said I; “and a warning to those shareholders would be an act of charity. But who knows if it would be well received? What gamblers usually regret above all is less the loss of their money than of their foolish hopes. After all, I pity them less than the thousands of unfortunates to whom so much riches well-distributed would have been profitable, whilst for them they will be for ever barren.” I had no sooner expressed this regret than I felt that it must have wounded Captain Nemo. “Barren!” he exclaimed, with animation. “Do you think then, sir, that these riches are lost because I gather them? Is it for myself alone, according to your idea, that I take the trouble to collect these treasures? Who told you that I did not make a good use of it? Do you think I am ignorant that there are suffering beings and oppressed races on this earth, miserable creatures to console, victims to avenge? Do you not understand?” Captain Nemo stopped at these last words, regretting perhaps that he had spoken so much. But I had guessed that, whatever the motive which had forced him to seek independence under the sea, it had left him still a man, that his heart still beat for the sufferings of humanity, and that his immense charity was for oppressed races as well as individuals. And I then understood for whom those millions were destined which were forwarded by Captain Nemo when the was cruising in the waters of Crete. Nautilus About HackerNoon Book Series: We bring you the most important technical, scientific, and insightful public domain books. This book is part of the public domain. Jules Verne (1994). Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved October 2022 https://www.gutenberg.org/files/164/164-h/164-h.htm This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at , located at . www.gutenberg.org https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html

VIGO BAY

From very early times it seems possible to trace two streams of opinion regarding women

Round the year with the stars by Garrett Putman Serviss is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book here . THE PLANETS THE PLANETS The beginner will often be troubled in his observations by the presence in some constellation of a brilliant object which outshines all of the stars shown in his charts, and is plainly an interloper among them. He may at once set the stranger down for one of the planets—it may be Jupiter, Saturn, Mars, or Venus, or possibly, if close to the horizon, Mercury. Uranus and Neptune will not disturb his equanimity, for the latter is never, and the former seldom, visible to the naked eye. Practice will quickly enable him to distinguish a planet from the true stars, both by its greater apparent size and by the quality of its light. The planets do not twinkle as do the stars. This arises from the fact that they present measurable disks which reflect the sunlight, but do not shine with a light of their own. No star shows a real disk, even when viewed with a powerful telescope. The stars are mere points, and the larger and better the telescope the smaller they appear. This is not to say that they do not look brighter in a telescope, for the larger stars are dazzling when viewed with a glass of large aperture;[Pg but they are so distant that the mightiest of telescopes cannot reveal their real surfaces in the form of disks. The apparent disks which they present are due entirely to irradiation, and the higher the power the smaller these spurious disks appear. Another way in which the beginner may identify a planet is by observing its motion. No planet remains long in the same position with regard to neighboring stars. They all travel, at varying rates, from west to east through the sky. But this motion is not constant, and at times it is reversed. In the cases of Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn the reversal is due to the fact that when they are in opposition to the sun the earth, being nearer the sun than they are, outfoots them in eastward motion, so that they appear for a time to move backward on their orbits. It is like a fast train passing a slow one on a parallel track; to an observer on the fast train the slow one seems to be either standing still or moving backward. But Mercury and Venus, being nearer the sun than the earth is, have at times a backward motion which is real. Let us consider them only when they appear as “evening stars.” From “superior conjunction” (i. e., the point occupied by the planet when it is on the opposite side of the sun from the earth) to “greatest eastern elongation” (greatest apparent distance from the sun in the evening sky) both Mercury and Venus move eastward among the stars; from “greatest eastern elongation” to “inferior conjunction” (i. e., the point occupied by the planet when it is between the earth and the sun) they move westward among the stars, or, in other words, approach the sun. The motions of Mercury and Venus are comparatively swift, particularly that of the former. Few persons have ever seen Mercury, because of its nearness to the sun. When well seen it is brighter than any first-magnitude star. As an “evening star” it appears in the west immediately after sunset about once every four months (more precisely once every 116 days). It remains within view about twenty days, but can be easily distinguished only for a week or so when it is nearest eastern elongation. Every almanac gives the dates of its appearances. Venus, being farther from the sun, travels less rapidly. It reappears in the evening sky once in every 584 days, gradually withdrawing from the sun, and growing brighter until it reaches greatest eastern elongation, which may be as much as forty-seven degrees from the sun, after which it approaches the sun, still becoming brighter for several weeks, until at last it is lost in the glare of the sunlight. During its excursions in the evening sky (and the same is true of its morning apparitions), Venus becomes the most brilliant object in the starry heavens, so brilliant, in fact, that many persons can hardly be persuaded that it is not an artificial light, or some extraordinary phenomenon in space. In the telescope it shows (as does Mercury, also) phases like those of the moon, and when it is seen in the form of a narrow crescent it becomes one of the most charming objects imaginable. For more details about Mercury, Venus, and the other planets, the reader may consult Astronomy with the Naked Eye. Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn are more likely to cause confusion to the beginner by getting “mixed up” with the stars of the constellations he is studying, because they travel all round the sky, and may appear in turn in each of the zodiacal constellations at any hour of the night. The zodiacal constellations are twelve in number—Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricornus, Aquarius, and Pisces—and they lie in succession along the course of the ecliptic. Mars is not remarkably brilliant except when it is in opposition to the sun, which happens once every 780 days; but some of the oppositions are much more important than the average, because they occur when Mars is relatively near the earth. This planet is always distinguishable by its ruddy color. In case it is mistaken for a star, the error can be corrected by watching it for a few successive nights, when its motion will become clearly apparent. On the average it moves eastward about half a degree per day. Jupiter, always very conspicuous when in view, outshines even Sirius, though lacking the scintillation characteristic of that great star. Its light has a slightly yellowish tint, and is remarkably steady. Since it requires nearly twelve years to make a revolution round the sky, Jupiter’s motion is not immediately apparent. It remains for a long time in any constellation in which it may be found, travelling eastward, on the average, about 5′ of arc, or one-sixth of the apparent diameter of the moon, per day. In a month it moves about two and a half degrees. Saturn is yet more deliberate in its movements. Requiring almost thirty years for a revolution, it may remain more than two years in the same constellation, and its real motion will only become evident upon careful observation continued for several weeks. The best way to recognize the planets with certainty is to look up their positions with the aid of the American Ephemeris and Nautical Almanac, published annually by the Government at Washington. There the right ascensions and declinations of all the planets are given for any time of the year. Having these, you may find on the large-scale charts the approximate place of the planet sought, and, if you choose, indicate its position with a pencil-mark. The study of the planets, even without telescopic aid, has a charm hardly less potent than that of the stars. Mercury is fascinating because of the difficulty of seeing him in the light of twilight or dawn. The ancients were greatly puzzled by his dodges, and some of them thought that he was a double personality, and gave him two names, one for his morning and the other for his evening apparitions. With the Egyptians he was respectively Set and Horus, and with the Greeks Apollo and Hermes. The same was true of Venus, who was Phosphorus in the morning and Hesperus in the evening. Venus, after she passes the half-moon phase, becomes so bright that she simply overpowers all stars in her neighborhood. Her splendor seems almost supernatural, and she has frequently been seen at high noon, a point of intense light burning in the blue sky. Jupiter’s entrance into any constellation immediately alters its familiar aspect, and he becomes its unquestioned leader, and remains such until his slow eastward motion carries him on to reign in another quarter of the firmament. He is never more impressive than when, in consequence of the annual revolution of the heavens, he rises late some night and takes the lingering star-gazer by surprise. Then all the stellar hosts that for hours have held the watcher spellbound cease their incantation in the presence of this great counter-charmer, to whose power they, too, seem to bow. Although Venus at her brightest outshines Jupiter, she lacks a certain majesty which he alone possesses. His light is calm, steady, insistent, commanding. He does not look like a star, but rather a superstar. If he beams at all, it is not the hurried scintillation of the twinkling multitude around him. Rising through a moisture-laden and wind-swept sky, where the stars are like pulsating atoms, shaken apart and scattered in tinsel showers of rainbow sparks, he glows unflickering, recognizing the aerial tumult only by a deepening of color which makes him the more imposing. As he mounts the heights of the sky he gleams ever brighter and ever steadier, and, casting off the tarnish of the horizon, his supereminent light glows with a splendor that is amazing. If you have an eye that can detect one or two of Jupiter’s moons hiding close in his rays, you may boast of your powers of vision, for that feat has been accomplished by very few human beings. Humboldt heard of a German “master tailor” who could do it. There are a few other cases on record. Most persons cannot see them even with the aid of a strong opera-glass. There is a superstition that they can be seen with a looking-glass, but it is only ghostly reflections that are thus perceived—perhaps as real as any other ghosts. Saturn, although as bright as a first-magnitude star, is somewhat disappointing as a naked-eye object, owing to the relative dulness of its light. Like Jupiter, it shines with great steadiness, and a practised eye could not mistake it for a fixed star. But its appearance without a telescope gives no hint of the unearthly beauty with which it astonishes the beholder when its rings are rendered visible. Not to have seen those rings at least once in a lifetime, as they appear in a powerful telescope, is to have missed one of the supreme spectacles of creation. Mars is never very brilliant except during favorable oppositions, when, approaching within less than 40,000,000 miles of the earth, it hangs in the midnight sky, gleaming red like a portent of disaster. The aspect of Mars at such times is truly alarming. It is surprising to see what a quantity of stained sunlight a world only about four thousand miles in diameter is able to reflect across so vast a gap of space. The reason why the ancients connected Mars with the god of war is plain enough when he puts on his color. Close conjunctions of the bright planets are exceedingly interesting phenomena. Mars and Jupiter seen together when the former is near one of its favorable oppositions make a scene of strange beauty. After long intervals of time several of these great planets sometimes assemble in the same quarter, and such conjunctions are always memorable occurrences. The stars are forgotten in the presence of this new constellation, and yet the tiniest of the sparks that seems to hide its light in the depths beyond would master these great planets and make gravitational slaves of them, as the sun does. The planets are so conspicuous to our eyes, because of their relative nearness, that it is not easy for the beginner in such studies to realize how insignificant they actually are. But suppose that one could fly like a spirit away from the earth and the neighborhood of the sun, out into the deeps of interstellar space. As he moved away the planets would seem to be swallowed up, one after the other, in the solar rays. First Mercury would disappear, as if it had fallen into the sun. It would be just like two neighboring lights which appear to draw together and blend into one as the observer travels away from them, the greater swallowing the less. Then brilliant Venus would go, plunging into the great solar furnace, to be seen no more. Next the earth would follow in the perspective holocaust. Mars would seem to draw nearer until he, too, disappeared; Jupiter would follow; then Saturn; then Uranus, and finally Neptune. When the last planet was gone the sun would be seen shining alone, unattended, as if he had never had any planets. Thus it may be with the stars; most of them may have systems of planets circling round them, but at our distance these planets are concealed in the rays of their primaries. One would not need to go so far away as the stars in order to see the sun apparently swallow his planets, as Saturn was fabled to have swallowed his children. But as one approached the stellar region, the sun itself would become a mere star. Fainter and fainter it appears, glimmering and twinkling, deprived of its dominance, stripped of its splendor, a pitiful spark now instead of an all-ruling and blinding maker of daylight, until at last the far voyager from the earth, gazing with his soul in his eyes, straining his vision to the utmost to hold that glinting point clear of its fellows, for it is his sun, suddenly, as a momentary film blurs his sight, loses it, and henceforth seek as he may among the countless hosts that spangle the firmament, he will never again find the day-star under whose cheery beams he was born! Hidden in the Milky Way, one would have no more chance of recognizing the sun than of finding a particular grain of sand on the sea-shore. Man physical is as insignificant as the rock he dwells on and as the eye-searing orb that lights him at his daily work; but man spiritual is as great as the universe—and greater! About HackerNoon Book Series: We bring you the most important technical, scientific, and insightful public domain books. This book is part of the public domain. Garrett Putman Serviss (2022). Round the year with the stars. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved October 2022 https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/68391/pg68391-images.html This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org , located at https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html.

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