Part 4

The first-magnitude stars that are visible in the winter season in this latitude present a fine contrast in color. Even the untrained eye can see a decided difference between the bluish white color of the brilliant Sirius, the Dog star that the Belt stars point south to, and Rigel, and the ruddy Betelgeuze. Procyon has a yellowish tinge and resembles the condition of our sun, while Betelgeuze is surrounded by heavy metallic vapors and is thought to be approaching extinction.

R marks the location of "Hind's crimson star," a famous variable.

[Illustration: LEPUS]

COLUMBA NOACHI (co-lum'-b[:a] n[=o]-[:a]'-ki)--NOAH'S DOVE. (Face South.)

LOCATION.--Columba is situated just south of Lepus. A line drawn from Rigel, in Orion, to [b] Leporis, and prolonged as far again, ends near [a] and [b], the two brightest stars in Columba.

A line drawn from the easternmost star in the belt of Orion, 32[deg] directly south, will point out Phaet, in Columba. It makes with Sirius, in Canis Major, and Naos, in the Ship, a large equilateral triangle.

The star [b] Columbae may be known by means of a smaller star just east of it, marked [g].

The Chinese call [a] Chang Jin, the old Folks. Lockyer thinks it was of importance in Egyptian temple worship, and observed from Edfu and Philae as far back as 6400 B.C.

On a clear starlight night there are not more than a thousand stars visible to the naked eye at one time. The largest telescope reveals nearly a hundred million.

[Illustration: COLUMBA]

CANIS MAJOR (k[=a]'-nis m[=a]-jor)--THE GREATER DOG. (Face South.)

LOCATION.--The three stars in Orion's girdle point southeast to Sirius, the dog star, in Canis Major, the most brilliant star in the heavens. It was connected in the minds of the Egyptians with the rising of the Nile, and is receding from the earth at the rate of twenty miles a second.

The star [n] is a triple. The cluster (41 M.) can be seen with an opera-glass, just below it.

Between [d] and [o]^1 note a remarkable array of minute stars, also the very red star 22.

[d] and [z] are doubles for an opera-glass.

Below [[^e]] there is a fine group.

Betelgeuze, in Orion, Procyon, in Canis Minor, and Sirius form a nearly equilateral triangle. These stars with Naos, in the Ship, and Phaet, in the Dove, form a huge figure known as the Egyptian "X."

From earliest times Sirius has been known as the Dog of Orion. It is 324 times brighter than the average sixth-magnitude star, and is the nearest to the earth of all the stars in this latitude, its distance being 8.7 light years. At this distance the Sun would appear as a star a little brighter than the Pole Star.

[Illustration: CANIS MAJOR]

ARGO NAVIS ([:a]r'-go n[=a]'-vis)--THE SHIP ARGO. (Face South.)

LOCATION.--Argo is situated southeast of Canis Major. If a line joining Betelgeuze and Sirius be prolonged 18[deg] southeast, it will point out Naos, a star of the second magnitude in the rowlock of the Ship. This star is in the southeast corner of the Egyptian "X."

The star [p] is of a deep yellow or orange hue. It has three little stars above it, two of which form a pretty pair.

The star [z] has a companion, which is a test for an opera-glass.

The star [k] is a double for an opera-glass.

Note the fine star cluster (46 M.).

The star Markeb forms a small triangle with two other stars near it.

The Egyptians believed that this was the ark that bore Osiris and Isis over the Deluge.

The constellation contains two noted objects invisible in this latitude, Canopus, the second brightest star, and the remarkable variable star [[^e]].

[Illustration: PUPPIS]

MONOCEROS (m[=o]-nos'-e-ros)--THE UNICORN. (Face South.)

LOCATION.--Monoceros is to be found east of Orion between Canis Major and Canis Minor. Three of its stars of the fourth magnitude form a straight line northeast and southwest, about 9[deg] east of Betelgeuze, and about the same distance south of Alhena, in Gemini.

The region around the stars 8, 13, 17 is particularly rich when viewed with an opera-glass.

Note also a beautiful field about the variable S, and a cluster about midway between [a] and [b].

Two stars about 7[deg] apart in the tail of the Unicorn are pointer stars to Procyon. These stars are known as 30 and 31. The former is about 16[deg] east of Procyon, and is easily identified as it has a sixth-magnitude star on either side of it. About 4[deg] southwest of this star a good field-glass will reveal a beautiful star cluster.

[Illustration: MONOCEROS]

ERIDANUS ([=e]-rid'-a-nus)--OR THE RIVER PO. (Face Southwest.)

LOCATION.--Three degrees north and 2[deg] west of Rigel, in Orion, lies [b] Eridani, the source of the River. Thence it flows west till it reaches [p] Ceti, then drops south 5[deg], thence east southeast, its total length being about 130[deg].

The great curve the River takes, just east of the Whale, resembles a horseshoe.

Acherna, the first-magnitude star in Eridanus, is too far south to be seen in this latitude.

Note the pretty star group around [b] and a pair of stars of an orange hue below [n].

The asterism known as "The Brandenburg Sceptre," consisting of four stars of the fourth and fifth magnitudes, can be seen arranged in a straight line north and south below the first bend in the River just west of Lepus.

[Illustration: ERIDANUS]

METEORIC SHOWERS.

JANUARY TO APRIL.

+---------------+--------+------------------+---------------+-------------+----------+ | | | | | Other Dates | | |Name of Shower | Date | Radiant Point |Characteristics| of |Location | | | | | | Observation | | +---------------+--------+------------------+---------------+-------------+----------+ | Quadrantids. | Jan. 2 | (44) Bo[:o]tis, | | | | | Rich annual | |between Bo[:o]tes | M. Sw. B. | Jan 3. | E. | | shower | | and Dragon's head| | | | +---------------+--------+------------------+---------------+-------------+----------+ | Zeta Cancrids |Jan. 2-4| ([z]) Cancri, | | | E. | | | | near Bee Hive | | | | +---------------+--------+------------------+---------------+-------------+----------+ | Theta Ursids | Jan. 5 |About 10[deg] from| Small | | | | | |[b] away from [g] | Sh. Sw. F. | Jan. 2-8 | N. | | | | Ursae Maj. | | | | +---------------+--------+------------------+---------------+-------------+----------+ |Alpha Draconids| Feb. 1 | Near Thuban | Sl. | Jan. 9 | N. | | | | [a] Draconis | | Dec. 8 | | +---------------+--------+------------------+---------------+-------------+----------+ | | | Near Capella | | Aug. 21 |High in | |Alpha Aurigids | Feb. 7 | [a] Aurigae | Sl. | Sept. 12-22 |Southern | | | | | | | Sky | +---------------+--------+------------------+---------------+-------------+----------+ | Tau Leonids |Feb. 16 | [t] Leonis, | | Nov. 27 | | | | | between Leo | Sl. Sk. | Dec. 12 | E. | | | | and Crater | | Mar. 1-4 | | +---------------+--------+------------------+---------------+-------------+----------+ | Alpha Canum |Feb. 20 | Near Cor Caroli | | | | | Ven. Well | | and Coma | V. Sw. B. | | E. | | defined 1877 | | Berenices | | | | +---------------+--------+------------------+---------------+-------------+----------+ | [a]-[b] |Mar. 1 | Between [a] | V. Sl. | July--Dec. | N.W. | | Perseids | | and [b] Persei | | Mar. 13-19 | | +---------------+--------+------------------+---------------+-------------+----------+ |Beta Leonids or|Mar. 14 | Near Denebola | Sl. B. | Mar. 3, 4 | S.E. | |Beta Virginids | | [b] Leonis | | Dec. 12 | | +---------------+--------+------------------+---------------+-------------+----------+ |Kappa Cepheids |Mar. 18 | Near Polaris | Sl. B. | Oct. 4-17 | N. | | | | | | Mar. 13-19 | | +---------------+--------+------------------+---------------+-------------+----------+ | | | | | Apr. 10-16 | | | Beta Ursids |Mar. 24 | Near [b] | Sw. | Mar. 13-14 | N. | | | | Ursae Maj. | | Dec. 2-9 | | | | | | | Precise | | +---------------+--------+------------------+---------------+-------------+----------+ |Zeta Draconids |Mar. 28 | Near the | Sl. | July 29 | N. | | | | Dragon's Head | |Aug. 24, etc.| | +---------------+--------+------------------+---------------+-------------+----------+

The Abbreviations under _Characteristics_ are as follows:

V. Very Sh. Short M. Moderately B. Bright Sw. Swift F. Faint Sl. Slow Sk. Streak leaving meteors T. Train leaving meteors

If you know the constellations, and memorize the following rhyme you will have ever at hand for reference at night, a reliable time-piece, a compass, and a perpetual calendar.

The numbers above the star names indicate consecutively the months of the year in which these respective objects rise about the first instant in the eastern sky. In addition to first-magnitude stars the rhyme refers to the head of Capricornus, the Sea Goat, the Great Square of Pegasus, and Orion's Belt. All except Arcturus rise between 9 and 9.30 P.M. Arcturus rises at 10 P.M., February 1st.

1 First Regulus gleams on the view, 2 3 4 Arcturus, Spica, Vega, blue, 5 6 Antares, and Altair, 7 8 9 The Goat's head, Square, and Fomalhaut, 10 11 Aldebaran, the Belt, a-glow, 12 Then Sirius most fair.

Eight months of the year are identified by the position of the Dipper at 9 P.M. In April and May it is north of the zenith. During July and August it is west of north. In October and November it lies close to the northern horizon and in January and February it is east of north with the pointers highest.

THE PLANETS.

It is not within the scope of this work to dwell at length on a discussion of the planets. Certain explanatory matter regarding them is necessary, however, to prevent confusion; for the student must bear in mind the fact that from time to time the planets appear in the constellations, and unless identified would lead him to think that the diagrams were inaccurate.

The reader is referred to any one of the four large plates that precede each season. He will observe that a portion of an ellipse has been traced on each of them, and that this line has been designated the Ecliptic, which simply means the sun's apparent pathway across the sky.

This pathway is divided into twelve equal parts of thirty degrees each, and to these twelve divisions are given the names of the constellations of the Zodiac in the following order: Aries ([Symbol: Aries]), Taurus ([Symbol: Taurus]), Gemini ([Symbol: Gemini]), Cancer ([Symbol: Cancer]), Leo ([Symbol: Leo]), Virgo ([Symbol: Virgo]), Libra ([Symbol: Libra]), Scorpio ([Symbol: Scorpio]), Sagittarius ([Symbol: Sagittarius]), Capricornus ([Symbol: Capricornus]), Aquarius ([Symbol: Aquarius]), Pisces ([Symbol: Pisces]).

The sun, starting from the first degree of Aries, the first day of spring, passes through one constellation a month. The planets follow the same pathway.

Confusion, therefore, respecting their identity can only arise in connection with a study of one of the twelve constellations named above, so that whenever a star of any size is seen in one of these constellations, not accounted for in the diagram, the student may conclude that this is a planet; especially if the unknown star does not twinkle. It now remains to identify the planet.

This can best be done by referring to an almanac, which states what planets are above the horizon, and which are morning and evening stars. By morning star is meant that the planet is east of the sun; by evening star, that it is west of the sun.

If the planet is in the west, and very brilliant, it is safe to assume that it is the planet Venus.

If it is brighter than any of the fixed stars, and is some distance from the sun, it is doubtless the colossal Jupiter.

If it is very red, it will probably be Mars.

Saturn is distinguished because of its pale, steady, yellow light.

As for Mercury, Uranus, and Neptune, the former is very near the sun, and seldom seen; while Uranus and Neptune are so inconspicuous as to lead to no confusion on the part of the novice.

A few notes of interest relative to the planets follow, taking them up in regular order passing outward from the sun: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune.

MERCURY.

Mercury is the nearest to the sun of any of the planets. On this account, and because of its rapid changes, it is seldom seen.

The most favorable time for observing it is just after sunset, or just before sunrise, during the months of March, April, August, and September, when it may be seen for a few successive days.

The greatest distance it ever departs from the sun on either side varies approximately from sixteen to twenty-eight degrees. Its motion resembles a pendulum, swinging from one side of the sun to the other.

VENUS.

Venus approaches nearer to the earth and is more brilliant than any other planet. It is bright enough to cast a shadow at night, and is sometimes visible even at noonday. It is almost as large as the earth, and appears to oscillate, as Mercury does, on either side of the sun.

It never appears more than three hours after sunset, and as long before the sunrise, and is never more than forty-eight degrees from the sun.

MARS.

Mars is most like the earth of any of the planets, and, although not as interesting an object to view as the more brilliant planets, Venus and Jupiter, it claims our attention chiefly because of the surmises respecting its habitability.

Mars appears to the naked eye as a bright red star, and when at a favorable opposition to the earth (which occurs only once in every fifteen years) it rivals Jupiter in splendor.

The planet may be mistaken for the first magnitude stars, Antares in Scorpius, and Aldebaran in Taurus, near which it frequently passes.

The fixed stars, however, twinkle, while Mars glows steadily. If there is any doubt in the student's mind as to the identity of the planet, a few nights of observation, noting the changes in the planet's position, will decide the point. It takes Mars about fifty-seven days to pass through one constellation in the Zodiac.

JUPITER.

Jupiter is the largest of all the planets in the solar system, and it is easily distinguished from the fixed stars because of its brilliancy and splendor, exceeding in brightness all the planets excepting Venus, and casting a perceptible shadow.

It moves slowly and majestically across the sky, advancing through the Zodiac at the rate of one constellation yearly. It is therefore a simple matter to forecast its position, for, in whatever constellation it is seen to-day, one year hence it will be seen equally advanced in the next constellation.

Although Jupiter appears to move slowly, it really travels at the incomprehensible rate of five hundred miles a minute.

The most interesting feature about Jupiter for the amateur astronomer consists in observing four of its moons, which are visible with a small telescope. They appear like mere dots of light, and their transit of or occultation with the planet (that is, their disappearance before or behind its disk) can be watched, and is a never failing source of pleasure. A large telescope alone reveals Jupiter's four other moons.

SATURN.

Saturn is farther removed from the earth than any of the planets in the solar system, visible to the naked eye. It is distinguished from the fixed stars by the steadiness of its light, which is dull and of a yellow hue, though to some it appears to be of a greenish tinge. It seems barely to move, so slow is its motion among the stars, for it takes two and one half years to pass through a single constellation of the Zodiac.

Saturn has eight moons. Titan, its largest one, can be seen with a 3" glass. Its celebrated rings are telescopic objects but a small glass reveals them.

URANUS.

The student will hardly mistake Uranus for a fixed star, as it is only under the most favorable circumstances that it can be seen with the naked eye.

At its nearest approach to the earth, it is as bright as a sixth-magnitude star. Uranus is accompanied by four moons, and takes seven years to pass through a constellation of the Zodiac.

NEPTUNE.

Neptune is the most distant of the planets in the solar system, and is never visible to the naked eye.

The earth comes properly under a discussion of the planets, but a description of it is hardly within the scope of this work.

Confusion in identifying the planets is really confined to Mars and Saturn, for Venus and Jupiter are much brighter than any of the fixed stars, and their position in the heavens identifies them, as we have seen before.

The following table of first-magnitude stars in the Zodiacal constellations confines the question of identifying the planets to a comparison of the unknown star with the following-named stars:

Castor and Pollux in Gemini. Spica " Virgo. Regulus " Leo. Aldebaran " Taurus. Antares " Scorpius.

The first four stars named above are white in color, so that either Mars or Saturn is readily distinguished from them.

As for Aldebaran and Antares, which are both red stars, not unlike Mars and Saturn in color and magnitude, the fact that the latter do not twinkle, and that they do not appear in the diagrams, should satisfy the observer of their identity. Reference to an almanac, or a few nights of observation, will in any case set at rest any doubt in the matter.

[Illustration: THE PLANETARY ORBITS]

[Illustration: COMPARATIVE SIZE OF THE PLANETS.]

THE MILKY WAY.

The Milky Way, or Galaxy as it is sometimes called, is a great band of light that stretches across the heavens. Certain portions of it are worthy of being viewed with an opera-glass, which separates this seemingly confused and hazy stream into numberless points of light, emanating from myriads of suns.

This wonderful feature of the heavens is seen to best advantage during the months of July, August, September, and October. Beginning near the head of Cepheus, about thirty degrees from the North Pole, it passes through Cassiopeia, Perseus, Auriga, part of Orion, and the feet of Gemini, where it crosses the Ecliptic, and thence continues into the southern hemisphere, beyond our ken in these latitudes.

It reappears in two branches in the region of Ophiuchus, one running through the tail of Scorpius, the bow of Sagittarius, Aquila, Delphinus, and Cygnus; the other above and almost parallel to it, uniting with the first branch in Cygnus, and passing to Cepheus, the place of beginning.

The student should note especially the strange gap between [a], [g], and [e] Cygni. This dark space has been called the "Coal Sack."

The Milky Way in the vicinity of Cassiopeia is particularly rich, and well repays a search with an opera-glass.

"The Galaxy covers more than one tenth of the visible heavens, contains nine-tenths of the visible stars, and seems a vast zone-shaped nebula, nearly a great circle of the sphere, the poles being at Coma and Cetus."

THE MOTIONS OF THE STARS.

It may be that the student desires to proceed in this conquest of the sky at a more rapid pace than the scheme of study permits. To assist such, it should be borne in mind that the circumpolar constellations, as Ursa Major, Ursa Minor, Draco, Cepheus, and Cassiopeia, are designated,--are visible in our latitude in the northern sky every night.

A reference to their diagrams, and a glance at any of the large plates showing the entire group in their respective positions, will suffice for the student to identify them.

The hours of darkness alone limit the speed with which a knowledge of the constellations can be acquired.

Let us suppose that the student begins his search for the constellations on the night of April 1st, at nine P.M. He has for his guide the large plate, and the spring group of eleven constellations set forth in the diagrams. The remaining three constellations of the circumpolar group are, as we have seen before, visible in the north.

If he faces the western sky, he will see Andromeda just setting, and Perseus, Taurus, Orion, Lepus, and Canis Major but a short distance above the horizon. If he is so fortunate as to be able to identify these, and the spring group, he may turn his attention wholly to the eastern sky, where new constellations await him.

In the southeast he may see Virgo. In the east well up blazes Arcturus, the gem of Bo[:o]tes, below which is the beautiful Northern Crown, with the diamond in the head of Serpens beneath it. Hercules is rising, and Vega in the Lyre should be seen just flashing on the view in the northeast.

This completes the list of wonders visible at this precise time, but the stars apparently are never still, and doubtless, while the student has been passing from one constellation to another in the western and southern skies, others have been rising in the east and northeast.

At ten P.M. the Lyre is well up, and Ophiuchus and Libra can be discerned. At midnight Scorpius and Cygnus are ready to claim the attention. By two o'clock A.M., Aquila, Delphinus, and Sagittarius have risen, and at break of day Andromeda, Pegasus, and Capricornus can be seen if the student has had the courage to remain awake this length of time.

In no way can the seeming movement of the stars be better understood than by actual observation. The observer must bear in mind that the movement is an apparent one: that it is the earth that is moving and not the stars. He has only to think of the analogy of the moving train beside the one that is standing still, and the true state of affairs will at once be evident.

To further appreciate this apparent change in the situation of the constellations, the student should refer to the large plates successively. In each successive one he will note the advancement westward of the constellations mentioned above, rising in the east late at night.

The student can best get an idea of this westward apparent movement of the stars by noting the position of some bright first-magnitude star from night to night. He will soon be able to calculate the position of this star a month or more ahead, and this calculation applies to all the constellations and stars.

It is not within the scope of this work to go into this matter in detail. The author merely desires to mention this fact of apparent change of position in the stars, a fact that will be noticeable to the observer in a short time, and a fact that it is hoped he will be able to explain to his own satisfaction with the aid of the foregoing remarks.

It will be noticed that the stars on the diagrams are all numbered and lettered. The numbers refer to the magnitude of the star,--that is, the brightness of it, the first-magnitude stars being the brightest, the second-magnitude stars two-and-a-half times less bright, etc.

The letters are those of the Greek alphabet, and the student if not familiar with it is advised to consult a Greek grammar.

In the text, in referring to certain stars in the constellations, the genitive case of the Latin name of the constellation is given; for example, Vega is known as [a] Lyrae, meaning alpha of Lyra, Aldebaran as [a] Tauri, alpha of Taurus, etc.

The twilight hour affords an excellent opportunity of fixing the relative positions of the first-magnitude stars in the mind, for at that time they alone, save the planets, are visible.

METEORS, OR SHOOTING-STARS.

As this work is designed primarily to cover what is observable in the starlit heavens with the naked eye, the subject of meteors, or shooting-stars, comes properly within its scope.

There are few persons, if any, who have not witnessed the sight of a splendid meteor speeding across the sky, and such a sight always calls forth exclamations of wonder and delight.