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+Project Gutenberg's Astronomy with an Opera-glass, by Garrett Putman Serviss
+
+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
+
+
+Title: Astronomy with an Opera-glass
+       A Popular Introduction to the Study of the Starry Heavens
+       with the Simplest of Optical Instruments
+
+Author: Garrett Putman Serviss
+
+Release Date: July 15, 2011 [EBook #36741]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ASTRONOMY WITH AN OPERA-GLASS ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by dkretz and the Online Distributed Proofreading
+Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from
+images generously made available by The Internet Archive)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+  ASTRONOMY
+
+  WITH AN OPERA-GLASS
+
+
+  A POPULAR INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF THE STARRY
+  HEAVENS WITH THE SIMPLEST OF OPTICAL INSTRUMENTS
+
+
+  WITH MAPS AND DIRECTIONS TO FACILITATE THE RECOGNITION
+  OF THE CONSTELLATIONS AND THE PRINCIPAL STARS VISIBLE
+  TO THE NAKED EYE
+
+
+  BY
+
+  GARRETT P. SERVISS
+
+
+  "Known are their laws; in harmony unroll
+  The nineteen-orbed cycles of the Moon.
+  And all the signs through which Night whirls her car
+  From belted Orion back to Orion and his dauntless Hound,
+  And all Poseidon's, all high Zeus' stars
+  Bear on their beams true messages to man."
+                                           POSTE'S ARATUS.
+
+
+  _THIRD EDITION_
+
+
+  NEW YORK
+  D. APPLETON AND COMPANY
+  LONDON: CAXTON HOUSE, PATERNOSTER SQUARE
+  1890
+
+
+  COPYRIGHT, 1888,
+  BY D APPLETON AND COMPANY.
+
+
+
+
+TO THE READER
+
+
+In the pages that follow, the author has endeavored to encourage the
+study of the heavenly bodies by pointing out some of the interesting and
+marvelous phenomena of the universe that are visible with little or no
+assistance from optical instruments, and indicating means of becoming
+acquainted with the constellations and the planets. Knowing that an
+opera-glass is capable of revealing some of the most beautiful sights in
+the starry dome, and believing that many persons would be glad to learn
+the fact, he set to work with such an instrument and surveyed all the
+constellations visible in the latitude of New York, carefully noting
+everything that it seemed might interest amateur star-gazers. All the
+objects thus observed have not been included in this book, lest the
+multiplicity of details should deter or discourage the very readers for
+whom it was specially written. On the other hand, there is nothing
+described as visible with an opera-glass or a field-glass which the
+author has not seen with an instrument of that description, and which
+any person possessing eye-sight of average quality and a competent glass
+should not be able to discern.
+
+But, in order to lend due interest to the subject, and place it before
+the reader in a proper light and true perspective, many facts have been
+stated concerning the objects described, the ascertainment of which has
+required the aid of powerful telescopes, and to observers with such
+instruments is reserved the noble pleasure of confirming with their own
+eyes those wonderful discoveries which the looker with an opera-glass
+can not hope to behold unless, happily, he should be spurred on to the
+possession of a telescope. Yet even to glimpse dimly these distant
+wonders, knowing what a closer view would reveal, is a source of no mean
+satisfaction, while the celestial phenomena that lie easily within reach
+of an opera-glass are sufficient to furnish delight and instruction for
+many an evening.
+
+It should be said that the division of the stars used in this book into
+the "Stars of Spring," "Stars of Summer," "Stars of Autumn," and "Stars
+of Winter," is purely arbitrary, and intended only to indicate the
+seasons when certain constellations are best situated for observation or
+most conspicuous.
+
+The greater part of the matter composing this volume appeared originally
+in a series of articles contributed by the author to "The Popular
+Science Monthly" in 1887-'88. The reception that those articles met with
+encouraged him to revise and enlarge them for publication in the more
+permanent form of a book.
+
+                                                            G. P. S.
+
+  BROOKLYN, N. Y., _September, 1888._
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+
+                                                                  PAGE
+  INTRODUCTION                                                       1
+
+    Popular interest in the phenomena of the heavens.
+
+    The opera-glass as an instrument of observation for beginners
+        in star-study.
+
+    Testing an opera-glass.
+
+
+  CHAPTER I.
+
+  THE STARS OF SPRING                                                7
+
+    _Description of the Constellations_--Auriga, the Charioteer;
+        Berenice's Hair; Cancer, the Crab [the Manger]; Canis
+        Minor, the Lesser Dog; Corvus, the Crow; Crateris, the
+        Cup; Gemini, the Twins; Hydra, the Water-Serpent; Leo,
+        the Lion; Ursa Major, the Greater Bear [the Great Dipper];
+        Ursa Minor, the Lesser Bear [the Pole-Star].
+
+    A circular index-map, maps on a larger scale, of the
+        constellations described, and pictures of remarkable
+        objects.
+
+
+  CHAPTER II.
+
+  THE STARS OF SUMMER                                               30
+
+    _Description of the Constellations_--Aquila, the Eagle;
+        Bo�tes, the Herdsman, or Bear-Diver; Canes Venatici,
+        the Hunting-Dogs; Cygnus, the Swan [the Northern Cross];
+        Delphinus, the Dolphin; Draco, the Dragon; Hercules
+        [the Great Sun-Swarm, 13 M]; Libra, the Balance; Lyra,
+        the Harp; the Northern Crown; Ophiuchus et Serpens,
+        the Serpent-bearer and the Serpent; Sagitta, the Arrow;
+        Sagittarius, the Archer; Scorpio, the Scorpion;
+        Sobieski's Shield; Taurus Poniatowskii, Poniatowsky's
+        Bull; Virgo, the Virgin [the Field of the Nebul�];
+        Vulpecula, the Little Fox.
+
+    A circular index-map, maps, on a larger scale, of the
+        constellations described, and pictures of remarkable
+        objects.
+
+
+  CHAPTER III.
+
+  THE STARS OF AUTUMN                                               60
+
+    _Description of the Constellations_--Andromeda [the Great
+        Nebula]; Aquarius, the Water-Bearer; Aries, the Ram;
+        Capricornus, the Goat; Cassiopeia; Cepheus; Cetus,
+        the Whale [Mira, the wonderful variable star];
+        Pegasus, the Winged Horse.
+
+    Perseus [Algol, the Demon-Star]; Pisces, the Fishes;
+        Piscis Australis, the Southern Fish; the Triangles.
+
+    A circular index-map, maps on a larger scale, of the
+        constellations described, and pictures of remarkable
+        objects.
+
+
+  CHAPTER IV.
+
+  THE STARS OF WINTER                                               89
+
+    _Description of the Constellations_--Argo, Jason's Ship;
+        Canis Major, the Great Dog [Sirius]; Eridanus, the
+        river Po; Lepus, the Hare; Monoceros, the Unicorn;
+        Orion [the Great Nebula]; Taurus, the Bull [the
+        Pleiades and Hyades].
+
+    A circular index-map, maps on a larger scale, of the
+        constellations described, and pictures of remarkable
+        objects.
+
+
+  CHAPTER V.
+
+  THE MOON, THE PLANETS, AND THE SUN                               118
+
+    Description of lunar "seas," mountains, and "craters,"
+        with a map of the moon, and cuts showing its appearance
+        with a field-glass.
+
+    _Opera-glass observation of_--The sun (one cut), Mercury,
+        Venus, Mars, Jupiter and his satellites (one cut),
+        Saturn, Uranus (three cuts).
+
+
+
+
+ASTRONOMY WITH AN OPERA-GLASS.
+
+
+
+
+INTRODUCTION.
+
+
+Star-gazing was never more popular than it is now. In every civilized
+country many excellent telescopes are owned and used, often to very good
+purpose, by persons who are not practical astronomers, but who wish to
+see for themselves the marvels of the sky, and who occasionally stumble
+upon something that is new even to professional star-gazers. Yet,
+notwithstanding this activity in the cultivation of astronomical
+studies, it is probably safe to assert that hardly one person in a
+hundred knows the chief stars by name, or can even recognize the
+principal constellations, much less distinguish the planets from the
+fixed stars. And of course they know nothing of the intellectual
+pleasure that accompanies a knowledge of the stars. Modern astronomy is
+so rapidly and wonderfully linking the earth and the sun together, with
+all the orbs of space, in the bonds of close physical relationship, that
+a person of education and general intelligence can offer no valid excuse
+for not knowing where to look for Sirius or Aldebaran, or the Orion
+nebula, or the planet Jupiter. As Australia and New Zealand and the
+islands of the sea are made a part of the civilized world through the
+expanding influence of commerce and cultivation, so the suns and planets
+around us are, in a certain sense, falling under the dominion of the
+restless and resistless mind of man. We have come to possess vested
+intellectual interests in Mars and Saturn, and in the sun and all his
+multitude of fellows, which nobody can afford to ignore.
+
+A singular proof of popular ignorance of the starry heavens, as well as
+of popular curiosity concerning any uncommon celestial phenomenon, is
+furnished by the curious notions prevailing about the planet Venus. When
+Venus began to attract general attention in the western sky in the early
+evenings of the spring of 1887, speculation quickly became rife about
+it, particularly on the great Brooklyn Bridge. As the planet hung
+dazzlingly bright over the New Jersey horizon, some people appeared to
+think it was the light of Liberty's torch, mistaking the bronze
+goddess's real flambeau for a part of the electric-light system of the
+metropolis. Finally (to judge from the letters written to the
+newspapers, and the questions asked of individuals supposed to know
+something about the secrets of the sky), the conviction seems to have
+become pretty widely distributed that the strange light in the west was
+no less than an electrically illuminated balloon, nightly sent skyward
+by Mr. Edison, for no other conceivable reason than a wizardly desire to
+mystify his fellow-men. I have positive information that this ridiculous
+notion has been actually entertained by more than one person of
+intelligence. And as Venus glowed with increasing splendor in the serene
+evenings of June, she continued to be mistaken for some petty artificial
+light instead of the magnificent world that she was, sparkling out there
+in the sunshine like a globe of burnished silver. Yet Venus as an
+evening star is not so rare a phenomenon that people of intelligence
+should be surprised at it. Once in every 584 days she reappears at the
+same place in the sunset sky--
+
+  "Gem of the crimson-colored even,
+  Companion of retiring day."
+
+No eye can fail to note her, and as the nearest and most beautiful of
+the Earth's sisters it would seem that everybody should be as familiar
+with her appearance as with the face of a friend. But the popular
+ignorance of Venus, and the other members of the planetary family to
+which our mother, the Earth, belongs, is only an index of the denser
+ignorance concerning the stars--the brothers of our great father, the
+Sun. I believe this ignorance is largely due to mere indifference,
+which, in its turn, arises from a false and pedantic method of
+presenting astronomy as a creature of mathematical formul�, and a humble
+handmaiden of the art of navigation. I do not, of course, mean to cast
+doubt upon the scientific value of technical work in astronomy. The
+science could not exist without it. Those who have made the spectroscope
+reveal the composition of the sun and stars, and who are now making
+photography picture the heavens as they are, and even reveal phenomena
+which lie beyond the range of human vision, are the men who have taken
+astronomy out of its swaddling-clothes, and set it on its feet as a
+progressive science. But when one sees the depressing and repellent
+effect that has evidently been produced upon the popular mind by the
+ordinary methods of presenting astronomy, one can not resist the
+temptation to utter a vigorous protest, and to declare that this
+glorious science is not the grinning mathematical skeleton that it has
+been represented to be.
+
+Perhaps one reason why the average educated man or woman knows so little
+of the starry heavens is because it is popularly supposed that only the
+most powerful telescopes and costly instruments of the observatory are
+capable of dealing with them. No greater mistake could be made. It does
+not require an optical instrument of any kind, nor much labor, as
+compared with that expended in the acquirement of some polished
+accomplishments regarded as indispensable, to give one an acquaintance
+with the stars and planets which will be not only pleasurable but
+useful. And with the aid of an opera-glass most interesting, gratifying,
+and, in some instances, scientifically valuable observations may be made
+in the heavens. I have more than once heard persons who knew nothing
+about the stars, and probably cared less, utter exclamations of surprise
+and delight when persuaded to look at certain parts of the sky with a
+good glass, and thereafter manifest an interest in astronomy of which
+they would formerly have believed themselves incapable.
+
+Being convinced that whoever will survey the heavens with a good
+opera-glass will feel repaid many fold for his time and labor, I have
+undertaken to point out some of the objects most worthy of attention,
+and some of the means of making acquaintance with the stars.
+
+First, a word about the instrument to be used. Galileo made his famous
+discoveries with what was, in principle of construction, simply an
+opera-glass. This form of telescope was afterward abandoned because very
+high magnifying powers could not be employed with it, and the field of
+view was restricted. But, on account of its brilliant illumination of
+objects looked at, and its convenience of form, the opera-glass is still
+a valuable and, in some respects, unrivaled instrument of observation.
+
+In choosing an opera-glass, see first that the object-glasses are
+achromatic, although this caution is hardly necessary, for all modern
+opera-glasses, worthy of the name, are made with achromatic objectives.
+But there are great differences in the quality of the work. If a glass
+shows a colored fringe around a bright object, reject it. Let the
+diameter of the object-glasses, which are the large lenses in the end
+farthest from the eye, be not less than an inch and a half. The
+magnifying power should be at least three or four diameters. A familiar
+way of estimating the magnifying power is by looking at a brick wall
+through one barrel of the opera-glass with one eye, while the other eye
+sees the wall without the intervention of the glass. Then notice how
+many bricks seen by the naked eye are required to equal in thickness one
+brick seen through the glass. That number represents the magnifying
+power.
+
+The instrument used by the writer in making most of the observations for
+this book has object-glasses 1.6 inch in diameter, and a magnifying
+power of about 3.6 times.
+
+See that the fields of view given by the two barrels of the opera-glass
+coincide, or blend perfectly together. If one appears to partially
+overlap the other when looking at a distant object, the effect is very
+annoying. This fault arises from the barrels of the opera-glass being
+placed too far apart, so that their optical centers do not coincide with
+the centers of the observer's eyes.
+
+[Illustration: A VERY BAD FIELD.]
+
+Occasionally, on account of faulty centering of the lenses, a double
+image is given of objects looked at, as illustrated in the accompanying
+cut. In such a case the glass is worthless; but if the effect is simply
+the addition of a small, crescent-shaped extension on one side of the
+field of view without any reduplication, the fault may be overlooked,
+though it is far better to select a glass that gives a perfectly round
+field. Some glasses have an arrangement for adjusting the distance
+between the barrels to suit the eyes of different persons, and it would
+be well if all were made adjustable in the same way.
+
+Don't buy a cheap glass, but don't waste your money on fancy mountings.
+What the Rev. T. W. Webb says of telescopes is equally true of
+opera-glasses: "Inferior articles may be showily got up, and the outside
+must go for nothing." There are a few makers whose names, stamped upon
+the instrument, may generally be regarded as a guarantee of excellence.
+But the best test is that of actual performance. I have a field-glass
+which I found in a pawn-shop, that has no maker's name upon it, but in
+some respects is quite capable of bearing comparison with the work of
+the best advertised opticians. And this leads me to say that, by the
+exercise of good judgment, one may occasionally purchase superior
+glasses at very reasonable prices in the pawn-shops. Ask to be shown the
+old and well-tried articles; you may find among them a second-hand glass
+of fine optical properties. If the lenses are not injured, one need not
+trouble one's self about the worn appearance of the outside of the
+instrument; so much the more evidence that somebody has found it well
+worth using.
+
+A good field or marine glass is in some respects better than an
+opera-glass for celestial observations. It possesses a much higher
+magnifying power, and this gives sometimes a decided advantage. But, on
+the other hand, its field of view is smaller, rendering it more
+difficult to find and hold objects. Besides, it does not present as
+brilliant views of scattered star-clusters as an opera-glass does. For
+the benefit of those who possess field-glasses, however, I have included
+in this brief survey certain objects that lie just beyond the reach of
+opera-glasses, but can be seen with the larger instruments.
+
+I have thought it advisable in the descriptions of the constellations
+which follow to give some account of their mythological origin, both
+because of the historical interest which attaches to it, and because,
+while astronomers have long since banished the constellation figures
+from their maps, the names which the constellations continue to bear
+require some explanation, and they possess a literary and romantic
+interest which can not be altogether disregarded in a work that is not
+intended for purely scientific readers.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+THE STARS OF SPRING.
+
+
+Having selected your glass, the next thing is to find the stars. Of
+course, one could sweep over the heavens at random on a starry night and
+see many interesting things, but he would soon tire of such aimless
+occupation. The observer must know what he is looking at in order to
+derive any real pleasure or satisfaction from the sight.
+
+It really makes no difference at what time of the year such observations
+are begun, but for convenience I will suppose that they are begun in the
+spring. We can then follow the revolution of the heavens through a year,
+at the end of which the diligent observer will have acquired a competent
+knowledge of the constellations. The circular map, No. 1, represents the
+appearance of the heavens at midnight on the 1st of March, at eleven
+o'clock on the 15th of March, at ten o'clock on the 1st of April, at
+nine o'clock on the 15th of April, and at eight o'clock on the 1st of
+May. The reason why a single map can thus be made to show the places of
+the stars at different hours in different months will be plain upon a
+little reflection. In consequence of the earth's annual journey around
+the sun, the whole heavens make one apparent revolution in a year. This
+revolution, it is clear, must be at the rate of 30� in a month, since
+the complete circuit comprises 360�. But, in addition to the annual
+revolution, there is a diurnal revolution of the heavens which is caused
+by the earth's daily rotation upon its axis, and this revolution must,
+for a similar reason, be performed at the rate of 15� for each of the
+twenty-four hours. It follows that in two hours of the daily revolution
+the stars will change their places to the same extent as in one month of
+the annual revolution. It follows also that, if one could watch the
+heavens throughout the whole twenty-four hours, and not be interrupted
+by daylight, he would behold the complete circuit of the stars just as
+he would do if, for a year, he should look at the heavens at a
+particular hour every night. Suppose that at nine o'clock on the 1st of
+June we see the star Spica on the meridian; in consequence of the
+rotation of the earth, two hours later, or at eleven o'clock, Spica will
+be 30� west of the meridian. But that is just the position which Spica
+would occupy at nine o'clock on the 1st of July, for in one month
+(supposing a month to be accurately the twelfth part of a year) the
+stars shift their places 30� toward the west. If, then, we should make a
+map of the stars for nine o'clock on the 1st of July, it would answer
+just as well for eleven o'clock on the 1st of June, or for seven o'clock
+on the 1st of August.
+
+[Illustration: MAP 1.]
+
+The center of the map is the zenith, or point overhead. The reader must
+now exercise his imagination a little, for it is impossible to represent
+the true appearance of the concave of the heavens on flat paper. Holding
+the map over your head, with the points marked East, West, North, and
+South in their proper places, conceive of it as shaped like the inside
+of an open umbrella, the edge all around extending clear down to the
+horizon. Suppose you are facing the south, then you will see, up near
+the zenith, the constellation of Leo, which can be readily recognized on
+the map by six stars that mark out the figure of a sickle standing
+upright on its handle. The large star in the bottom of the handle is
+Regulus. Having fixed the appearance and situation of this constellation
+in your mind, go out-of-doors, face the south, and try to find the
+constellation in the sky. With a little application you will be sure to
+succeed.
+
+Using Leo as a basis of operations, your conquest of the sky will now
+proceed more rapidly. By reference to the map you will be able to
+recognize the twin stars of Gemini, southwest of the zenith and high up;
+the brilliant lone star, Procyon, south of Gemini; the dazzling Sirius,
+flashing low down in the southwest; Orion, with all his brilliants,
+blazing in the west; red Aldebaran and the Pleiades off to his right;
+and Capella, bright as a diamond, high up above Orion, toward the north.
+In the southeast you will recognize the quadrilateral of Corvus, with
+the remarkably white star Spica glittering east of it.
+
+Next face the north. If you are not just sure where north is, try a
+pocket-compass. This advice is by no means unnecessary, for there are
+many intelligent persons who are unable to indicate true north within
+many degrees, though standing on their own doorstep. Having found the
+north point as near as you can, look upward about forty degrees from the
+horizon, and you will see the lone twinkler called the north or pole
+star. Forty degrees is a little less than half-way from the horizon to
+the zenith.
+
+By the aid of the map, again, you will be able to find, high up in the
+northeast, near the zenith, the large dipper-shaped figure in Ursa
+Major, and, when you have once noticed that the two stars in the outer
+edge of the bowl of the Dipper point almost directly to the pole-star,
+you will have an unfailing means of picking out the latter star
+hereafter, when in doubt.[A] Continuing the curve of the Dipper-handle,
+in the northeast, your eye will be led to a bright reddish star, which
+is Arcturus, in the constellation Bo�tes.
+
+    [A] Let the reader remember that the distance between the two
+        stars in the brim of the bowl of the Dipper is about ten
+        degrees, and he will have a measuring-stick that he can
+        apply in estimating other distances in the heavens.
+
+In the same way you will be able to find the constellations Cassiopeia,
+Cepheus, Draco, and Perseus. Don't expect to accomplish it all in an
+hour. You may have to devote two or three evenings to such observation,
+and make many trips indoors to consult the map, before you have mastered
+the subject; but when you have done it you will feel amply repaid for
+your exertions, and you will have made for yourself silent friends in
+the heavens that will beam kindly upon you, like old neighbors, on
+whatever side of the world you may wander.
+
+Having fixed the general outlines and location of the constellations in
+your mind, and learned to recognize the chief stars, take your
+opera-glass and begin with the constellation Leo and the star Regulus.
+Contrive to have some convenient rest for your arms in holding the
+glass, and thus obtain not only comfort but steadiness of vision. A
+lazy-back chair makes a capital observing-seat. Be very particular, too,
+to get a sharp focus. Remember that no two persons' eyes are alike, and
+that even the eyes of the same observer occasionally require a change.
+In looking for a difficult object, I have sometimes suddenly brought the
+sought-for phenomenon into view by a slight turn of the focusing-screw.
+
+You will at once be gratified by the increased brilliancy of the star as
+seen by the glass. If the night is clear, it will glow like a diamond.
+Yet Regulus, although ranked as a first-magnitude star, and of great
+repute among the ancient astrologers, is far inferior in brilliancy to
+such stars as Capella and Arcturus, to say nothing of Sirius.
+
+By consulting map No. 2 you will next be able to find the celebrated
+star bearing the name of the Greek letter Gamma ([gamma]). If you had a
+telescope, you would see this star as a close and beautiful double, of
+contrasted colors. But it is optically double, even with an opera-glass.
+You can not fail to see a small star near it, looking quite close if the
+magnifying power of your glass is less than three times. You will be
+struck by the surprising change of color in turning from Regulus to
+Gamma--the former is white and the latter deep yellow. It will be well
+to look first at one and then at the other, several times, for this is a
+good instance of what you will meet with many times in your future
+surveys of the heavens--a striking contrast of color in neighboring
+stars. One can thus comprehend that there is more than one sense in
+which to understand the Scriptural declaration that "one star differeth
+from another in glory." The radiant point of the famous November
+meteors, which, in 1833 and 1866, filled the sky with fiery showers, is
+near Gamma. Turn next to the star in Leo marked Zeta ([zeta]). If your
+glass is a pretty large and good one, and your eye keen, you will easily
+see three minute companion stars keeping company with Zeta, two on the
+southeast, and one, much closer, toward the north. The nearest of the
+two on the south is faint, being only between the eighth and ninth
+magnitude, and will probably severely test your powers of vision. Next
+look at Epsilon ([epsilon]), and you will find near it two
+seventh-magnitude companions, making a beautiful little triangle.
+
+[Illustration: MAP 2.]
+
+Away at the eastern end of the constellation, in the tail of the
+imaginary Lion, upon whose breast shines Regulus, is the star Beta
+([beta]) Leonis, also called Denebola. It is almost as bright as its
+leader, Regulus, and you will probably be able to catch a tinge of blue
+in its rays. South of Denebola, at a distance of nineteen minutes of
+arc, or somewhat more than half the apparent diameter of the moon, you
+will see a little star of the sixth magnitude, which is one of the
+several "companions" for which Denebola is celebrated. There is another
+star of the eighth magnitude in the same direction from Denebola, but at
+a distance of less than five minutes, and this you may be able to
+glimpse with a powerful field-glass, under favorable conditions. I have
+seen it well with a field-glass of 1.6-inch aperture, and a magnifying
+power of seven times. But it requires an experienced eye and steady
+vision to catch this shy twinkler.
+
+When looking for a faint and difficult object, the plan pursued by
+telescopists is to avert the eye from the precise point upon which the
+attention is fixed, in order to bring a more sensitive part of the
+retina into play than that usually employed. Look toward the edge of the
+field of view, while the object you are seeking is in the center, and
+then, if it can be seen at all with your glass, you will catch sight of
+it, as it were, out of the corner of your eye. The effect of seeing a
+faint star in this way, in the neighborhood of a large one, whose rays
+hide it from direct vision, is sometimes very amusing. The little star
+seems to dart out into view as through a curtain, perfectly distinct,
+though as immeasurably minute as the point of a needle. But the instant
+you direct your eyes straight at it, presto! it is gone. And so it will
+dodge in and out of sight as often as you turn your eyes.
+
+If you will sweep carefully over the whole extent of Leo, whose chief
+stars are marked with their Greek-letter names on our little map, you
+will be impressed with the power of your glass to bring into sight many
+faint stars in regions that seem barren to the naked eye. An opera-glass
+of 1.5 aperture will show ten times as many stars as the naked eye can
+see.
+
+A word about the "Lion" which this constellation is supposed to
+represent. It requires a vivid imagination to perceive the outlines of
+the celestial king of beasts among the stars, and yet somebody taught
+the people of ancient India and the old Egyptians to see him there, and
+there he has remained since the dawn of history. Modern astronomers
+strike him out of their charts, together with all the picturesque
+multitude of beasts and birds and men and women that bear him company,
+but they can not altogether banish him, or any of his congeners, for the
+old names, and, practically, the old outlines of the constellations are
+retained, and always will be retained. The Lion is the most conspicuous
+figure in the celebrated zodiac of Dendera; and, indeed, there is
+evidence that before the story of Hercules and his labors was told this
+lion was already imagined shining among the stars. It was characteristic
+of the Greeks that they seized him for their own, and tried to rob him
+of his real antiquity by pretending that Jupiter had placed him among
+the stars in commemoration of Hercules's victory over the Nem�an lion.
+In the Hebrew zodiac Leo represented the Lion of Judah. It was thus
+always a lion that the ancients thought they saw in this constellation.
+
+In the old star-maps the Lion is represented as in the act of springing
+upon his prey. His face is to the west, and the star Regulus is in his
+heart. The sickle-shaped figure covers his breast and head, Gamma being
+in the shoulder, Zeta in the mane of the neck, Mu and Epsilon in the
+cheek, and Lambda in the jaws. The fore-paws are drawn up to the breast
+and represented by the stars Zi and Omicron. Denebola is in the tuft of
+the tail. The hind-legs are extended downward at full length, in the act
+of springing. Starting from the star Delta in the hip, the row
+consisting of Theta, Iota, Tau, and Upsilon, shows the line of the
+hind-legs.
+
+Leo had an unsavory reputation among the ancients because of his
+supposed influence upon the weather. The greatest heat of summer was
+felt when the sun was in this constellation:
+
+  "Most scorching is the chariot of the Sun,
+  And waving spikes no longer hide the furrows
+  When he begins to travel with the Lion."
+
+Looking now westwardly from the Sickle of Leo, at a distance about equal
+to twice the length of the Sickle, your eye will be caught by a small
+silvery spot in the sky lying nearly between two rather faint stars.
+This is the famous Pr�sepe, or Manger, in the center of the
+constellation Cancer. The two stars on either side of it are called the
+Aselli, or the Ass's Colts, and the imagination of the ancients pictured
+them feeding from their silver manger. Turn your glass upon the Manger
+and you will see that it consists of a crowd of little stars, so small
+and numerous that you will probably not undertake to count them, unless
+you are using a large field-glass. Galileo has left a delightful
+description of his surprise and gratification when he aimed his
+telescope at this curious cluster and other similar aggregations of
+stars and discovered what they really were. Using his best instrument,
+he was able to count thirty-six stars in the Manger. The Manger was a
+famous weather-sign in olden times, and Aratus, in his "Diosemia,"
+advises his readers to--
+
+  "... watch the Manger: like a little mist
+  Far north in Cancer's territory it floats.
+  Its confines are two faintly glimmering stars;
+  These are two asses that a manger parts,
+  Which suddenly, when all the sky is clear,
+  Sometimes quite vanishes, and the two stars
+  Seem to have closer moved their sundered orbs.
+  No feeble tempest then will soak the leas;
+  A murky manger with both stars
+  Shining unaltered is a sign of rain."
+
+Like other old weather-saws, this probably possesses a gleam of sense,
+for it is only when the atmosphere is perfectly transparent that the
+Manger can be clearly seen; when the air is thick with mist, the
+harbinger of coming storm, it fades from sight.
+
+The constellation Cancer, or the Crab, was represented by the Egyptians
+under the figure of a scarab�us. The observer will probably think that
+it is as easy to see a beetle as a crab there. Cancer, like Leo, is one
+of the twelve constellations of the Zodiac, the name applied to the
+imaginary zone 16� degrees wide and extending completely around the
+heavens, the center of which is the ecliptic or annual path of the sun.
+The names of these zodiacal constellations, in their order, beginning at
+the west and counting round the circle, are: Aries, Taurus, Gemini,
+Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricornus, Aquarius,
+and Pisces. Cancer has given its name to the circle called the Tropic of
+Cancer, which indicates the greatest northerly declination of the sun in
+summer, and which he attains on the 21st or 22d of June. But, in
+consequence of the precession of the equinoxes, all of the zodiacal
+constellations are continually shifting toward the east, and Cancer has
+passed away from the place of the summer solstice, which is now to be
+found in Gemini.
+
+Below the Manger, a little way toward the south, your eye will be caught
+by a group of four or five stars of about the same brightness as the
+Aselli. This marks the head of Hydra, and the glass will show a striking
+and beautiful geometrical arrangement of the stars composing it. Hydra
+is a very long constellation, and trending southward and eastward from
+the head it passes underneath Leo, and, sweeping pretty close down to
+the horizon, winds away under Corvus, the tail reaching to the eastern
+horizon. The length of this skyey serpent is about 100�. Its stars are
+all faint, except Alphard, or the Hydra's Heart, a second-magnitude
+star, remarkable for its lonely situation, southwest of Regulus. A line
+from Gamma Leonis through Regulus points it out. It is worth looking at
+with the glass on account of its rich orange-tint.
+
+Hydra is fabled to be the hundred-headed monster that was slain by
+Hercules. It must be confessed that there is nothing very monstrous
+about it now except its length. The most timid can look upon it without
+suspecting its grisly origin.
+
+Coming back to the Manger as a starting-point, look well up to the north
+and west, and at a distance somewhat less than that between Regulus and
+the Manger you will see a pair of first-magnitude stars, which you will
+hardly need to be informed are the celebrated Twins, from which the
+constellation Gemini takes its name. The star marked [alpha] in the map
+is Castor, and the star marked [beta] is Pollux. No classical reader
+needs to be reminded of the romantic origin of these names.
+
+A sharp contrast in the color of Castor and Pollux comes out as soon as
+the glass is turned upon them. Castor is white, with occasionally,
+perhaps, a suspicion of a green ray in its light. Pollux is deep yellow.
+Castor is a celebrated double star, but its components are far too close
+to be separated with an opera-glass, or even the most powerful
+field-glass. You will be at once interested by the singular _cort�ge_ of
+small stars by which both Castor and Pollux are surrounded. These little
+attendant stars, for such they seem, are arrayed in symmetrical
+groups--pairs, triangles, and other figures--which, it seems difficult
+to believe, could be unintentional, although it would be still more
+difficult to suggest any reason why they should be arranged in that way.
+
+[Illustration: MAP 3.]
+
+Our map will show you the position of the principal stars of the
+constellation. Castor and Pollux are in the heads of the Twins, while
+the row of stars shown in the map Xi ([xi]), Gamma ([gamma]), Nu ([nu]),
+Mu ([mu]), and Eta ([eta]), marks their feet, which are dipped in the
+edge of the Milky-Way. One can spend a profitable and pleasurable
+half-hour in exploring the wonders of Gemini. The whole constellation,
+from head to foot, is gemmed with stars which escape the naked eye, but
+it sparkles like a bead-spangled garment when viewed with the glass.
+Owing to the presence of the Milky-Way, the spectacle around the feet of
+the Twins is particularly magnificent. And here the possessor of a good
+opera-glass can get a fine view of a celebrated star-cluster known in
+the catalogues as 35 M. It is situated a little distance northwest of
+the star Eta, and is visible to the naked eye, on a clear, moonless
+night, as a nebulous speck. With a good glass you will see two wonderful
+streams of little stars starting, one from Eta and the other from Mu,
+and running parallel toward the northwest; 35 M is situated between
+these star-streams. The stars in the cluster are so closely aggregated
+that you will be able to clearly separate only the outlying ones. The
+general aspect is like that of a piece of frosted silver over which a
+twinkling light is playing. A field-glass brings out more of the
+component stars. The splendor of this starry congregation, viewed with a
+powerful telescope, may be guessed at from Admiral Smyth's picturesque
+description: "It presents a gorgeous field of stars, from the ninth to
+the sixteenth magnitude, but with the center of the mass less rich than
+the rest. From the small stars being inclined to form curves of three or
+four, and often with a large one at the root of the curve, it somewhat
+reminds one of the bursting of a sky-rocket." And Webb adds that there
+is an "elegant festoon near the center, starting with a reddish star."
+
+No one can gaze upon this marvelous phenomenon, even with the
+comparatively low powers of an opera-glass, and reflect that all these
+swarming dots of light are really suns, without a stunning sense of the
+immensity of the material universe.
+
+It is an interesting fact that the summer solstice, or the point which
+the sun occupies when it attains its greatest northerly declination, on
+the longest day of the year, is close by this great cluster in Gemini.
+In the glare of the sunshine those swarming stars are then concealed
+from our sight, but with the mind's eye we can look past and beyond our
+sun, across the incomprehensible chasm of space, and behold them still
+shining, their commingled rays making our great God of Day seem but a
+lonely wanderer in the expanse of the universe.
+
+It was only a short distance southwest of this cluster that one of the
+most celebrated discoveries in astronomy was made. There, on the evening
+of March 13, 1781, William Herschel observed a star whose singular
+aspect led him to put a higher magnifying power on his telescope. The
+higher power showed that the object was not a star but a planet, or a
+comet, as Herschel at first supposed. It was the planet Uranus, whose
+discovery "at one stroke doubled the breadth of the sun's dominions."
+
+The constellation of Gemini, as the names of its two chief stars
+indicate, had its origin in the classic story of the twin sons of
+Jupiter and Leda:
+
+  "Fair Leda's twins, in time to stars decreed,
+  One fought on foot, one curbed the fiery steed."
+
+Castor and Pollux were regarded by both the Greeks and the Romans as the
+patrons of navigation, and this fact crops out very curiously in the
+adventures of St. Paul. After his disastrous shipwreck on the island of
+Melita he embarked again on a more prosperous voyage in a ship bearing
+the name of these very brothers. "And after three months," writes the
+celebrated apostle (Acts xxviii, 11) "we departed in a ship of
+Alexandria, which had wintered in the isle, whose sign was Castor and
+Pollux." We may be certain that Paul was acquainted with the
+constellation of Gemini, not only because he was skilled in the learning
+of his times, but because, in his speech on Mars Hill, he quoted a line
+from the opening stanzas of Aratus's "Phenomena," a poem in which the
+constellations are described.
+
+The map will enable you next to find Procyon, or the Little Dog-Star,
+more than twenty degrees south of Castor and Pollux, and almost directly
+below the Manger. This star will interest you by its golden-yellow color
+and its brightness, although it is far inferior in the latter respect to
+Sirius, or the Great Dog-Star, which you will see flashing splendidly
+far down beneath Procyon in the southwest. About four degrees northwest
+of Procyon is a third-magnitude star, called Gomelza, and the glass will
+show you two small stars which make a right-angled triangle with it, the
+nearer one being remarkable for its ruddy color.
+
+Procyon is especially interesting because it is attended by an invisible
+star, which, while it has escaped all efforts to detect it with powerful
+telescopes, nevertheless reveals its presence by the effect of its
+attraction upon Procyon. It is a curious fact that both of the so-called
+Dog-Stars are thus attended by obscure or dusky companion-stars, which,
+notwithstanding their lack of luminosity, are of great magnitude. In the
+case of Sirius, the improvement in telescopes has brought the mysterious
+attendant into view, but Procyon's mate remains hidden from our eyes.
+But it can not escape the ken of the mathematician, whose penetrating
+mental vision has, in more than one instance, outstripped the
+discoveries of the telescope. Almost half a century ago the famous
+Bessel announced his conclusion--in the light of later developments it
+may well be called discovery--that both Sirius and Procyon were binary
+systems, consisting each of a visible and an invisible star. He
+calculated the probable period of revolution, and found it to be, in
+each case, approximately fifty years. Sixteen years after Bessel's
+death, one of Alvan Clark's unrivaled telescopes at last revealed the
+strange companion of Sirius, a huge body, half as massive as the giant
+Dog-Star itself, but ten thousand times less brilliant, and more recent
+observations have shown that its period of revolution is within six or
+seven months of the fifty years assigned by Bessel. If some of the
+enormous telescopes that have been constructed in the past few years
+should succeed in rendering Procyon's companion visible also, it is
+highly probable that Bessel's prediction would receive another
+substantial fulfillment.
+
+The mythological history of Canis Minor is somewhat obscure. According
+to various accounts it represents one of Diana's hunting-dogs, one of
+Orion's hounds, the Egyptian dog-headed god Anubis, and one of the dogs
+that devoured their master Act�on after Diana had turned him into a
+stag. The mystical Dr. Seiss leaves all the ancient myth-makers far in
+the rear, and advances a very curious theory of his own about this
+constellation, in his "Gospel in the Stars," which is worth quoting as
+an example of the grotesque fancies that even in our day sometimes
+possess the minds of men when they venture beyond the safe confines of
+this terraqueous globe. After summarizing the various myths we have
+mentioned, he proceeds to identify Procyon, putting the name of the
+chief star for the constellation, "as the starry symbol of those
+heavenly armies which came forth along with the King of kings and Lord
+of lords to the battle of the great day of God Almighty, to make an end
+of misrule and usurpation on earth, and clear it of all the wild beasts
+which have been devastating it for these many ages."
+
+The reader will wonder all the more at this rhapsody after he has
+succeeded in picking out the modest Little Dog in the sky.
+
+Sirius, Orion, Aldebaran, and the Pleiades, all of which you will
+perceive in the west and southwest, are generally too much involved in
+the mists of the horizon to be seen to the best advantage at this
+season, although it will pay you to take a look through the glass at
+Sirius. But the splendid star Capella, in the constellation Auriga, may
+claim a moment's attention. You will find it high up in the northwest,
+half-way between Orion and the pole-star, and to the right of the Twins.
+It has no rival near, and its creamy-white light makes it one of the
+most beautiful as well as one of the most brilliant stars in the
+heavens. Its constitution, as revealed by the spectroscope, resembles
+that of our sun, but the sun would make but a sorry figure if removed to
+the side of this giant star. About seven and a half degrees above
+Capella, and a little to the left, you will see a second-magnitude star
+called Menkalina. Two and a half times as far to the left, or south, in
+the direction of Orion, is another star of equal brightness to
+Menkalina. This is El Nath, and marks the place where the foot of
+Auriga, or the Charioteer, rests upon the point of the horn of Taurus.
+Capella, Menkalina, and El Nath make a long triangle which covers the
+central part of Auriga. The naked eye shows two or three misty-looking
+spots within this triangle, one to the right of El Nath, one in the
+upper or eastern part of the constellation, near the third-magnitude
+star Theta ([theta]), and another on a line drawn from Capella to El
+Nath, but much nearer to Capella. Turn your glass upon these spots, and
+you will be delighted by the beauty of the little stars to whose united
+rays they are due.
+
+El Nath has around it some very remarkable rows of small stars, and the
+whole constellation of Auriga, like that of Gemini, glitters with
+star-dust, for the Milky-Way runs directly through it.
+
+With a powerful field-glass you may try a glimpse at the rich
+star-clusters marked 38 M, 37 M, and 33^7.
+
+[Illustration: MAP 4.]
+
+The mythology of Auriga is not clear, but the ancients seem to have been
+of one mind in regarding the constellation as representing the figure of
+a man carrying a goat and her two kids in his arms. Auriga was also
+looked upon as a beneficent constellation, and the goat and kids were
+believed to be on the watch to rescue shipwrecked sailors. As Capella,
+which represents the fabled goat, shines nearly overhead in winter, and
+would ordinarily be the first bright star to beam down through the
+breaking clouds of a storm at that season, it is not difficult to
+imagine how it got its reputation as the seaman's friend. Dr. Seiss has
+so spirited a description of the imaginary figure contained in this
+constellation that I can not refrain from quoting it:
+
+"The figure itself is that of a mighty man seated on the Milky-Way,
+holding a band or ribbon in his right hand, and with his left arm
+holding up on his shoulder a she-goat which clings to his neck and looks
+out in astonishment upon the terrible bull; while in his lap are two
+frightened little kids which he supports with his great hand."
+
+It is scarcely necessary to add that Dr. Seiss insists that Auriga, as a
+constellation, was invented long before the time of the Greeks, and was
+intended prophetically to represent that Good Shepherd who was to come
+and rescue the sinful world.
+
+If any reader wishes to exercise his fancy by trying to trace the
+outlines of this figure, he will find the head of Auriga marked by the
+star Delta ([delta]) and the little group near it. Capella, in the heart
+of the Goat, is just below his left shoulder, and Menkalina marks his
+right shoulder. El Nath is in his right foot, and Iota ([iota]) in his
+left foot. The stars Epsilon ([epsilon]), Zeta ([zeta]), Eta ([eta]),
+and Lambda ([lambda]) shine in the kids which lie in Auriga's lap. The
+faint stars scattered over the eastern part of the constellation are
+sometimes represented as forming a whip with many lashes, which the
+giant flourishes with his right hand.
+
+Let us turn back to Denebola in the Lion's Tail. Now glance from it down
+into the southeast, and you will see a brilliant star flashing well
+above the horizon. This is Spica, the chief twinkler of Virgo, and it is
+marked on our circular map. Then look into the northwest, and at about
+the same distance from Denebola, but higher above the horizon than
+Spica, you will catch the sparkling of a large, reddish star. It is
+Arcturus in Bo�tes. The three, Denebola, Spica, and Arcturus, mark the
+corners of a great equilateral triangle. Nearly on a line between
+Denebola and Arcturus, and somewhat nearer to the former, you will
+perceive a curious twinkling, as if gossamers spangled with dew-drops
+were entangled there. One might think the old woman of the nursery rhyme
+who went to sweep the cobwebs out of the sky had skipped this corner, or
+else that its delicate beauty had preserved it even from her housewifely
+instincts. This is the little constellation called Berenice's Hair. Your
+opera-glass will enable you to count twenty or thirty of the largest
+stars composing this cluster, which are arranged, as so often happens,
+with a striking appearance of geometrical design. The constellation has
+a very romantic history. It is related that the young Queen Berenice,
+when her husband was called away to the wars, vowed to sacrifice her
+beautiful tresses to Venus if he returned victorious over his enemies.
+He did return home in triumph, and Berenice, true to her vow, cut off
+her hair and bore it to the Temple of Venus. But the same night it
+disappeared. The king was furious, and the queen wept bitterly over the
+loss. There is no telling what might have happened to the guardians of
+the temple, had not a celebrated astronomer named Conon led the young
+king and queen aside in the evening and showed them the missing locks
+shining transfigured in the sky. He assured them that Venus had placed
+Berenice's lustrous ringlets among the stars, and, as they were not
+skilled in celestial lore, they were quite ready to believe that the
+silvery swarm they saw near Arcturus had never been there before. And so
+for centuries the world has recognized the constellation of Berenice's
+Hair.
+
+Look next at Corvus and Crater, the Crow and the Cup, two little
+constellations which you will discover on the circular map, and of which
+we give a separate representation in Map 5. You will find that the stars
+Delta ([delta]) and Eta ([eta]), in the upper left-hand corner of the
+quadrilateral figure of Corvus, make a striking appearance. The little
+star Zeta ([zeta]) is a very pretty double for an opera-glass. There is
+a very faint pair of stars close below and to the right of Beta
+([beta]). This forms a severe test. Only a good opera-glass will show
+these two stars as a single faint point of light. A field-glass,
+however, will show both, one being considerably fainter than the other.
+Crater is worth sweeping over for the pretty combinations of stars to be
+found in it.
+
+You will observe that the interminable Hydra extends his lengthening
+coils along under both of the constellations. In fact, both the Cup and
+the Crow are represented as standing upon the huge serpent. The outlines
+of a cup are tolerably well indicated by the stars included under the
+name Crater, but the constellation of the Crow might as well have borne
+any other name so far as any traceable likeness is concerned. One of the
+legends concerning Corvus avers that it is the daughter of the King of
+Phocis, who was transformed into a crow to escape the pursuit of
+Neptune. She is certainly safe in her present guise.
+
+Arcturus and Spica, and their companions, may be left for observation to
+a more convenient season, when, having risen higher, they can be studied
+to better advantage. It will be well, however, to merely glance at them
+with the glass in order to note the great difference of color--Spica
+being brilliantly white and Arcturus almost red.
+
+[Illustration: MAP 5.]
+
+We will now turn to the north. You have already been told how to find
+the pole-star. Look at it with your glass. The pole-star is a famous
+double, but its minute companion can only be seen with a telescope. As
+so often happens, however, it has another companion for the opera-glass,
+and this latter is sufficiently close and small to make an interesting
+test for an inexperienced observer armed with a glass of small power. It
+must be looked for pretty close to the rays of the large star, with such
+a glass. It is of the seventh magnitude. With a large field-glass
+several smaller companions may be seen, and a very excellent glass may
+show an 8.5-magnitude star almost hidden in the rays of the
+seventh-magnitude companion.
+
+With the aid of map No. 6 find in Ursa Minor, which is the
+constellation to which the pole-star belongs, the star Beta ([beta]),
+which is also called Kochab (the star marked [alpha] in the map is the
+pole-star). Kochab has a pair of faint stars nearly north of it, about
+one degree distant. With a small glass these may appear as a single
+star, but a stronger glass will show them separately.
+
+[Illustration: MAP 6.]
+
+And now for Ursa Major and the Great Dipper--Draco, Cepheus, Cassiopeia,
+and the other constellations represented on the circular map, being
+rather too near the horizon for effective observation at this time of
+the year. First, as the easiest object, look at the star in the middle
+of the handle of the Dipper (this handle forms the tail of Ursa Major),
+and a little attention will show you, without the aid of a glass, if
+your eye-sight is good, that the star is double. A smaller star seems to
+be almost in contact with it. The larger of these two stars is called
+Mizar and the smaller Alcor--the Horse and his Rider the Arabs said.
+Your glass will, of course, greatly increase the distance between Alcor
+and Mizar, and will also bring out a clear difference of color
+distinguishing them. Now, if you have a very powerful glass, you may be
+able to see the Sidus Ludovicianum, a minute star which a German
+astronomer discovered more than a hundred and fifty years ago, and,
+strangely enough, taking it for a planet, named it after a German
+prince. The position of the Sidus Ludovicianum, with reference to Mizar
+and Alcor, is represented in the accompanying sketch. You must look very
+sharply if you expect to see it, and your opera-glass will have to be a
+large and strong one. A field-glass, however, can not fail to show it.
+
+Sweep along the whole length of the Dipper's handle, and you will
+discover many fine fields of stars. Then look at the star Alpha
+([alpha]) in the outer edge of the bowl nearest to the pole-star. There
+is a faint star, of about the eighth magnitude, near it, in the
+direction of Beta ([beta]). This will prove a very difficult test. You
+will have to try it with averted vision. If you have a field-glass,
+catch it first with that, and, having thus fixed its position in your
+mind, try to find it with the opera-glass. Its distance is a little over
+half that between Mizar and Alcor. It is of a reddish color.
+
+You will notice nearly overhead three pairs of pretty bright stars in a
+long, bending row, about half-way between Leo and the Dipper. These mark
+three of Ursa Major's feet, and each of the pairs is well worth looking
+at with a glass, as they are beautifully grouped with stars invisible to
+the naked eye. The letters used to designate the stars forming these
+pairs will be found upon our map of Ursa Major. The scattered group of
+faint stars beyond the bowl of the Dipper forms the Bear's head, and you
+will find that also a field worth a few minutes' exploration.
+
+[Illustration: MIZAR, ALCOR, AND THE SIDUS LUDOVICIANUM.]
+
+The two bears, Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, swinging around the pole of
+the heavens, have been conspicuous in the star-lore of all ages.
+According to fable, they represent the nymph Calisto, with whom Jupiter
+was in love, and her son Arcas, who were both turned into bears by Juno,
+whereupon Jupiter, being unable to restore their form, did the next best
+thing he could by placing them among the stars. Ursa Major is Calisto,
+or Helica, as the Greeks called the constellation. The Greek name of
+Ursa Minor was Cynosura. The use of the pole-star in navigation dates
+back at least to the time of the Phoenicians. The observer will note
+the uncomfortable position of Ursa Minor, attached to the pole by the
+end of its long tail.
+
+But, after all, no one can expect to derive from such studies as these
+any genuine pleasure or satisfaction unless he is mindful of the real
+meaning of what he sees. The actual truth seems almost too stupendous
+for belief. The mind must be brought into an attitude of profound
+contemplation in order to appreciate it. From this globe we can look out
+in every direction into the open and boundless universe. Blinded and
+dazzled during the day by the blaze of that star, of which the earth is
+a near and humble dependent, we are shut in as by a curtain. But at
+night, when our own star is hidden, our vision ranges into the depths of
+creation, and we behold them sparkling with a multitude of other suns.
+With so simple an aid as that of an opera-glass we penetrate still
+deeper into the profundities of space, and thousands more of these
+strange, far-away suns come into sight. They are arranged in pairs,
+sets, rows, streams, clusters--here they gleam alone in distant
+splendor, there they glow and flash in mighty swarms. This is a look
+into heaven more splendid than the imagination of Bunyan pictured; here
+is a celestial city whose temples are suns, and whose streets are the
+pathways of light.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+THE STARS OF SUMMER.
+
+
+Let us now suppose that the Earth has advanced for three months in its
+orbit since we studied the stars of spring, and that, in consequence,
+the heavens have made one quarter of an apparent revolution. Then we
+shall find that the stars which in spring shone above the western
+horizon have been carried down out of sight, while the constellations
+that were then in the east have now climbed to the zenith, or passed
+over to the west, and a fresh set of stars has taken their place in the
+east. In the present chapter we shall deal with what may be called the
+stars of summer; and, in order to furnish occupation for the observer
+with an opera-glass throughout the summer months, I have endeavored to
+so choose the constellations in which our explorations will be made,
+that some of them shall be favorably situated in each of the months of
+June, July, and August. The circular map represents the heavens at
+midnight on the 1st of June; at eleven o'clock, on the 15th of June; at
+ten o'clock, on the 1st of July; at nine o'clock, on the 15th of July;
+and at eight o'clock, on the 1st of August. Remembering that the center
+of the map is the point over his head, and that the edge of it
+represents the circle of the horizon, the reader, by a little attention
+and comparison with the sky, will be able to fix in his mind the
+relative situation of the various constellations. The maps that follow
+will show him these constellations on a larger scale, and give him the
+names of their chief stars.
+
+[Illustration: MAP 7.]
+
+The observer need not wait until midnight on the 1st of June in order to
+find some of the constellations included in our map. Earlier in the
+evening, at about that date, say at nine o'clock, he will be able to see
+many of these constellations, but he must look for them farther toward
+the east than they are represented in the map. The bright stars in
+Bo�tes and Virgo, for instance, instead of being over in the southwest,
+as in the map, will be near the meridian; while Lyra, instead of shining
+high overhead, will be found climbing up out of the northeast. It would
+be well to begin at nine o'clock, about the 1st of June, and watch the
+motions of the heavens for two or three hours. At the commencement of
+the observations you will find the stars in Bo�tes, Virgo, and Lyra in
+the positions I have just mentioned, while half-way down the western sky
+will be seen the Sickle of Leo. The brilliant Procyon and Capella will
+be found almost ready to set in the west and northwest, respectively.
+Between Procyon and Capella, and higher above the horizon, shine the
+twin stars in Gemini.
+
+In an hour Procyon, Capella, and the Twins will be setting, and Spica
+will be well past the meridian. In another hour the observer will
+perceive that the constellations are approaching the places given to
+them in our map, and at midnight he will find them all in their assigned
+positions. A single evening spent in observations of this sort will
+teach him more about the places of the stars than he could learn from a
+dozen books.
+
+Taking, now, the largest opera-glass you can get (I have before said
+that the diameter of the object-glasses should not be less than 1.5
+inch, and, I may add, the larger they are the better), find the
+constellation Scorpio, and its chief star Antares. The map shows you
+where to look for it at midnight on the 1st of June. If you prefer to
+begin at nine o'clock at that date, then, instead of looking directly in
+the south for Scorpio, you must expect to see it just rising in the
+southeast. You will recognize Antares by its fiery color, as well as by
+the striking arrangement of its surrounding stars. There are few
+constellations which bear so close a resemblance to the objects they are
+named after as Scorpio. It does not require a very violent exercise of
+the imagination to see in this long, winding trail of stars a gigantic
+scorpion, with its head to the west, and flourishing its upraised sting
+that glitters with a pair of twin stars, as if ready to strike. Readers
+of the old story of Phaeton's disastrous attempt to drive the chariot of
+the Sun for a day will remember it was the sight of this threatening
+monster that so terrified the ambitious youth as he dashed along the
+Zodiac, that he lost control of Apollo's horses, and came near burning
+the earth up by running the Sun into it.
+
+Antares rather gains in redness when viewed with a glass. Its color is
+very remarkable, and it is a curious circumstance that with powerful
+telescopes a small, bright-green star is seen apparently almost touching
+it. Antares belongs to Secchi's third type of suns, that in which the
+spectroscopic appearances suggest the existence of a powerfully
+absorptive atmosphere, and which are believed on various grounds to be,
+as Lockyer has said, "in the last visible stage of cooling"; in other
+words, almost extinct. This great, red star probably in actual size
+exceeds our sun, and no one can help feeling the sublime nature of those
+studies which give us reason to think that here we can actually behold
+almost the expiring throes of a giant brother of our giant sun. Only,
+the lifetime of a sun is many millions of years, and its gradual
+extinction, even after it has reached a stage as advanced as that of
+Antares is supposed to be, may occupy a longer time than the whole
+duration of the human race.
+
+A little close inspection with the naked eye will show three fifth- or
+sixth-magnitude stars above Antares and Sigma ([sigma]), which form,
+with those stars, the figure of an irregular pentagon. An opera-glass
+shows this figure very plainly. The nearest of these stars to Antares,
+the one directly above it, is known by the number 22, and belongs to
+Scorpio, while the farthest away, which marks the northernmost corner of
+the pentagon, is Rho in Ophiuchus. Try a powerful field-glass upon the
+two stars just named. Take 22 first. You will without much difficulty
+perceive that it has a little star under its wing, below and to the
+right, and more than twice as far away above it there is another faint
+star. Then turn to Rho. Look sharp and you will catch sight of two
+companion stars, one close to Rho on the right and a little below, and
+the other still closer and directly above Rho. The latter is quite
+difficult to be seen distinctly, but the sight is a very pretty one.
+
+The opera-glass will show a number of faint stars scattered around
+Antares. Turn now to Beta ([beta]) in Scorpio, with the glass. A very
+pretty pair of stars will be seen hanging below [beta]. Sweeping
+downward from this point to the horizon you will find many beautiful
+star-fields. The star marked Nu ([nu]) is a double which you will be
+able to separate with a powerful field-glass, the distance between its
+components being 40".
+
+[Illustration: MAP 8.]
+
+And next let us look at a star-cluster. You will see on Map No. 8 an
+object marked 4 M, near Antares. Its designation means that it is No. 4
+in Messier's catalogue of nebul�. It is not a true nebula, but a closely
+compacted cluster of stars. With the opera-glass, if you are looking in
+a clear and moonless night, you will see it as a curious nebulous speck.
+With a field-glass its real nature is more apparent, and it is seen to
+blaze brighter toward the center. It is, in fact, one of those universes
+within the universe where thousands of suns are associated together by
+some unknown law of aggregation into assemblages of whose splendor the
+slight view that we can get gives us but the faintest conception.
+
+The object above and to the right of Antares, marked in the map 80 M.,
+is a nebula, and although the nebula itself is too small to be seen with
+an opera-glass (a field-glass shows it as a mere wisp of light), yet
+there is a pretty array of small stars in its neighborhood worth looking
+at. Besides, this nebula is of special interest, because in 1860 a star
+suddenly took its place. At least, that is what seemed to have happened.
+What really did occur, probably, was that a variable or temporary star,
+situated between us and the nebula, and ordinarily too faint to be
+perceived, received a sudden and enormous accession of light, and blazed
+up so brightly as to blot out of sight the faint nebula behind it. If
+this star should make its appearance again, it could easily be seen with
+an opera-glass, and so it will not be useless for the reader to know
+where to look for it. The quarter of the heavens with which we are now
+dealing is famous for these celestial conflagrations, if so they may be
+called. The first temporary star of which there is any record appeared
+in the constellation of the Scorpion, near the head, 134 years before
+Christ. It must have been a most extraordinary phenomenon, for it
+attracted attention all over the world, and both Greek and Chinese
+annals contain descriptions of it. In 393 A. D. a temporary star shone
+out in the tail of Scorpio. In 827 A. D. Arabian astronomers, under the
+Caliph Al-Mamoun, the son of Haroun-al-Raschid, who broke into the great
+pyramid, observed a temporary star, that shone for four months in the
+constellation of the Scorpion. In 1203 there was a temporary star, of a
+bluish color, in the tail of Scorpio, and in 1578 another in the head of
+the constellation. Besides these there are records of the appearance of
+four temporary stars in the neighboring constellation of Ophiuchus, one
+of which, that of 1604, is very famous, and will be described later on.
+It is conceivable that these strange outbursts in and near Scorpio may
+have had some effect in causing this constellation to be regarded by the
+ancients as malign in its influence.
+
+We shall presently see some examples of star-clusters and nebul� with
+which the instruments we are using are better capable of dealing than
+with the one described above. In the mean time, let us follow the
+bending row of stars from Antares toward the south and east. When you
+reach the star Mu ([mu]), you are not unlikely to stop with an
+exclamation of admiration, for the glass will separate it into two stars
+that, shining side by side, seem trying to rival each other in
+brightness. But the next star below [mu], marked Zeta ([zeta]), is even
+more beautiful. It also separates into two stars, one being reddish and
+the other bluish in color. The contrast in a clear night is very
+pleasing. But this is not all. Above the two stars you will notice a
+curious nebulous speck. Now, if you have a powerful field-glass, here is
+an opportunity to view one of the prettiest sights in the heavens. The
+field-glass not only makes the two stars appear brighter, and their
+colors more pronounced, but it shows a third, fainter star below them,
+making a small triangle, and brings other still fainter stars into
+sight, while the nebulous speck above turns into a charmingly beautiful
+little star-cluster, whose components are so close that their rays are
+inextricably mingled in a maze of light. This little cut is an attempt
+to represent the scene, but no engraving can reproduce the life and
+sparkle of it.
+
+[Illustration: ZETA SCORPIONIS.]
+
+Following the bend of the Scorpion's tail upward, we come to the pair of
+stars in the sting. These, of course, are thrown wide apart by the
+opera-glass. Then let us sweep off to the eastward a little way and find
+the cluster known as 7 M. You will see it marked on the map. Above it,
+and near enough to be included in the same field of view, is 6 M., a
+smaller cluster. Both of these have a sparkling appearance with an
+opera-glass, and by close attention some of the separate stars in 7 M.
+may be detected. With a field-glass these clusters become much more
+striking and starry looking, and the curious radiated structure of 7 M.
+comes out.
+
+In looking at such objects we can not too often recall to our minds the
+significance of what we see--that these glimmering specks are the lights
+in the windows of the universe which carry to us, across inconceivable
+tracts of space, the assurance that we and our little system are not
+alone in the heavens; that all around us, and even on the very confines
+of immensity, Nature is busy, as she is here, and the laws of light,
+heat, gravitation (and why not of life?), are in full activity.
+
+The clusters we have just been looking at lie on the borders of Scorpio
+and Sagittarius. Let us cross over into the latter constellation, which
+commemorates the centaur Chiron. We are now in another, and even a
+richer, region of wonders. The Milky-Way, streaming down out of the
+northeast, pours, in a luminous flood, through Sagittarius, inundating
+that whole region of the heavens with seeming deeps and shallows, and
+finally bursting the barriers of the horizon disappears, only to glow
+with redoubled splendor in the southern hemisphere. The stars Zeta
+([zeta]), Tau ([tau]), Sigma ([sigma]), Phi ([phi]), Lambda ([lambda]),
+and Mu ([mu]) indicate the outlines of a figure sometimes called the
+Milk-Dipper, which is very evident when the eye has once recognized it.
+On either side of the upturned handle of this dipper-like figure lie
+some of the most interesting objects in the sky. Let us take the star
+[mu] for a starting-point. Sweep downward and to the right a little
+way, and you will be startled by a most singular phenomenon that has
+suddenly made its appearance in the field of view of your glass. You
+may, perhaps, be tempted to congratulate yourself on having got ahead of
+all the astronomers, and discovered a comet. It is really a combination
+of a star-cluster with a nebula, and is known as 8 M. Sir John Herschel
+has described the "nebulous folds and masses" and dark oval gaps which
+he saw in this nebula with his large telescope at the Cape of Good Hope.
+But no telescope is needed to make it appear a wonderful object; an
+opera-glass suffices for that, and a field-glass reveals still more of
+its marvelous structure.
+
+The reader will recollect that we found the summer solstice close to a
+wonderful star-swarm in the feet of Gemini. Singularly enough the winter
+solstice is also near a star-cluster. It is to be found near a line
+drawn from 8 M. to the star [mu] Sagittarii, and about one third of the
+way from the cluster to the star. There is another less conspicuous
+star-cluster still closer to the solstitial point here, for this part of
+the heavens teems with such aggregations.
+
+On the opposite side of the star [mu]--that is to say, above and a
+little to the left--is an entirely different but almost equally
+attractive spectacle, the swarm of stars called 24 M. Here, again, the
+field-glass easily shows its superiority over the opera-glass, for
+magnifying power is needed to bring out the innumerable little twinklers
+of which the cluster is composed. But, whether you use an opera-glass or
+a field-glass, do not fail to gaze long and steadily at this island of
+stars, for much of its beauty becomes evident only after the eye has
+accustomed itself to disentangle the glimmering rays with which the
+whole field of view is filled. Try the method of averted vision, and
+hundreds of the finest conceivable points of light will seem to spring
+into view out of the depths of the sky. The necessity of a perfectly
+clear night, and the absence of moonlight, can not be too much insisted
+upon for observations such as these. Everybody knows how the moonlight
+blots out the smaller stars. A slight haziness, or smoke, in the air
+produces a similar effect. It is as important to the observer with an
+opera-glass to have a transparent atmosphere as it is to one who would
+use a telescope; but, fortunately, the work of the former is not so much
+interfered with by currents of air. Always avoid the neighborhood of any
+bright light. Electric lights in particular are an abomination to
+star-gazers.
+
+The cloud of stars we have just been looking at is in a very rich region
+of the Milky-Way, in the little modern constellation called "Sobieski's
+Shield," which we have not named upon our map. Sweeping slowly upward
+from 24 M. a little way with the field-glass, we will pass in succession
+over three nebulous-looking spots. The second of these, counting upward,
+is the famous Horseshoe nebula. Its wonders are beyond the reach of our
+instrument, but its place may be recognized. Look carefully all around
+this region, and you will perceive that the old gods, who traveled this
+road (the Milky-Way was sometimes called the pathway of the gods), trod
+upon golden sands. Off a little way to the east you will find the rich
+cluster called 25 M. But do not imagine the thousands of stars that your
+opera-glass or field-glass reveals comprise all the riches of this
+Golconda of the heavens. You might ply the powers of the greatest
+telescope in a vain attempt to exhaust its wealth. As a hint of the
+wonders that lie hidden here, let me quote Father Secchi's description
+of a starry spot in this same neighborhood, viewed with the great
+telescope at Rome. After telling of "beds of stars superposed upon one
+another," and of the wonderful geometrical arrangement of the larger
+stars visible in the field, he adds:
+
+"The greater number are arranged in spiral arcs, in which one can count
+as many as ten or twelve stars of the ninth to the tenth magnitude
+following one another in a curve, like beads upon a string. Sometimes
+they form rays which seem to diverge from a common focus, and, what is
+very singular, one usually finds, either at the center of the rays, or
+at the beginning of the curve, a more brilliant star of a red color,
+which seems to lead the march. It is impossible to believe that such an
+arrangement can be accidental."
+
+The reader will recall the somewhat similar description that Admiral
+Smyth and Mr. Webb have given of a star-cluster in Gemini (see Chapter
+I).
+
+The milky look of the background of the Galaxy is, of course, caused by
+the intermingled radiations of inconceivably minute and inconceivably
+numerous stars, thousands of which become separately visible, the number
+thus distinguishable varying with the size of the instrument. But the
+most powerful telescope yet placed in human hands can not sound these
+starry deeps to the bottom. The evidence given by Prof. Holden, the
+Director of the Lick Observatory, on this point is very interesting.
+Speaking of the performance of the gigantic telescope on Mount Hamilton,
+thirty-six inches in aperture, he says:
+
+"The Milky-Way is a wonderful sight, and I have been much interested to
+see that there is, even with our superlative power, no final resolution
+of its finer parts into stars. There is always the background of
+unresolved nebulosity on which hundreds and thousands of stars are
+studded--each a bright, sharp, separate point."
+
+The groups of stars forming the eastern half of the constellation of
+Sagittarius are worth sweeping over with the glass, as a number of
+pretty pairs may be found there.
+
+Sagittarius stands in the old star-maps as a centaur,
+half-horse-half-man, facing the west, with drawn bow, and
+arrow pointed at the Scorpion.
+
+[Illustration: MAP 9.]
+
+Next let us pass to the double constellation adjoining Scorpio and
+Sagittarius on the north--Ophiuchus and the Serpent. These
+constellations, as our map shows, are curiously intermixed. The
+imagination of the old star-gazers, who named them, saw here the figure
+of a giant grasping a writhing serpent with his hands. The head of the
+serpent is under the Northern Crown, and its tail ends over the
+star-gemmed region that we have just described, called "Sobieski's
+Shield." Ophiuchus stands, as figured in Flamsteed's "Atlas," upon the
+back of the Scorpion, holding the serpent with one hand below the neck,
+this hand being indicated by the pair of stars marked Epsilon
+([epsilon]) and Delta ([delta]), and with the other near the tail. The
+stars Tau ([tau]) and Nu ([nu]) indicate the second hand. The giant's
+face is toward the observer, and the star Alpha ([alpha]), also called
+Ras Alhague, shines in his forehead, while Beta ([beta]) and Gamma
+([gamma]) mark his right shoulder. Ophiuchus has been held to represent
+the famous physician �sculapius. One may well repress the tendency to
+smile at these fanciful legends when he reflects upon their antiquity.
+There is no doubt that this double constellation is at least three
+thousand years old--that is to say, for thirty centuries the imagination
+of men has continued to shape these stars into the figures of a gigantic
+man struggling with a huge serpent. If it possesses no other interest,
+then it at least has that which attaches to all things ancient. Like
+many other of the constellations it has proved longer-lived than the
+mightiest nations. While Greece flourished and decayed, while Rome rose
+and fell, while the scepter of civilization has passed from race to
+race, these starry creations of fancy have shone on unchanged. The mind
+that would ignore them now deserves compassion.
+
+The reader will observe a little circle in the map, and near it the
+figures 1604. This indicates the spot where one of the most famous
+temporary stars on record appeared in the year 1604. At first it was far
+brighter than any other star in the heavens; but it quickly faded, and
+in a little over a year disappeared. It is particularly interesting,
+because Kepler--the quaintest, and not far from the greatest, figure in
+astronomical history--wrote a curious book about it. Some of the
+philosophers of the day argued that the sudden outburst of the wonderful
+star was caused by the chance meeting of atoms. Kepler's reply was
+characteristic, as well as amusing:
+
+"I will tell those disputants, my opponents, not my own opinion, but my
+wife's. Yesterday, when I was weary with writing, my mind being quite
+dusty with considering these atoms, I was called to supper, and a salad
+I had asked for was set before me. 'It seems, then,' said I, aloud,
+'that if pewter dishes, leaves of lettuce, grains of salt, drops of
+water, vinegar and oil, and slices of egg, had been flying about in the
+air from all eternity, it might at last happen by chance that there
+would come a salad.' 'Yes,' says my wife, 'but not so nice and
+well-dressed as this of mine is.'"
+
+While there are no objects of special interest for the observer with an
+opera-glass in Ophiuchus, he will find it worth while to sweep over it
+for what he may pick up, and, in particular, he should look at the group
+of stars southeast of [beta] and [gamma]. These stars have been shaped
+into a little modern asterism called Taurus Poniatowskii, and it will be
+noticed that five of them mark the outlines of a letter V, resembling
+the well-known figure of the Hyades.
+
+Also look at the stars in the head of Serpens, several of which form a
+figure like a letter [X]. A little west of Theta ([theta]) in the tail
+of Serpens, is a beautiful swarm of little stars, upon which a
+field-glass may be used with advantage. The star [theta] is itself a
+charming double, just within the separating power of a very powerful
+field-glass under favorable circumstances, the component stars being
+only about one third of a minute apart.
+
+Do not fail to notice the remarkable subdivisions of the Milky-Way in
+this neighborhood. Its current seems divided into numerous channels and
+bays, interspersed with gaps that might be likened to islands, and the
+star [theta] appears to be situated upon one of these islands of the
+galaxy. This complicated structure of the Milky-Way extends downward to
+the horizon, and upward through the constellation Cygnus, and of its
+phenomenal appearance in that region we shall have more to say further
+on.
+
+Directly north of Ophiuchus is the constellation Hercules, interesting
+as occupying that part of the heavens toward which the proper motion of
+the sun is bearing the earth and its fellow-planets, at the rate,
+probably, of not less than 160,000,000 miles in a year--a stupendous
+voyage through space, of whose destination we are as ignorant as the
+crew of a ship sailing under sealed orders, and, like whom, we must
+depend upon such inferences as we can draw from courses and distances,
+for no other information comes to us from the flagship of our squadron.
+
+[Illustration: MAP 10.]
+
+In the accompanying map we have represented the beautiful constellations
+Lyra and the Northern Crown, lying on either side of Hercules. The
+reader should note that the point overhead in this map is not far from
+the star Eta ([eta]) in Hercules. The bottom of the map is toward the
+south, the right-hand side is west, and the left-hand side east. It is
+important to keep these directions in mind, in comparing the map with
+the sky. For instance, the observer must not expect to look into the
+south and see Hercules half-way up the sky, with Lyra a little east of
+it; he must look for Hercules nearly overhead, and Lyra a little east
+of the zenith. The same precautions are not necessary in using the maps
+of Scorpio, Sagittarius, and Ophiuchus, because those constellations are
+nearer the horizon, and so the observer does not have to imagine the map
+as being suspended over his head.
+
+The name Hercules sufficiently indicates the mythological origin of the
+constellation, and yet the Greeks did not know it by that name, for
+Aratus calls it "the Phantom whose name none can tell." The Northern
+Crown, according to fable, was the celebrated crown of Ariadne, and Lyra
+was the harp of Orpheus himself, with whose sweet music he charmed the
+hosts of Hades, and persuaded Pluto to yield up to him his lost
+Eurydice.
+
+With the aid of the map you will be able to recognize the principal
+stars and star-groups in Hercules, and will find many interesting
+combinations of stars for yourself. An object of special interest is the
+celebrated star-cluster 13 M. You will find it on the map between the
+stars Eta ([eta]) and Zeta ([zeta]). While an opera-glass will only show
+it as a faint and minute speck, lying nearly between two little stars,
+it is nevertheless well worth looking for, on account of the great
+renown of this wonderful congregation of stars. Sir William Herschel
+computed the number of stars contained in it as about fourteen thousand.
+It is roughly spherical in shape, though there are many straggling stars
+around it evidently connected with the cluster. In short, it is _a ball
+of suns_. The reader should not mistake what that implies, however.
+These suns, though truly solar bodies, are probably very much smaller
+than our sun. Mr. Gore has computed their average diameter to be
+forty-five thousand miles, and the distance separating each from the
+next to be 9,000,000,000 miles. It may not be uninteresting to inquire
+what would be the appearance of the sky to dwellers within such a system
+of suns. Adopting Mr. Gore's estimates, and supposing 9,000,000,000
+miles to be very nearly the uniform distance apart of the stars in the
+cluster, and forty-five thousand miles their uniform diameter, then,
+starting with a single star in the center, their arrangement might be
+approximately in concentric spherical shells, situated about
+9,000,000,000 miles apart. The first shell, counting outward from the
+center, would contain a dozen stars, each of which, as seen by an
+observer stationed upon a planet at the center of the cluster, would
+shine eleven hundred times as bright as Sirius appears to us. The number
+of the stars in each shell would increase as they receded from the
+center in proportion to the squares of the radii of the successive
+shells, while their luminosity, as seen from the center, would vary
+inversely as those squares. Still, the outermost stars--the total number
+being limited to fourteen or fifteen thousand--would appear to our
+observer at the center of the system about five times as brilliant as
+Sirius.
+
+It is clear, then, that he would be dwelling in a sort of perpetual
+daylight. His planet might receive from the particular sun around which
+it revolved as brilliant a daylight as our sun gives to us, but let us
+see what would be the illumination of its night side. Adopting Z�llner's
+estimate of the light of the sun as 618,000 times as great as that of
+the full moon, and choosing among the various estimates of the light of
+Sirius as compared with the sun 1/4000000000 as probably the nearest
+the truth, we find that the moon sends us about sixty-five hundred times
+as much light as Sirius does. Now, since the dozen stars nearest the
+center of the cluster would each appear to our observer eleven hundred
+times as bright as Sirius, all of them together would give a little more
+than twice as much light as the full moon sheds upon the earth. But as
+only half the stars in the cluster would be above the horizon at once we
+must diminish this estimate by one half, in order to obtain the amount
+of light that our supposititious planet would receive on its night side
+from the nearest stars in the cluster. And since the number of these
+stars increases with their distance from the center in the same ratio
+as their light diminishes, it follows that the total light received from
+the cluster would exceed that received from the dozen nearest stars as
+many times as there were spherical shells in the cluster. This would be
+about fifteen times, and accordingly all the stars together would shed,
+at the center, some thirty times as much light as that of the moon.
+Dividing this again by two, because only half of the stars could be seen
+at once, we find that the night side of our observer's planet would be
+illuminated with fifteen times as much light as the full moon sheds upon
+the earth.
+
+It is evident, too, that our observer would enjoy the spectacle of a
+starry firmament incomparably more splendid than that which we behold.
+Only about three thousand stars are visible to our unassisted eyes at
+once on any clear night, and of those only a few are conspicuous, and
+two thirds are so faint that they require some attention in order to be
+distinguished. But the spectator at the center of the Hercules cluster
+would behold some seven thousand stars at once, the faintest of which
+would be five times as brilliant as the brightest star in our sky, while
+the brighter ones would blaze like nearing suns. One effect of this
+flood of starlight would be to shut out from our observer's eyes all the
+stars of the outside universe. They would be effaced in the blaze of his
+sky, and he would be, in a manner, shut up within his own little
+star-system, knowing nothing of the greater universe beyond, in which we
+behold his multitude of luminaries, diminished and blended by distance
+into a faintly shining speck, floating like a silvery mote in a sunbeam.
+
+If our observer's planet, instead of being situated in the center of the
+cluster, circled around one of the stars at the outer edge of it, the
+appearance of his sky would be, in some respects, still more wonderful,
+the precise phenomena depending upon the position of the planet's orbit
+and the station of the observer. Less than half of his sky would be
+filled, at any time, by the stars of the cluster, the other half opening
+upon outer space and appearing by comparison almost starless--a vast,
+cavernous expanse, with a few faint glimmerings out of its gloomy
+depths. The plane of the orbit of his planet being supposed to pass
+through the center of the spherical system, our observer would, during
+his year, behold the night at one season blazing with the splendors of
+the clustered suns, and at another emptied of brilliant orbs and faintly
+lighted with the soft glow of the Milky-Way and the feeble flickering of
+distant stars, scattered over the dark vault. The position of the orbit,
+and the inclination of the planet's axis might be such that the glories
+of the cluster would not be visible from one of its hemispheres,
+necessitating a journey to the other side of the globe to behold
+them.[B]
+
+    [B] A similar calculation of the internal appearances of the
+        Hercules cluster, which I made, was published in 1887 in
+        the "New York Sun."
+
+Of course, it is not to be assumed that the arrangement of the stars in
+the cluster actually is exactly that which we have imagined. Still,
+whatever the arrangement, so long as the cluster is practically
+spherical, and the stars composing it are of nearly uniform size and
+situated at nearly uniform distances, the phenomena we have described
+would fairly represent the appearances presented to inhabitants of
+worlds situated in such a system. As to the possibility of the existence
+of such worlds and inhabitants, everybody must draw his own conclusions.
+Astronomy, as a science, is silent upon that question. But there shine
+the congregated stars, mingling their rays in a message of light, that
+comes to us across the gulf, proclaiming their brotherhood with our own
+glorious sun. Mathematicians can not unravel the interlocking
+intricacies of their orbits, and some would, perhaps _a priori_, have
+said that such a system was impossible, but the telescope has revealed
+them, and there they are! What purposes they subserve in the economy of
+the universe, who shall declare?
+
+If you have a field-glass, by all means try it upon 13 M. It will give
+you a more satisfactory view than an opera-glass is capable of doing,
+and will magnify the cluster so that there can be no possibility of
+mistaking it for a star. Compare this compact cluster, which only a
+powerful telescope can partially resolve into its component stars, with
+7 M. and 24 M., described before, in order to comprehend the wide
+variety in the structure of these aggregations of stars.
+
+The Northern Crown, although a strikingly beautiful constellation to the
+naked eye, offers few attractions to the opera-glass. Let us turn, then,
+to Lyra. I have never been able to make up my mind which of three great
+stars is entitled to precedence--Vega, the leading brilliant of Lyra,
+Arcturus in Bo�tes, or Capella in Auriga. They are the three leaders of
+the northern firmament, but which of them should be called the chief, is
+very hard to say. At any rate, Vega would probably be generally regarded
+as the most beautiful, on account of the delicate bluish tinge in its
+light, especially when viewed with a glass. There is no possibility of
+mistaking this star because of its surpassing brilliancy. Two faint
+stars close to Vega on the east make a beautiful little triangle with
+it, and thus form a further means of recognition, if any were needed.
+Your opera-glass will show that the floor of heaven is powdered with
+stars, fine as the dust of a diamond, all around the neighborhood of
+Vega, and the longer you gaze the more of these diminutive twinklers you
+will discover.
+
+[Illustration: MAP 11.]
+
+Now direct your glass to the northernmost of the two little stars near
+Vega, the one marked Epsilon ([epsilon]) in the map. You will perceive
+that it is composed of two stars of almost equal magnitude. If you had a
+telescope of considerable power, you would find that each of these stars
+is in turn double. In other words, this wonderful star which appears
+single to the unassisted eye, is in reality quadruple, and there is
+reason to think that the four stars composing it are connected in
+pairs, the members of each pair revolving around their common center
+while the two pairs in turn circle around a center common to all. With a
+field-glass you will be able to see that the other star near Vega, Zeta
+([zeta]), is also double, the distance between its components being
+three quarters of a minute, while the two stars in [epsilon] are a
+little less than 3�' apart. The star Beta ([beta]) is remarkably
+variable in brightness. You may watch these variations, which run
+through a regular period of about 12 days, 21� hours, for yourself.
+Between Beta and Gamma ([gamma]) lies the beautiful Ring nebula, but it
+is hopelessly beyond the reach of the optical means we are employing.
+
+Let us turn next to the stars in the west. In consulting the
+accompanying map of Virgo and Bo�tes (Map No. 11), the observer is
+supposed to face the southwest, at the hours and dates mentioned above
+as those to which the circular map corresponds. He will then see the
+bright star Spica in Virgo not far above the horizon, while Arcturus
+will be half-way up the sky, and the Northern Crown will be near the
+zenith.
+
+The constellation Virgo is an interesting one in mythological story.
+Aratus tells us that the Virgin's home was once on earth, where she bore
+the name of Justice, and in the golden age all men obeyed her. In the
+silver age her visits to men became less frequent, "no longer finding
+the spirits of former days"; and, finally, when the brazen age came with
+the clangor of war:
+
+  "Justice, loathing that race of men,
+   Winged her flight to heaven; and fixed
+     Her station in that region
+   Where still by night is seen
+   The Virgin goddess near to bright Bo�tes."
+
+The chief star of Virgo, Spica, is remarkable for its pure white light.
+To my eye there is no conspicuous star in the sky equal to it in this
+respect, and it gains in beauty when viewed with a glass. With the aid
+of the map the reader will find the celebrated binary star Gamma
+([gamma]) Virginis, although he will not be able to separate its
+components without a telescope. It is a curious fact that the star
+Epsilon ([epsilon]) in Virgo has for many ages been known as the
+Grape-Gatherer. It has borne this name in Greek, in Latin, in Persian,
+and in Arabic, the origin of the appellation undoubtedly being that it
+was observed to rise just before the sun in the season of the vintage.
+It will be observed that the stars [epsilon], [delta], [gamma], [eta],
+and [beta], mark two sides of a quadrilateral figure of which the
+opposite corner is indicated by Denebola in the tail of Leo. Within this
+quadrilateral lies the marvelous Field of the Nebul�, a region where
+with adequate optical power one may find hundreds of these strange
+objects thronging together, a very storehouse of the germs of suns and
+worlds. Unfortunately, these nebul� are far beyond the reach of an
+opera-glass, but it is worth while to know where this curious region is,
+even if we can not behold the wonders it contains. The stars Omicron
+([omicron]), Pi ([pi]), etc., forming a little group, mark the head of
+Virgo.
+
+The autumnal equinox, or the place where the sun crosses the equator of
+the heavens on his southerly journey about the 21st of September, is
+situated nearly between the stars [eta] and [beta] Virginis, a little
+below the line joining them, and somewhat nearer to [eta]. Both [eta]
+and [zeta] Virginis are almost exactly upon the equator of the heavens.
+
+The constellation Libra, lying between Virgo and Scorpio, does not
+contain much to attract our attention. Its two chief stars, [alpha] and
+[beta], may be readily recognized west of and above the head of Scorpio.
+The upper one of the two, [beta], has a singular greenish tint, and the
+lower one, [alpha], is a very pretty double for an opera-glass.
+
+The constellation of Libra appears to have been of later date than the
+other eleven members of the zodiacal circle. Its two chief stars at one
+time marked the extended claws of Scorpio, which were afterward cut off
+(perhaps the monster proved too horrible even for its inventors) to form
+Libra. As its name signifies, Libra represents a balance, and this fact
+seems to refer the invention of the constellation back to at least three
+hundred years before Christ, when the autumnal equinox occurred at the
+moment when the sun was just crossing the western border of the
+constellation. The equality of the days and nights at that season
+readily suggests the idea of a balance. Milton, in "Paradise Lost,"
+suggests another origin for the constellation of the Balance in the
+account of Gabriel's discovery of Satan in paradise:
+
+              "... Now dreadful deeds
+  Might have ensued, nor only paradise
+  In this commotion, but the starry cope
+  Of heaven, perhaps, or all the elements
+  At least had gone to wrack, disturbed and torn
+  With violence of this conflict, had not soon
+  The Eternal, to prevent such horrid fray,
+  Hung forth in heaven his golden scales, yet seen
+  Betwixt Astrea and the Scorpion sign."
+
+Just north of Virgo's head will be seen the glimmering of Berenice's
+Hair. This little constellation was included among those described in
+the chapter on "The Stars of Spring," but it is worth looking at again
+in the early summer, on moonless nights, when the singular arrangement
+of the brighter members of the cluster at once strikes the eye.
+
+[Illustration: BERENICE'S HAIR.]
+
+Bo�tes, whose leading brilliant, Arcturus, occupies the center of our
+map, also possesses a curious mythical history. It is called by the
+Greeks the Bear-Driver, because it seems continually to chase Ursa
+Major, the Great Bear, in his path around the pole. The story is that
+Bo�tes was the son of the nymph Calisto, whom Juno, in one of her
+customary fits of jealousy, turned into a bear. Bo�tes, who had become a
+famous hunter, one day roused a bear from her lair, and, not knowing
+that it was his mother, was about to kill her, when Jupiter came to the
+rescue and snatched them both up into the sky, where they have shone
+ever since. Lucan refers to this story when, describing Brutus's visit
+to Cato at night, he fixes the time by the position of these
+constellations in the heavens:
+
+  "'Twas when the solemn dead of night came on,
+  When bright Calisto, with her shining son,
+  Now half the circle round the pole had run."
+
+Bo�tes is not specially interesting for our purposes, except for the
+splendor of Arcturus. This star has possessed a peculiar charm for me
+ever since boyhood, when, having read a description of it in an old
+treatise on Uranography, I felt an eager desire to see it. As my search
+for it chanced to begin at a season when Arcturus did not rise till
+after a boy's bed-time, I was for a long time disappointed, and I shall
+never forget the start of surprise and almost of awe with which I
+finally caught sight of it, one spring evening, shooting its flaming
+rays through the boughs of an apple-orchard, like a star on fire.
+
+When near the horizon, Arcturus has a remarkably reddish color; but,
+after it has attained a high elevation in the sky, it appears rather a
+deep yellow than red. There is a scattered cluster of small stars
+surrounding Arcturus, forming an admirable spectacle with an opera-glass
+on a clear night. To see these stars well, the glass should be slowly
+moved about. Many of them are hidden by the glare of Arcturus. The
+little group of stars near the end of the handle of the Great Dipper,
+or, what is the same thing, the tail of the Great Bear, marks the
+upraised hand of Bo�tes. Between Berenice's Hair and the tail of the
+Bear you will see a small constellation called Canes Venatici, the
+Hunting-Dogs. On the old star-maps Bo�tes is represented as holding
+these dogs with a leash, while they are straining in chase of the Bear.
+You will find some pretty groupings of stars in this constellation.
+
+And now we will turn to the east. Our next map shows Cygnus, a
+constellation especially remarkable for the large and striking figure
+that it contains, called the Northern Cross, Aquila the Eagle, the
+Dolphin, and the little asterisms Sagitta and Vulpecula. In consulting
+the map, the observer is supposed to face toward the east. In Aquila
+the curious arrangement of two stars on either side of the chief star of
+the constellation, called Altair, at once attracts the eye. Within a
+circle including the two attendants of Altair you will probably be able
+to see with the naked eye only two or three stars in addition to the
+three large ones. Now turn your glass upon the same spot, and you will
+see eight or ten times as many stars, and with a field-glass still more
+can be seen. Watch the star marked Eta ([eta]), and you will find that
+its light is variable, being sometimes more than twice as bright as at
+other times. Its changes are periodical, and occupy a little over a
+week.
+
+The Eagle is fabled to have been the bird that Jupiter kept beside his
+throne. A constellation called Antinous, invented by Tycho Brahe, is
+represented on some maps as occupying the lower portion of the space
+given to Aquila.
+
+The Dolphin is an interesting little constellation, and the ancients
+said it represented the very animal on whose back the famous musician
+Arion rode through the sea after his escape from the sailors who tried
+to murder him. But some modern has dubbed it with the less romantic name
+of Job's Coffin, by which it is sometimes called. It presents a very
+pretty sight to the opera-glass.
+
+Cygnus, the swan, is a constellation whose mythological history is not
+specially interesting, although, as remarked above, it contains one of
+the most clearly marked figures to be found among the stars, the famous
+Northern Cross. The outlines of this cross are marked with great
+distinctness by the stars Alpha ([alpha]), Epsilon ([epsilon]), Gamma
+([gamma]), Delta ([delta]), and Beta ([beta]), together with some
+fainter stars lying along the main beam of the cross between [beta] and
+[gamma]. The star [beta], also called Albireo, is one of the most
+beautiful double stars in the heavens. The components are sharply
+contrasted in color, the larger star being golden-yellow, while the
+smaller one is a deep, rich blue. With a field-glass of 1.6-inch
+aperture and magnifying seven times I have sometimes been able to
+divide this pair, and to recognize the blue color of the smaller star.
+It will be found a severe test for such a glass.
+
+[Illustration: MAP 12.]
+
+About half-way from Albireo to the two stars [zeta] and [epsilon] in
+Aquila is a very curious little group, consisting of six or seven stars
+in a straight row, with a garland of other stars hanging from the
+center. To see it best, take a field-glass, although an opera-glass
+shows it.
+
+I have indicated the place of the celebrated star 61 Cygni in the map,
+because of the interest attaching to it as the nearest to us, so far as
+we know, of all the stars in the northern hemisphere, and with one
+exception the nearest star in all the heavens. Yet it is very faint, and
+the fact that so inconspicuous a star should be nearer than such
+brilliants as Vega and Arcturus shows how wide is the range of magnitude
+among the suns that light the universe. The actual distance of 61 Cygni
+is something like 650,000 times as great as the distance from the earth
+to the sun.
+
+The star Omicron ([omicron]) is very interesting with an opera-glass.
+The naked eye sees a little star near it. The glass throws them wide
+apart, and divides [omicron] itself into two stars. Now, a field-glass,
+if of sufficient power, will divide the larger of these stars again into
+two--a fine test.
+
+Sweep around [alpha] and [gamma] for the splendid star-fields that
+abound in this neighborhood; also around the upper part of the figure of
+the cross. We are here in one of the richest parts of the Milky-Way.
+Between the stars [alpha], [gamma], [epsilon], is the strange dark gap
+in the galaxy called the Coal-Sack, a sort of hole in the starry
+heavens. Although it is not entirely empty of stars, its blackness is
+striking in contrast with the brilliancy of the Milky-Way in this
+neighborhood. The divergent streams of the great river of light in this
+region present a very remarkable appearance.
+
+[Illustration: MAP 13.]
+
+Finally, we come to the great dragon of the sky. In using the map of
+Draco and the neighboring constellations, the reader is supposed to face
+the north. The center of the upper edge of the map is directly over the
+observer's head. One of the stories told of this large constellation is
+that it represents a dragon that had the temerity to war against
+Minerva. The goddess "seized it in her hand, and hurled it, twisted as
+it was, into the heavens round the axis of the world, before it had time
+to unwind its contortions." Others say it is the dragon that guarded the
+golden apples in the Garden of the Hesperides, and that was slain by the
+redoubtable Hercules. At any rate, it is plainly a monster of the first
+magnitude. The stars [beta], [gamma], [xi], [nu], and [mu] represent its
+head, while its body runs trailing along, first sweeping in a long
+curve toward Cepheus, and then bending around and passing between the
+two bears. Try [nu] with your opera-glass, and if you succeed in seeing
+it double you may congratulate yourself on your keen sight. The distance
+between the stars is about 1'. Notice the contrasted colors of [gamma]
+and [beta], the former being a rich orange and the latter white. As you
+sweep along the winding way that Draco follows, you will run across many
+striking fields of stars, although the heavens are not as rich here as
+in the splendid regions that we have just left. You will also find that
+Cepheus, although not an attractive constellation to the naked eye, is
+worth some attention with an opera-glass. The head and upper part of the
+body of Cepheus are plunged in the stream of the Milky Way, while his
+feet are directed toward the pole of the heavens, upon which he is
+pictured as standing. Cepheus, however, sinks into insignificance in
+comparison with its neighbor Cassiopeia, but that constellation belongs
+rather to the autumn sky, and we shall pass it by here.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+THE STARS OF AUTUMN.
+
+
+IN the "Fifth Evening" of that delightful, old, out-of-date book of
+Fontenelle's, on the "Plurality of Worlds," the Astronomer and the
+Marchioness, who have been making a wonderful pilgrimage through the
+heavens during their evening strolls in the park, come at last to the
+starry systems beyond the "solar vortex," and the Marchioness
+experiences a lively impatience to know what the fixed stars will turn
+out to be, for the Astronomer has sharpened her appetite for marvels.
+
+"Tell me," says she, eagerly, "are they, too, inhabited like the
+planets, or are they not peopled? In short, what can we make of them?"
+
+The Astronomer answers his charming questioner, as we should do to-day,
+that the fixed stars are so many suns. And he adds to this information a
+great deal of entertaining talk about the planets that may be supposed
+to circle around these distant suns, interspersing his conversation with
+explanations of "vortexes," and many quaint conceits, in which he is
+helped out by the ready wit of the Marchioness.
+
+Finally, the impressionable mind of the lady is overwhelmed by the
+grandeur of the scenes that the Astronomer opens to her view, her head
+swims, infinity oppresses her, and she cries for mercy.
+
+"You show me," she exclaims, "a perspective so interminably long that
+the eye can not see the end of it. I see plainly the inhabitants of the
+earth; then you cause me to perceive those of the moon and of the other
+planets belonging to our vortex (system), quite clearly, yet not so
+distinctly as those of the earth. After them come the inhabitants of
+planets in the other vortexes. I confess, they seem to me hidden deep in
+the background, and, however hard I try, I can barely glimpse them at
+all. In truth, are they not almost annihilated by the very expression
+which you are obliged to use in speaking of them? You have to call them
+inhabitants of one of the planets contained in one out of the infinity
+of vortexes. Surely we ourselves, to whom the same expression applies,
+are almost lost among so many millions of worlds. For my part, the earth
+begins to appear so frightfully little to me that henceforth I shall
+hardly consider any object worthy of eager pursuit. Assuredly, people
+who seek so earnestly their own aggrandizement, who lay schemes upon
+schemes, and give themselves so much trouble, know nothing of the
+vortexes! I am sure my increase of knowledge will redound to the credit
+of my idleness, and when people reproach me with indolence I shall
+reply: 'Ah! if you but knew the history of the fixed stars!'"
+
+It is certainly true that a contemplation of the unthinkable vastness of
+the universe, in the midst of which we dwell upon a speck illuminated by
+a spark, is calculated to make all terrestrial affairs appear
+contemptibly insignificant. We can not wonder that men for ages regarded
+the earth as the center, and the heavens with their lights as tributary
+to it, for to have thought otherwise, in those times, would have been to
+see things from the point of view of a superior intelligence. It has
+taken a vast amount of experience and knowledge to convince men of the
+parvitude of themselves and their belongings. So, in all ages they have
+applied a terrestrial measure to the universe, and imagined they could
+behold human affairs reflected in the heavens and human interests
+setting the gods together by the ears.
+
+[Illustration: MAP. 14.]
+
+This is clearly shown in the story of the constellations. The tremendous
+truth that on a starry night we look, in every direction, into an almost
+endless vista of suns beyond suns and systems upon systems, was too
+overwhelming for comprehension by the inventors of the constellations.
+So they amused themselves, like imaginative children, as they were, by
+tracing the outlines of men and beasts formed by those pretty lights,
+the stars. They turned the starry heavens into a scroll filled with
+pictured stories of mythology. Four of the constellations with which we
+are going to deal in this chapter are particularly interesting on this
+account. They preserve in the stars, more lasting than parchment or
+stone, one of the oldest and most pleasing of all the romantic stories
+that have amused and inspired the minds of men--the story of Perseus and
+Andromeda--a better story than any that modern novelists have invented.
+The four constellations to which I refer bear the names of Andromeda,
+Perseus, Cassiopeia, and Cepheus, and are sometimes called,
+collectively, the Royal Family. In the autumn they occupy a conspicuous
+position in the sky, forming a group that remains unrivaled until the
+rising of Orion with his imperial _cort�ge_. The reader will find them
+in Map No. 14, occupying the northeastern quarter of the heavens.
+
+This map represents the visible heavens at about midnight on September
+1st, ten o'clock P. M. on October 1st, and eight o'clock P. M. on
+November 1st. At this time the constellations that were near the
+meridian in summer will be found sinking in the west, Hercules being low
+in the northwest, with the brilliant Lyra and the head of Draco
+suspended above it; Aquila, "the eagle of the winds," soars high in the
+southwest; while the Cross of Cygnus is just west of the zenith; and
+Sagittarius, with its wealth of star-dust, is disappearing under the
+horizon in the southwest.
+
+Far down in the south the observer catches the gleam of a bright lone
+star of the first magnitude, though not one of the largest of that
+class. It is Fomalhaut, in the mouth of the Southern Fish, Piscis
+Australis. A slight reddish tint will be perceived in the light of this
+beautiful star, whose brilliance is enhanced by the fact that it shines
+without a rival in that region of the sky. Fomalhaut is one of the
+important "nautical stars," and its position was long ago carefully
+computed for the benefit of mariners. The constellation of Piscis
+Australis, which will be found in our second map, does not possess much
+to interest us except its splendid leading star. In consulting Map 15,
+the observer is supposed to be facing south, or slightly west of south,
+and he must remember that the upper part of the map reaches nearly to
+the zenith, while at the bottom it extends down to the horizon.
+
+[Illustration: MAP 15.]
+
+To the right, or west, of Fomalhaut, and higher up, is the constellation
+of Capricornus, very interesting on many accounts, though by no means a
+striking constellation to the unassisted eye. The stars Alpha ([alpha]),
+called Giedi, and Beta ([beta]), called Dabih, will be readily
+recognized, and a keen eye will perceive that Alpha really consists of
+two stars. They are about six minutes of arc apart, and are of the third
+and the fourth magnitude respectively. These stars, which to the naked
+eye appear almost blended into one, really have no physical connection
+with each other, and are slowly drifting apart. The ancient astronomers
+make no mention of Giedi being composed of two stars, and the reason is
+plain, when it is known that in the time of Hipparchus, as Flammarion
+has pointed out, their distance apart was not more than two thirds as
+great as it is at present, so that the naked eye could not have detected
+the fact that there were two of them; and it was not until the
+seventeenth century that they got far enough asunder to begin to be
+separated by eyes of unusual power. With an ordinary opera-glass they
+are thrown well apart, and present a very pretty sight. Considering the
+manner in which these stars are separating, the fact that both of them
+have several faint companions, which our powerful telescopes reveal,
+becomes all the more interesting. A suggestion of Sir John Herschel,
+concerning one of these faint companions, that it shines by reflected
+light, adds to the interest, for if the suggestion is well founded the
+little star must, of course, be actually a planet, and granting that,
+then some of the other faint points of light seen there are probably
+planets too. It must be said that the probabilities are against
+Herschel's suggestion. The faint stars more likely shine with their own
+light. Even so, however, these two systems, which apparently have met
+and are passing one another, at a distance small as compared with the
+space that separates them from us, possess a peculiar interest, like two
+celestial fleets that have spoken one another in the midst of the ocean
+of space.
+
+The star Beta, or Dabih, is also a double star. The companion is of a
+beautiful blue color, generally described as "sky-blue." It is of the
+seventh magnitude, while the larger star is of magnitude three and a
+half. The latter is golden-yellow. The blue of the small star can be
+seen with either an opera- or a field-glass, but it requires careful
+looking and a clear and steady atmosphere. I recollect discovering the
+color of this star with a field-glass, and exclaiming to myself, "Why,
+the little one is as blue as a bluebell!" before I knew that that was
+its hue as seen with a telescope. Trying my opera-glass upon it I found
+that the color was even more distinct, although the small star was then
+more or less enveloped in the yellow rays of the large one. The distance
+between the two stars in Dabih is nearly the same as that between the
+components of [epsilon] Lyr�, and the comparative difficulty of
+separating them is an instructive example of the effect of a large star
+in concealing a small one close beside it. The two stars in [epsilon]
+Lyr� are of nearly equal brightness, and are very easily separated and
+distinguished, but in [beta] Capricorni, or Dabih, one star is about
+twenty times as bright as the other, and consequently the fainter star
+is almost concealed in the glare of its more brilliant neighbor.
+
+With the most powerful glass at your disposal, sweep from the star Zeta
+([zeta]) eastward a distance somewhat greater than that separating Alpha
+and Beta, and you will find a fifth-magnitude star beside a little
+nebulous spot. This is the cluster known as 30 M, one of those
+sun-swarms that overwhelm the mind of the contemplative observer with
+astonishment, and especially remarkable in this case for the apparent
+vacancy of the heavens immediately surrounding the cluster, as if all
+the stars in that neighborhood had been drawn into the great assemblage,
+leaving a void around it. Of course, with the instrument that our
+observer is supposed to be using, merely the _existence_ of this solar
+throng can be detected; but, if he sees that it is there, he may be led
+to provide himself with a telescope capable of revealing its glories.
+
+Admiral Smyth remarks that, "although Capricorn is not a striking
+object, it has been the very pet of all constellations with
+astrologers," and he quotes from an old almanac of the year 1386, that
+"whoso is borne in Capcorn schal be ryche and wel lufyd." The
+mythological account of the constellation is that it represents the goat
+into which Pan was turned in order to escape from the giant Typhon, who
+once on a time scared all the gods out of their wits, and caused them to
+change themselves into animals, even Jupiter assuming the form of a ram.
+According to some authorities, Piscis Australis represents the fish into
+which Venus changed herself on that interesting occasion.
+
+Directly above Piscis Australis, and to the east or left of Capricorn,
+the map shows the constellation of Aquarius, or the Water-Bearer. Some
+say this commemorates Ganymede, the cup-bearer of the gods. It is
+represented in old star-maps by the figure of a young man pouring water
+from an urn. The star Alpha ([alpha]) marks his right shoulder, and Beta
+([beta]) his left, and Gamma ([gamma]), Zeta ([zeta]), Eta ([eta]), and
+Pi ([pi]) indicate his right hand and the urn. From this group a current
+of small stars will be recognized, sweeping downward with a curve toward
+the east, and ending at Fomalhaut; this represents the water poured from
+the urn, which the Southern Fish appears to be drinking. In fact,
+according to the pictures in the old maps, the fish succeeds in
+swallowing the stream completely, and it vanishes from the sky in the
+act of entering his distended mouth! It is worthy of remark that in
+Greek, Latin, and Arabic this constellation bears names all of which
+signify "a man pouring water." The ancient Egyptians imagined that the
+setting of Aquarius caused the rising of the Nile, as he sank his huge
+urn in the river to fill it. Alpha Aquarii was called by the Arabs
+Sadalmelik, which is interpreted to mean the "king's lucky star," but
+whether it proved itself a lucky star in war or in love, and what
+particular king enjoyed its benign influence and recorded his gratitude
+in its name, we are not informed. Thus, at every step, we find how
+shreds of history and bits of superstition are entangled among the
+stars. Surely, humanity has been reflected in the heavens as lastingly
+as it has impressed itself upon the earth.
+
+Starting from the group of stars just described as forming the
+Water-Bearer's urn, follow with a glass the winding stream of small
+stars that represent the water. Several very pretty and striking
+assemblages of stars will be encountered in its course. The star Tau
+([tau]) is double and presents a beautiful contrast of color, one star
+being white and the other reddish-orange--two solar systems, it may be,
+apparently neighbors as seen from the earth, in one of which daylight is
+white and in the other red!
+
+Point a good glass upon the star marked Nu ([nu]), and you will see,
+somewhat less than a degree and a half to the west of it, what appears
+to be a faint star of between the seventh and eighth magnitudes. You
+will have to look sharp to see it. It is with your mind's eye that you
+must gaze, in order to perceive the wonder here hidden in the depths of
+space. That faint speck is a nebula, unrivaled for interest by many of
+the larger and more conspicuous objects of that kind. Lord Rosse's great
+telescope has shown that in form it resembles the planet Saturn; in
+other words, that it consists apparently of a ball surrounded by a ring.
+But the spectroscope proves that it is a gaseous mass, and the
+micrometer--supposing its distance to be equal to that of the stars, and
+we have no reason to think it less--that it must be large enough to fill
+the whole space included within the orbit of Neptune! Here, then, as has
+been said, we seem to behold a genesis in the heavens. If Laplace's
+nebular hypothesis, or any of the modifications of that hypothesis,
+represents the process of formation of a solar system, then we may
+fairly conclude that such a process is now actually in operation in this
+nebula in Aquarius, where a vast ring of nebulous matter appears to have
+separated off from the spherical mass within it. This may not be the
+true explanation of what we see there, but, whatever the explanation is,
+there can be no question of the high significance of this nebula, whose
+shape proclaims unmistakably the operation of great metamorphic forces
+there. Of course, with his insignificant optical means, our observer can
+see nothing of the strange form of this object, the detection of which
+requires the aid of the most powerful telescopes, but it is much to know
+where that unfinished creation lies, and to see it, even though
+diminished by distance to a mere speck of light.
+
+Turn your glass upon the star shown in the map just above Mu ([mu]) and
+Epsilon ([epsilon]). You will find an attractive arrangement of small
+stars in its neighborhood. The star marked 104 is double to the naked
+eye, and the row of stars below it is well worth looking at. The star
+Delta ([delta]) indicates the place where, in 1756, Tobias Mayer
+narrowly escaped making a discovery that would have anticipated that
+which a quarter of a century later made the name of Sir William Herschel
+world-renowned. The planet Uranus passed near Delta in 1756, and Tobias
+Mayer saw it, but it moved so slowly that he took it for a fixed star,
+never suspecting that his eyes had rested upon a member of the solar
+system whose existence was, up to that time, unknown to the inhabitants
+of Adam's planet.
+
+Above Aquarius you will find the constellation Pegasus. It is
+conspicuously marked by four stars of about the second magnitude, which
+shine at the corners of a large square, called the Great Square of
+Pegasus. This figure is some fifteen degrees square, and at once
+attracts the eye, there being few stars visible within the
+quadrilateral, and no large ones in the immediate neighborhood to
+distract attention from it. One of the four stars, however, as will be
+seen by consulting Map 15, does not belong to Pegasus, but to the
+constellation Andromeda. Mythologically, this constellation represents
+the celebrated winged horse of antiquity:
+
+  "Now heaven his further wandering flight confines,
+  Where, splendid with his numerous stars, he shines."
+
+The star Alpha ([alpha]) is called Markab; Beta ([beta]) is Scheat, and
+Gamma ([gamma]) is Algenib; the fourth star in the square, belonging to
+Andromeda, is called Alpheratz. Although Pegasus presents a striking
+appearance to the unassisted eye, on account of its great square, it
+contains little to attract the observer with an opera-glass. It will
+prove interesting, however, to sweep with the glass carefully over the
+space within the square, which is comparatively barren to the naked eye,
+but in which many small stars will be revealed, of whose existence the
+naked-eye observer would be unaware. The star marked Pi ([pi]) is an
+interesting double, which can be separated by a good eye without
+artificial aid, and which, with an opera-glass, presents a fine
+appearance.
+
+And now we come to Map No. 16, representing the constellations Cetus,
+Pisces, Aries, and the Triangles. In consulting it the observer is
+supposed to face the southeast. Cetus is a very large constellation, and
+from the peculiar conformation of its principal stars it can be readily
+recognized. The head is to the east, the star Alpha ([alpha]), called
+Menkar, being in the nose of this imaginary inhabitant of the
+sky-depths. The constellation is supposed to represent the monster that,
+according to fable, was sent by Neptune to devour the fair Andromeda,
+but whose bloodthirsty design was happily and gallantly frustrated by
+Perseus, as we shall learn from starry mythology further on.
+
+Although bearing the name Cetus, the Whale, the pictures of the
+constellation in the old maps do not present us with the form of a
+whale, but that of a most extraordinary scaly creature with enormous
+jaws filled with large teeth, a forked tongue, fore-paws armed with
+gigantic claws, and a long, crooked, and dangerous-looking tail. Indeed,
+Aratus does not call it a "whale," but a "sea-monster," and Dr. Seiss
+would have us believe that it was intended to represent the leviathan,
+whose terrible prowess is celebrated in the book of Job.
+
+[Illustration: MAP 16.]
+
+By far the most interesting object in Cetus is the star Mira. This is a
+famous variable--a sun that sometimes shines a thousand-fold more
+brilliantly than at others! It changes from the second magnitude to the
+ninth or tenth, its period from maximum to maximum being about eleven
+months. During about five months of that time it is completely invisible
+to the naked eye; then it begins to appear again, slowly increasing in
+brightness for some three months, until it shines as a star of the
+second magnitude, being then as bright as, if not brighter than, the
+most brilliant stars in the constellation. It retains this brilliance
+for about two weeks, and then begins to fade again, and, within three
+months, once more disappears. There are various irregularities in its
+changes, which render its exact period somewhat uncertain, and it does
+not always attain the same degree of brightness at its maximum. For
+instance, in 1779, Mira was almost equal in brilliance to a
+first-magnitude star, but frequently at its greatest brightness it is
+hardly equal to an ordinary star of the second magnitude. By the aid of
+our little map you will readily be able to find it. You will perceive
+that it has a slightly reddish tint. Watch it from one of its maxima,
+and you will see it gradually fade from sight until, at last, only the
+blackness of the empty sky appears where, a few months before, a
+conspicuous star was visible. Keep watch of that spot, and in due course
+you will perceive Mira shining there again--a mere speck, but slowly
+brightening--and in three months more the wonderful star will blaze
+again with renewed splendor.
+
+Knowing that our own sun is a variable star--though variable only to a
+slight degree, its variability being due to the spots that appear upon
+its surface in a period of about eleven years--we possess some light
+that may be cast upon the mystery of Mira's variations. It seems not
+improbable that, in the case of Mira, the surface of the star at the
+maximum of spottedness is covered to an enormously greater extent than
+occurs during our own sun-spot maxima, so that the light of the star,
+instead of being merely dimmed to an almost imperceptible extent, as
+with our sun, is almost blotted out. When the star blazes with unwonted
+splendor, as in 1779, we may fairly assume that the pent-up forces of
+this perishing sun have burst forth, as in a desperate struggle against
+extinction. But nothing can prevail against the slow, remorseless,
+unswerving progress of that obscuration, which comes from the leaking
+away of the solar heat, and which constitutes what we may call the death
+of a sun. And that word seems peculiarly appropriate to describe the end
+of a body which, during its period of visible existence, not only
+presents the highest type of physical activity, but is the parent and
+supporter of all forms of life upon the planets that surround it.
+
+We might even go so far as to say that possibly Mira presents to us an
+example of what our sun will be in the course of time, as the dead and
+barren moon shows us, as in a magician's glass, the approaching fate of
+the earth. Fortunately, human life is a mere span in comparison with the
+�ons of cosmic existence, and so we need have no fear that either we or
+our descendants for thousands of generations shall have to play the
+tragic _r�le_ of Campbell's "Last Man," and endeavor to keep up a stout
+heart amid the crash of time by meanly boasting to the perishing sun,
+whose rays have nurtured us, that, though his proud race is ended, we
+have confident anticipations of immortality. I trust that, when man
+makes his exit from this terrestrial stage, it will not be in the
+contemptible act of kicking a fallen benefactor.
+
+There are several other variable stars in Cetus, but none possessing
+much interest for us. The observer should look at the group of stars in
+the head, where he will find some interesting combinations, and also at
+Chi, which is the little star shown in the map near Zeta ([zeta]). This
+is a double that will serve as a very good test of eye and instrument,
+the smaller companion-star being of only seven and a half magnitude.
+
+Directly above Cetus is the long, straggling constellation of Pisces,
+the Fishes. The Northern Fish is represented by the group of stars near
+Andromeda and the Triangles. A long band or ribbon, supposed to bind the
+fish together, trends thence first southeast and then west until it
+joins a group of stars under Pegasus, which represents the Western Fish,
+not to be confounded with the Southern Fish described near the
+beginning of this chapter, which is a separate constellation. Fable has,
+however, somewhat confounded these fishes; for while, as I have remarked
+above, the Southern Fish is said to represent Venus after she had turned
+herself into a fish to escape from the giant Typhon, the two fishes of
+the constellation we are now dealing with are also fabled to represent
+Venus and her interesting son Cupid under the same disguise assumed on
+precisely the same occasion. If Typhon, however, was so great a brute
+that even Cupid's arrows were of no avail against him, we should,
+perhaps, excuse mythology for duplicating the record of so wondrous an
+event.
+
+You will find it very interesting to take your glass and, beginning with
+the attractive little group in the Northern Fish, follow the windings of
+the ribbon, with its wealth of tiny stars, to the Western Fish. When you
+have arrived at that point, sweep well over the sky in that
+neighborhood, and particularly around and under the stars Iota ([iota]),
+Theta ([theta]), Lambda ([lambda]), and Kappa ([kappa]). If you are
+using a powerful glass, you will be surprised and delighted by what you
+see. Below the star Omega ([omega]), and to the left of Lambda, is the
+place which the sun occupies at the time of the spring equinox--in other
+words, one of the two crossing-places of the equinoctial or the equator
+of the heavens, and the ecliptic, or the sun's path. The prime meridian
+of the heavens passes through this point. You can trace out this great
+circle, from which astronomical longitudes are reckoned, by drawing an
+imaginary line from the equinoctial point just indicated through [alpha]
+in Andromeda and [beta] in Cassiopeia to the pole-star.
+
+To the left of Pisces, and above the head of Cetus, is the constellation
+Aries, or the Ram. Two pretty bright stars, four degrees apart, one of
+which has a fainter star near it, mark it out plainly to the eye. These
+stars are in the head of the Ram. The brightest one, Alpha ([alpha]), is
+called Hamal; Beta ([beta]) is named Sheratan; and its fainter neighbor
+is Mesarthim. According to fable, this constellation represents the ram
+that wore the golden fleece, which was the object of the celebrated
+expedition of the Argonauts. There is not much in the constellation to
+interest us, except its historical importance, as it was more than two
+thousand years ago the leading constellation of the zodiac, and still
+stands first in the list of the zodiacal signs. Owing to the precession
+of the equinoxes, however, the vernal equinoctial point, which was
+formerly in this constellation, has now advanced into the constellation
+Pisces, as we saw above. Gamma ([gamma]), Arietis, is interesting as the
+first telescopic double star ever discovered. Its duplicity was detected
+by Dr. Hooke while watching the passage of a comet near the star in
+1664. Singularly enough, the brightest star in the constellation, now
+bearing the letter [alpha], originally did not belong to the
+constellation. Tycho Brahe finally placed it in the head of Aries.
+
+The little constellation of the Triangles, just above Aries, is worth
+only a passing notice. Insignificant as it appears, this little group is
+a very ancient constellation. It received its name, Deltoton, from the
+Greek letter [Delta].
+
+[Illustration: MAP 17.]
+
+The reader must now be introduced to the "Royal Family." Although the
+story of Perseus and Andromeda is, of course, well known to nearly all
+readers, yet, on account of the great beauty and brilliancy of the group
+of constellations that perpetuate the memory of it among the stars, it
+is worth recalling here. It will be remembered that, as Perseus was
+returning through the air from his conquest of the Gorgon Medusa, he saw
+the beautiful Andromeda chained to a rock on the sea-coast, waiting to
+be devoured by a sea-monster. The poor girl's only offense was that her
+mother, Cassiopeia, had boasted for her that she was fairer than the
+sea-beauty, Atergatis, and for this Neptune had decreed that all the
+land of the Ethiopians should be drowned and destroyed unless Andromeda
+was delivered up as a sacrifice to the dreadful sea-monster. When
+Perseus, dropping down to learn why this maiden was chained to the
+rocks, heard from Andromeda's lips the story of her woes, he laughed
+with joy. Here was an adventure just to his liking, and besides, unlike
+his previous adventures, it involved the fate of a beautiful woman with
+whom he was already in love. Could he save her? Well, wouldn't he! The
+sea-monster might frighten a kingdom full of Ethiops, but it could not
+shake the nerves of a hero from Greece. He whispered words of
+encouragement to Andromeda, who could scarce believe the good news that
+a champion had come to defend her after all her friends and royal
+relations had deserted her. Neither could she feel much confidence in
+her young champion's powers when suddenly her horrified gaze met the
+awful leviathan of the deep advancing to his feast! But Perseus, with a
+warning to Andromeda not to look at what he was about to do, sprang with
+his winged sandals up into the air. And then, as Charles Kingsley has so
+beautifully told the story--
+
+"On came the great sea-monster, coasting along like a huge black galley,
+lazily breasting the ripple, and stopping at times by creek or headland
+to watch for the laughter of girls at their bleaching, or cattle pawing
+on the sand-hills, or boys bathing on the beach. His great sides were
+fringed with clustering shells and sea-weeds, and the water gurgled in
+and out of his wide jaws as he rolled along, dripping and glistening in
+the beams of the morning sun. At last he saw Andromeda, and shot forward
+to take his prey, while the waves foamed white behind him, and before
+him the fish fled leaping.
+
+"Then down from the height of the air fell Perseus like a
+shooting-star--down to the crest of the waves, while Andromeda hid
+her face as he shouted. And then there was silence for a while.
+
+"At last she looked up trembling, and saw Perseus springing toward her;
+and, instead of the monster, a long, black rock, with the sea rippling
+quietly round it."
+
+Perseus had turned the monster into stone by holding the blood-freezing
+head of Medusa before his eyes; and it was fear lest Andromeda herself
+might see the Gorgon's head, and suffer the fate of all who looked upon
+it, that had led him to forbid her watching him when he attacked her
+enemy. Afterward he married her, and Cassiopeia, Andromeda's mother, and
+Cepheus, her father, gave their daughter's rescuer a royal welcome, and
+all the Ethiops rose up and blessed him for ridding the land of the
+monster. And now, if we choose, we can, any fair night, see the
+principal characters of this old romance shining in starry garb in the
+sky. Aratus saw them there in his day, more than two hundred years
+before Christ, and has left this description in his "Skies," as
+translated by Poste:
+
+  "Nor shall blank silence whelm the harassed house
+  Of Cepheus; the high heavens know their name,
+  For Zeus is in their line at few removes.
+  Cepheus himself by She-bear Cynosure,
+  Iasid king stands with uplifted arms.
+  From his belt thou castest not a glance
+  To see the first spire of the mighty Dragon.
+
+  "Eastward from him, heaven-troubled queen, with scanty stars
+  But lustrous in the full-mooned night, sits Cassiopeia.
+  Not numerous nor double-rowed
+  The gems that deck her form,
+  But like a key which through an inward-fastened
+  Folding-door men thrust to knock aside the bolts,
+  They shine in single zigzag row.
+  She, too, o'er narrow shoulders stretching
+  Uplifted hands, seems wailing for her child.
+
+  "For there, a woful statue-form, is seen
+  Andromeda, parted from her mother's side. Long I trow
+  Thou wilt not seek her in the nightly sky,
+  So bright her head, so bright
+  Her shoulders, feet, and girdle.
+  Yet even there she has her arms extended,
+  And shackled even in heaven; uplifted,
+  Outspread eternally are those fair hands.
+
+  "Her feet point to her bridegroom
+  Perseus, on whose shoulder they rest.
+  He in the north-wind stands gigantic,
+  His right hand stretched toward the throne
+  Where sits the mother of his bride. As one bent on some high deed,
+  Dust-stained he strides over the floor of heaven."
+
+The makers of old star-maps seem to have vied in the effort to represent
+with effect the figures of Andromeda, Perseus, and Cassiopeia among the
+stars, and it must be admitted that some of them succeeded in giving no
+small degree of life and spirit to their sketches.
+
+The starry riches of these constellations are well matched with their
+high mythological repute. Lying in and near the Milky-Way, they are
+particularly interesting to the observer with an opera-glass. Besides,
+they include several of the most celebrated wonders of the firmament.
+
+In consulting Map No. 17, the observer is supposed to face the east and
+northeast. We will begin our survey with Andromeda. The three chief
+stars of this constellation are of the second magnitude, and lie in a
+long, bending row, beginning with Alpha ([alpha]), or Alpheratz, in the
+head, which, as we have seen, marks one corner of the great Square of
+Pegasus. Beta ([beta]), or Mirach, with the smaller stars Mu ([mu]) and
+Nu ([nu]), form the girdle. The third of the chief stars is Gamma
+([gamma]), or Almaach, situated in the left foot. The little group of
+stars designated Lambda ([lambda]), Kappa ([kappa]), and Iota ([iota]),
+mark the extended right hand chained to the rock, and Zeta ([zeta]) and
+some smaller stars southwest of it show the left arm and hand, also
+stretched forth and shackled.
+
+In searching for picturesque objects in Andromeda, begin with Alpheratz
+and the groups forming the hands. Below the girdle will be seen a rather
+remarkable arrangement of small stars in the mouth of the Northern Fish.
+Now follow up the line of the girdle to the star Nu ([nu]). If your
+glass has a pretty wide field, your eye will immediately catch the
+glimmer of the Great Nebula of Andromeda in the same field with the
+star. This is the oldest or earliest discovered of the nebul�, and, with
+the exception of that in Orion, is the grandest visible in this
+hemisphere. Of course, not much can be expected of an opera-glass in
+viewing such an object; and yet a good glass, in clear weather and the
+absence of the moon, makes a very attractive spectacle of it.
+
+[Illustration: THE GREAT ANDROMEDA NEBULA.]
+
+By turning the eyes aside, the nebula can be seen, extended as a faint,
+wispy light, much elongated on either side of the brighter nucleus. The
+cut here given shows, approximately, the appearance of the nebula,
+together with some of the small stars in its neighborhood, as seen with
+a field-glass. With large telescopes it appears both larger and broader,
+expanding to a truly enormous extent, and in Bond's celebrated picture
+of it we behold gigantic rifts running lengthwise, while the whole field
+of sky in which it is contained appears sprinkled over with minute stars
+apparently between us and the nebula. It was in, or, probably more
+properly speaking, in line with, this nebula that a new star suddenly
+shone out in 1885, and, after flickering and fading for a few months,
+disappeared. That the outburst of light in this star had any real
+connection with the nebula is exceedingly improbable. Although it
+appeared to be close beside the bright nucleus of the nebula, it is
+likely that it was really hundreds or thousands of millions of miles
+either this side or the other side of it. Why it should suddenly have
+blazed into visibility, and then in so short a time have disappeared, is
+a question as difficult as it is interesting. The easiest way to account
+for it, if not the most satisfactory, is to assume that it is a variable
+star of long period, and possessing a very wide range of variability.
+One significant fact that would seem to point to some connection between
+star and the nebula, after all, is that a similar occurrence was noticed
+in the constellation Scorpio in 1860, and to which I have previously
+referred (see Chapter II). In that case a faint star projected against
+the background of a nebula, suddenly flamed into comparatively great
+brilliance, and then faded again. The chances against the accidental
+superposition of a variable star of such extreme variability upon a
+known nebula occurring twice are so great that, for that reason alone,
+we might be justified in thinking some mysterious causal relation must
+in each case exist between the nebula and the star. The temptation to
+indulge in speculation is very great here, but it is better to wait for
+more light, and confess that for the present these things are
+inexplicable.
+
+It will be found very interesting to sweep with the glass slowly from
+side to side over Andromeda, gradually approaching toward Cassiopeia or
+Perseus. The increase in the richness of the stratum of faint stars that
+apparently forms the background of the sky will be clearly discernible
+as you approach the Milky-Way, which passes directly through Cassiopeia
+and Perseus. It may be remarked that the Milky-Way itself, in that
+splendidly rich region about Sagittarius (described in the "Stars of
+Summer"), is not nearly so effective an object with an opera-glass as it
+is above Cygnus and in the region with which we are now dealing. This
+seems to be owing to the smaller magnitude of its component stars in the
+southern part of the stream. There the background appears more truly
+"milky," while in the northern region the little stars shine distinct,
+like diamond-specks, on a black background.
+
+The star Nu, which serves as a pointer to the Great Nebula, is itself
+worth some attention with a pretty strong glass on account of a pair of
+small stars near it.
+
+The star Gamma ([gamma]) is interesting, not only as one of the most
+beautiful triples in the heavens (an opera-glass is far too feeble an
+instrument to reveal its companions), but because it serves to indicate
+the radiant point of the Biela meteors. There was once a comet well
+known to astronomers by the name of its discoverer, Biela. It repeated
+its visits to the neighborhood of the sun once in every six or seven
+years. In 1846 this comet astonished all observers by splitting into two
+comets, which continued to run side by side, like two equal racers, in
+their course around the sun. Each developed a tail of its own. In 1852,
+when the twin comets were due again, the astronomical world was on the
+_qui vive_, and they did not disappoint expectation, for back they came
+out of the depths of space, still racing, but much farther apart than
+they had been before, alternating in brightness as if the long struggle
+had nearly exhausted them, and finally, like spent runners, growing
+faint and disappearing. They have never been seen since.
+
+In 1872, when the comets should have been visible, if they still
+existed, a very startling thing happened. Out of the northern heavens,
+along the track of the missing comets, where the earth crossed it, on
+the night of the 27th of November came glistening and dashing the fiery
+spray of a storm of meteors. It was the dust and fragments of the lost
+comet of Biela, which, after being split in two in 1852, had evidently
+continued the process of disintegration until its cometary character was
+completely lost. It seems to have made a truly ghostly exit, for right
+after the meteor swarm of 1872 a mysterious cometary body was seen,
+which was supposed at the time to be the missing comet itself, and
+which, it is not altogether improbable, may have been a fragment of it.
+Three days after the meteors burst over Europe, it occurred to Professor
+Klinkerfues, of Berlin, that if they came from Biela's comet the comet
+itself ought to be seen in the southern hemisphere retreating from its
+encounter with the earth. On November 30th he sent his now historical
+telegram to Mr. Pogson, an astronomer at Madras; "Biela touched earth
+November 27th. Search near Theta Centauri." For thirty-six hours after
+the receipt of this extraordinary request Mr. Pogson was prevented by
+clouds from scanning the heavens with his telescope. When the sky
+cleared at last, behold there was a comet in the place indicated in the
+telegram! It was glimpsed again the next night, and then clouds
+intervened, and not a trace of it was ever seen afterward.
+
+But every year, on the 27th of November, when the earth crosses the
+orbit of the lost comet, meteoric fragments come plunging into our
+atmosphere, burning as they fly. Ordinarily their number is small, but
+when, as in 1872, a swarm of the meteors is in that part of their orbit
+which the earth crosses, there is a brilliant spectacle. In 1885 this
+occurred, and the world was treated to one of the most splendid meteoric
+displays on record.
+
+[Illustration: THE ATTENDANTS OF ALPHA PERSEI.]
+
+Next let us turn to Perseus. The bending row of stars marking the center
+of this constellation is very striking and brilliant. The brightest star
+in the constellation is Alpha, or Algenib, in the center of the row. The
+head of Perseus is toward Cassiopeia, and in his left hand he grasps the
+head of Medusa, which hangs down in such a way that its principal star
+Beta, or Algol, forms a right angle with Algenib and Almaach in
+Andromeda. This star Algol, or the Demon, as the Arabs call it, is in
+some respects the most wonderful and interesting in all the heavens. It
+is as famous for the variability of its light as Mira, but it differs
+widely from that star both in its period, which is very short, and in
+the extent of the changes it undergoes. During about two days and a
+half, Algol is equal in brilliance to Algenib, which is a
+second-magnitude star; then it begins to fade, and in the course of
+about four and a half hours it sinks to the fourth magnitude, being then
+about equal to the faint stars near it. It remains thus obscured for
+only a few minutes, and then begins to brighten again, and in about four
+and a half hours more resumes its former brilliance. This phenomenon is
+very easily observed, for, as will be seen by consulting our little map,
+Algol can be readily found, and its changes are so rapid that under
+favorable circumstances it can be seen in the course of a single night
+to run through the whole gamut. Of course, no optical instrument
+whatever is needed to enable one to see these changes of Algol, for it
+is plainly visible to the naked eye throughout, but it will be found
+interesting to watch the star with an opera-glass. Its periodic time
+from minimum to minimum is two days, twenty hours, and forty-nine
+minutes, lacking a few seconds. Any one can calculate future minima for
+himself by adding the periodic time above given to the time of any
+observed minimum.
+
+While spots upon its surface may be the cause of the variations in the
+light of Mira, it is believed that the more rapid changes of Algol may
+be due to another cause; namely, the existence of a huge, dark body
+revolving swiftly around it at close quarters in an orbit whose plane is
+directed edgewise toward the earth, so that at regular intervals this
+dark body causes a partial eclipse of Algol. Notwithstanding the attacks
+that have been made upon this theory, it seems to hold its ground, and
+it will probably continue to find favor as a working hypothesis until
+some fresh light is cast upon the problem. It hardly needs to be said
+that the dark body in question, if it exists, must be of enormous size,
+bearing no such insignificant proportion to the size of Algol as the
+earth does to the sun, but being rather the rival in bulk of its shining
+brother--a blind companion, an extinguished sun.
+
+There was certainly great fitness in the selection of the little group
+of stars of which this mysterious Algol forms the most conspicuous
+member, to represent the awful head of the Gorgon carried by the
+victorious Perseus for the confusion of his enemies. In a darker age
+than ours the winking of this demon-star must have seemed a prodigy of
+sinister import.
+
+Turn now to the bright star Algenib, or Alpha Persei. You will find with
+the glass an exceedingly attractive spectacle there. In my note-book I
+find this entry, made while sweeping over Perseus for materials for this
+chapter: "The field about Alpha is one of the finest in the sky for an
+opera-glass. Stars conspicuously ranged in curving lines and streams. A
+host follows Alpha from the east and south." The picture on page 84 will
+give the reader some notion of the exceeding beauty of this field of
+stars, and of the singular manner in which they are grouped, as it were,
+behind their leader. A field-glass increases the beauty of the scene.
+
+The reader will find a starry cluster marked on Map 17 as the "Great
+Cluster." This object can be easily detected by the naked eye,
+resembling a wisp of luminous cloud. It marks the hand in which Perseus
+clasps his diamond sword, and, with a telescope of medium power, it is
+one of the most marvelously beautiful objects in the sky--a double swarm
+of stars, bright enough to be clearly distinguished from one another,
+and yet so numerous as to dazzle the eye with their lively beams. An
+opera-glass does not possess sufficient power to "resolve" this cluster,
+but it gives a startling suggestion of its half-hidden magnificence, and
+the observer will be likely to turn to it again and again with
+increasing admiration. Sweep from this to Alpha Persei and beyond to get
+an idea of the procession of suns in the Milky-Way. The nebulous-looking
+cluster marked 34 M appears with an opera-glass like a faint comet.
+
+About a thousand years ago the theologians undertook to reconstruct the
+constellation figures, and to give them a religious significance. They
+divided the zodiac up among the twelve apostles, St. Peter taking the
+place of Aries, with the Triangles for his mitre. In this reconstruction
+Perseus was transmogrified into St. Paul, armed with a sword in one hand
+and a book in the other; Cassiopeia became Mary Magdalene; while poor
+Andromeda, stripped of all her beauty and romance, was turned into a
+sepulchre!
+
+Next look at Cassiopeia, which is distinctly marked out by the zigzag
+row of stars so well described by Aratus. Here the Milky-Way is so rich
+that the observer hardly needs any guidance; he is sure to stumble upon
+interesting sights for himself. The five brightest stars are generally
+represented as indicating the outlines of the chair or throne in which
+the queen sits, the star Zeta ([zeta]) being in her head. Look at Zeta
+with a good field-glass, and you will see a singular and brilliant array
+of stars near it in a broken half-circle, which may suggest the notion
+of a crown. Near the little star Kappa ([kappa]) in the map will be seen
+a small circle and the figures 1572. This shows the spot where the
+famous temporary star, which has of late been frequently referred to as
+the "Star of Bethlehem," appeared. It was seen in 1572, and carefully
+observed by the famous astronomer Tycho Brahe. It seems to have suddenly
+burst forth with a brilliance that outshone every other star in the
+heavens, not excepting Sirius itself. But its supremacy was short-lived.
+In a few months it had sunk to the second magnitude. It continued to
+grow fainter, exhibiting some remarkable changes of color in the mean
+time, and in less than a year and a half it disappeared. It has never
+been seen since. But in 1264, and again in 945, a star is said to have
+suddenly blazed out near that point in the heavens. There is no
+certainty about these earlier apparitions, but, assuming that they are
+not apocryphal, they might possibly indicate that the star seen by Tycho
+was a periodical one, its period considerably exceeding three hundred
+years. Carrying this supposed period back, it was found that an
+apparition of this star might have occurred about the time of the birth
+of Christ. It did not require a very prolific imagination to suggest its
+identity with the so-called star of the Magi, and hence the legend of
+the Star of Bethlehem and its impending reappearance, of which we have
+heard so much of late. It will be observed, from the dates given above,
+that, even supposing them to be correct, no definite period is indicated
+for the reappearance of the star. In one case the interval is three
+hundred and eight years, and in the other three hundred and nineteen
+years. In short, there are too many suppositions and assumptions
+involved to allow of any credence being given to the theory of the
+periodicity of Tycho's wonderful star. At the same time, nobody can say
+it is impossible that the star should appear again, and so it may be
+interesting for the reader to know where to look for it.
+
+Many of the most beautiful sights of this splendid constellation are
+beyond the reach of an opera-glass, and reserved for the grander powers
+of the telescope.
+
+We will pause but briefly with Cepheus, for the old king's constellation
+is comparatively dim in the heavens, as his part in the dramatic story
+of Andromeda was contemptible, and he seems to have got among the stars
+only by virtue of his relationship to more interesting persons. He does
+possess one gem of singular beauty--the star Mu, which may be found
+about two and a half degrees south of the star Nu ([nu]). It is the
+so-called "Garnet Star," thus named by William Herschel, who advises the
+observer, in order to appreciate its color, to glance from it to Alpha
+Cephei, which is a white star. Mu is variable, changing from the fourth
+to the sixth magnitude in a long period of five or six years. Its color
+is changeable, like its light. Sometimes it is of a deep garnet hue, and
+at other times it is orange-colored. Upon the whole, it appears of a
+deeper red than any other star visible to the naked eye.
+
+If you have a good field-glass, try its powers upon the star Delta
+([delta]) Cephei. This is a double star, the components being about
+forty-one seconds of arc apart, the larger of four and one half
+magnitude, and the smaller of the seventh magnitude. The latter is of a
+beautiful blue color, while the larger star is yellow or orange. With a
+good eye, a steady hand, and a clear glass, magnifying not less than six
+diameters, you can separate them, and catch the contrasted tints of
+their light. Besides being a double star, Delta is variable.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+THE STARS OF WINTER.
+
+
+I have never beheld the first indications of the rising of Orion without
+a peculiar feeling of awakened expectation, like that of one who sees
+the curtain rise upon a drama of absorbing interest. And certainly the
+magnificent company of the winter constellations, of which Orion is the
+chief, make their entrance upon the scene in a manner that may be
+described as almost dramatic. First in the east come the world-renowned
+Pleiades. At about the same time Capella, one of the most beautiful of
+stars, is seen flashing above the northeastern horizon. These are the
+sparkling ushers to the coming spectacle. In an hour the fiery gleam of
+Aldebaran appears at the edge of the dome below the Pleiades, a star
+noticeable among a thousand for its color alone, besides being one of
+the brightest of the heavenly host. The observer familiar with the
+constellations knows, when he sees this red star which marks the eye of
+the angry bull, Taurus, that just behind the horizon stands Orion with
+starry shield and upraised club to meet the charge of his gigantic
+enemy. With Aldebaran rises the beautiful V-shaped group of the Hyades.
+Presently the star-streams of Eridanus begin to appear in the east and
+southeast, the immediate precursors of the rising of Orion:
+
+  "And now the river-flood's first winding reach
+  The becalmed mariner may see in heaven,
+  As he watches for Orion to espy if he hath aught to say
+  Of the night's measure or the slumbering winds."
+
+The first glimpse we get of the hero of the sky is the long bending row
+of little stars that glitter in the lion's skin which, according to
+mythology, serves him for a shield. The great constellation then
+advances majestically into sight. First of its principal stars appears
+Bellatrix in the left shoulder; then the little group forming the head,
+followed closely by the splendid Betelgeuse, "the martial star,"
+flashing like a decoration upon the hero's right shoulder. Then come
+into view the equally beautiful Rigel in the left foot, and the striking
+row of three bright stars forming the Belt. Below these hangs another
+starry pendant marking the famous sword of Orion, and last of all
+appears Saiph in the right knee. There is no other constellation
+containing so many bright stars. It has two of the first magnitude,
+Betelgeuse and Rigel; the three stars in the Belt, and Bellatrix in the
+left shoulder, are all of the second magnitude; and besides these there
+are three stars of the third magnitude, more than a dozen of the fourth,
+and innumerable twinklers of smaller magnitudes, whose commingled
+scintillations form a celestial illumination of singular splendor.
+
+  "Thus graced and armed he leads the starry host."
+
+By the time Orion has chased the Bull half-way up the eastern slope of
+the firmament, the peerless Dog-Star, Sirius, is flaming at the edge of
+the horizon, while farther north glitters Procyon, the little Dog-Star,
+and still higher are seen the twin stars in Gemini. When these
+constellations have advanced well toward the meridian, as shown in our
+circular map, their united radiance forms a scene never to be forgotten.
+Counting one of the stars in Gemini as of the first rank, there are no
+less than seven first-magnitude stars ranged around one another in a way
+that can not fail to attract the attention and the admiration of the
+most careless observer. Aldebaran, Capella, the Twins, Procyon, Sirius,
+and Rigel mark the angles of a huge hexagon, while Betelgeuse shines
+with ruddy beauty not far from the center of the figure. The heavens
+contain no other naked-eye view comparable with this great array, not
+even the glorious celestial region where the Southern Cross shines
+supreme, being equal to it in splendor.
+
+As an offset to the discomforts of winter observations of the stars, the
+observer finds that the softer skies of summer have no such marvelous
+brilliants to dazzle his eyes as those that illumine the hyemal heavens.
+To comprehend the real glories of the celestial sphere in the depth of
+winter one should spend a few clear nights in the rural districts of New
+York or New England, when the hills, clad with sparkling blankets of
+crusted snow, reflect the glitter of the living sky. In the pure frosty
+air the stars seem splintered and multiplied indefinitely, and the
+brighter ones shine with a splendor of light and color unknown to the
+denizen of the smoky city, whose eyes are dulled and blinded by the
+glare of streetlights. There one may detect the delicate shade of green
+that lurks in the imperial blaze of Sirius, the beautiful rose-red light
+of Aldebaran, the rich orange hue of Betelgeuse, the blue-white radiance
+of Rigel, and the pearly luster of Capella. If you have never seen the
+starry heavens except as they appear from city streets and squares,
+then, I had almost said, you have never seen them at all, and especially
+in the winter is this true. I wish I could describe to you the
+impression that they can make upon the opening mind of a country boy,
+who, knowing as yet nothing of the little great world around him, stands
+in the yawning silence of night and beholds the illimitably great world
+above him, looking deeper than thought can go into the shining vistas of
+the universe, and overwhelmed with the wonder of those marshaled suns.
+
+[Illustration: MAP. 18.]
+
+Looking now at Map 18, we see the heavens as they appear at midnight on
+the 1st of December, at 10 o'clock P. M. on the 1st of January, and at 8
+o'clock P. M. on the 1st of February. In the western half of the sky we
+recognize Andromeda, Pegasus, Pisces, Cetus, Aries, Cassiopeia, and
+other constellations that we studied in the "Stars of Autumn." Far over
+in the east we see rising Leo, Cancer, and Hydra, which we included
+among the "Stars of Spring." Occupying most of the southern and eastern
+heavens are the constellations which we are now to describe under the
+name of the "Stars of Winter," because in that season they are seen
+under the most favorable circumstances. I have already referred to the
+admirable way in which the principal stars of some of these
+constellations are ranged round one another. By the aid of the map the
+observer can perceive the relative position of the different
+constellations, and, having fixed this in his mind, he will be prepared
+to study them in detail.
+
+[Illustration: MAP 19.]
+
+Let us now begin with Map No. 19, which shows us the constellations of
+Eridanus, Lepus, Orion, and Taurus. Eridanus is a large though not very
+conspicuous constellation, which is generally supposed to represent the
+celebrated river now known as the Po. It has had different names among
+different peoples, but the idea of a river, suggested by its long,
+winding streams of stars, has always been preserved. According to fable,
+it is the river into which Phaeton fell after his disastrous attempt to
+drive the chariot of the sun for his father Phoebus, and in which
+hare-brained adventure he narrowly missed burning the world up. The
+imaginary river starts from the brilliant star Rigel, in the left foot
+of Orion, and flows in a broad upward bend toward the west; then it
+turns in a southerly direction until it reaches the bright star Gamma
+([gamma]), where it bends sharply to the north, and then quickly sweeps
+off to the west once more, until it meets the group of stars marking the
+head of Cetus. Thence it runs south, gradually turning eastward, until
+it flows back more than half-way to Orion. Finally it curves south again
+and disappears beneath the horizon. Throughout the whole distance of
+more than 100� the course of the stream is marked by rows of stars, and
+can be recognized without difficulty by the amateur observer.
+
+The first thing to do with your opera-glass, after you have fixed the
+general outlines of the constellation in your mind by naked-eye
+observations, is to sweep slowly over the whole course of the stream,
+beginning at Rigel, and following its various wanderings. Eridanus ends
+in the southern hemisphere near a first-magnitude star called Achernar,
+which is situated in the stream, but can not be seen from our latitudes.
+Along the stream you will find many interesting groupings of the stars.
+In the map see the pair of stars below and to the right of Nu ([nu]).
+These are the two Omicrons, the upper one being [omicron]� and the
+lower one [omicron]�. The latter is of an orange hue, and is remarkable
+for the speed with which it is flying through space. There are only one
+or two stars whose proper motion, as it is called, is more rapid than
+that of [omicron]� in Eridanus. It changes its place nearly seven
+minutes of arc in a century. The records of the earliest observations we
+possess show that near the beginning of the Christian era it was about
+half-way between [omicron]� and [nu]. Its companion [omicron]�, on the
+contrary, seems to be almost stationary, so that [omicron]� will
+gradually draw away from it, passing on toward the southwest until, in
+the course of centuries, it will become invisible from our latitudes.
+This flying star is accompanied by two minute companions, which in
+themselves form a close and very delicate double star. These two little
+stars, of only 9.5 and 10.5 magnitude, respectively, are, of course
+beyond the ken of the observer with an opera-glass. The system of which
+they form a part, however, is intensely interesting, since the
+appearances indicate that they belong, in the manner of satellites, to
+[omicron]�, and are fellow-voyagers of that wonderful star.
+
+[Illustration: THE "GOLDEN HORNS" OF TAURUS.]
+
+Having admired the star-groups of Eridanus, one of the prettiest of
+which is to be seen around Beta ([beta]), let us turn next to Taurus,
+just above or north of Eridanus. Two remarkable clusters at once attract
+the eye, the Hyades, which are shaped somewhat like the letter [V], with
+Aldebaran in the upper end of the left-hand branch, and the Pleiades,
+whose silvery glittering has made them celebrated in all ages. The
+Pleiades are in the shoulder and the Hyades in the face of Taurus,
+Aldebaran most appropriately representing one of his blazing eyes as he
+hurls himself against Orion. The constellation-makers did not trouble
+themselves to make a complete Bull, and only the head and fore-quarters
+of the animal are represented. If Taurus had been completed on the scale
+on which he was begun, there would have been no room in the sky for
+Aries; one of the Fishes would have had to abandon his celestial
+swimming-place, and even the fair Andromeda would have found herself
+uncomfortably situated. But, as if to make amends for neglecting to
+furnish their heavenly Bull with hind-quarters, the ancients gave him a
+most prodigious and beautiful pair of horns, which make the beholder
+feel alarm for the safety of Orion. Starting out of the head above the
+Hyades, as illustrated in our cut, the horns curve upward and to the
+east, each being tipped by a bright star. Along and between the horns
+runs a scattered and broken stream of minute stars which seem to be
+gathered into knots just beyond the end of the horns, where they dip
+into the edge of the Milky-Way. Many of these stars can be seen, on a
+dark night, with an ordinary opera-glass, but, to see them well, one
+should use as large a field-glass as he can obtain. With such a glass
+their appearance almost makes one suspect that Virgil had a poetic
+prevision of the wonders yet to be revealed by the telescope when he
+wrote, as rendered by Dryden, of the season--
+
+  "When with his _golden horns_ in full career
+  The Bull beats down the barriers of the year."
+
+Below the tips of the horns, and over Orion's head, there are also rich
+clusters of stars, as if the Bull were flaunting shreds of sparkling
+raiment torn from some celestial victim of his fury. With an ordinary
+glass, however, the observer will not find this star-sprinkled region
+around the horns of Taurus as brilliant a spectacle as that presented by
+the Hyades and the group of stars just above them in the Bull's ear. The
+two stars in the tips of the horns are both interesting, each in a
+different way. The upper and brighter one of the two, marked Beta
+([beta]) in Map No. 19, is called El Nath. It is common to the left horn
+of Taurus and the right foot of Auriga, who is represented standing just
+above. It is a singularly white star. This quality of its light becomes
+conspicuous when it is looked at with a glass. The most inexperienced
+observer will hardly fail to be impressed by the pure whiteness of El
+Nath, in comparison with which he will find that many of the stars he
+had supposed to be white show a decided tinge of color. The star in the
+tip of the right or southern horn, Zeta ([zeta]), is remarkable, not on
+its own account, but because it serves as a pointer to a famous nebula,
+the discovery of which led Messier to form his catalogue of nebul�. This
+is sometimes called the "Crab Nebula," from the long sprays of nebulous
+matter which were seen surrounding it with Lord Rosse's great telescope.
+Our little sketch is simply intended to enable the observer to locate
+this strange object. If he wishes to study its appearance, he must use a
+powerful telescope. But with a first-rate field-glass he can see it as a
+speck of light in the position shown in the cut, where the large star is
+Zeta and the smaller ones are faint stars, the relative position of
+which will enable the observer to find the nebula, if he keeps in mind
+that the top of the cut is toward the north. It is noteworthy that this
+nebula for a time deceived several of the watchers who were on the
+lookout for the predicted return of Halley's comet in 1835.
+
+[Illustration: THE CRAB NEBULA.]
+
+And now let us look at the Hyades, an assemblage of stars not less
+beautiful than their more celebrated sisters the Pleiades. The leader of
+the Hyades is Aldebaran, or Alpha Tauri, and his followers are worthy of
+their leader. The inexperienced observer is certain to be surprised by
+the display of stars which an opera-glass brings to view in the Hyades.
+Our illustration will give some notion of their appearance with a large
+field-glass. The "brackish poet," of whose rhymes Admiral Smyth was so
+fond, thus describes the Hyades:
+
+  "In lustrous dignity aloft see Alpha Tauri shine,
+  The splendid zone he decorates attests the Power divine:
+  For mark around what glitt'ring orbs attract the wandering eye,
+  You'll soon confess no other star has such attendants nigh."
+
+The redness of the light of Aldebaran is a very interesting phenomenon.
+Careful observation detects a decided difference between its color and
+that of Betelgeuse, or Alpha Orionis, which is also a red star. It
+differs, too, from the brilliant red star of summer, Antares. Aldebaran
+has a trace of rose-color in its light, while Betelgeuse is of a very
+deep orange, and Antares may be described as fire-red. These shades of
+color can easily be detected by the naked eye after a little practice.
+First compare Aldebaran and Betelgeuse, and glance from each to the
+brilliant white, or bluish-white, star Rigel in Orion's foot. Upon
+turning the eye back from Rigel to Aldebaran the peculiar color of the
+latter is readily perceived. Spectroscopic analysis has revealed the
+presence in Aldebaran of hydrogen, sodium, magnesium, calcium, iron,
+bismuth, tellurium, antimony, and mercury. And so modern discoveries,
+while they have pushed back the stars to distances of which the ancients
+could not conceive, have, at the same time, and equally, widened the
+recognized boundaries of the physical universe and abolished forever the
+ancient distinction between the heavens and the earth. It is a plain
+road from the earth to the stars, though mortal feet can not tread it.
+
+[Illustration: THE HYADES.]
+
+Keeping in mind that in our little picture of the Hyades the top is
+north, the right hand west, and the left hand east, the reader will be
+able to identify the principal stars in the group. Aldebaran is readily
+recognized, because it is the largest of all. The bright star near the
+upper edge of the picture is Epsilon Tauri, and its sister star, forming
+the point of the [V], is Gamma Tauri. The three brightest stars between
+Epsilon and Gamma, forming a little group, are the Deltas, while the
+pair of stars surrounded by many smaller ones, half-way between
+Aldebaran and Gamma, are the Thetas. These stars present a very pretty
+appearance, viewed with a good glass, the effect being heightened by a
+contrast of color in the two Thetas. The little pair southeast of
+Aldebaran, called the Sigmas, is also a beautiful object. The distance
+apart of these stars is about seven minutes of arc, while the distance
+between the two Thetas is about five and a half minutes of arc. These
+measures may be useful to the reader in estimating the distances between
+other stars that he may observe. It will also be found an interesting
+test of the eye-sight to endeavor to see these stars as doubles without
+the aid of a glass. Persons having keen eyes will be able to accomplish
+this.
+
+North of the star Epsilon will be seen a little group in the ear of the
+Bull (see cut, "The Golden Horns of Taurus"), which presents a brilliant
+appearance with a small glass. The southernmost pair in the group are
+the Kappas, whose distance apart is very nearly the same as that of the
+Thetas, described above; but I think it improbable that anybody could
+separate them with the naked eye, as there is a full magnitude between
+them in brightness, and the smaller star is only of magnitude 6.5, while
+sixth-magnitude stars are generally reckoned as the smallest that can be
+seen by the naked eye. Above the Kappas, and in the same group in the
+ear, are the two Upsilons, forming a wider pair.
+
+Next we come to the Pleiades:
+
+  "Though small their size and pale their light, wide is their fame."
+
+In every age and in every country the Pleiades have been watched,
+admired, and wondered at, for they are visible from every inhabited land
+on the globe. To many they are popularly known as the Seven Stars,
+although few persons can see more than six stars in the group with the
+unaided eye. It is a singular fact that many of the earliest writers
+declare that only six Pleiades can be seen, although they all assert
+that they are seven in number. These seven were the fabled daughters of
+Atlas, or the Atlantides, whose names were Merope, Alcyone, Cel�no,
+Electra, Taygeta, Asterope, and Maia. One of the stories connected with
+them is that Merope married a mortal, whereupon her star grew dim among
+her sisters. Another fable assures us that Electra, unable to endure the
+sight of the burning of Troy, hid her face in her hands, and so blotted
+her star from the sky. While we may smile at these stories, we can not
+entirely disregard them, for they are intermingled with some of the
+richest literary treasures of the world, and they come to us, like some
+old keepsake, perfumed with the memory of a past age. The mythological
+history of the Pleiades is intensely interesting, too, because it is
+world-wide. They have impressed their mark, in one way or another, upon
+the habits, customs, traditions, language, and history of probably every
+nation. This is true of savage tribes as well as of great empires. The
+Pleiades furnish one of the principal links that appear to connect the
+beginnings of human history with that wonderful prehistoric past, where,
+as through a gulf of mist, we seem to perceive faintly the glow of a
+golden age beyond. The connection of the Pleiades with traditions of the
+Flood is most remarkable. In almost every part of the world, and in
+various ages, the celebration of a feast or festival of the dead, dimly
+connected by traditions with some great calamity to the human race in
+the past, has been found to be directly related to the Pleiades. This
+festival or rite, which has been discovered in various forms among the
+ancient Hindoos, Egyptians, Persians, Peruvians, Mexicans, Druids, etc.,
+occurs always in the month of November, and is regulated by the
+culmination of the Pleiades. The Egyptians directly connected this
+celebration with a deluge, and the Mexicans, at the time of the Spanish
+conquest, had a tradition that the world had once been destroyed at the
+time of the midnight culmination of the Pleiades. Among the savages
+inhabiting Australia and the Pacific island groups a similar rite has
+been discovered. It has also been suggested that the Japanese feast of
+lanterns is not improbably related to this world-wide observance of the
+Pleiades, as commemorating some calamitous event in the far past which
+involved the whole race of man in its effects.
+
+The Pleiades also have a supposed connection with that mystery of
+mysteries, the great Pyramid of Cheops. It has been found that about the
+year 2170 B. C., when the beginning of spring coincided with the
+culmination of the Pleiades at midnight, that wonderful group of stars
+was visible, just at midnight, through the mysterious southward-pointing
+passage of the Pyramid. At the same date the then pole-star, Alpha
+Draconis, was visible through the northward-pointing passage of the
+Pyramid.
+
+Another curious myth involving the Pleiades as a part of the
+constellation Taurus is that which represents this constellation as the
+Bull into which Jupiter changed himself when he carried the fair Europa
+away from Phoenicia to the continent that now bears her name. In this
+story the fact that only the head and fore-quarters of the Bull are
+visible in the sky is accounted for on the ground that the remainder of
+his body is beneath the water through which he is swimming. Here, then,
+is another apparent link with the legends of the Flood, with which the
+Pleiades have been so strangely connected, as by common consent among
+many nations, and in the most widely separated parts of the earth.
+
+With the most powerful field-glass you may be able to see all of the
+stars represented in our picture of the Pleiades. With an ordinary
+opera-glass the fainter ones will not be visible; yet even with such a
+glass the scene is a remarkable one. Not only all of the "Seven
+Sisters," but many other stars, can be seen twinkling among them. The
+superiority of Alcyone to the others, which is not so clear to the naked
+eye, becomes very apparent. Alcyone is the large star below the middle
+of the picture with a triangle of little stars beside it. To the left or
+east of Alcyone the two most conspicuous stars are Atlas and Pleione.
+The latter--which is the uppermost one--is represented too large in the
+picture. It requires a sharp eye to see Pleione without a glass, while
+Atlas is plainly visible to the unaided vision, and is always counted
+among the naked-eye Pleiades, although it does not bear the name of one
+of the mythological sisters, but that of their father. The bright star
+below and to the right of Alcyone is Merope; the one near the right-hand
+edge of the picture, about on a level with Alcyone, is Electra. Above,
+or to the north of Electra, are two bright stars lying in a line
+pointing toward Alcyone; the upper one of these, or the one farthest
+from Alcyone, is Taygeta, and the other is Maia. Above Taygeta and Maia,
+and forming a little triangle with them, is a pair of stars which bears
+the name of Asterope. About half-way between Taygeta and Electra, and
+directly above the latter, is Cel�no.
+
+[Illustration: THE PLEIADES.]
+
+The naked-eye observer will probably find it difficult to decide which
+he can detect the more easily, Cel�no or Pleione, while he will discover
+that Asterope, although composed of two stars, as seen with a glass, is
+so faint as to be much more difficult than either Cel�no or Pleione.
+Unless, as is not improbable, the names have become interchanged in the
+course of centuries, the brightness of these stars would seem to have
+undergone remarkable changes. The star of Merope, it will be remembered,
+was said to have become indistinct, or disappeared, because she married
+a mortal. At present Merope is one of those that can be plainly seen
+with the naked-eye, while the star of Asterope, who was said to have had
+the god Mars for her spouse, has faded away until only a glass can show
+it. It would appear, then, that notwithstanding an occasional temporary
+eclipse, it is, in the long run, better to marry a plain mortal than a
+god. Electra, too, who hid her eyes at the sight of burning Troy, seems
+to have recovered from her fright, and is at present, next to Alcyone,
+the brightest star in the cluster. But, however we may regard those
+changes in the brightness of the Pleiades which are based upon
+tradition, there is no doubt that well-attested changes have taken place
+in the comparative brilliancy of stars in this cluster since astronomy
+became an exact science.
+
+Observations of the proper motions of the Pleiades have shown that there
+is an actual physical connection between them; that they are, literally
+speaking, a flight of suns. Their common motion is toward the southwest,
+under the impulse of forces that remain as yet beyond the grasp of human
+knowledge. Alcyone was selected by M�dler as the central sun around
+which the whole starry system revolved, but later investigations have
+shown that his speculation was not well founded, and that, so far as we
+can determine, the proper motions of the stars are not such as to
+indicate the existence of any common center. They appear to be flying
+with different velocities in every direction, although--as in the case
+of the Pleiades--we often find groups of them associated together in a
+common direction of flight.
+
+Still another curious fact about the Pleiades is the existence of some
+rather mysterious nebulous masses in the cluster. In 1859 Temple
+discovered an extensive nebula, of a broad oval form, with the star
+Merope immersed in one end of it. Subsequent observations showed that
+this strange phenomenon was variable. Sometimes it could not be seen; at
+other times it was very plain and large. In Jeaurat's chart of the
+Pleiades, made in 1779, a vast nebulous mass is represented near the
+stars Atlas and Pleione. This has since been identified by Goldschmidt
+as part of a huge, ill-defined nebula, which he thought he could
+perceive enveloping the whole group of the Pleiades. Many observers,
+however, could never see these nebulous masses, and were inclined to
+doubt their actual existence. Within the past few years astronomical
+photography, having made astonishing progress, has thrown new light upon
+this mysterious subject. The sensitized plate of the camera, when
+applied at the focus of a properly constructed telescope, has proved
+more effective than the human retina, and has, so to speak, enabled us
+to see beyond the reach of vision by means of the pictures it makes of
+objects which escape the eye. In November, 1885, Paul and Prosper Henry
+turned their great photographing telescope upon the Pleiades, and with
+it discovered a nebula apparently attached to the star Maia. The most
+powerful telescopes in the world had never revealed this to the eye. Yet
+of its actual existence there can be no question. Their photograph also
+showed the Merope nebula, although much smaller, and of a different form
+from that represented by its discoverer and others. There evidently yet
+remains much to be discovered in this singular group, and the mingling
+of nebulous matter with its stars makes Tennyson's picturesque
+description of the Pleiades appear all the more life-like:
+
+  "Many a night I saw the Pleiads, rising through the mellow shade,
+  Glitter like _a swarm of fire-flies tangled in a silver braid_."
+
+The reader should not expect to be able to see the nebul� in the
+Pleiades with an opera-glass. I have thought it proper to mention these
+singular objects only in order that he might be in possession of the
+principal and most curious facts about those interesting stars.[C]
+
+[Footnote C: The Henry Brothers have continued the photographic work
+described above, and their later achievements are even more interesting
+and wonderful. They have found that there are many nebulous masses
+involved in the group of the Pleiades, and have photographed them. One
+of the most amazing phenomena in their great photograph of the Pleiades
+is a long wisp or streak of nebulous matter, along which eight or nine
+stars are strung in a manner which irresistibly suggests an intimate
+connection between the stars and the nebula. This recalls the recent
+(August, 1888) discovery made by Prof. Holden, with the great Lick
+telescope, concerning the structure of the celebrated ring nebula in
+Lyra, which, it appears, is composed of concentric ovals of stars and
+nebulous stuff, so arranged that we must believe they are intimately
+associated in a most wonderful community.]
+
+Orion will next command our attention. You will find the constellation
+in Map No. 19:
+
+  "Eastward beyond the region of the Bull
+  Stands great Orion; whoso kens not him in cloudless night
+  Gleaming aloft, shall cast his eyes in vain
+  To find a brighter sign in all the heaven."
+
+To the naked eye, to the opera-glass, and to the telescope, Orion is
+alike a mine of wonders. This great constellation embraces almost every
+variety of interesting phenomena that the heavens contain. Here we have
+the grandest of the nebul�, some of the largest and most beautifully
+colored stars, star-streams, star-clusters, nebulous stars, variable
+stars. I have already mentioned the positions of the principal stars in
+the imaginary figure of the great hunter. I may add that his upraised
+arm and club are represented by the stars seen in the map above Alpha
+([alpha]) or Betelgeuse, one of which is marked Nu ([nu]), and another,
+in the knob of the club, Chi ([chi]). I have also, in speaking of
+Aldebaran, described the contrast in the colors of Betelgeuse and Beta
+([beta]) or Rigel. Betelgeuse, it may be remarked, is slightly variable.
+Sometimes it appears brighter than Rigel, and sometimes less brilliant.
+It is interesting to note that, according to Secchi's division of the
+stars into types, based upon their spectra, Betelgeuse falls into the
+third order, which seems to represent a type of suns in which the
+process of cooling, and the formation of an absorptive envelope or
+shell, have gone on so far that we may regard them as approaching the
+point of extinction. Rigel, on the other hand, belongs to the first
+order or type which represents suns that are probably both hotter and
+younger in the order of development. So, then, we may look upon the two
+chief stars of this great constellation as representing two stages of
+cosmical existence. Betelgeuse shows us a sun that has almost run its
+course, that has passed into its decline, and that already begins to
+faint and flicker and grow dim before the on-coming and inevitable fate
+of extinction; but in Rigel we see a sun blazing with the fires of
+youth, splendid in the first glow of its solar energies, and holding the
+promise of the future yet before it. Rigel belongs to a new generation
+of the universe; Betelgeuse to the universe that is passing. We may
+pursue this comparison one step farther back and see in the great
+nebula, which glows dimly in the middle of the constellation, between
+Rigel triumphant and Betelgeuse languishing, a still earlier cosmical
+condition--the germ of suns whose infant rays may illuminate space when
+Rigel itself is growing dim.
+
+[Illustration: THE SWORD OF ORION AND THE GREAT NEBULA.]
+
+Turn your glass upon the three stars forming the Belt. You will not be
+likely to undertake to count all the twinkling lights that you will see,
+especially as many of them appear and disappear as you turn your
+attention to different parts of the field. Sweep all around the Belt and
+also between the Belt and Gamma ([gamma]) or Bellatrix. According to the
+old astrologers, women born under the influence of the star Bellatrix
+were lucky, and provided with good tongues. Of course, this was
+fortunate for their husbands too!
+
+Below the Belt will be seen a short row of stars hanging downward and
+representing the sword. In the middle of this row is the great Orion
+nebula. The star Theta ([theta]) involved in the nebula is multiple, and
+the position of this little cluster of suns is such that, as has been
+said, they seem to be feeding upon the substance of the nebula
+surrounding them. Other stars are seen scattered in different parts of
+the nebula. This phenomenon can be plainly seen with an opera-glass.
+Our picture of the Sword of Orion shows its appearance with a good
+field-glass. With such a glass several fine test-objects will be found
+in the Sword. One of the best of these is formed by the two five-pointed
+stars seen in the picture close together above the nebula. No difficulty
+will be encountered in separating these stars with a field-glass, but it
+will require a little sharp watching to detect the small star between
+the two and just above the line joining them. So, the bending row of
+faint stars above and to the right of the group just described will be
+found rather elusive as individuals, though easily glimpsed as a whole.
+Of the great nebula itself not much detail can be seen. Yet by averting
+the eyes the extension of the nebulous light in every direction from the
+center can be detected and traced, under favorable circumstances, to a
+considerable distance. The changes that this nebula certainly has
+undergone in the brilliancy, if not in the form, of different parts of
+it, are perhaps indications of the operation of forces, which we know
+must prevail there, and whose tendency can only be in the direction of
+condensation, and the ultimate formation of future suns and worlds. Yet,
+as the appearance of the nebula in great telescopes shows, we can not
+expect that the processes of creation will here produce a homologue of
+our solar system. The curdled appearance of the nebula indicates the
+formation of various centers of condensation, the final result of which
+will doubtless be a group of stars like some of those which we see in
+the heavens, and whose common motion shows that they are bound together
+in the chains of reciprocal gravitation. The Pleiades are an example of
+such a group.
+
+Do not fail to look for a little star just west of Rigel, which, with a
+good opera-glass, appears to be almost hidden in the flashing rays of
+its brilliant companion. If you have also a field-glass, after you have
+detected this shy little twinkler with your opera-glass, try the larger
+glass upon it. You will find then that the little star originally seen
+is not the only one there. A still smaller star, which had before been
+completely hidden, will now be perceived. I may add that, with
+telescopes, Rigel is one of the most beautiful double stars in the sky,
+having a little blue companion close under its wing. Run your glass
+along the line of little stars forming the lion's skin or shield that
+Orion opposes to the onset of Taurus. Here you will find some
+interesting combinations, and the star marked on the map [pi]^6 will
+especially attract your eye, because it is accompanied, about fifteen
+minutes to the northwest, by a seventh-magnitude star of a rich orange
+hue.
+
+Look next at the little group of three stars forming the head of Orion.
+Although there is no nebula here, yet these stars, as seen with the
+naked eye, have a remarkably nebulous look, and Ptolemy regarded the
+group as a nebulous star. The largest star is called Lambda ([lambda]);
+the others are Phi ([phi]) one and two. An opera-glass will show another
+star above ([lambda]), and a fifth star below [phi]^2 which is the
+farthest of the two Phis from Lambda. It will also reveal a faint
+twinkling between [lambda] and [phi]^1. A field-glass shows that this
+twinkling is produced by a pretty little row of three stars of the
+eighth and ninth magnitudes.
+
+In fact, Orion is such a striking object in the sky that more than one
+attempt has been made to steal away its name and substitute that of some
+modern hero. The University of Leipsic, in 1807, formally resolved that
+the stars forming the Belt and Sword of Orion should henceforth be known
+as the constellation of Napoleon. As if to offset this, an Englishman
+proposed to rename Orion for the British naval bull-dog Nelson. But
+"Orion armed" has successfully maintained his name and place against all
+comers. As becomes the splendor of his constellation, Orion is a
+tremendous hero of antiquity, although it must be confessed that his
+history is somewhat shadowy and uncertain, even for a mythological
+story. All accounts agree, however, that he was the mightiest hunter
+ever known, and the Hebrews claimed that he was no less a person than
+Nimrod himself.
+
+[Illustration: MAP 20.]
+
+The little constellations of Lepus and Columba, below Orion, need not
+detain us long. You will find in them some pretty combinations of stars.
+In Lepus is the celebrated "Crimson Star," which has been described as
+resembling a drop of blood in color--a truly marvelous hue for a
+sun--but, as it is never brighter than the sixth magnitude, and from
+that varies down to the ninth, we could hardly hope to see its color
+well with an opera-glass. Besides, the observer would have difficulty in
+finding it.
+
+We will now turn to the constellation of Canis Major, represented in Map
+No. 20. Although, as a constellation, it is not to be compared with the
+brilliant Orion, yet, on account of the unrivaled magnificence of its
+chief star, Canis Major presents almost as attractive a scene as its
+more extensive rival. Everybody has heard of Sirius, or the Dog-Star,
+and everybody must have seen it flashing and scintillating so splendidly
+in the winter heavens, that to call it a first-magnitude star does it
+injustice, since no other star of that magnitude is at all comparable
+with it. Sirius, in fact, stands in a class by itself as the brightest
+star in the sky. Its light is white, with a shade of green, which
+requires close watching to be detected. When it is near the horizon, or
+when the atmosphere is very unsteady, Sirius flashes prismatic colors
+like a great diamond. The question has been much discussed, as to
+whether Sirius was formerly a red star. It is described as red by
+several ancient authors, but it seems to be pretty well established that
+these descriptions are most of them due to a blunder made by Cicero in
+his translation of the astronomical poem of Aratus. It is not
+impossible, though it is highly improbable, that Sirius has changed
+color.
+
+So intimately was Sirius connected in the minds of the ancient Egyptians
+with the annual rising of the Nile, that it was called the Nile-star.
+When it appeared in the morning sky, just before sunrise, the season of
+the overflowing of the great river was about to begin, and so the
+appearance of this star was regarded as foretelling the coming of the
+floods. The dog-days got their name from Sirius, as they occur at the
+time when that star rises with the sun.
+
+Your eyes will be fairly dazzled when you turn your glass upon this
+splendid star. By close attention you will be able to perceive a number
+of faint stars, mere points by comparison, in the immediate neighborhood
+of Sirius. There are many interesting objects in the constellation. The
+star marked Nu ([nu]) in the map is really triple, as the smallest glass
+will show. Look next at the star-group 41 M. The cloud of minute stars
+of which it is composed can be very well seen with a field-glass or a
+powerful opera-glass. The star 22 is of a very ruddy color that
+contrasts beautifully with the light of Epsilon ([epsilon]), which can
+be seen in the same field of view with an opera-glass. Between the stars
+Delta ([delta]) and [omicron]� and [omicron]� there is a remarkable
+array of minute stars, as shown in the accompanying cut. One never sees
+stars arranged in streams or rows, like these, without an irresistible
+impression that the arrangement can not be accidental; that some law
+must have been in operation which associated them together in the forms
+which we see. Yet, when we reflect that these are all suns, how far do
+we seem to be from understanding the meaning of the universe!
+
+[Illustration: DELTA CANIS MAJORIS AND ITS NEIGHBORS.]
+
+The extraordinary size and brilliancy of Sirius might naturally enough
+lead one to suppose that it is the nearest of the stars, and such it was
+once believed to be. Observations of stellar parallax, however, show
+that this was a mistake. The distance of Sirius is so great that no
+satisfactory determination of it has yet been made. We may safely say,
+though, that that distance is, at the least calculation,
+50,000,000,000,000 miles. In other words, Sirius is about 537,000 times
+as far from the earth as the sun is. Then, since light diminishes as
+the square of the distance increases, the sun, if placed as far from us
+as Sirius is, would send us, in round numbers, 288,000,000,000 times
+less light than we now receive from it. But Sirius actually sends us
+only about 4,000,000,000 times less light than the sun does;
+consequently Sirius must shine 288,000,000,000/4,000,000,000 = 72
+times as brilliantly as the sun. If we adopt Wollaston's estimate
+of the light of Sirius, as compared with that of the sun, viz.,
+1/20,000,000,000, we shall still find that the actual brilliancy of
+that grand star is more than fourteen times as great as that of our sun.
+But as observations on the companion of Sirius show that Sirius's mass
+is fully twenty times the sun's, and since the character of Sirius's
+spectrum indicates that its intrinsic brightness, surface for surface,
+is much superior to the sun's, it is probable that our estimate of the
+star's actual brilliancy, as compared with what the sun would possess at
+the same distance, viz., seventy-two times, is much nearer the truth. It
+is evident that life would be insupportable upon the earth if it were
+placed as near to Sirius as it is to the sun. If the earth were a planet
+belonging to the system of Sirius, in order to enjoy the same amount of
+heat and light it now receives, it would have to be removed to a
+distance of nearly 800,000,000 miles, or eight and a half times its
+distance from the sun. Its time of revolution around Sirius would then
+be nearly five and a half years, or, in other words, the year would be
+lengthened five and a half times.
+
+But, as I have said, the estimate of Sirius's distance used in these
+calculations is the smallest that can be accepted. Good authorities
+regard the distance as being not less than 100,000,000,000,000 miles; in
+which case the star's brilliancy must be as much as 228 times greater
+than that of the sun! And yet even Sirius is probably not the greatest
+sun belonging to the visible universe. There can be little doubt that
+Canopus, in the southern hemisphere, is a grander sun than Sirius. To
+our eyes, Canopus is only about half as bright as Sirius, and it ranks
+as the second star in the heavens in the order of brightness. But while
+Sirius's distance is measurable, that of Canopus is so unthinkably
+immense that astronomers can get no grip upon it. If it were only twice
+as remote as Sirius, it would be equal to two of the latter, but in all
+probability its distance is much greater than that. And possibly even
+Canopus is not the greatest gem in the coronet of creation.
+
+Sirius, as we saw when talking of Procyon (see Chapter I), is a double
+star. For many years after Bessel had declared his belief that the
+Dog-Star was subjected to the attraction of an invisible companion,
+telescopes failed to reveal the accompanying star.[D] Finally, in 1862,
+a new telescope that Alvan Clark had just finished and was testing,
+brought the hidden star into view. The suggestion that it may shine by
+reflected light from Sirius has been made. In that case it must, of
+course, be a planet, but a planet of such stupendous magnitude that the
+imagination can scarcely grasp it; a planet probably as large as our
+sun, perhaps larger; a planet equal in size to more than a million
+earths! But, as was remarked of the faint stars in Alpha Capricornis, it
+is probable that the hypothesis of reflected light is not the true one.
+More probably the companion of Sirius shines with light of its own,
+though its excessive faintness in comparison with its bulk indicates
+that its condition must be very different from that of an ordinary star.
+
+    [D] The following extract from a letter by Bessel to Humboldt,
+        written in 1844 (see "Cosmos," vol. iii, p. 186), is
+        interesting, in view of the discoveries made since then:
+        "At all events I continue in the belief that Procyon and
+        Sirius are true double stars, consisting of a visible and
+        an invisible star. No reason exists for considering
+        luminosity an essential property of these bodies. The
+        fact that numberless stars are visible is evidently no
+        proof against the existence of an equally incalculable
+        number of invisible ones. The physical difficulty of a
+        change in the proper motion is satisfactorily set aside
+        by the hypothesis of dark stars."
+
+Readers of Voltaire will remember that the hero of his extraordinary
+story of "Micromegas" came from an imaginary planet circling around
+Sirius. Inasmuch as Voltaire, together with Dean Swift, ascribed two
+moons to Mars many years before they were discovered (probably suggested
+by a curiously mistaken interpretation by Kepler of an anagram in which
+Galileo had concealed his discovery of the ring of Saturn), it is all
+the more interesting that the great infidel should have imagined an
+enormous planet circling around the Dog-Star. But Voltaire went far
+astray when he ascribed a gigantic stature to his "Sirian." He makes
+Micromegas, whose world was 21,600,000 times larger in circumference
+than the earth, more than twenty miles tall, so that when he visited our
+little planet he was able to wade through the oceans and step over the
+mountains without inconvenience, and, when he had scooped up some of the
+inhabitants on his thumb-nail, was obliged to use a powerful microscope
+in order to see them. Voltaire should rather have gone to some of the
+most minute of the asteroids for his giant, for under the tremendous
+gravitation of such a world as he has described Micromegas himself would
+have been a fit subject for microscopic examination. But, however much
+we may doubt the stature of Voltaire's visitor from Sirius, we can not
+doubt the soundness of the conclusion at which he arrived, after having,
+by an ingenious arrangement, succeeded in holding a conversation with
+some earthly philosophers under his microscope, namely, that these
+infinitely little creatures possessed a pride that was almost infinitely
+great.
+
+East and south of Canis Major, which, by-the-way, is said to represent
+one of Orion's hounds, is part of the constellation Argo, which stands
+for the ship in which Jason sailed in search of the golden fleece. The
+observer will find many objects of interest here, although some of them
+are so close to the horizon in our latitudes that much of their
+brilliancy is lost. Note the two stars [zeta] and [pi] near the lower
+edge of the map, then sweep slowly over the space lying between them.
+About half-way your attention will be arrested by a remarkable stellar
+arrangement, in which a beautiful half-circle of small stars curving
+above a larger star, which is reddish in color, is conspicuous. This
+neighborhood will be found rich in stars that the naked eye can not see.
+Just below the star [eta], in Canis Major, is another fine group. The
+star [pi], which is deep yellow or orange, has three little stars above
+it, two of which form a pretty pair. The star [xi] has a companion,
+which forms a fine test for an opera-glass, and is well worth looking
+for. Look also at the cluster 93 M, just above and to the west of [xi].
+The stars [mu] and [kappa] are seen double with an opera-glass.
+
+The two neighboring clusters, 46 M and 38^8, are very interesting
+objects. To see them well, use a powerful field-glass. A "fiery
+fifth-magnitude star," as Webb calls it, can be seen in the field at the
+same time. The presence of the Milky-Way is manifest by the sprinkling
+of stars all about this region. In fact, the attentive observer will
+before this have noticed that the majority of the most brilliant
+constellations lie either in the Milky-Way or along its borders.
+Cassiopeia, as we saw, sits athwart the galaxy whose silvery current
+winds in and out among the stars of her "chair"; Perseus is aglow with
+its sheen as it wraps him about like a mantle of stars; Taurus has the
+tips of his horns dipped in the great stream; it flows between the
+shining feet of Gemini and the head and shoulders of Orion as between
+starry banks; the peerless Sirius hangs like a gem pendent from the
+celestial girdle. In the southern hemisphere we should find the
+beautiful constellation of the ship Argo, containing Canopus, sailing
+along the Milky-Way, blown by the breath of old romance on an endless
+voyage; the Southern Cross glitters in the very center of the galaxy;
+and the bright stars of the Centaur might be likened to the heads of
+golden nails pinning this wondrous scarf, woven of the beams of millions
+of tiny stars, against the dome of the sky. Passing back into the
+northern hemisphere we find Scorpio, Sagittarius, Aquila, the Dolphin,
+Cygnus, and resplendent Lyra, all strung along the course of the
+Milky-Way.
+
+Turning now to the constellation Monoceros, we shall find a few objects
+worthy of attention. This constellation is of comparatively modern
+origin, having been formed by Bartschius, whose chief title to
+distinction is that he married the daughter of John Kepler. The region
+around the stars 8, 13, and 17 will be found particularly rich, and the
+cluster 2^7 shows well with a strong glass. Look also at the cluster 50
+M, and compare its appearance with that of the clusters in Argo.
+
+With these constellations we finish our review of the stellar wonders
+that lie within the reach of so humble an instrument as an opera-or
+field-glass. We have made the circuit of the sky, and the hosts that
+illumine the vernal heavens are now seen advancing from the east, and
+pressing close upon the brighter squadrons of winter. Their familiar
+figures resemble the faces of old friends whom we are glad to welcome.
+These starry acquaintances never grow wearisome. Their interest for us
+is as fathomless as the deeps of space in which they shine. The man
+never yet lived whose mind could comprehend the full meaning of the
+wondrous messages that they flash to us upon the wings of light. As we
+watch them in their courses, the true music of the spheres comes to our
+listening ears, the chorus of creation--faint with distance, for it is
+by slow approaches that man draws near to it--chanting the grandest of
+epics, the Poem of the Universe; and the theme that runs through it all
+is the reign of law. Do not be afraid to become a star-gazer. The human
+mind can find no higher exercise. He who studies the stars will
+discover--
+
+  "An endless fountain of immortal drink
+  Pouring unto us from heaven's brink."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+THE MOON, THE PLANETS, AND THE SUN.
+
+
+"It is a most beautiful and delightful sight," exclaims Galileo, in
+describing the discoveries he had made with his telescope, "to behold
+the body of the moon, which is distant from us nearly sixty
+semi-diameters of the earth, as near as if it was at a distance of only
+two of the same measures.... And, consequently, any one may know with
+the certainty that is due to the use of our senses that the moon
+assuredly does not possess a smooth and polished surface, but one rough
+and uneven, and, just like the face of the earth itself, is everywhere
+full of vast protuberances, deep chasms, and sinuosities."
+
+There was, perhaps, nothing in the long series of discoveries with which
+Galileo astonished the world after he had constructed his telescope,
+which, as he expresses it, "was devised by me through God's grace first
+enlightening my mind," that had a greater charm for him than his lunar
+observations. Certainly there was nothing which he has described with
+greater enthusiasm and eloquence. And this could hardly have been
+otherwise, for the moon was the first celestial object to which Galileo
+turned his telescope, and then for the first time human eyes may be said
+to have actually looked into another world than the earth, though his
+discoveries and those of his successors have not realized all the poetic
+fancies about the moon contained in the verses that are ascribed to
+Orpheus:
+
+  "And he another wandering world has made
+  Which gods Selene name, and men the moon.
+  It mountains, cities has, and temples grand."
+
+Yet Galileo's observations at once upset the theory, for which
+Apollonius was responsible, and which seems to have been widely
+prevalent up to his time, that the moon was a smooth body, polished like
+a mirror, and presenting in its light and dark spots reflections of the
+continents and oceans of the earth. He also demonstrated that its
+surface was covered with plains and mountains, but the "cities and
+temples" of the moon have remained to our time only within the ken of
+romance.
+
+Galileo's telescope, as I have before remarked, was, in the principle of
+its construction, simply an opera-glass of one tube. He succeeded in
+making a glass of this kind that magnified thirty diameters, a very much
+higher power than is given to the opera-and field-glasses of to-day. Yet
+he had to contend with the disadvantages of single lenses, achromatic
+combinations of glass for optical purposes not being contrived until
+nearly a hundred years after his death, and so his telescope did not
+possess quite as decided a superiority over a modern field-glass as the
+difference in magnifying power would imply. In fact, if the reader will
+view the moon with a first-rate field-glass, he will perceive that the
+true nature of the surface of the lunar globe can be readily discerned
+with such an instrument. Even a small opera-glass will reveal much to
+the attentive observer of the moon; but for these observations the
+reader should, if possible, make use of a field-glass, and the higher
+its power the better. The illustrations accompanying this chapter were
+made by the author with the aid of a glass magnifying seven diameters.
+
+Of course, the first thing the observer will wish to see will be the
+mountains of the moon, for everybody has heard of them, and the most
+sluggish imagination is stirred by the thought that one can look off
+into the sky and behold "the eternal hills" of another planet as solid
+and substantial as our own. But the chances are that, if left to their
+own guidance, ninety-nine persons out of a hundred would choose exactly
+the wrong time to see these mountains. At any rate, that is my
+experience with people who have come to look at the moon through my
+telescope. Unless warned beforehand, they invariably wait until full
+moon, when the flood of sunshine poured perpendicularly upon the face of
+our satellite conceals its rugged features as effectually as if a veil
+had been drawn over them. Begin your observations with the appearance of
+the narrowest crescent of the new moon, and follow it as it gradually
+fills, and then you will see how beautifully the advancing line of lunar
+sunrise reveals the mountains, over whose slopes and peaks it is
+climbing, by its ragged and sinuous outline. The observer must keep in
+mind the fact that he is looking straight down upon the tops of the
+lunar mountains. It is like a view from a balloon, only at a vastly
+greater height than any balloon has ever attained. Even with a powerful
+telescope the observer sees the moon at an apparent distance of several
+hundred miles, while with a field-glass, magnifying seven diameters, the
+moon appears as if thirty-five thousand miles off. The apparent distance
+with Galileo's telescope was eight thousand miles. Recollect how when
+seen from a great height the rugosities of the earth's surface flatten
+out and disappear, and then try to imagine how the highest mountains on
+the earth would look if you were suspended thirty-five thousand miles
+above them, and you will, perhaps, rather wonder at the fact that the
+moon's mountains can be seen at all.
+
+It is the contrast of lights and shadows that not only reveals them to
+us, but enables us to measure their height. On the moon shadows are very
+much darker than upon the earth, because of the extreme rarity of the
+moon's atmosphere, if indeed it has any atmosphere at all. By stepping
+around the corner of a rock there, one might pass abruptly from
+dazzling noonday into the blackness of midnight. The surface of the moon
+is extraordinarily rough and uneven. It possesses broad plains, which
+are probably the bottoms of ancient seas that have now dried up, but
+these cover only about two fifths of the surface visible to us, and most
+of the remaining three fifths are exceedingly rugged and mountainous.
+Many of the mountains of the moon are, foot for foot, as lofty as the
+highest mountains on the earth, while all of them, in proportion to the
+size of the moon's globe, are much larger than the earth's mountains. It
+is obvious, then, that the sunshine, as it creeps over these Alpine
+landscapes in the moon, casting the black shadows of the peaks and
+craters many miles across the plains, and capping the summits of lofty
+mountains with light, while the lower regions far around them are yet
+buried in night, must clearly reveal the character of the lunar surface.
+Mountains that can not be seen at all when the light falls
+perpendicularly upon them, or, at the most, appear then merely as
+shining points, picture themselves by their shadows in startling
+silhouettes when illuminated laterally by the rising sun.
+
+But at full moon, while the mountains hide themselves in light, the old
+sea-beds are seen spread out among the shining table-lands with great
+distinctness. Even the naked eye readily detects these as ill-defined,
+dark patches upon the face of the moon, and to their presence are due
+the popular notions that have prevailed in all quarters of the world
+about the "Man in the Moon," the "Woman in the Moon," "Jacob in the
+Moon," the "Hare in the Moon," the "Toad in the Moon," and so on. But,
+however clearly one may imagine that he discerns a man in the moon while
+recalling the nursery-rhymes about him, an opera-glass instantly puts
+the specter to flight, and shows the round lunar disk diversified and
+shaded like a map.[E]
+
+    [E] I should, perhaps, qualify the statement in the text
+        slightly in favor of a lunar lady to whom Mr. Henry M.
+        Parkhurst first called my attention. About nine days
+        after new moon a rather pretty and decidedly feminine
+        face appears on the western half of the disk. It is
+        formed by the mountains and table-lands embraced by
+        the Sea of Serenity, the Sea of Tranquillity, the
+        Sea of Vapors, etc., and is best seen with the aid
+        of an opera-glass of low power. The face is readily
+        distinguishable on Rutherfurd's celebrated photograph
+        of the full moon. It is necessary for this purpose
+        to turn the photograph upside down, since it is a
+        telescopic picture, and consequently reversed. The
+        crater Tycho forms a breastpin for the lady, and
+        Menelaus glitters like a diamond ornament in her hair,
+        while the range of the Apennines resembles a sort of
+        coronet resting on her forehead. This same woman in
+        the moon, it appears, was described by Dr. James
+        Thompson years ago, and, for aught I know, she may be
+        the Diana to whom Herrick sang:
+
+            "Queen and huntress chaste and fair,
+            Seated in thy silver chair,
+            Now the Sun is laid to sleep,
+            State in wonted manner keep.
+            Hesperus entreats thy light,
+            Goddess excellently bright."
+
+A feature of the full moon's surface that instantly attracts attention
+is the remarkable brightness of the southern part of the disk, and the
+brilliant streaks radiating from a bright point near the lower edge. The
+same simile almost invariably comes to the lips of every person who sees
+this phenomenon for the first time--"It looks like a peeled orange." The
+bright point, which is the great crater-mountain Tycho, looks exactly
+like the pip of the orange, and the light-streaks radiating from it in
+all directions bear an equally striking resemblance to the streaks that
+one sees upon an orange after the outer rind has been removed. I shall
+have something more to say about these curious streaks further on; in
+the mean time, let us glance at our little sketch-map of the moon.
+
+[Illustration: MAP OF THE MOON.]
+
+The so-called seas are marked on the map, for the purpose of reference,
+by the letters which they ordinarily bear in lunar maps. The numerals
+indicate craters, or ring-plains, and mountain-ranges. The following
+key-list will enable the reader to identify all the objects that are
+lettered or numbered upon the map. I have given English translations of
+the Latin names which the old astronomers bestowed upon the seas:
+
+_Seas, Gulfs, and Marshes._
+
+  A. The Crisian Sea.
+  B. Humboldt Sea.
+  C. The Sea of Cold.
+  D. The Lake of Death.
+  E. The Lake of Dreams.
+  F. The Marsh of Sleep.
+  G. The Sea of Tranquillity.
+  H. The Sea of Serenity.
+  I. The Marsh of Mists.
+  K. The Marsh of Putrefaction.
+  L. The Sea of Vapors.
+  M. The Central Gulf.
+  N. The Gulf of Heats.
+  O. The Sea of Showers.
+  P. The Bay of Rainbows.
+  Q. The Ocean of Storms.
+  R. The Bay of Dew.
+  S. The Sea of Clouds.
+  T. The Sea of Humors.
+  V. The Sea of Nectar.
+  X. The Sea of Fertility.
+  Z. The South Sea.
+
+_Mountains and Crater Rings._
+
+  1. Grimaldi.
+  2. Letronne.
+  3. Gassendi.
+  4. Euclides.
+  5. Bullialdus.
+  6. Pitatus.
+  7. Schickhard.
+  8. Longomontanus.
+  9. Tycho.
+  10. Maginus.
+  11. Clavius.
+  12. Newton.
+  13. Maurolycus.
+  14. St�fler.
+  15. Walter.
+  16. Regiomontanus.
+  17. Purbach.
+  18. Arzachel.
+  19. Alphonsus.
+  20. Ptolemaus.
+  21. Hipparchus.
+  22. Albategnius.
+  23. Theophilus.
+  24. Cyrillus.
+  25. Catharina.
+  26. The Altai Mts.
+  27. Piccolomini.
+  28. Petavius.
+  29. Langrenus.
+  80. Proclus.
+  31. Cleomedes.
+  32. Atlas.
+  33. Hercules.
+  34. Posidonius.
+  35. Plinius.
+  36. Menelaus.
+  37. Manilius.
+  38. The Caucasus Mts.
+  39. Eudoxus.
+  40. Aristotle.
+  41. The Alps.
+  42. Plato.
+  43. Archimedes.
+  44. The Apennines.
+  45. Eratosthenes.
+  46. Copernicus.
+  47. The Carpathian Mts.
+  48. Timocharis.
+  49. Lambert.
+  50. Euler.
+  51. Aristarchus.
+  52. Kepler.
+  53. Flamsteed.
+
+The early selenographers certainly must have been men of vivid
+imagination, and the romantic names they gave to the lunar landscapes,
+and particularly to the "seas," add a charm of their own to the study of
+the moon. Who would not wish to see the "Bay of Rainbows," or the "Lake
+of Dreams," or the "Sea of Tranquillity," if for no other reason than a
+curiosity to know what could have induced men to give to these regions
+in the moon such captivating titles? Or who would not desire to visit
+them if he could? though no doubt we should find them, like the
+"Delectable Mountains" in the "Pilgrim's Progress," most charming when
+seen from afar.
+
+The limited scale of our map, of course, renders it impossible to
+represent upon it more than a comparatively small number of the lunar
+mountains that have received names. In selecting those to be put in the
+map I have endeavored to choose such as, on account of their size, their
+situation, or some striking peculiarity, would be most likely to attract
+the attention of a novice. The observer must not expect to see them all
+at once, however. The lunar features change their appearance to a
+surprising extent, in accordance with the direction of their
+illumination. Some great mountain-masses and ring-plains, or craters,
+which present scenes of magnificence when the sun is rising or setting
+upon them, disappear under a perpendicular light, such as they receive
+at full moon. The great crater-plain, known as Maginus, numbered 10 in
+our map, is one of these. The broken mountain-wall surrounding this vast
+depressed plain rises in some places to a height of over fourteen
+thousand feet above the valley within, and the spectacle of sunrise upon
+Maginus, seen with a powerful telescope, is a most impressive sight, and
+even with a field-glass is very interesting. Yet, a few days later,
+Maginus vanishes, as if it had been swallowed up, and as Beer and M�dler
+have expressed it, "the full moon knows no Maginus." The still grander
+formation of mountain, plain, and crater, called Clavius (11 in the
+map), disappears almost as completely as Maginus at full moon, yet,
+under the proper illumination, it presents a splendid pageant of light
+and shadow.
+
+On the other hand, some of the lunar mountains shine vividly at full
+moon, and can be well seen then, though, of course, only as light spots,
+since at that time they cast no shadows. Menelaus (36 in the map),
+Aristarchus (51), Proclus (30), Copernicus (46), and Kepler (52), are
+among these shining mountains. Aristarchus is the most celebrated of
+them all, being the brightest point on the moon. It can even be seen
+glimmering on the dark side of the moon--that is to say, when no light
+reaches it except that which is reflected from the earth. With a large
+telescope, Aristarchus is so dazzlingly bright under a high sun, that
+the eye is partly blinded in gazing at it. It consists of a
+mountain-ring surrounding a circular valley, about twenty-eight miles in
+diameter. The flanks of these mountains, especially on their inner
+slopes, and the floor of the valley within, are very bright, while a
+peak in the center of the valley, about as high as Storm-King Mountain
+on the Hudson, shines with piercing brilliancy. Sir William Herschel
+mistook it for a volcano in action. It certainly is not an active
+volcano, but just what makes it so dazzling no one knows. The material
+of which this mountain is formed would seem to possess a higher
+reflective power than that of any other portion of the moon's surface.
+One is irresistibly reminded of the crystallized mountains described in
+the celebrated "Moon Hoax" of Richard Adams Locke. With an opera-glass
+you can readily recognize Aristarchus as a bright point at full moon.
+With a field-glass it is better seen, and some of the short, light rays
+surrounding it are perceived, while, when the sun is rising upon it,
+about four days after first quarter, its crateriform shape can be
+detected with such a glass.
+
+The visibility of Aristarchus on the dark side of the moon leads us to a
+brief consideration of the illumination by the earth of that portion of
+the moon's surface which is not touched directly by sunlight at new and
+old moon. This phenomenon is shown in the accompanying illustration. Not
+only can the outlines of the dark part of the moon be seen under such
+circumstances, but even the distinction in color between the dusky
+"seas" and the more brilliant table-lands and mountain-regions can be
+perceived, and with powerful telescopes many minor features come into
+sight. A little consideration must convince any one, as it convinced
+Galileo more than two hundred and seventy-five years ago, that the light
+reflected from the earth upon the moon is sufficient to produce this
+faint illumination of the lunar landscapes. We have only to recall the
+splendors of a night that is lighted by a full moon, and then to
+recollect that at new or old moon the earth is "full" as seen from our
+satellite, and that a full earth must give some fourteen times as much
+light as a full moon, in order to realize the brilliancy of an earth-lit
+night upon the moon. As the moon waxes to us, the earth wanes to the
+moon, and _vice versa_, and so the phenomenon of earth-shine on the
+lunar surface must be looked for before the first quarter and after the
+last quarter of the moon.
+
+[Illustration: SUNRISE ON THE SEA OF SERENITY, AND THEOPHILUS AND OTHER
+CRATERS.]
+
+The reader will find it an attractive occupation to identify, by means
+of the map, the various "seas," "lakes," and "marshes," for not only
+are they interesting on account of the singularity of their names, but
+they present many remarkable differences of appearance, which may be
+perceived with the instrument he is supposed to be using. The oval form
+of the Crisian Sea (A), which is the first of the "seas" to come into
+sight at new moon, makes it a very striking object. With good
+telescopes, and under favorable illumination, a decidedly green tint is
+perceived in the Crisian Sea. It measures about two hundred and eighty
+by three hundred and fifty-five miles in extent, and is, perhaps, the
+deepest of all the old sea-beds visible on the moon. It is surrounded by
+mountains, which can be readily seen when the sun strikes athwart them a
+few days after new or full moon. On the southwestern border a stupendous
+mountain-promontory, called Cape Agarum, projects into the Crisian Sea
+fifty or sixty miles, the highest part rising precipitously eleven
+thousand feet above the floor of the sea. I have seen Cape Agarum very
+clearly defined with a field-glass. Near the eastern border is the
+crater-mountain Proclus, which I have already mentioned as possessing
+great brilliancy under a high sun, being in this respect second only to
+Aristarchus.
+
+From the foot of Proclus spreads away the somewhat triangular region
+called the Marsh of Sleep (F). The term "golden-brown," which has been
+applied to it, perhaps describes its hue well enough. With a telescope
+it is a most interesting region, but with less powerful instruments one
+must be content with recognizing its outline and color.
+
+The broad, dark-gray expanse of the Sea of Tranquillity (G) will be
+readily recognized by the observer, and he will be interested in the
+mottled aspect which it presents in certain regions, caused by ridges
+and elevations, which, when this sea-bottom was covered with water, may
+have formed shoals and islands.
+
+The Sea of Fertility (X) is remarkable for its irregular surface, and
+the long, crooked bays into which its southern extremity is divided.
+
+The Sea of Nectar (V) is connected with the Sea of Tranquillity by a
+broad strait (one would naturally anticipate from their names that there
+must be some connection between them), while between it and the Sea of
+Fertility runs the range of the Pyrenees Mountains, twelve thousand feet
+high, flanked by many huge volcanic mountain-rings.
+
+The Sea of Serenity (H), lying northeast of the Sea of Tranquillity, is
+about four hundred and twenty miles broad by four hundred and thirty
+miles long, being very nearly of the same area as our Caspian Sea. It is
+deeper than the Sea of Tranquillity, and a greenish hue is sometimes
+detected in its central parts. It deepens toward the middle. Three
+quarters of its shore-line are bordered by high mountains, and many
+isolated elevations and peaks are scattered over its surface. In looking
+at these dried-up seas of the moon, one is forcibly reminded of the
+undulating and in some places mountainous character of terrestrial
+sea-bottoms, as shown by soundings and the existence of small islands in
+the deep sea, like the Bermudas, the Azores and St. Helena. The Sea of
+Serenity is divided nearly through the center by a narrow, bright
+streak, apparently starting from the crater-mountain Menelaus (36 in the
+map), but really taking its rise at Tycho far in the south. This curious
+streak can be readily detected even with a small opera-glass. Just what
+it is no one is prepared to say, and so the author of the "Moon Hoax"
+was fairly entitled to take advantage of the romancer's license, and
+declare that "its edge throughout its whole length of three hundred and
+forty miles is an acute angle of solid quartz-crystal, brilliant as a
+piece of Derbyshire spar just brought from the mine, and containing
+scarcely a fracture or a chasm from end to end!" Along the southern
+shore, on either side of Menelaus, extends the high range of the H�mus
+Mountains. South and southeast of the Sea of Serenity are the Sea of
+Vapors (L), the Central Gulf (M), and the Gulf of Heats (N). The
+observer will notice at full moon three or four curious dark spots in
+the region occupied by these flat expanses. On the north and northwest
+of the Sea of Serenity are the Lake of Death (D), and the Lake of Dreams
+(E), chiefly remarkable for their names.
+
+The Sea of Showers (O) is a very interesting region, not only in itself,
+but on account of its surroundings. Its level is very much broken by
+low, winding ridges, and it is variegated by numerous light-streaks. At
+its western end it blends into the Marsh of Mists (I) and the Marsh of
+Putrefaction (K). On its northeast border is the celebrated Sinus
+Iridum, or Bay of Rainbows (P), upon which selenographers have exhausted
+the adjectives of admiration. The bay is semicircular in form, one
+hundred and thirty-five miles long and eighty-four miles broad. Its
+surface is dark and level. At either end a splendid cape extends into
+the Sea of Showers, the eastern one being called Cape Heraclides, and
+the western Cape Laplace. They are both crowned by high peaks. Along the
+whole shore of the bay runs a chain of gigantic mountains, forming the
+southern border of a wild and lofty plateau, called the Sinus Iridum
+Highlands. Of course, a telescope is required to see the details of this
+"most magnificent of all lunar landscapes," and yet much can be done
+with a good field-glass. With such an instrument I have seen the capes
+at the ends of the bay projecting boldly into the dark, level expanse
+surrounding them, and the high lights of the bordering mountains sharply
+contrasted with the dusky semicircle at their feet, and have been able
+to detect the presence of the low ridges that cross the front of the bay
+like shoals, separating it from the "sea" outside. Two or three days
+after first quarter, the shadows of the peaks about the Bay of Rainbows
+may be seen. The Bay of Dew (R) above the Bay of Rainbows, and the Sea
+of Cold (C), are the northernmost of the dark levels visible. It was in
+keeping with the supposed character of this region of the Moon that
+Riccioli named two portions of it the Land of Hoar Frost and the Land of
+Drought.
+
+Extending along the eastern side of the disk is the great Ocean of
+Storms (Q), while between the Ocean of Storms and the middle of the moon
+lies the Sea of Clouds (S). Both of these are very irregular in outline,
+and much broken by ridges and mountains. The Sea of Humors (T), although
+comparatively small, is one of the most easily seen of all the lunar
+plains. To the naked eye it looks like a dark, oval patch on the moon.
+With a telescope it is seen, under favorable conditions, to possess a
+decided green tint. Humboldt Sea (B) and the South Sea (Z) belong
+principally to that part of the moon which is always turned away from
+the earth, and only their edges project into the visible hemisphere,
+although, under favorable librations, their farther borders, lined as
+usual with mountain-peaks, may be detected. For our purposes they
+possess little interest.
+
+Let us now glance at some of the mountains and "craters." The dark oval
+called Grimaldi (1) can be detected by the naked eye, or at least it has
+been thus seen, although it requires a sharp eye; and perhaps a shade or
+a pair of eye-glasses of London smoke-glass, to take off the glare of
+the moon, should be used in looking for it.[F] It is simply a plain,
+containing some fourteen thousand square miles, remarkable for its dark
+color, and surrounded by mountains. Schickhard (7) is another similar
+plain, nearly as large, but not possessing the same dark tint in the
+interior. The huge mountains around Schickhard make a fine spectacle
+when the sun is rising upon them shortly before full moon.
+
+    [F] There are other uses to which such eye-glasses may be put
+        by sky-gazers. I habitually carry a pair for studying clouds.
+        It is wonderful how much the effect of great cloud-masses is
+        heightened by them, especially when seen in a bright light.
+        Delicate curls and stri� of cirrus, which escape the uncovered
+        eye in the glare of sunlight, can be readily detected and
+        studied by the use of neutral-tinted eye-glasses or spectacles.
+
+Tycho (9) is the most famous of the crater-mountains, though not the
+largest. It is about fifty-four miles across and three miles deep. In
+its center is a peak five or six thousand feet high. Tycho is the radial
+point of the great light-streaks that, as I have already remarked, cause
+the southern half of the moon to be likened to a peeled orange. It is a
+tough problem in selenography to account for these streaks. They are
+best seen at full moon. They can not be seen at all until the sun has
+risen to a certain elevation above them, 25� according to Neison; but,
+when they once become visible, they dominate everything. They turn aside
+for neither mountains nor plains, but pass straight on their courses
+over the ruggedest regions of the moon, retaining their brilliancy
+undiminished, and pouring back such a flood of reflected light that they
+completely conceal some of the most stupendous mountain-masses across
+which they lie. They clearly consist of different material from that of
+which the most of the moon's surface is composed--a material possessing
+a higher reflective power. In this respect they resemble Aristarchus and
+other lunar craters that are remarkable for their brilliancy under a
+high illumination. Tycho itself, the center or hub, from which these
+streaks radiate like spokes, is very brilliant in the full moon. But
+immediately around Tycho there is a dark rim some twenty-five miles
+broad. Beyond this rim the surface becomes bright, and the bright region
+extends about ninety miles farther. Out of it spring the great rays or
+streaks, which vary from ten to twenty miles in width, and many of which
+are several hundred miles long--one, which we have already mentioned as
+extending across the Sea of Serenity, being upward of two thousand miles
+in length. It has been truly said that we have nothing like these
+streaks upon the earth, and so there is no analogy to go by in trying to
+determine their nature. It has been suggested that if the moon had been
+split or shattered from within by some tremendous force, and molten
+matter from the interior had been thrust up into the cracks thus formed,
+and had cooled there into broad seams of rock, possessing a higher
+reflective power than the surrounding surface of the moon, then the
+appearances presented would not be unlike what we actually see. But
+there are serious objections to such a view, which we have not space to
+discuss here. It is enough to say that the nature of these streaks is
+still a question awaiting solution, and here is an opportunity for an
+important discovery, but not one to be achieved with an opera-glass.
+
+I may add an interesting suggestion as to the nature of these streaks
+made by the Rev. Mr. Grensted. He holds that the air and water of the
+moon were chemically, and not mechanically, absorbed in the process of
+oxidation which went on at the time when her surface temperature was
+above a red heat. Having a much larger surface in proportion to her bulk
+than the earth, the oxidation of the moon has, he thinks, extended much
+deeper than that of the earth, and her atmosphere and oceans have been
+exhausted in the process. Both the earth and the moon, he maintains,
+have metallic nuclei, and the streaks about Tycho and Copernicus, and
+some other lunar craters, may be dikes of pure and shining metal, which
+have escaped oxidation owing to the comparatively small supply of lunar
+oxygen. Upon this theory Aristarchus must be a metallic mountain.
+
+[Illustration: SUNRISE ON CLAVIUS, TYCHO, PLATO, ETC.]
+
+Clavius (11) is one of the most impressive of all the lunar formations.
+There probably does not exist anywhere upon the earth so wild a scene
+upon a corresponding scale of grandeur. Of course, its details are far
+beyond the reach of the instrument we are supposed to be using, and yet,
+even with a field-glass, or a powerful opera-glass, some of its main
+features are visible. It is represented in our picture of the half-moon,
+being the lowest and largest of the ring-like forms seen at the inner
+edge of the illuminated half of the disk; the rays of the rising sun
+touching the summits of some of the peaks in its interior have brought
+them into sight as a point of light, and at the same time, reaching
+across the gulf within, have lighted up the higher slopes of the great
+mountain-wall on the farther or eastern side of the crater-valley,
+making it resemble a semicircle of light projecting into the blackness
+of the still unilluminated plains around it. I should advise every
+reader to take advantage of any opportunity that may be presented to him
+to see Clavius with a powerful telescope when the sun is either rising
+or setting upon it. Neison has given a spirited description of the
+scene, as follows:
+
+  The sunrise on Clavius commences with the illumination of a few peaks
+  on the western wall, but soon rapidly extends along the whole wall of
+  Clavius, which then presents the appearance of a great double bay of
+  the dark night-side of the moon penetrating so deep into the
+  illuminated portion as to perceptibly blunt the southern horn to the
+  naked eye. Within the dark bay some small, bright points soon
+  appear--the summits of the great ring-plains within--followed shortly
+  by similar light-points near the center, due to peaks on the walls of
+  the smaller ring-plains, these light-islands gradually widening and
+  forming delicate rings of light in the dark mass of shadow still
+  enveloping the floor of Clavius. Far in the east then dimly appear a
+  few scarcely perceptible points, rapidly widening into a thin bright
+  line, the crest of the great southeastern wall of Clavius, the end
+  being still lost far within the night-side of the moon. By the period
+  the extreme summit of the lofty wall of Clavius on the east becomes
+  distinct, fine streaks of light begin to extend across the dark mass
+  of shadow on the interior of Clavius, from the light breaking through
+  some of the passes on the west wall and illuminating the interior; and
+  these streaks widen near the center and form illuminated spots on the
+  floor, when both east and west it still lies deeply immersed in
+  shadow, strongly contrasting with the now brightly illuminated crest
+  of the lofty east wall and the great circular broad rings of light
+  formed by the small ring-plains within Clavius. The illumination of
+  the interior of Clavius now proceeds rapidly, and forms a magnificent
+  spectacle: the great, brightly illuminated ring-plains on the
+  interior, with their floors still totally immersed in shadow; the
+  immense steep line of cliffs on the east and southeast are now
+  brilliantly illuminated, though the entire surface at their base is
+  still immersed in the shades of night; and the great peaks on the west
+  towering above the floor are thrown strongly into relief against the
+  dark shadow beyond them.
+
+Newton (12) is the deepest of the great crateriform chasms on the moon.
+Some of the peaks on its walls rise twenty-four thousand feet above the
+interior gulf. Its shadow, and those of its gigantic neighbors--for the
+moon is here crowded with colossal walls, peaks, and craters--may be
+seen breaking the line of sunlight below Clavius, in our illustration. I
+have just spoken of these great lunar formations as chasms. The word
+describes very well the appearance which some of them present when the
+line separating day and night on the moon falls across them, but the
+reader should not be led by it into an erroneous idea of their real
+character. Such formations as Newton, which is one hundred and forty
+miles long by seventy broad, may more accurately be described as vast
+depressed plains, generally containing peaks and craters, which are
+surrounded by a ring of steep mountains, or mountain-walls, that rise by
+successive ridges and terraces to a stupendous height.
+
+The double chain of great crater-plains reaching half across the center
+of the moon contains some of the grandest of these strange
+configurations of conjoined mountain, plain, and crater. The names of
+the principal ones can be learned from the map, and the reader will find
+it very interesting to watch them coming into sight about first quarter,
+and passing out of sight about third quarter. At such times, with a
+field-glass, some of them look like enormous round holes in the inner
+edge of the illuminated half of the moon. Theophilus (23), Cyrillus
+(24), and Catharina (25), are three of the finest walled plains on the
+moon--Theophilus, in particular, being a splendid specimen of such
+formations. This chain of craters may be seen rapidly coming into
+sunlight at the edge of the Sea of Nectar, in our picture of "Sunrise on
+the Sea of Serenity," etc. The Altai Mountains (26) are a line of lofty
+cliffs, two hundred and eighty miles in length, surmounting a high
+table-land.
+
+The Caucasus Mountains (38) are a mass of highlands and peaks, which
+introduce us to a series of formations resembling those of the
+mountainous regions of the earth. The highest peak in this range is
+about nineteen thousand feet. Between the Caucasus and the Apennines
+(44) lies a level pass, or strait, connecting the Sea of Serenity with
+the Sea of Showers. The Apennines are the greatest of the lunar
+mountain-chains, extending some four hundred and sixty miles in length,
+and containing one peak twenty-one thousand feet high, and many varying
+from twelve thousand to nearly twenty thousand. It will thus be seen
+that the Apennines of the earth sink into insignificance in comparison
+with their gigantic namesakes on the moon. As this range runs at a
+considerable angle to the line of sunrise, its high peaks are seen
+tipped with sunlight for a long distance beyond the generally
+illuminated edge about the time of first quarter. Even with the naked
+eye the sun-touched summits of the lunar Apennines may at that time be
+detected as a tongue of light projecting into the dark side of the moon.
+The Alps (41) are another mountain-mass of great elevation, whose
+highest peak is a good match for the Mont Blanc of the earth, after
+which it has been named.
+
+Plato (42) is a very celebrated dark and level plain, surrounded by a
+mountain-ring, and presenting in its interior many puzzling and
+apparently changeable phenomena which have given rise to much
+speculation, but which, of course, lie far beyond the reach of
+opera-glasses. Plato is seen in the picture of "Sunrise on Clavius,"
+etc., on page 133, being the second ring from the top.
+
+If Ariosto had had a telescope, we might have suspected that it was this
+curious plain that he had in mind when he described that strange valley
+in the moon, in which was to be found everything that was lost from the
+earth, including lost wits; and where the redoubtable knight Astolpho,
+having been sent in search of the missing wit of the great Orlando, was
+astonished to find what he sought carefully preserved in a vial along
+with other similar vials belonging to many supposedly wise people of the
+earth, whom nobody suspected of keeping a good part of their sapience in
+the moon.
+
+Copernicus (46) is the last of the lunar formations that we shall
+describe. It bears a general resemblance to Tycho, and is slightly
+greater in diameter; it is, however, not quite so deep. It has a cluster
+of peaks in the center, whose tops may be detected with a field-glass,
+as a speck of light when the rays of the morning sun, slanting across
+the valley, illuminate them while their environs are yet buried in
+night. Copernicus is the center of a system of light-streaks somewhat
+resembling those of Tycho, but very much shorter.
+
+We must not dismiss the moon without a few words as to its probable
+condition. It was but natural, after men had seen the surface of the
+moon diversified with hills and valleys like another earth, that the
+opinion should find ready acceptance that beings not unlike ourselves
+might dwell upon it. Nothing could possibly have been more interesting
+than the realization of such a fancy by the actual discovery of the
+lunar inhabitants, or at least of unmistakable evidence of their
+existence. The moon is so near to the earth, as astronomical distances
+go, and the earth and the moon are so intimately connected in the
+companionship of their yearly journey around the sun, and their greater
+journey together with the sun and all his family, through the realms of
+space, that we should have looked upon the lunar inhabitants, if any
+had existed, as our neighbors over the way--dwelling, to be sure, upon a
+somewhat more restricted domain than ours, vassals of the earth in one
+sense, yet upon the whole very respectable and interesting people, with
+whom one would be glad to have a closer acquaintance. But, alas! as the
+powers of the telescope increased, the vision of a moon crowded with
+life faded, until at last the cold fact struck home that the moon is, in
+all probability, a frozen and dried-up globe, a mere planetary skeleton,
+which could no more support life than the Humboldt glacier could grow
+roses. And yet this opinion may go too far. There is reason for thinking
+that the moon is not absolutely airless, and, while it has no visible
+bodies of water, its soil may, after all, not be entirely arid and
+desiccated. There are observations which hint at visible changes in
+certain spots that could possibly be caused by vegetation, and there are
+other observations which suggest the display of electric luminosity in a
+rarefied atmosphere covering the moon. To declare that no possible form
+of life can exist under the conditions prevailing upon the lunar surface
+would be saying too much, for human intelligence can not set bounds to
+creative power. Yet, within the limits of life, such as we know them, it
+is probably safe to assert that the moon is a dead and deserted world.
+In other words, if a race of beings resembling ourselves, or resembling
+any of our contemporaries in terrestrial life, ever existed upon the
+moon, they must long since have perished. That such beings may have
+existed, is possible, particularly if it be true, as generally believed,
+that the moon once had a comparatively dense atmosphere and water upon
+its surface, which have now, in the process of cooling of the lunar
+globe, been withdrawn into its interior. It certainly does not detract
+from the interest with which we study the rugged and beautiful scenery
+of the moon to reflect that if we could visit those ancient sea-bottoms,
+or explore those glittering mountains, we might, perchance, find there
+some remains or mementos of a race that flourished, and perhaps was all
+gathered again to its fathers, before man appeared upon the earth.
+
+That slight physical changes, such as the downfall of mountain-walls or
+crater-cones, still occasionally occur upon the moon, is an opinion
+entertained by some selenographers, and apparently justified by
+observation. The enormous changes of temperature, from burning heat
+under a cloudless sun to the freezing cold of space at night with no
+atmospheric blanket to retain heat (which has generally been assumed to
+be the condition of things on the moon), would naturally exert a
+disintegrating effect upon the lunar rocks. But the question is now in
+dispute whether the surface of the moon ever rises above the
+freezing-point of water, even under a midday sun.
+
+Mankind has always been a little piqued by the impossibility of seeing
+the other side of the moon, and all sorts of odd fancies have been
+indulged in regard to it. Among the most curious is the ancient belief
+that the souls of the good who die on earth are transported to that side
+of the moon which is turned away from the earth; while the souls of the
+wicked sojourn on this side, in full view of the scene of their evil
+deeds. The visible side of the moon--with its tremendous craters, its
+yawning chasms, its frightful contrasts of burning sunshine and
+Cimmerian darkness, its airless and arid plains and dried-up sea-bottoms
+exposed to the pitiless cold of open space, and heated, if heated at
+all, by scorching sunbeams as fierce as naked flame--would certainly
+appear to be in a proper condition to serve as a purgatory. But we have
+no reason to think that the other side is any better off in these
+respects. In fact, the glimpses that we get of it around the corners, so
+to speak, indicate that the whole round globe of the moon is as ragged,
+barren, and terrible as that portion of it which is turned to our view.
+
+THE PLANETS.--In attempting to view the planets with an opera-glass,
+too much must not be expected; and yet interesting views can sometimes
+be obtained. The features of their surfaces, of course, can not be
+detected even with a powerful field-glass, but the difference between
+the appearance of a large planet and that of the stars will at once
+strike the observer. Mercury, which, on account of its nearness to the
+sun and its rapid changes of place, comparatively few persons ever see,
+can perhaps hardly be called an interesting object for an opera-glass,
+and yet the beauty of the planet is greatly increased when viewed with
+such aid. Mercury is brilliant enough to be readily distinguishable,
+even while the twilight is still pretty bright; and I have had most
+charming views of the shy planet, glittering like a globule of shining
+metal through the fading curtain of a winter sunset.
+
+Venus is, under favorable circumstances, a very interesting planet for
+opera-glass observations. The crescent phase can be seen with a powerful
+glass near inferior conjunction, and, even when the form of the planet
+can not be discerned, its exceeding brilliancy makes it an attractive
+object. The flood of light which Venus pours forth, and which is so
+dazzling that it baffles the best telescopes, to a greater or less
+extent, in any effort to descry the features of that resplendent disk,
+is evidently reflected from a cloud-burdened atmosphere. While these
+clouds render the planet surprisingly lustrous to our eyes, they must,
+of course, keep the globe beneath them most of the time in shadow. It is
+a source of keen regret that the surface of Venus can not be seen as
+clearly as that of Mars, for, _a priori_, there is rather more reason to
+regard Venus as possibly an inhabited world than any other of the
+Earth's sister planets, not excepting Mars. Still, even if we could
+plainly make out the presence of oceans and continents on Venus, that
+fact would hardly be any better indication of the possibility of life
+there than is furnished by the phenomena of its atmosphere. It is an
+interesting reflection that in admiring the brilliancy of this splendid
+planet the light that produces so striking an effect upon our eyes has
+but a few minutes before traversed the atmosphere of a distant world,
+which, like our own air, may furnish the breath of life to millions of
+intelligent creatures, and vibrate with the music of tongues speaking
+languages as expressive as those of the earth.
+
+Mars, being both more distant and smaller than Venus, does not present
+so splendid a scene, and yet when it is at or near opposition it is a
+superb object even for an opera-glass, its deep reddish-yellow color
+presenting a fine contrast to that of most of the stars. It can often be
+seen in conjunction with, or near to, the moon and stars, and the beauty
+of these phenomena is in some cases greatly enhanced by the use of a
+glass. To find Mars (and the same remark applies to the other planets),
+take its right ascension and declination for the required date from the
+Nautical Almanac, and then mark its place upon a planisphere or any good
+star-map. This planet is at the present time (1888) slowly drawing
+nearer to the earth at each opposition, and in 1892 it will be closer to
+us than at any time since 1877, when its two minute satellites were
+discovered. It will consequently grow brighter every year until then.
+How splendidly it shines when at its nearest approach to the earth may
+be inferred from the fact that in 1719 it was so brilliant as actually
+to cause a panic. This was doubtless owing to its peculiar redness. I
+well remember the almost startling appearance which the planet presented
+in the autumn of 1877. Mars is especially interesting because of the
+apparently growing belief that it may be an inhabited world, and because
+of certain curious markings on its surface that can only be seen under
+favorable conditions. The recent completion of the great Lick telescope
+and other large glasses, and the approach of the planet to a favorable
+opposition, give reason to hope that within the next few years a great
+deal of light will be cast upon some of the enigmatical features of
+Mars's surface.
+
+[Illustration: JUPITER AND HIS MOONS. (SEEN WITH A FIELD-GLASS; SEVEN
+DIAMETERS.)]
+
+Jupiter, although much more distant than Mars, is ordinarily a far more
+conspicuous phenomenon in the sky on account of his vast bulk. His
+interest to observers with an opera-glass depends mainly upon his four
+moons, which, as they circle about him, present a miniature of the solar
+system. With a strong opera-glass one or two of Jupiter's little family
+of moons may occasionally be caught sight of as excessively minute dots
+of light half-hidden in the glare of the planet. If you succeed under
+favorable circumstances in seeing one of these moons with your glass,
+you will be all the more astonished to learn that there are several
+apparently well-authenticated instances of one of the moons of Jupiter
+having been seen with the naked eye.
+
+With a field-glass, however, you will have no difficulty in seeing all
+of the moons when they are properly situated. If you miss one or more of
+them, you may know that it is either between you and the planet, or
+behind the planet, or buried in the planet's shadow, or else so close to
+the planet as to be concealed by its radiance.
+
+It will be best for the observer to take out of the Nautical Almanac the
+"configurations of Jupiter's satellites" for the evenings on which he
+intends to make his observations, recollecting that the position of the
+whole system, as there given, is reversed, or presented as seen with an
+astronomical telescope, which inverts objects looked at, as an
+opera-glass does not. In order to bring the satellites into the
+positions in which he will see them, our observer has only to turn the
+page in the Nautical Almanac showing their configurations upside down.
+
+Of course, since the motions of the satellites, particularly of the
+inner ones, are very rapid, their positions are continually changing,
+and their configurations are different every night. If the observer has
+any doubt about his identification of them, or thinks they may be little
+stars, he has only to carefully note their position and then look at
+them again the next evening. He may even notice their motion in the
+course of a single evening, if he begins early and follows them for
+three or four hours. It is impossible to describe the peculiar
+attractions of the scene presented by the great planet and his four
+little moons on a serene evening to an observer armed with a powerful
+glass. Probably much of the impressiveness of the spectacle is owing to
+the knowledge that those little points of light, shining now in a row
+and now in a cluster, are actually, at every instant, under the
+government of their giant neighbor and master, and that as we look upon
+them, obediently making their circuits about him, never venturing beyond
+a certain distance away, we behold a type of that gravitational mastery
+to which our own little planet is subject as it revolves around its
+still greater ruler, the sun, to whose control even Jupiter in his turn
+must submit.
+
+The beautiful planet Saturn requires for the observation of its rings
+magnifying powers far beyond those of the instruments with which our
+readers are supposed to be armed. It would be well, however, for the
+observer to trace its slow motion among the stars with the aid of the
+Nautical Almanac, and he should be able with a good field-glass to see,
+under favorable circumstances, the largest of its eight moons, Titan.
+This is equal in brilliancy to an 8.5 magnitude star. Its position with
+respect to Saturn on any given date can be learned from the Ephemeris.
+
+It may appear somewhat presumptuous to place Uranus, a planet which it
+required the telescope and the eye of a Herschel to discover, in a list
+of objects for the opera-glass. But it must not be forgotten that Uranus
+was seen certainly several, and probably many, times before Herschel's
+discovery, being simply mistaken, on account of the slowness of its
+motion, for a fixed star. When near opposition, Uranus looks as bright
+as a sixth-magnitude star, and can be easily detected with the naked eye
+when its position is known. With an opera-glass (and still more readily
+with a field-glass) this distant planet can be watched as it moves
+deliberately onward in its gigantic orbit. Its passage by neighboring
+stars is an exceedingly interesting phenomenon, and it is in this way
+that you may recognize the planet.
+
+On the evening of May 29, 1888, I knew, from the co-ordinates given in
+the Nautical Almanac, that Uranus was to be found a short distance east
+of Mars, which was then only a few degrees from the well-known star
+Gamma Virginis. Accordingly, I turned my opera-glass upon Mars, and at
+once saw a star in the expected position, which I knew was Uranus. But
+there were other small stars in the field, and, supposing I had not been
+certain which was Uranus, how could I have recognized it? The answer is
+plain: simply by watching for a night or two to see which star moved.
+That star would, of course, be Uranus. The accompanying cuts will show
+the motions of Mars and Uranus with respect to neighboring stars at that
+time, and will serve as an example of the method of distinguishing a
+planet from the fixed stars by its change of place. In the first cut we
+have the two planets and three neighboring stars as they appeared on May
+29th. These stars were best seen with a field-glass, although an
+opera-glass readily showed them.
+
+[Illustration: MARS AND URANUS, MAY 29, 1888.]
+
+[Illustration: MARS AND URANUS, JUNE 1, 1888.]
+
+[Illustration: MARS AND URANUS, JUNE 6, 1888.]
+
+On June 1st the relative positions of the planets and stars were as
+shown in the second cut. A glance suffices to show that not only Mars
+but Uranus also has shifted its position with respect to the three
+immovable stars. This change of place alone would have sufficed to
+indicate the identity of Uranus. To make sure, the inexperienced
+observer had only to continue his observations a few nights longer.
+
+On June 6th Mars and Uranus were in conjunction, and their position, as
+well as that of the same set of three stars, is shown in the third cut.
+It will be seen that while Mars had changed its place very much more
+than Uranus, yet that the latter planet had now moved so far from its
+original position on May 29th, that there could be no possibility that
+the merest tyro in star-gazing would fail to notice the change. Whenever
+the observer sees an object which he suspects to be a planet, he can
+satisfy himself of its identity by making a series of little sketches
+like the above, showing the position of the suspected object on
+successive evenings, with respect to neighboring stars. The same plan
+suffices to identify the larger planets, in the case of which no glass
+is necessary. The observer can simply make a careful estimate by the
+naked eye of the supposed planet's distance and bearing from large stars
+near it, and compare them with similar observations made on subsequent
+evenings.
+
+THE SUN.--That spots upon the sun may be seen with no greater optical
+aid than that of an opera-glass is perhaps well known to many of my
+readers, for during the past ten years public attention has been drawn
+to sun-spots in an especial manner, on account of their supposed
+connection with meteorology, and in that time there have been many spots
+upon the solar disk which could not only be seen with an opera-glass,
+but even with the unassisted eye. At present (1888) we are near a
+minimum period of sun-spots, and the number to be seen even with a
+telescope is comparatively very small, yet only a few days before this
+page was written there was a spot on the sun large enough to be
+conspicuous with the aid of a field-glass. During the time of a
+spot-maximum the sun is occasionally a wonderful object, no matter how
+small the power of the instrument used in viewing it may be. Strings of
+spots of every variety of shape sometimes extend completely across the
+disk. Our illustration shows the appearance of the sun, as drawn by the
+author on the 1st of September, 1883. Every one of the spots and
+spot-groups there represented could be seen with a good field-glass, and
+nearly all of them with an opera-glass.
+
+[Illustration: THE SUN, SEPTEMBER 1, 1883.]
+
+As in all such cases, our interest in the phenomena increases in
+proportion to our understanding of their significance and their true
+scale of magnitude. In glancing from side to side of the sun's disk, the
+eye ranges over a distance of more than 860,000 miles--not a mere ideal
+distance, or an expanse of empty space, but a distance filled by an
+actual and, so to speak, tangible body, whose diameter is of that
+stupendous magnitude. One sees at a glance, then, the enormous scale on
+which these spots are formed. The earth placed beside them would be but
+a speck, and yet they are mere pits in the surface of the sun, filled
+perhaps with partially cooled metallic vapors, which have been cast up
+from the interior, and are settling back again. It is worth anybody's
+while to get a glimpse at a sun-spot if he can, for, although he may see
+it merely as a black dot on the shining disk, yet it represents the play
+of physical forces whose might and power are there exercised on a scale
+really beyond human comprehension. The imagination of Milton or Dante
+would have beheld the mouth of hell yawning in a sun-spot.
+
+In order to view the sun it is, of course, necessary to contrive some
+protection for the eyes. This may be constructed by taking two strips of
+glass four or five inches long and an inch wide, and smoking one of them
+until you can without discomfort look at the sun through it. Then place
+the two strips together, with the smoked surface inside--taking care to
+separate them slightly by pieces of cardboard placed between the
+ends--and fasten the edges together with strips of paper gummed on.
+Then, by means of a rubber band, fasten the dark glass thus prepared
+over the eye-end of your opera-glass in such a way that both of the
+lenses are completely covered by it. It will require a little practice
+to enable you to get the sun into the field of view and keep it there,
+and for this purpose you should assume a posture--sitting, if
+possible--which will enable you to hold the glass very steady. Then
+point the glass nearly in the direction of the sun, and move it slowly
+about until the disk comes in sight. It is best to carefully focus your
+instrument on some distant object before trying to look at the sun with
+it.
+
+As there is some danger of the shade-glass being cracked by the heat,
+especially if the object-glasses of the instrument are pretty large, it
+would be well to get the strips of glass for the shade large enough to
+cover the object-end of the instrument instead of the eye-end. At a
+little expense an optician will furnish you with strips of glass of
+complementary tints, which, when fastened together, give a very pleasing
+view of the sun without discoloring the disk. Dark red with dark blue or
+green answer very well; but the color must be very deep. The same
+arrangement, of course, will serve for viewing an eclipse of the sun.
+
+A word, finally, about the messenger which brings to us all the
+knowledge we possess of the contents and marvels of space--light.
+Without the all-pervading luminiferous ether, narrow indeed would be our
+acquaintance with the physical creation. This is a sympathetic bond by
+which we may conceive that intelligent creatures throughout the universe
+are united. Light tells us of the existence of suns and systems so
+remote that the mind shrinks from the attempt to conceive their
+distance; and light bears back again to them a similar message in the
+feeble glimmering of our own sun. And can any one believe that there are
+no eyes out yonder to receive, and no intelligence to interpret that
+message?
+
+Sir Humphry Davy has beautifully expressed a similar thought in one of
+his philosophical romances:
+
+  In Jupiter you would see creatures similar to those in Saturn, but
+  with different powers of locomotion; in Mars and Venus you would find
+  races of created forms more analogous to those belonging to the Earth;
+  but in every part of the planetary system you would find one character
+  peculiar to all intelligent natures, a sense of receiving impressions
+  from light by various organs of vision, and toward this result you can
+  not but perceive that all the arrangements and motions of the
+  planetary bodies, their satellites and atmospheres, are subservient.
+  The spiritual natures, therefore, that pass from system to system in
+  progression toward power and knowledge preserve at least this one
+  invariable character, and their intellectual life may be said to
+  depend more or less upon the influence of light.[G]
+
+    [G] See "Consolations in Travel, or, the Last Days of a
+        Philosopher"; Dialogue I.
+
+Light is a result, and an expression, of the energy of cosmical life.
+The universe lives while light exists. But when the throbbing energies
+of all the suns are exhausted, and space is filled with universal gloom,
+the light of intelligence must vanish too.
+
+One can not read the wonderful messages of light--one can not study the
+sun, the moon, and the stars in any manner--without perceiving that the
+physical universe is enormously greater than he had thought, and that
+the creation, of which the Earth is an infinitesimal part, is almost
+infinitely more magnificent in actual magnitude than the imaginary
+domain which men of old times pictured as the dwelling-place of the
+all-controlling gods; without feeling that he has risen to a higher
+plane, and that his intellectual life has taken a nobler aim and a
+broader scope.
+
+
+
+
+INDEX.
+
+
+  Achernar, 94.
+
+  Albireo ([beta] Cygni), 55.
+
+  Alcor, 27.
+
+  Alcyone, 102.
+    M�dler's "Central Sun," 104.
+
+  Aldebaran, 22, 89, 91, 94, 95, 98.
+
+  Algenib ([alpha] Persei), 84, 85.
+
+  Algol, the Demon-Star, 83.
+    probable cause of variation of, 85.
+
+  Al-Mamoun, the Caliph, observation of a temporary star, 35.
+
+  Almaach ([gamma] Andromed�), 79, 82.
+
+  Alphard, 16.
+
+  Alpha Andromed�, 79.
+    Agnarii (Sadalmelik), 67.
+    Arietis (Hamal), 74.
+    Capricorni (Giedi), 65.
+    Ceti (Menkar), 70.
+    Draconis, formerly the pole-star, 102.
+    Libr�, 52.
+    Ophiuchi (Ras Alhague), 42.
+    Orionis (Betelgeuse), 91, 98, 106.
+    Pegasi (Markab), 70.
+    Urs� Majoris, 28.
+
+  Alpheratz ([alpha] Andromed�), 79.
+
+  Alps, the lunar, 135.
+
+  Altai Mountains, 135.
+
+  Altair, 55.
+
+  Andromed�, map of, 76.
+    mythology of, 75.
+
+  Antares, 32, 33, 98.
+
+  Antinous, 55.
+
+  Apennines, the lunar, 135.
+
+  Apollonius, regarded the moon as a mirror, 119.
+
+  Aquarius, map of, 64.
+    mythology of, 67.
+
+  Aquila, map of, 56.
+    mythology of, 55.
+
+  Aratus, description of the Manger, 15.
+    the "Diosemia" of, 15.
+    the Phenomena of, 20.
+    story of Virgo, 51.
+    description of the "Royal Family," 78.
+    description of Cetus, 70.
+
+  Arcturus, 10, 24, 26, 49, 56.
+
+  Argo, map of, 110.
+    mythology of, 115.
+
+  Aries, map of, 71.
+    mythology of, 75.
+
+  Ariosto, story of a trip to the moon, 136.
+
+  Aristarchus, the shining mountain, 125.
+
+  Aselli, 15.
+
+  Asterope, 103.
+
+  Atlas, 102.
+
+  Auriga, map of, 23.
+    mythology of, 23.
+    star swarms in, 22.
+
+  Autumn, map of the Stars of, 62.
+
+
+  Bartschius invents Monoceros, 117.
+
+  Bay of Dew, 129.
+
+  Bay of Rainbows, 129.
+
+  Bear's head, stars forming the, 28.
+
+  Bellatrix, 90, 107.
+
+  Belt, Orion's, 90, 107.
+
+  Berenice's Hair, the constellation of, 24.
+    picture of, 53.
+
+  Bessel, studies of Sirius and Procyon, 20.
+    letter about "dark stars," 114.
+
+  Beta Andromed� (Mirach), 79.
+    Arietis (Sheratan), 75.
+    Capricorni (Dabih), 65.
+    Cassiopeia, 74.
+
+  Beta Corvi, 25.
+    Cygni (Albireo), 55.
+    Libr�, 52.
+    Leonis (Denebola), 12.
+    Lyr�, 50.
+    Pegasi, 70.
+    Scorpionis, 34.
+    Urs� Minoris (Kochab), 27.
+
+  Betelgeuse ([alpha] Orionis), 91, 98, 106.
+
+  Bethlehem, the so-called Star of, 87.
+
+  Biela's comet, it breaks up, 82.
+
+  Biela meteors, radiant point of the, 82.
+
+  Bo�tes, map of, 50.
+    mythology of, 53.
+
+
+  Calisto, another name of Ursa Major, 29.
+
+  Cancer, map of, 18.
+    mythology of, 15.
+
+  Canes Venatici, 54.
+
+  Canis Major, map of, 110.
+    mythology of, 115.
+
+  Canis Minor, map of, 18.
+    mythology of, 21.
+
+  Canopus, 114.
+
+  Capella, 9, 22, 49, 89, 91.
+
+  Cape Heraclides, 129.
+    Laplace, 129.
+
+  Capricornus, map of, 64.
+    mythology of, 67.
+
+  Cassiopeia, map of, 76.
+    mythology of, 75.
+
+  Castor, 17.
+
+  Catharina, 135.
+
+  Caucasus Mountains, 135.
+
+  Cel�no, 103.
+
+  Central Gulf, 129.
+
+  "Central Sun," M�dler's ideas about a, 104.
+
+  Cepheus, map of, 58, 76.
+
+  Cetus, map of, 71.
+    mythology of, 70.
+
+  Chi Ceti, 73.
+
+  Clavius, 124, 132, 133.
+
+  Coal-Sack, 57.
+
+  Comet, Biela's, 82.
+
+  Comet, Halley's, the Crab Nebula mistaken for, 97.
+
+  Constellations, origin of, 6, 42, 61.
+    along the Milky-Way, 116.
+    the zodiacal, 16.
+
+  Constellations, St. Paul's knowledge of, 19.
+
+  Copernicus, 136.
+
+  Corvus, map of, 26.
+    mythology of, 25.
+
+  "Crimson Star," 110.
+
+  Crisian Sea, 127.
+
+  Cynosura, a name of Ursa Minor, 29.
+
+  Cygnus, map of, 56.
+
+  Cyrillus, 135.
+
+
+  Dabih ([beta] Capricorni), 65.
+
+  Dark Stars, Bessel's suggestion about, 114.
+
+  Davy, Humphry, on life in other worlds, 147.
+
+  Delta Canis Majoris, 112.
+    Cephei, 88.
+    Tauri, 99.
+
+  Deltoton, 75.
+
+  Denebola ([beta] Leonis), 12, 14, 24.
+
+  Dipper, the Great, 10, 27.
+
+  Dog-Days, origin of the, 111.
+
+  Dog-Star, 111.
+
+  Dolphin, map of the, 56.
+    mythology of the, 55.
+
+  Draco, map of, 58.
+    mythology of, 57.
+
+
+  El Nath, 22, 97.
+
+  Epsilon Leonis, 12.
+    Lyr�, 49.
+    Tauri, 99.
+    Virginis, 51.
+
+  Equinox, autumnal, 52.
+    vernal, 74.
+
+  Eridanus, map of, 93.
+
+  Eta Aquil�, 55.
+
+
+  Field-glass, 6.
+
+  Field of the Nebul�, 51.
+
+  Flammarion, on [alpha] Capricorni, 65.
+
+  Flood traditions connected with the Pleiades, 101, 102.
+
+  Focus, importance of a sharp, 11.
+
+  Fomalhaut, 63.
+
+  Fontenelle, "Plurality of Worlds," 60.
+
+
+  Galileo, his telescope an opera-glass, 4.
+    his description of Pr�sepe, 15.
+    his description of the moon, 118.
+    power of his telescope, 119.
+
+  Gamma Andromed�, 79, 82.
+    Leonis, 11.
+    Pegasi, 70.
+    Tauri, 99.
+    Virginis, 51.
+
+  "Garnet Star" (Mu Cephei), 88.
+
+  Gemini, map of, 18.
+    mythology of, 19.
+
+  Genesis, a celestial, 68.
+
+  Giedi ([alpha] Capricorni), 65.
+
+  Glass, use of smoked or colored, 130, 146.
+
+  Goldschmidt sees a nebula in the Pleiades, 104.
+
+  Gomelza, 20.
+
+  Gore, estimate of the stars in 13 M, 45.
+
+  "Grape-Gatherer" ([epsilon] Virginis), 51.
+
+  Grensted, Rev. Mr., suggestion about lunar rays, 132.
+
+  Grimaldi, 130.
+
+
+  Halley's comet and Crab Nebula, 97.
+
+  Hamal ([alpha] Arietis), 74.
+
+  H�mus Mountains, 128.
+
+  Henry, Paul and Prosper, photographs of the Pleiades, 105.
+
+  Hercules, map of, 44.
+    mythology of, 45.
+    motion of solar system toward, 43.
+
+  Herschel, William, discovers Uranus, 19.
+    computation of stars in 13 M, 45.
+    advice about seeing star-colors, 88.
+    thinks he sees lunar volcano, 125.
+    John, description of 8 M, 34.
+    suggestion about [alpha] Capricorni, 65.
+
+  Holden, Prof., on the Milky-Way, 40.
+    structure of Ring Nebula, 105.
+
+  Hooke, discovers first telescopic double star, 75.
+
+  Hyades, 89, 95, 98, 99.
+
+  Hydra, map of part of, 26.
+    mythology of, 16.
+
+  Hydra's Heart (Alphard), 16.
+
+  Humboldt Sea, 130.
+
+
+  Jeaurat, chart of the Pleiades, 104.
+
+  Job's coffin, 55.
+
+  Jupiter, 141.
+    satellites of, 142.
+
+
+  Kappa Argus, 116.
+    Tauri, 100.
+
+  Kepler observes the star of 1604, 42.
+
+  Kingsley, story of Andromeda, 77.
+
+  "King's lucky star," 67.
+
+  Kochab (Beta Urs� Minoris), 27.
+
+
+  Lake of Death, 129.
+    of Dreams, 129.
+
+  Land of Drought, 130.
+    of Hoar Frost, 130.
+
+  Leo, map of, 12.
+    mythology of, 13.
+    sickle-shaped figure in, 9, 14.
+
+  Lepus, map of, 93.
+
+  Lick telescope, views of Milky-Way, 40.
+    views of Ring Nebula, 105.
+
+  Light, the messenger of the universe, 147.
+    in a star-cluster, 45.
+
+  Libra, description and mythology of, 52.
+
+  Life, does it exist beyond the earth? 37, 48, 137, 139, 140, 147.
+
+  Locke, Richard Adams, author of the "Moon Hoax," 125.
+
+  Lyra, map of, 44.
+    mythology of, 45.
+
+
+  M�dler, on the "Central Sun," 104.
+
+  Maginus, 124.
+
+  Maia, 103, 105.
+
+  Man in the Moon, 121.
+
+  Manger (Pr�sepe), 15.
+
+  Marine glass, 6.
+
+  Markab ([alpha] Pegasi), 70.
+
+  Marsh of Mists, 129.
+    of Putrefaction, 129.
+    of Sleep, 127.
+
+  Mars, 140.
+
+  Medusa, the head of, 83.
+
+  Menelaus, 128.
+
+  Menkalina, 22.
+
+  Menkar ([alpha] Ceti), 70.
+
+  Mercury, 139.
+
+  Merope, 102, 103.
+
+  Mesarthim, 75.
+
+  Meteors, radiant point of November, 11.
+    radiant point of Biela, 82.
+
+  Micromegas, the story of, 115.
+
+  Milk-Dipper, 34.
+
+  Milky-Way, 17, 34, 39, 40, 43, 57, 81, 86, 116.
+
+  Mira ([omicron] Ceti), 71.
+    probable cause of its variations, 72.
+
+  Milton, account of Libra, 52.
+
+  Mirach ([beta] Andromed�), 79.
+
+  Mizar, 27.
+
+  Moon, mountains of the, 120.
+    shadows on the, 120.
+    map of the, 123.
+    list of mountains, "seas," etc., 123.
+    inhabitableness of the, 136.
+    the other side of the, 138.
+
+  "Moon Hoax," 125, 128.
+
+  Monoceros, map of, 110.
+
+  Mu Argus, 116.
+    Scorpionis, 36.
+
+
+  Nebul� (and Star-Clusters):
+    4 M, 34.
+    6 M, 37.
+    7 M, 37.
+    8 M, 38.
+    13 M, 45.
+    24 M, 38.
+    25 M, 39.
+    30 M, 66.
+    34 M, 86.
+    35 M, 18.
+    37 M, 23.
+    38 M, 23.
+    41 M, 112.
+    46 M, 116.
+    50 M, 117.
+    80 M, 35.
+    93 M, 116.
+    2^7, 117.
+    33^7, 23.
+    38^8, 116.
+    Andromeda, Great Nebula in, 79, 80.
+    Aquarius, Nebula in, 68.
+    Crab Nebula, 97, 98.
+    Field of the Nebul�, 51.
+    Horseshoe Nebula, 39.
+    Orion, Great Nebula in, 107.
+    Perseus, Great Cluster in, 86.
+    Pleiades, nebul� in the, 104.
+    Ring Nebula in Lyra, 50.
+
+  Nebular hypothesis, 68.
+
+  Neison, description of sunrise on Clavius, 133.
+
+  Newton, 134.
+
+  "Nile-Star," 111.
+
+  Northern Cross, 54, 55.
+
+  Northern Crown, map of the, 44.
+
+  Northern Fish, 73, 79.
+
+  Nu Andromed�, 79, 82.
+    Aquarii, a pointer to a nebula, 68.
+    Canis Majoris, 112.
+    Draconis, 58.
+    Scorpionis, 34.
+
+
+  Ocean of Storms, 130.
+
+  Omicron Ceti (Mira), 71, 72.
+    Cygni, 57.
+
+  Omicron two Eridani, a flying-star, 95.
+
+  Opera-glass, views of the stars with, 3.
+    how to choose a good, 4.
+    magnifying power of, 4.
+    defects of, 5.
+
+  Ophiuchus and Serpens, map of, 41.
+    mythology of, 41.
+
+  Orion, map of, 93.
+    mythology of, 109.
+    great array of stars around, 90.
+    riches of, 106.
+    spectacle of the rising of, 89.
+
+  Orpheus, fancies about the moon, 119.
+
+
+  Pegasus, map of, 64.
+    mythology of, 69.
+
+  Perseus, map of, 76.
+    mythology of, 75.
+    great cluster in, 86.
+
+  Phantom, another name of Hercules, 45.
+
+  Photography, astronomical, 3, 105.
+
+  Pi Argus, 116.
+    Five Orionis, 109.
+    Pegasi, 70.
+
+  Pisces, map of, 71.
+    mythology of, 74.
+
+  Piscis Australis, 67.
+
+  Plato, 135.
+
+  Pleiades, 10, 22, 89, 95.
+    names of the, 100.
+    mythology of, 100.
+    and the Flood, 101, 102.
+    and the Great Pyramid, 101.
+    picture of the, 103.
+    common motion of the, 104.
+
+  Pleione, 102, 103.
+
+  Pole-star, 10, 26.
+
+  Pollux, 17.
+
+  Pr�sepe (the Manger), 15.
+
+  Prime Meridian, 74.
+
+  Proclus, 127.
+
+  Procyon, 9, 20.
+
+  Pyramid of Cheops and the Pleiades, 101.
+
+  Pyrenees Mountains, 128.
+
+
+  Ras Alhague ([alpha] Ophiuchi), 42.
+
+  Rays of the Moon, 131.
+
+  Regulus, 9, 11.
+
+  Revolution of the heavens, 7, 30.
+
+  Rho Ophiuchi, 33.
+
+  Rigel, 91, 94, 98, 108.
+
+  Ring Nebula, 50.
+
+  "Royal Family," 63, 75.
+
+  Rutherford, photograph of the moon, 122.
+
+
+  Sadalmelik ([alpha] Aquarii), 67.
+
+  Sagitta, map of, 56.
+
+  Sagittarius, map of, 34.
+    mythology of, 34.
+
+  Saiph, 90.
+
+  Saturn, 142.
+
+  Scorpio, map of, 34.
+    mythology of, 32.
+    pair of stars in sting of, 37.
+
+  Schickhard, 130.
+
+  Sea of Clouds, 130.
+
+  Sea of Cold, 129.
+
+  Sea of Fertility, 127.
+
+  Sea of Humors, 130.
+
+  Sea of Nectar, 128.
+
+  Sea of Serenity, 128.
+
+  Sea of Showers, 129.
+
+  Sea of Tranquillity, 127.
+
+  Sea of Vapors, 129.
+
+  Secchi, Father, types of the stars, 106.
+    description of a star-swarm, 39.
+
+  Seiss, Rev. Dr., on Canis Minor, 21.
+    description of Auriga, 23.
+
+  Sheratan ([beta] Arietis), 75.
+
+  Sidus Ludovicianum, 27.
+
+  Sirius, 9, 22, 91.
+    color of, 111.
+    size and distance of, 112.
+    the companion of, 21, 114.
+    its light compared with the sun's, 46.
+
+  Sigma Tauri, 99.
+
+  Sixty-one Cygni, 56.
+
+  Smyth, Admiral, on Capricorn, 67.
+    description of Aldebaran, 98.
+    description of 35 M, 18.
+
+  Solstice, summer, 16, 19.
+    winter, 38.
+
+  Sobieski's Shield, 39.
+
+  Solar system, voyaging of, in space, 43.
+
+  Southern Cross, 91, 116.
+
+  South Sea, 130.
+
+  Spectroscopic analysis, 3, 98.
+
+  Spica, 10, 24, 26, 51.
+
+  Spring, map of the stars of, 8.
+
+  Square of Pegasus, 69.
+
+  St. Paul, acquainted with the constellations, 19.
+
+  Star-Clusters (see Nebul�, etc.).
+
+  Star-Cluster, light in a, 45.
+
+  Summer, map of the stars of, 31.
+
+  Sun, opera-glass observations of the, 145.
+    the, a variable star, 72.
+
+  Sword of Orion, 107.
+
+
+  Taurus, map of, 93.
+    mythology of, 102.
+    the "Golden Horns" of, 96.
+    Poniatowskii, 42.
+
+  Tau Aquarii, 68.
+
+  Taygeta, 103.
+
+  Temporary stars:
+    134 B. C. the first on record, 35.
+    393 A. D., 35.
+    827, 35.
+    1203, 35.
+    1572, Tycho's star, 87.
+    1578, 36.
+    1604, 36, 42.
+    1860, 35, 81.
+    1885, 80.
+
+  Temple, discovers a nebula in the Pleiades, 104.
+
+  Tennyson, describes the Pleiades, 105.
+
+  Theophilus, 135.
+
+  Theta Orionis, 107.
+    Serpentis, 43.
+    Tauri, 99.
+
+  Tobias Mayer, sees the planet Neptune, 69.
+
+  Triangles, map of the, 71.
+    mythology of, 75.
+
+  Twenty-two Canis Majoris, 112.
+    Scorpii, 33.
+
+  Tycho Brahe, invents Antinous, 55.
+    places Hamal in Aries, 75.
+    studies the star of 1572, 87.
+
+  Tycho, 122, 131.
+
+
+  Upsilon Tauri, 100.
+
+  Uranus, discovery of, 19.
+    how to find, 142.
+
+  Ursa Major, map of, 27.
+    mythology of, 28.
+    stars in the feet of, 28.
+
+  Ursa Minor, map of, 27.
+    mythology of, 28.
+
+
+  Vega, 49.
+
+  Venus, mistaken for artificial light, 2.
+    opera-glass observation of, 139.
+
+  Virgil, description of Taurus, 96.
+
+  Virgo, map of, 50.
+    mythology of, 51.
+
+  Vision, seeing with averted, 13.
+
+  Voltaire, story of "Micromegas," 115.
+
+  Vulpecula, map of, 56.
+
+
+  Webb, Rev. T. W., on telescopes, 5.
+    on 35 M, 18.
+
+  Western Fish, 73.
+
+  Winter, brilliancy of the heavens in, 91.
+    map of the stars of, 92.
+
+  Woman in the Moon, 121.
+
+
+  Zeta Corvi, 25.
+    Cassiopeia, 86.
+    Leonis, 11.
+    Lyr�, 50.
+    Scorpionis, 36.
+    Tauri, a pointer to the Crab Nebula, 97.
+
+  Zi Argus, 116.
+
+  Zodiac, 16.
+
+  Zodiac, divided among the Twelve Apostles, 86.
+    of Dendera, 14.
+
+  Z�llner, estimate of Sirius's light, 46.
+
+
+THE END.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Astronomy with an Opera-glass, by 
+Garrett Putman Serviss
+
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+    "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd">
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+<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
+  <head>
+    <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=iso-8859-1" />
+    <title>
+      The Project Gutenberg eBook of Astronomy with an opera-glass, by Garrett P. Serviss.
+    </title>
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+<body>
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+
+<pre>
+
+Project Gutenberg's Astronomy with an Opera-glass, by Garrett Putman Serviss
+
+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
+
+
+Title: Astronomy with an Opera-glass
+       A Popular Introduction to the Study of the Starry Heavens
+              with the Simplest of Optical Instruments
+
+Author: Garrett Putman Serviss
+
+Release Date: July 15, 2011 [EBook #36741]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ASTRONOMY WITH AN OPERA-GLASS ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by dkretz and the Online Distributed Proofreading
+Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from
+images generously made available by The Internet Archive)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<h1>ASTRONOMY<br />
+WITH AN OPERA-GLASS</h1>
+
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<h4>A POPULAR INTRODUCTION TO THE<br />
+STUDY OF THE STARRY HEAVENS WITH THE<br />
+SIMPLEST OF OPTICAL INSTRUMENTS</h4>
+
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<h5>WITH MAPS AND DIRECTIONS TO FACILITATE THE RECOGNITION<br />
+OF THE CONSTELLATIONS AND THE PRINCIPAL STARS<br />
+VISIBLE TO THE NAKED EYE</h5>
+
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<h5>BY</h5>
+
+<h3>GARRETT P. SERVISS</h3>
+
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<div class='center'>
+<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="">
+<tr><td align='left'>"Known are their laws; in harmony unroll</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>The nineteen-orbed cycles of the Moon.</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>And all the signs through which Night whirls her car</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>From belted Orion back to Orion and his dauntless Hound,</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>And all Poseidon's, all high Zeus' stars</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>Bear on their beams true messages to man."</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'><span class="smcap">Poste's Aratus.</span></td></tr>
+</table></div>
+
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<h5><i>THIRD EDITION</i></h5>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+
+<h4>NEW YORK<br />
+D. APPLETON AND COMPANY<br />
+<span class="smcap">London: Caxton House, Paternoster Square</span><br />
+1890</h4>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 10%;" />
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<h5><span class="smcap">Copyright, 1888,<br />
+By D APPLETON AND COMPANY.</span></h5>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 80%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'>iii</span></p>
+<h2>TO THE READER</h2>
+
+
+<p>In the pages that follow, the author has endeavored to
+encourage the study of the heavenly bodies by pointing out
+some of the interesting and marvelous phenomena of the universe
+that are visible with little or no assistance from optical
+instruments, and indicating means of becoming acquainted
+with the constellations and the planets. Knowing that an
+opera-glass is capable of revealing some of the most beautiful
+sights in the starry dome, and believing that many persons
+would be glad to learn the fact, he set to work with such an
+instrument and surveyed all the constellations visible in the
+latitude of New York, carefully noting everything that it
+seemed might interest amateur star-gazers. All the objects
+thus observed have not been included in this book, lest the
+multiplicity of details should deter or discourage the very
+readers for whom it was specially written. On the other
+hand, there is nothing described as visible with an opera-glass
+or a field-glass which the author has not seen with an instrument
+of that description, and which any person possessing eye-sight
+of average quality and a competent glass should not be
+able to discern.</p>
+
+<p>But, in order to lend due interest to the subject, and place
+it before the reader in a proper light and true perspective,
+many facts have been stated concerning the objects described,
+the ascertainment of which has required the aid of powerful
+telescopes, and to observers with such instruments is reserved
+the noble pleasure of confirming with their own eyes those
+<span class='pagenum'>iv</span>
+wonderful discoveries which the looker with an opera-glass
+can not hope to behold unless, happily, he should be spurred
+on to the possession of a telescope. Yet even to glimpse dimly
+these distant wonders, knowing what a closer view would reveal,
+is a source of no mean satisfaction, while the celestial
+phenomena that lie easily within reach of an opera-glass are
+sufficient to furnish delight and instruction for many an
+evening.</p>
+
+<p>It should be said that the division of the stars used in this
+book into the "Stars of Spring," "Stars of Summer," "Stars
+of Autumn," and "Stars of Winter," is purely arbitrary, and
+intended only to indicate the seasons when certain constellations
+are best situated for observation or most conspicuous.</p>
+
+<p>The greater part of the matter composing this volume appeared
+originally in a series of articles contributed by the author
+to "The Popular Science Monthly" in 1887-'88. The
+reception that those articles met with encouraged him to revise
+and enlarge them for publication in the more permanent
+form of a book.</p>
+
+<p style='text-align: right'>G. P. S.</p>
+<p style='font-size: smaller'><span class="smcap">Brooklyn, N. Y.</span>, <i>September, 1888.</i></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 80%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'>v</span></p>
+<h2>CONTENTS.</h2>
+
+
+<div class='center'>
+<table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="5" summary="" width="80%">
+<tr><td align='left'>&nbsp;</td><td align='right'><small>PAGE</small></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><a href="#INTRODUCTION"><span class="smcap">Introduction</span></a></td><td align='right'>1</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='justify'>&nbsp; &nbsp; Popular interest in the phenomena of the heavens.</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='justify'>&nbsp; &nbsp; The opera-glass as an instrument of observation for beginners in star-study.</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='justify'>&nbsp; &nbsp; Testing an opera-glass.</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left' colspan='2'>&nbsp;</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='center' colspan='2'><a href="#CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I.</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">The Stars of Spring</span></td><td align='right'>7</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='justify'>&nbsp; &nbsp; <i>Description of the Constellations</i>&mdash;Auriga, the Charioteer; Berenice's
+Hair; Cancer, the Crab [the Manger]; Canis Minor, the Lesser Dog; Corvus,
+the Crow; Crateris, the Cup; Gemini, the Twins; Hydra, the Water-Serpent;
+Leo, the Lion; Ursa Major, the Greater Bear [the Great Dipper];
+Ursa Minor, the Lesser Bear [the Pole-Star].</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='justify'>&nbsp; &nbsp; A circular index-map, maps on a larger scale, of the constellations described,
+and pictures of remarkable objects.</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left' colspan='2'>&nbsp;</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='center' colspan='2'><a href="#CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II.</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">The Stars of Summer</span></td><td align='right'>30</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='justify'>&nbsp; &nbsp; <i>Description of the Constellations</i>&mdash;Aquila, the Eagle; Bo&ouml;tes, the Herdsman,
+or Bear-Diver; Canes Venatici, the Hunting-Dogs; Cygnus, the
+Swan [the Northern Cross]; Delphinus, the Dolphin; Draco, the Dragon;
+Hercules [the Great Sun-Swarm, 13 M]; Libra, the Balance; Lyra, the
+Harp; the Northern Crown; Ophiuchus et Serpens, the Serpent-bearer and
+the Serpent; Sagitta, the Arrow; Sagittarius, the Archer; Scorpio, the
+Scorpion; Sobieski's Shield; Taurus Poniatowskii, Poniatowsky's Bull;
+Virgo, the Virgin [the Field of the Nebul&aelig;]; Vulpecula, the Little Fox.</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='justify'>&nbsp; &nbsp; A circular index-map, maps, on a larger scale, of the constellations described,
+and pictures of remarkable objects.</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left' colspan='2'>&nbsp;</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='center' colspan='2'><a href="#CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III.</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">The Stars of Autumn</span></td><td align='right'>60</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='justify'>&nbsp; &nbsp; <i>Description of the Constellations</i>&mdash;Andromeda [the Great Nebula];
+Aquarius, the Water-Bearer; Aries, the Ram; Capricornus, the Goat;
+Cassiopeia; Cepheus; Cetus, the Whale [Mira, the wonderful variable
+star]; Pegasus, the Winged Horse.</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='justify'>&nbsp; &nbsp; Perseus [Algol, the Demon-Star]; Pisces, the Fishes; Piscis Australis,
+the Southern Fish; the Triangles.</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='justify'>&nbsp; &nbsp; A circular index-map, maps on a larger scale, of the constellations described,
+and pictures of remarkable objects.</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left' colspan='2'>&nbsp;</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='center' colspan='2'><a href="#CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV.</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">The Stars of Winter</span></td><td align='right'>89</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='justify'>&nbsp; &nbsp; <i>Description of the Constellations</i>&mdash;Argo, Jason's Ship; Canis Major,
+the Great Dog [Sirius]; Eridanus, the river Po; Lepus, the Hare; Monoceros,
+the Unicorn; Orion [the Great Nebula]; Taurus, the Bull [the
+Pleiades and Hyades].</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='justify'>&nbsp; &nbsp; A circular index-map, maps on a larger scale, of the constellations described,
+and pictures of remarkable objects.</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left' colspan='2'>&nbsp;</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='center' colspan='2'><a href="#CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V.</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">The Moon, the Planets, and the Sun</span></td><td align='right'>118</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='justify'>&nbsp; &nbsp; Description of lunar "seas," mountains, and "craters," with a map of
+the moon, and cuts showing its appearance with a field-glass.</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='justify'>&nbsp; &nbsp; <i>Opera-glass observation of</i>&mdash;The sun (one cut), Mercury, Venus, Mars,
+Jupiter and his satellites (one cut), Saturn, Uranus (three cuts).</td></tr>
+</table></div>
+
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 80%;" />
+<h1>ASTRONOMY WITH AN OPERA-GLASS.</h1>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 80%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[1]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="INTRODUCTION" id="INTRODUCTION"></a>INTRODUCTION.</h2>
+
+
+<p>Star-gazing was never more popular than it is now. In
+every civilized country many excellent telescopes are owned
+and used, often to very good purpose, by persons who are
+not practical astronomers, but who wish to see for themselves
+the marvels of the sky, and who occasionally stumble upon
+something that is new even to professional star-gazers. Yet,
+notwithstanding this activity in the cultivation of astronomical
+studies, it is probably safe to assert that hardly one person
+in a hundred knows the chief stars by name, or can even
+recognize the principal constellations, much less distinguish
+the planets from the fixed stars. And of course they know
+nothing of the intellectual pleasure that accompanies a
+knowledge of the stars. Modern astronomy is so rapidly
+and wonderfully linking the earth and the sun together, with
+all the orbs of space, in the bonds of close physical relationship,
+that a person of education and general intelligence can
+offer no valid excuse for not knowing where to look for Sirius
+or Aldebaran, or the Orion nebula, or the planet Jupiter.
+As Australia and New Zealand and the islands of the sea are
+made a part of the civilized world through the expanding
+influence of commerce and cultivation, so the suns and planets
+around us are, in a certain sense, falling under the dominion
+of the restless and resistless mind of man. We have
+come to possess vested intellectual interests in Mars and Saturn,
+and in the sun and all his multitude of fellows, which
+nobody can afford to ignore.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[2]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>A singular proof of popular ignorance of the starry heavens,
+as well as of popular curiosity concerning any uncommon
+celestial phenomenon, is furnished by the curious notions
+prevailing about the planet Venus. When Venus
+began to attract general attention in the western sky in the
+early evenings of the spring of 1887, speculation quickly
+became rife about it, particularly on the great Brooklyn
+Bridge. As the planet hung dazzlingly bright over the
+New Jersey horizon, some people appeared to think it was
+the light of Liberty's torch, mistaking the bronze goddess's
+real flambeau for a part of the electric-light system of the
+metropolis. Finally (to judge from the letters written to the
+newspapers, and the questions asked of individuals supposed
+to know something about the secrets of the sky),
+the conviction seems to have become pretty widely distributed
+that the strange light in the west was no less than an
+electrically illuminated balloon, nightly sent skyward by Mr.
+Edison, for no other conceivable reason than a wizardly
+desire to mystify his fellow-men. I have positive information
+that this ridiculous notion has been actually entertained
+by more than one person of intelligence. And as Venus
+glowed with increasing splendor in the serene evenings of
+June, she continued to be mistaken for some petty artificial
+light instead of the magnificent world that she was,
+sparkling out there in the sunshine like a globe of burnished
+silver. Yet Venus as an evening star is not so rare
+a phenomenon that people of intelligence should be surprised
+at it. Once in every 584 days she reappears at the same
+place in the sunset sky&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><p class="noin">
+"Gem of the crimson-colored even,<br />
+Companion of retiring day."<br />
+</p></div>
+
+<p>No eye can fail to note her, and as the nearest and most
+beautiful of the Earth's sisters it would seem that everybody
+should be as familiar with her appearance as with the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[3]</a></span>
+face of a friend. But the popular ignorance of Venus, and
+the other members of the planetary family to which our
+mother, the Earth, belongs, is only an index of the denser
+ignorance concerning the stars&mdash;the brothers of our great
+father, the Sun. I believe this ignorance is largely due to
+mere indifference, which, in its turn, arises from a false and
+pedantic method of presenting astronomy as a creature of
+mathematical formul&aelig;, and a humble handmaiden of the
+art of navigation. I do not, of course, mean to cast doubt
+upon the scientific value of technical work in astronomy.
+The science could not exist without it. Those who have
+made the spectroscope reveal the composition of the sun
+and stars, and who are now making photography picture
+the heavens as they are, and even reveal phenomena which
+lie beyond the range of human vision, are the men who have
+taken astronomy out of its swaddling-clothes, and set it on
+its feet as a progressive science. But when one sees the
+depressing and repellent effect that has evidently been produced
+upon the popular mind by the ordinary methods of
+presenting astronomy, one can not resist the temptation to
+utter a vigorous protest, and to declare that this glorious
+science is not the grinning mathematical skeleton that it
+has been represented to be.</p>
+
+<p>Perhaps one reason why the average educated man or
+woman knows so little of the starry heavens is because it is
+popularly supposed that only the most powerful telescopes
+and costly instruments of the observatory are capable of dealing
+with them. No greater mistake could be made. It does
+not require an optical instrument of any kind, nor much
+labor, as compared with that expended in the acquirement of
+some polished accomplishments regarded as indispensable, to
+give one an acquaintance with the stars and planets which
+will be not only pleasurable but useful. And with the aid
+of an opera-glass most interesting, gratifying, and, in some
+instances, scientifically valuable observations may be made in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[4]</a></span>
+the heavens. I have more than once heard persons who knew
+nothing about the stars, and probably cared less, utter exclamations
+of surprise and delight when persuaded to look at
+certain parts of the sky with a good glass, and thereafter
+manifest an interest in astronomy of which they would formerly
+have believed themselves incapable.</p>
+
+<p>Being convinced that whoever will survey the heavens
+with a good opera-glass will feel repaid many fold for his
+time and labor, I have undertaken to point out some of the
+objects most worthy of attention, and some of the means of
+making acquaintance with the stars.</p>
+
+<p>First, a word about the instrument to be used. Galileo
+made his famous discoveries with what was, in principle of
+construction, simply an opera-glass. This form of telescope
+was afterward abandoned because very high magnifying powers
+could not be employed with it, and the field of view was
+restricted. But, on account of its brilliant illumination of
+objects looked at, and its convenience of form, the opera-glass
+is still a valuable and, in some respects, unrivaled instrument
+of observation.</p>
+
+<p>In choosing an opera-glass, see first that the object-glasses
+are achromatic, although this caution is hardly necessary, for
+all modern opera-glasses, worthy of the name, are made with
+achromatic objectives. But there are great differences in the
+quality of the work. If a glass shows a colored fringe around
+a bright object, reject it. Let the diameter of the object-glasses,
+which are the large lenses in the end farthest from the
+eye, be not less than an inch and a half. The magnifying
+power should be at least three or four diameters. A familiar
+way of estimating the magnifying power is by looking at a
+brick wall through one barrel of the opera-glass with one eye,
+while the other eye sees the wall without the intervention of
+the glass. Then notice how many bricks seen by the naked
+eye are required to equal in thickness one brick seen through
+the glass. That number represents the magnifying power.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[5]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The instrument used by the writer in making most of the
+observations for this book has object-glasses 1.6 inch in diameter,
+and a magnifying power of about 3.6 times.</p>
+
+<p>See that the fields of view given by the two barrels of
+the opera-glass coincide, or blend perfectly together. If one
+appears to partially overlap the other when looking at a
+distant object, the effect is very annoying. This fault arises
+from the barrels of
+the opera-glass being
+placed too far apart,
+so that their optical
+centers do not coincide
+with the centers
+of the observer's
+eyes.</p>
+
+<div class="figright" style="width: 524px;">
+<img src="images/005-illus.jpg" width="524" height="480" alt="A very Bad Field." title="" />
+<span class="caption">A very Bad Field.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Occasionally, on
+account of faulty centering
+of the lenses,
+a double image is
+given of objects
+looked at, as illustrated
+in the accompanying cut. In such a case the glass is
+worthless; but if the effect is simply the addition of a small,
+crescent-shaped extension on one side of the field of view
+without any reduplication, the fault may be overlooked,
+though it is far better to select a glass that gives a perfectly
+round field. Some glasses have an arrangement for adjusting
+the distance between the barrels to suit the eyes of different
+persons, and it would be well if all were made adjustable
+in the same way.</p>
+
+<p>Don't buy a cheap glass, but don't waste your money on
+fancy mountings. What the Rev. T. W. Webb says of telescopes
+is equally true of opera-glasses: "Inferior articles
+may be showily got up, and the outside must go for nothing."
+There are a few makers whose names, stamped upon the in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[6]</a></span>strument,
+may generally be regarded as a guarantee of excellence.
+But the best test is that of actual performance. I
+have a field-glass which I found in a pawn-shop, that has no
+maker's name upon it, but in some respects is quite capable
+of bearing comparison with the work of the best advertised
+opticians. And this leads me to say that, by the exercise of
+good judgment, one may occasionally purchase superior
+glasses at very reasonable prices in the pawn-shops. Ask to
+be shown the old and well-tried articles; you may find among
+them a second-hand glass of fine optical properties. If the
+lenses are not injured, one need not trouble one's self about
+the worn appearance of the outside of the instrument; so
+much the more evidence that somebody has found it well
+worth using.</p>
+
+<p>A good field or marine glass is in some respects better
+than an opera-glass for celestial observations. It possesses a
+much higher magnifying power, and this gives sometimes a
+decided advantage. But, on the other hand, its field of view
+is smaller, rendering it more difficult to find and hold objects.
+Besides, it does not present as brilliant views of scattered
+star-clusters as an opera-glass does. For the benefit of those
+who possess field-glasses, however, I have included in this
+brief survey certain objects that lie just beyond the reach of
+opera-glasses, but can be seen with the larger instruments.</p>
+
+<p>I have thought it advisable in the descriptions of the constellations
+which follow to give some account of their mythological
+origin, both because of the historical interest which
+attaches to it, and because, while astronomers have long since
+banished the constellation figures from their maps, the names
+which the constellations continue to bear require some explanation,
+and they possess a literary and romantic interest
+which can not be altogether disregarded in a work that is not
+intended for purely scientific readers.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 80%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[7]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_I" id="CHAPTER_I"></a>CHAPTER I.</h2>
+
+<h3>THE STARS OF SPRING.</h3>
+
+
+<p>Having selected your glass, the next thing is to find the
+stars. Of course, one could sweep over the heavens at random
+on a starry night and see many interesting things, but
+he would soon tire of such aimless occupation. The observer
+must know what he is looking at in order to derive any real
+pleasure or satisfaction from the sight.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 768px;">
+<img src="images/008-illus.jpg" width="768" height="783" alt="Map 1." title="" />
+<span class="caption">Map 1.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>It really makes no difference at what time of the year
+such observations are begun, but for convenience I will suppose
+that they are begun in the spring. We can then follow
+the revolution of the heavens through a year, at the end of
+which the diligent observer will have acquired a competent
+knowledge of the constellations. The circular map, No. 1,
+represents the appearance of the heavens at midnight on the
+1st of March, at eleven o'clock on the 15th of March, at ten
+o'clock on the 1st of April, at nine o'clock on the 15th of
+April, and at eight o'clock on the 1st of May. The reason
+why a single map can thus be made to show the places of the
+stars at different hours in different months will be plain upon
+a little reflection. In consequence of the earth's annual journey
+around the sun, the whole heavens make one apparent
+revolution in a year. This revolution, it is clear, must be at
+the rate of 30&deg; in a month, since the complete circuit comprises
+360&deg;. But, in addition to the annual revolution, there
+is a diurnal revolution of the heavens which is caused by the
+earth's daily rotation upon its axis, and this revolution must,
+for a similar reason, be performed at the rate of 15&deg; for each<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[8]</a></span>
+of the twenty-four hours. It follows that in two hours of the
+daily revolution the stars will change their places to the same
+extent as in one month of the annual revolution. It follows
+also that, if one could watch the heavens throughout the
+whole twenty-four hours, and not be interrupted by daylight,
+he would behold the complete circuit of the stars just as he
+would do if, for a year, he should look at the heavens at a
+particular hour every night. Suppose that at nine o'clock on<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[9]</a></span>
+the 1st of June we see the star Spica on the meridian; in
+consequence of the rotation of the earth, two hours later, or
+at eleven o'clock, Spica will be 30&deg; west of the meridian.
+But that is just the position which Spica would occupy
+at nine o'clock on the 1st of July, for in one month (supposing
+a month to be accurately the twelfth part of a year)
+the stars shift their places 30&deg; toward the west. If, then,
+we should make a map of the stars for nine o'clock on the
+1st of July, it would answer just as well for eleven o'clock
+on the 1st of June, or for seven o'clock on the 1st of August.</p>
+
+<p>The center of the map is the zenith, or point overhead.
+The reader must now exercise his imagination a little, for it
+is impossible to represent the true appearance of the concave
+of the heavens on flat paper. Holding the map over your
+head, with the points marked East, West, North, and South
+in their proper places, conceive of it as shaped like the inside
+of an open umbrella, the edge all around extending clear
+down to the horizon. Suppose you are facing the south, then
+you will see, up near the zenith, the constellation of Leo,
+which can be readily recognized on the map by six stars that
+mark out the figure of a sickle standing upright on its handle.
+The large star in the bottom of the handle is Regulus. Having
+fixed the appearance and situation of this constellation
+in your mind, go out-of-doors, face the south, and try to find
+the constellation in the sky. With a little application you
+will be sure to succeed.</p>
+
+<p>Using Leo as a basis of operations, your conquest of the
+sky will now proceed more rapidly. By reference to the map
+you will be able to recognize the twin stars of Gemini, southwest
+of the zenith and high up; the brilliant lone star, Procyon,
+south of Gemini; the dazzling Sirius, flashing low down
+in the southwest; Orion, with all his brilliants, blazing in the
+west; red Aldebaran and the Pleiades off to his right; and
+Capella, bright as a diamond, high up above Orion, toward
+the north. In the southeast you will recognize the quadri<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[10]</a></span>lateral
+of Corvus, with the remarkably white star Spica glittering
+east of it.</p>
+
+<p>Next face the north. If you are not just sure where
+north is, try a pocket-compass. This advice is by no means
+unnecessary, for there are many intelligent persons who are
+unable to indicate true north within many degrees, though
+standing on their own doorstep. Having found the north
+point as near as you can, look upward about forty degrees
+from the horizon, and you will see the lone twinkler called
+the north or pole star. Forty degrees is a little less than
+half-way from the horizon to the zenith.</p>
+
+<p>By the aid of the map, again, you will be able to find,
+high up in the northeast, near the zenith, the large dipper-shaped
+figure in Ursa Major, and, when you have once noticed
+that the two stars in the outer edge of the bowl of the
+Dipper point almost directly to the pole-star, you will have
+an unfailing means of picking out the latter star hereafter,
+when in doubt.<a name="FNanchor_A_1" id="FNanchor_A_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_1" class="fnanchor">[A]</a> Continuing the curve of the Dipper-handle,
+in the northeast, your eye will be led to a bright reddish star,
+which is Arcturus, in the constellation Bo&ouml;tes.</p>
+
+<p>In the same way you will be able to find the constellations
+Cassiopeia, Cepheus, Draco, and Perseus. Don't expect to
+accomplish it all in an hour. You may have to devote two or
+three evenings to such observation, and make many trips indoors
+to consult the map, before you have mastered the subject;
+but when you have done it you will feel amply repaid
+for your exertions, and you will have made for yourself silent
+friends in the heavens that will beam kindly upon you, like
+old neighbors, on whatever side of the world you may wander.</p>
+
+<p>Having fixed the general outlines and location of the constellations
+in your mind, and learned to recognize the chief
+stars, take your opera-glass and begin with the constellation<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[11]</a></span>
+Leo and the star Regulus. Contrive to have some convenient
+rest for your arms in holding the glass, and thus obtain not
+only comfort but steadiness of vision. A lazy-back chair
+makes a capital observing-seat. Be very particular, too, to
+get a sharp focus. Remember that no two persons' eyes are
+alike, and that even the eyes of the same observer occasionally
+require a change. In looking for a difficult object, I
+have sometimes suddenly brought the sought-for phenomenon
+into view by a slight turn of the focusing-screw.</p>
+
+<p>You will at once be gratified by the increased brilliancy of
+the star as seen by the glass. If the night is clear, it will glow
+like a diamond. Yet Regulus, although ranked as a first-magnitude
+star, and of great repute among the ancient astrologers,
+is far inferior in brilliancy to such stars as Capella
+and Arcturus, to say nothing of Sirius.</p>
+
+<p>By consulting map No. 2 you will next be able to find the
+celebrated star bearing the name of the Greek letter Gamma
+(&#947;). If you had a telescope, you would see this star as a
+close and beautiful double, of contrasted colors. But it is
+optically double, even with an opera-glass. You can not fail
+to see a small star near it, looking quite close if the magnifying
+power of your glass is less than three times. You will
+be struck by the surprising change of color in turning from
+Regulus to Gamma&mdash;the former is white and the latter deep
+yellow. It will be well to look first at one and then at the
+other, several times, for this is a good instance of what you
+will meet with many times in your future surveys of the
+heavens&mdash;a striking contrast of color in neighboring stars.
+One can thus comprehend that there is more than one sense
+in which to understand the Scriptural declaration that "one
+star differeth from another in glory." The radiant point of
+the famous November meteors, which, in 1833 and 1866, filled
+the sky with fiery showers, is near Gamma. Turn next to the
+star in Leo marked Zeta (&#950;). If your glass is a pretty large
+and good one, and your eye keen, you will easily see three<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[12]</a></span>
+minute companion stars keeping company with Zeta, two on
+the southeast, and one, much closer, toward the north. The
+nearest of the two on the south is faint, being only between
+the eighth and ninth magnitude, and will probably severely
+test your powers of vision. Next look at Epsilon (&#949;), and
+you will find near it two seventh-magnitude companions,
+making a beautiful little triangle.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 935px;">
+<img src="images/012-illus.jpg" width="935" height="768" alt="Map 2." title="" />
+<span class="caption">Map 2.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Away at the eastern end of the constellation, in the tail
+of the imaginary Lion, upon whose breast shines Regulus, is
+the star Beta (&#946;) Leonis, also called Denebola. It is almost
+as bright as its leader, Regulus, and you will probably be
+able to catch a tinge of blue in its rays. South of Denebola,
+at a distance of nineteen minutes of arc, or somewhat more
+than half the apparent diameter of the moon, you will see a
+little star of the sixth magnitude, which is one of the several<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[13]</a></span>
+"companions" for which Denebola is celebrated. There is
+another star of the eighth magnitude in the same direction
+from Denebola, but at a distance of less than five minutes,
+and this you may be able to glimpse with a powerful field-glass,
+under favorable conditions. I have seen it well with a
+field-glass of 1.6-inch aperture, and a magnifying power of
+seven times. But it requires an experienced eye and steady
+vision to catch this shy twinkler.</p>
+
+<p>When looking for a faint and difficult object, the plan
+pursued by telescopists is to avert the eye from the precise
+point upon which the attention is fixed, in order to bring a
+more sensitive part of the retina into play than that usually
+employed. Look toward the edge of the field of view, while
+the object you are seeking is in the center, and then, if it can
+be seen at all with your glass, you will catch sight of it, as
+it were, out of the corner of your eye. The effect of seeing
+a faint star in this way, in the neighborhood of a large one,
+whose rays hide it from direct vision, is sometimes very
+amusing. The little star seems to dart out into view as
+through a curtain, perfectly distinct, though as immeasurably
+minute as the point of a needle. But the instant you
+direct your eyes straight at it, presto! it is gone. And so it
+will dodge in and out of sight as often as you turn your eyes.</p>
+
+<p>If you will sweep carefully over the whole extent of Leo,
+whose chief stars are marked with their Greek-letter names
+on our little map, you will be impressed with the power of
+your glass to bring into sight many faint stars in regions that
+seem barren to the naked eye. An opera-glass of 1.5 aperture
+will show ten times as many stars as the naked eye
+can see.</p>
+
+<p>A word about the "Lion" which this constellation is
+supposed to represent. It requires a vivid imagination to
+perceive the outlines of the celestial king of beasts among
+the stars, and yet somebody taught the people of ancient
+India and the old Egyptians to see him there, and there he<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[14]</a></span>
+has remained since the dawn of history. Modern astronomers
+strike him out of their charts, together with all the
+picturesque multitude of beasts and birds and men and
+women that bear him company, but they can not altogether
+banish him, or any of his congeners, for the old names, and,
+practically, the old outlines of the constellations are retained,
+and always will be retained. The Lion is the most conspicuous
+figure in the celebrated zodiac of Dendera; and,
+indeed, there is evidence that before the story of Hercules
+and his labors was told this lion was already imagined shining
+among the stars. It was characteristic of the Greeks
+that they seized him for their own, and tried to rob him
+of his real antiquity by pretending that Jupiter had placed
+him among the stars in commemoration of Hercules's victory
+over the Nem&aelig;an lion. In the Hebrew zodiac Leo
+represented the Lion of Judah. It was thus always a lion
+that the ancients thought they saw in this constellation.</p>
+
+<p>In the old star-maps the Lion is represented as in the act
+of springing upon his prey. His face is to the west, and the
+star Regulus is in his heart. The sickle-shaped figure covers
+his breast and head, Gamma being in the shoulder, Zeta in
+the mane of the neck, Mu and Epsilon in the cheek, and
+Lambda in the jaws. The fore-paws are drawn up to the
+breast and represented by the stars Zi and Omicron. Denebola
+is in the tuft of the tail. The hind-legs are extended
+downward at full length, in the act of springing. Starting
+from the star Delta in the hip, the row consisting of Theta,
+Iota, Tau, and Upsilon, shows the line of the hind-legs.</p>
+
+<p>Leo had an unsavory reputation among the ancients because
+of his supposed influence upon the weather. The
+greatest heat of summer was felt when the sun was in this
+constellation:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><p class="noin">
+"Most scorching is the chariot of the Sun,<br />
+And waving spikes no longer hide the furrows<br />
+When he begins to travel with the Lion."<br />
+</p></div>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[15]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Looking now westwardly from the Sickle of Leo, at a
+distance about equal to twice the length of the Sickle, your
+eye will be caught by a small silvery spot in the sky lying
+nearly between two rather faint stars. This is the famous
+Pr&aelig;sepe, or Manger, in the center of the constellation Cancer.
+The two stars on either side of it are called the Aselli,
+or the Ass's Colts, and the imagination of the ancients pictured
+them feeding from their silver manger. Turn your
+glass upon the Manger and you will see that it consists of
+a crowd of little stars, so small and numerous that you will
+probably not undertake to count them, unless you are using
+a large field-glass. Galileo has left a delightful description
+of his surprise and gratification when he aimed his telescope
+at this curious cluster and other similar aggregations of
+stars and discovered what they really were. Using his best
+instrument, he was able to count thirty-six stars in the Manger.
+The Manger was a famous weather-sign in olden times,
+and Aratus, in his "Diosemia," advises his readers to&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><p class="noin">
+"... watch the Manger: like a little mist<br />
+Far north in Cancer's territory it floats.<br />
+Its confines are two faintly glimmering stars;<br />
+These are two asses that a manger parts,<br />
+Which suddenly, when all the sky is clear,<br />
+Sometimes quite vanishes, and the two stars<br />
+Seem to have closer moved their sundered orbs.<br />
+No feeble tempest then will soak the leas;<br />
+A murky manger with both stars<br />
+Shining unaltered is a sign of rain."<br />
+</p></div>
+
+<p>Like other old weather-saws, this probably possesses a
+gleam of sense, for it is only when the atmosphere is perfectly
+transparent that the Manger can be clearly seen; when
+the air is thick with mist, the harbinger of coming storm, it
+fades from sight.</p>
+
+<p>The constellation Cancer, or the Crab, was represented by
+the Egyptians under the figure of a scarab&aelig;us. The observer
+will probably think that it is as easy to see a beetle as<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[16]</a></span>
+a crab there. Cancer, like Leo, is one of the twelve constellations
+of the Zodiac, the name applied to the imaginary zone
+16&deg; degrees wide and extending completely around the heavens,
+the center of which is the ecliptic or annual path of the
+sun. The names of these zodiacal constellations, in their
+order, beginning at the west and counting round the circle,
+are: Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra,
+Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricornus, Aquarius, and Pisces.
+Cancer has given its name to the circle called the Tropic of
+Cancer, which indicates the greatest northerly declination of
+the sun in summer, and which he attains on the 21st or 22d of
+June. But, in consequence of the precession of the equinoxes,
+all of the zodiacal constellations are continually shifting
+toward the east, and Cancer has passed away from the
+place of the summer solstice, which is now to be found in
+Gemini.</p>
+
+<p>Below the Manger, a little way toward the south, your eye
+will be caught by a group of four or five stars of about the
+same brightness as the Aselli. This marks the head of Hydra,
+and the glass will show a striking and beautiful geometrical
+arrangement of the stars composing it. Hydra is a very long
+constellation, and trending southward and eastward from the
+head it passes underneath Leo, and, sweeping pretty close
+down to the horizon, winds away under Corvus, the tail
+reaching to the eastern horizon. The length of this skyey
+serpent is about 100&deg;. Its stars are all faint, except Alphard,
+or the Hydra's Heart, a second-magnitude star, remarkable
+for its lonely situation, southwest of Regulus. A line from
+Gamma Leonis through Regulus points it out. It is worth
+looking at with the glass on account of its rich orange-tint.</p>
+
+<p>Hydra is fabled to be the hundred-headed monster that
+was slain by Hercules. It must be confessed that there is
+nothing very monstrous about it now except its length. The
+most timid can look upon it without suspecting its grisly
+origin.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[17]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Coming back to the Manger as a starting-point, look well
+up to the north and west, and at a distance somewhat less
+than that between Regulus and the Manger you will see a
+pair of first-magnitude stars, which you will hardly need to
+be informed are the celebrated Twins, from which the constellation
+Gemini takes its name. The star marked &#945; in the
+map is Castor, and the star marked &#946; is Pollux. No classical
+reader needs to be reminded of the romantic origin of
+these names.</p>
+
+<p>A sharp contrast in the color of Castor and Pollux comes
+out as soon as the glass is turned upon them. Castor is
+white, with occasionally, perhaps, a suspicion of a green ray
+in its light. Pollux is deep yellow. Castor is a celebrated
+double star, but its components are far too close to be separated
+with an opera-glass, or even the most powerful field-glass.
+You will be at once interested by the singular <i>cort&eacute;ge</i>
+of small stars by which both Castor and Pollux are surrounded.
+These little attendant stars, for such they seem,
+are arrayed in symmetrical groups&mdash;pairs, triangles, and
+other figures&mdash;which, it seems difficult to believe, could be
+unintentional, although it would be still more difficult to suggest
+any reason why they should be arranged in that way.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 1024px;">
+<img src="images/018-illus.jpg" width="1024" height="706" alt="Map 3." title="" />
+<span class="caption">Map 3.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Our map will show you the position of the principal
+stars of the constellation. Castor and Pollux are in the
+heads of the Twins, while the row of stars shown in the map
+Xi (&#958;), Gamma (&#947;), Nu (&#957;), Mu (&#956;), and Eta (&#951;), marks their
+feet, which are dipped in the edge of the Milky-Way. One
+can spend a profitable and pleasurable half-hour in exploring
+the wonders of Gemini. The whole constellation, from head
+to foot, is gemmed with stars which escape the naked eye,
+but it sparkles like a bead-spangled garment when viewed
+with the glass. Owing to the presence of the Milky-Way,
+the spectacle around the feet of the Twins is particularly
+magnificent. And here the possessor of a good opera-glass
+can get a fine view of a celebrated star-cluster known in the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[18]</a></span>
+catalogues as 35 M. It is situated a little distance northwest
+of the star Eta, and is visible to the naked eye, on a clear,
+moonless night, as a nebulous speck. With a good glass you
+will see two wonderful streams of little stars starting, one
+from Eta and the other from Mu, and running parallel toward
+the northwest; 35 M is situated between these star-streams.
+The stars in the cluster are so closely aggregated that you
+will be able to clearly separate only the outlying ones. The
+general aspect is like that of a piece of frosted silver over
+which a twinkling light is playing. A field-glass brings out
+more of the component stars. The splendor of this starry
+congregation, viewed with a powerful telescope, may be
+guessed at from Admiral Smyth's picturesque description:
+"It presents a gorgeous field of stars, from the ninth to the
+sixteenth magnitude, but with the center of the mass less
+rich than the rest. From the small stars being inclined to
+form curves of three or four, and often with a large one at
+the root of the curve, it somewhat reminds one of the bursting
+of a sky-rocket." And Webb adds that there is an<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[19]</a></span>
+"elegant festoon near the center, starting with a reddish
+star."</p>
+
+<p>No one can gaze upon this marvelous phenomenon, even
+with the comparatively low powers of an opera-glass, and reflect
+that all these swarming dots of light are really suns,
+without a stunning sense of the immensity of the material
+universe.</p>
+
+<p>It is an interesting fact that the summer solstice, or the
+point which the sun occupies when it attains its greatest northerly
+declination, on the longest day of the year, is close by this
+great cluster in Gemini. In the glare of the sunshine those
+swarming stars are then concealed from our sight, but with
+the mind's eye we can look past and beyond our sun, across
+the incomprehensible chasm of space, and behold them still
+shining, their commingled rays making our great God of Day
+seem but a lonely wanderer in the expanse of the universe.</p>
+
+<p>It was only a short distance southwest of this cluster that
+one of the most celebrated discoveries in astronomy was made.
+There, on the evening of March 13, 1781, William Herschel
+observed a star whose singular aspect led him to put a higher
+magnifying power on his telescope. The higher power
+showed that the object was not a star but a planet, or a
+comet, as Herschel at first supposed. It was the planet Uranus,
+whose discovery "at one stroke doubled the breadth of
+the sun's dominions."</p>
+
+<p>The constellation of Gemini, as the names of its two chief
+stars indicate, had its origin in the classic story of the twin
+sons of Jupiter and Leda:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><p class="noin">
+"Fair Leda's twins, in time to stars decreed,<br />
+One fought on foot, one curbed the fiery steed."<br />
+</p></div>
+
+<p>Castor and Pollux were regarded by both the Greeks and
+the Romans as the patrons of navigation, and this fact crops
+out very curiously in the adventures of St. Paul. After his
+disastrous shipwreck on the island of Melita he embarked<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[20]</a></span>
+again on a more prosperous voyage in a ship bearing the
+name of these very brothers. "And after three months,"
+writes the celebrated apostle (Acts xxviii, 11) "we departed
+in a ship of Alexandria, which had wintered in the isle,
+whose sign was Castor and Pollux." We may be certain that
+Paul was acquainted with the constellation of Gemini, not
+only because he was skilled in the learning of his times, but
+because, in his speech on Mars Hill, he quoted a line from
+the opening stanzas of Aratus's "Phenomena," a poem in
+which the constellations are described.</p>
+
+<p>The map will enable you next to find Procyon, or the Little
+Dog-Star, more than twenty degrees south of Castor and
+Pollux, and almost directly below the Manger. This star will
+interest you by its golden-yellow color and its brightness,
+although it is far inferior in the latter respect to Sirius, or
+the Great Dog-Star, which you will see flashing splendidly
+far down beneath Procyon in the southwest. About four degrees
+northwest of Procyon is a third-magnitude star, called
+Gomelza, and the glass will show you two small stars which
+make a right-angled triangle with it, the nearer one being
+remarkable for its ruddy color.</p>
+
+<p>Procyon is especially interesting because it is attended by
+an invisible star, which, while it has escaped all efforts to detect
+it with powerful telescopes, nevertheless reveals its presence
+by the effect of its attraction upon Procyon. It is a
+curious fact that both of the so-called Dog-Stars are thus
+attended by obscure or dusky companion-stars, which, notwithstanding
+their lack of luminosity, are of great magnitude.
+In the case of Sirius, the improvement in telescopes
+has brought the mysterious attendant into view, but Procyon's
+mate remains hidden from our eyes. But it can not
+escape the ken of the mathematician, whose penetrating mental
+vision has, in more than one instance, outstripped the discoveries
+of the telescope. Almost half a century ago the
+famous Bessel announced his conclusion&mdash;in the light of later<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[21]</a></span>
+developments it may well be called discovery&mdash;that both Sirius
+and Procyon were binary systems, consisting each of a
+visible and an invisible star. He calculated the probable
+period of revolution, and found it to be, in each case, approximately
+fifty years. Sixteen years after Bessel's death,
+one of Alvan Clark's unrivaled telescopes at last revealed the
+strange companion of Sirius, a huge body, half as massive as
+the giant Dog-Star itself, but ten thousand times less brilliant,
+and more recent observations have shown that its period
+of revolution is within six or seven months of the fifty
+years assigned by Bessel. If some of the enormous telescopes
+that have been constructed in the past few years
+should succeed in rendering Procyon's companion visible also,
+it is highly probable that Bessel's prediction would receive
+another substantial fulfillment.</p>
+
+<p>The mythological history of Canis Minor is somewhat obscure.
+According to various accounts it represents one of
+Diana's hunting-dogs, one of Orion's hounds, the Egyptian
+dog-headed god Anubis, and one of the dogs that devoured
+their master Act&aelig;on after Diana had turned him into a stag.
+The mystical Dr. Seiss leaves all the ancient myth-makers
+far in the rear, and advances a very curious theory of his
+own about this constellation, in his "Gospel in the Stars,"
+which is worth quoting as an example of the grotesque
+fancies that even in our day sometimes possess the minds
+of men when they venture beyond the safe confines of this
+terraqueous globe. After summarizing the various myths
+we have mentioned, he proceeds to identify Procyon, putting
+the name of the chief star for the constellation, "as
+the starry symbol of those heavenly armies which came forth
+along with the King of kings and Lord of lords to the battle
+of the great day of God Almighty, to make an end of misrule
+and usurpation on earth, and clear it of all the wild
+beasts which have been devastating it for these many ages."</p>
+
+<p>The reader will wonder all the more at this rhapsody<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[22]</a></span>
+after he has succeeded in picking out the modest Little
+Dog in the sky.</p>
+
+<p>Sirius, Orion, Aldebaran, and the Pleiades, all of which
+you will perceive in the west and southwest, are generally
+too much involved in the mists of the horizon to be seen to
+the best advantage at this season, although it will pay you
+to take a look through the glass at Sirius. But the splendid
+star Capella, in the constellation Auriga, may claim a moment's
+attention. You will find it high up in the northwest,
+half-way between Orion and the pole-star, and to the right
+of the Twins. It has no rival near, and its creamy-white
+light makes it one of the most beautiful as well as one of
+the most brilliant stars in the heavens. Its constitution, as
+revealed by the spectroscope, resembles that of our sun, but
+the sun would make but a sorry figure if removed to the side
+of this giant star. About seven and a half degrees above
+Capella, and a little to the left, you will see a second-magnitude
+star called Menkalina. Two and a half times as far
+to the left, or south, in the direction of Orion, is another
+star of equal brightness to Menkalina. This is El Nath, and
+marks the place where the foot of Auriga, or the Charioteer,
+rests upon the point of the horn of Taurus. Capella, Menkalina,
+and El Nath make a long triangle which covers the
+central part of Auriga. The naked eye shows two or three
+misty-looking spots within this triangle, one to the right
+of El Nath, one in the upper or eastern part of the constellation,
+near the third-magnitude star Theta (&#952;), and another
+on a line drawn from Capella to El Nath, but much nearer
+to Capella. Turn your glass upon these spots, and you will
+be delighted by the beauty of the little stars to whose united
+rays they are due.</p>
+
+<p>El Nath has around it some very remarkable rows of
+small stars, and the whole constellation of Auriga, like that
+of Gemini, glitters with star-dust, for the Milky-Way runs
+directly through it.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[23]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>With a powerful field-glass you may try a glimpse at
+the rich star-clusters marked 38 M, 37 M, and 33<sup>7</sup>.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 1024px;">
+<img src="images/023-illus.jpg" width="1024" height="744" alt="Map 4." title="" />
+<span class="caption">Map 4.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The mythology of Auriga is not clear, but the ancients
+seem to have been of one mind in regarding the constellation
+as representing
+the figure
+of a man
+carrying a goat
+and her two
+kids in his
+arms. Auriga
+was also
+looked upon
+as a beneficent
+constellation,
+and the
+goat and kids
+were believed to be on the watch to rescue shipwrecked
+sailors. As Capella, which represents the fabled goat, shines
+nearly overhead in winter, and would ordinarily be the first
+bright star to beam down through the breaking clouds of a
+storm at that season, it is not difficult to imagine how it got
+its reputation as the seaman's friend. Dr. Seiss has so spirited
+a description of the imaginary figure contained in this
+constellation that I can not refrain from quoting it:</p>
+
+<p>"The figure itself is that of a mighty man seated on the
+Milky-Way, holding a band or ribbon in his right hand,
+and with his left arm holding up on his shoulder a she-goat
+which clings to his neck and looks out in astonishment upon
+the terrible bull; while in his lap are two frightened little
+kids which he supports with his great hand."</p>
+
+<p>It is scarcely necessary to add that Dr. Seiss insists that
+Auriga, as a constellation, was invented long before the time
+of the Greeks, and was intended prophetically to represent that
+Good Shepherd who was to come and rescue the sinful world.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[24]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>If any reader wishes to exercise his fancy by trying to
+trace the outlines of this figure, he will find the head of
+Auriga marked by the star Delta (&#948;) and the little group
+near it. Capella, in the heart of the Goat, is just below his
+left shoulder, and Menkalina marks his right shoulder.
+El Nath is in his right foot, and Iota (&#953;) in his left foot.
+The stars Epsilon (&#949;), Zeta (&#950;), Eta (&#951;), and Lambda (&#955;) shine
+in the kids which lie in Auriga's lap. The faint stars scattered
+over the eastern part of the constellation are sometimes
+represented as forming a whip with many lashes, which the
+giant flourishes with his right hand.</p>
+
+<p>Let us turn back to Denebola in the Lion's Tail. Now
+glance from it down into the southeast, and you will see a
+brilliant star flashing well above the horizon. This is Spica,
+the chief twinkler of Virgo, and it is marked on our circular
+map. Then look into the northwest, and at about the
+same distance from Denebola, but higher above the horizon
+than Spica, you will catch the sparkling of a large, reddish
+star. It is Arcturus in Bo&ouml;tes. The three, Denebola, Spica,
+and Arcturus, mark the corners of a great equilateral triangle.
+Nearly on a line between Denebola and Arcturus,
+and somewhat nearer to the former, you will perceive a
+curious twinkling, as if gossamers spangled with dew-drops
+were entangled there. One might think the old woman of
+the nursery rhyme who went to sweep the cobwebs out of the
+sky had skipped this corner, or else that its delicate beauty
+had preserved it even from her housewifely instincts. This
+is the little constellation called Berenice's Hair. Your opera-glass
+will enable you to count twenty or thirty of the largest
+stars composing this cluster, which are arranged, as so often
+happens, with a striking appearance of geometrical design.
+The constellation has a very romantic history. It is related
+that the young Queen Berenice, when her husband was
+called away to the wars, vowed to sacrifice her beautiful
+tresses to Venus if he returned victorious over his enemies.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[25]</a></span>
+He did return home in triumph, and Berenice, true to her
+vow, cut off her hair and bore it to the Temple of Venus.
+But the same night it disappeared. The king was furious,
+and the queen wept bitterly over the loss. There is no telling
+what might have happened to the guardians of the temple,
+had not a celebrated astronomer named Conon led the
+young king and queen aside in the evening and showed
+them the missing locks shining transfigured in the sky.
+He assured them that Venus had placed Berenice's lustrous
+ringlets among the stars, and, as they were not skilled in
+celestial lore, they were quite ready to believe that the silvery
+swarm they saw near Arcturus had never been there
+before. And so for centuries the world has recognized the
+constellation of Berenice's Hair.</p>
+
+<p>Look next at Corvus and Crater, the Crow and the Cup,
+two little constellations which you will discover on the circular
+map, and of which we give a separate representation
+in Map 5. You will find that the stars Delta (&#948;) and Eta (&#951;),
+in the upper left-hand corner of the quadrilateral figure of
+Corvus, make a striking appearance. The little star Zeta (&#950;)
+is a very pretty double for an opera-glass. There is a very
+faint pair of stars close below and to the right of Beta (&#946;).
+This forms a severe test. Only a good opera-glass will show
+these two stars as a single faint point of light. A field-glass,
+however, will show both, one being considerably fainter than
+the other. Crater is worth sweeping over for the pretty combinations
+of stars to be found in it.</p>
+
+<p>You will observe that the interminable Hydra extends his
+lengthening coils along under both of the constellations. In
+fact, both the Cup and the Crow are represented as standing
+upon the huge serpent. The outlines of a cup are tolerably
+well indicated by the stars included under the name Crater,
+but the constellation of the Crow might as well have borne
+any other name so far as any traceable likeness is concerned.
+One of the legends concerning Corvus avers that it is the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[26]</a></span>
+daughter of the King of Phocis, who was transformed into a
+crow to escape the pursuit of Neptune. She is certainly safe
+in her present guise.</p>
+
+<p>Arcturus and Spica, and their companions, may be left
+for observation to a more convenient season, when, having
+risen higher,
+they can be
+studied to better
+advantage.
+It will be well,
+however, to
+merely glance
+at them with
+the glass in order
+to note the
+great difference
+of color&mdash;Spica
+being brilliantly
+white and
+Arcturus almost
+red.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 857px;">
+<img src="images/026-illus.jpg" width="857" height="768" alt="Map 5." title="" />
+<span class="caption">Map 5.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>We will now turn to the north. You have already been
+told how to find the pole-star. Look at it with your glass.
+The pole-star is a famous double, but its minute companion
+can only be seen with a telescope. As so often happens,
+however, it has another companion for the opera-glass, and
+this latter is sufficiently close and small to make an interesting
+test for an inexperienced observer armed with a glass of
+small power. It must be looked for pretty close to the rays
+of the large star, with such a glass. It is of the seventh
+magnitude. With a large field-glass several smaller companions
+may be seen, and a very excellent glass may show an 8.5-magnitude
+star almost hidden in the rays of the seventh-magnitude
+companion.</p>
+
+<p>With the aid of map No. 6 find in Ursa Minor, which is<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[27]</a></span>
+the constellation to which the pole-star belongs, the star Beta
+(&#946;), which is also called Kochab (the star marked &#945; in the
+map is the pole-star).
+Kochab has
+a pair of faint stars
+nearly north of it,
+about one degree
+distant. With a
+small glass these
+may appear as a
+single star, but a
+stronger glass will
+show them separately.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 784px;">
+<img src="images/027-illus.jpg" width="784" height="768" alt="Map 6." title="" />
+<span class="caption">Map 6.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>And now for
+Ursa Major and
+the Great Dipper&mdash;Draco,
+Cepheus,
+Cassiopeia, and the other constellations represented on the
+circular map, being rather too near the horizon for effective
+observation at this time of the year. First, as the easiest
+object, look at the star in the middle of the handle of
+the Dipper (this handle forms the tail of Ursa Major), and a
+little attention will show you, without the aid of a glass, if
+your eye-sight is good, that the star is double. A smaller
+star seems to be almost in contact with it. The larger of
+these two stars is called Mizar and the smaller Alcor&mdash;the
+Horse and his Rider the Arabs said. Your glass will, of
+course, greatly increase the distance between Alcor and
+Mizar, and will also bring out a clear difference of color distinguishing
+them. Now, if you have a very powerful glass,
+you may be able to see the Sidus Ludovicianum, a minute
+star which a German astronomer discovered more than a
+hundred and fifty years ago, and, strangely enough, taking it
+for a planet, named it after a German prince. The position<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[28]</a></span>
+of the Sidus Ludovicianum, with reference to Mizar and
+Alcor, is represented in the accompanying sketch. You
+must look very sharply if you expect to see it, and your
+opera-glass will have to be a large and strong one. A field-glass,
+however, can not fail to show it.</p>
+
+<p>Sweep along the whole length of the Dipper's handle, and
+you will discover many fine fields of stars. Then look at the
+star Alpha (&#945;) in the outer edge of the bowl nearest to the
+pole-star. There is a faint star, of about the eighth magnitude,
+near it, in the direction of Beta (&#946;). This will prove a
+very difficult test. You will have to try it with averted
+vision. If you have a field-glass, catch it first with that, and,
+having thus fixed its position in your mind, try to find it
+with the opera-glass. Its distance is a little over half that
+between Mizar and Alcor. It is of a reddish color.</p>
+
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 480px;">
+<img src="images/028-illus.jpg" width="480" height="513" alt="Mizar, Alcor, and the Sidus Ludovicianum." title="" />
+<span class="caption">Mizar, Alcor, and the Sidus Ludovicianum.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>You will notice nearly overhead three pairs of pretty
+bright stars in a long, bending row, about half-way between
+Leo and the Dipper. These
+mark three of Ursa Major's
+feet, and each of the pairs is
+well worth looking at with a
+glass, as they are beautifully
+grouped with stars invisible
+to the naked eye. The letters
+used to designate the stars
+forming these pairs will be
+found upon our map of Ursa
+Major. The scattered group
+of faint stars beyond the bowl
+of the Dipper forms the Bear's
+head, and you will find that also a field worth a few minutes'
+exploration.</p>
+
+<p>The two bears, Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, swinging
+around the pole of the heavens, have been conspicuous in
+the star-lore of all ages. According to fable, they represent<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[29]</a></span>
+the nymph Calisto, with whom Jupiter was in love, and her
+son Arcas, who were both turned into bears by Juno, whereupon
+Jupiter, being unable to restore their form, did the
+next best thing he could by placing them among the stars.
+Ursa Major is Calisto, or Helica, as the Greeks called the constellation.
+The Greek name of Ursa Minor was Cynosura.
+The use of the pole-star in navigation dates back at least
+to the time of the Ph&#339;nicians. The observer will note the
+uncomfortable position of Ursa Minor, attached to the pole
+by the end of its long tail.</p>
+
+<p>But, after all, no one can expect to derive from such
+studies as these any genuine pleasure or satisfaction unless
+he is mindful of the real meaning of what he sees. The
+actual truth seems almost too stupendous for belief. The
+mind must be brought into an attitude of profound contemplation
+in order to appreciate it. From this globe we can
+look out in every direction into the open and boundless universe.
+Blinded and dazzled during the day by the blaze of
+that star, of which the earth is a near and humble dependent,
+we are shut in as by a curtain. But at night, when our own
+star is hidden, our vision ranges into the depths of creation,
+and we behold them sparkling with a multitude of other
+suns. With so simple an aid as that of an opera-glass we
+penetrate still deeper into the profundities of space, and
+thousands more of these strange, far-away suns come into
+sight. They are arranged in pairs, sets, rows, streams, clusters&mdash;here
+they gleam alone in distant splendor, there they
+glow and flash in mighty swarms. This is a look into heaven
+more splendid than the imagination of Bunyan pictured;
+here is a celestial city whose temples are suns, and whose
+streets are the pathways of light.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 80%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[30]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_II" id="CHAPTER_II"></a>CHAPTER II.</h2>
+
+<h3>THE STARS OF SUMMER.</h3>
+
+
+<p>Let us now suppose that the Earth has advanced for
+three months in its orbit since we studied the stars of spring,
+and that, in consequence, the heavens have made one quarter
+of an apparent revolution. Then we shall find that the stars
+which in spring shone above the western horizon have been
+carried down out of sight, while the constellations that were
+then in the east have now climbed to the zenith, or passed
+over to the west, and a fresh set of stars has taken their
+place in the east. In the present chapter we shall deal with
+what may be called the stars of summer; and, in order to furnish
+occupation for the observer with an opera-glass throughout
+the summer months, I have endeavored to so choose
+the constellations in which our explorations will be made,
+that some of them shall be favorably situated in each of
+the months of June, July, and August. The circular map
+represents the heavens at midnight on the 1st of June; at
+eleven o'clock, on the 15th of June; at ten o'clock, on the
+1st of July; at nine o'clock, on the 15th of July; and at
+eight o'clock, on the 1st of August. Remembering that the
+center of the map is the point over his head, and that the
+edge of it represents the circle of the horizon, the reader,
+by a little attention and comparison with the sky, will be
+able to fix in his mind the relative situation of the various
+constellations. The maps that follow will show him these
+constellations on a larger scale, and give him the names of
+their chief stars.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[31]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 768px;">
+<img src="images/031-illus.jpg" width="768" height="794" alt="Map 7." title="" />
+<span class="caption">Map 7.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The observer need not wait until midnight on the 1st
+of June in order to find some of the constellations included
+in our map. Earlier in the evening, at about that date, say
+at nine o'clock, he will be able to see many of these constellations,
+but he must look for them farther toward the
+east than they are represented in the map. The bright stars
+in Bo&ouml;tes and Virgo, for instance, instead of being over in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[32]</a></span>
+the southwest, as in the map, will be near the meridian;
+while Lyra, instead of shining high overhead, will be found
+climbing up out of the northeast. It would be well to begin
+at nine o'clock, about the 1st of June, and watch the motions
+of the heavens for two or three hours. At the commencement
+of the observations you will find the stars in Bo&ouml;tes,
+Virgo, and Lyra in the positions I have just mentioned,
+while half-way down the western sky will be seen the Sickle
+of Leo. The brilliant Procyon and Capella will be found
+almost ready to set in the west and northwest, respectively.
+Between Procyon and Capella, and higher above the horizon,
+shine the twin stars in Gemini.</p>
+
+<p>In an hour Procyon, Capella, and the Twins will be setting,
+and Spica will be well past the meridian. In another
+hour the observer will perceive that the constellations are
+approaching the places given to them in our map, and at
+midnight he will find them all in their assigned positions.
+A single evening spent in observations of this sort will teach
+him more about the places of the stars than he could learn
+from a dozen books.</p>
+
+<p>Taking, now, the largest opera-glass you can get (I have
+before said that the diameter of the object-glasses should not
+be less than 1.5 inch, and, I may add, the larger they are the
+better), find the constellation Scorpio, and its chief star Antares.
+The map shows you where to look for it at midnight
+on the 1st of June. If you prefer to begin at nine o'clock
+at that date, then, instead of looking directly in the south
+for Scorpio, you must expect to see it just rising in the
+southeast. You will recognize Antares by its fiery color,
+as well as by the striking arrangement of its surrounding
+stars. There are few constellations which bear so close a
+resemblance to the objects they are named after as Scorpio.
+It does not require a very violent exercise of the imagination
+to see in this long, winding trail of stars a gigantic scorpion,
+with its head to the west, and flourishing its upraised sting<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[33]</a></span>
+that glitters with a pair of twin stars, as if ready to strike.
+Readers of the old story of Phaeton's disastrous attempt to
+drive the chariot of the Sun for a day will remember it was
+the sight of this threatening monster that so terrified the
+ambitious youth as he dashed along the Zodiac, that he
+lost control of Apollo's horses, and came near burning the
+earth up by running the Sun into it.</p>
+
+<p>Antares rather gains in redness when viewed with a glass.
+Its color is very remarkable, and it is a curious circumstance
+that with powerful telescopes a small, bright-green star is
+seen apparently almost touching it. Antares belongs to Secchi's
+third type of suns, that in which the spectroscopic
+appearances suggest the existence of a powerfully absorptive
+atmosphere, and which are believed on various grounds
+to be, as Lockyer has said, "in the last visible stage of
+cooling"; in other words, almost extinct. This great, red
+star probably in actual size exceeds our sun, and no one
+can help feeling the sublime nature of those studies which
+give us reason to think that here we can actually behold
+almost the expiring throes of a giant brother of our giant
+sun. Only, the lifetime of a sun is many millions of years,
+and its gradual extinction, even after it has reached a stage
+as advanced as that of Antares is supposed to be, may
+occupy a longer time than the whole duration of the human
+race.</p>
+
+<p>A little close inspection with the naked eye will show
+three fifth- or sixth-magnitude stars above Antares and Sigma
+(&#963;), which form, with those stars, the figure of an irregular
+pentagon. An opera-glass shows this figure very plainly.
+The nearest of these stars to Antares, the one directly above
+it, is known by the number 22, and belongs to Scorpio, while
+the farthest away, which marks the northernmost corner of
+the pentagon, is Rho in Ophiuchus. Try a powerful field-glass
+upon the two stars just named. Take 22 first. You
+will without much difficulty perceive that it has a little star<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[34]</a></span>
+under its wing, below and to the right, and more than twice as
+far away above it there is another faint star. Then turn to
+Rho. Look sharp and you will catch sight of two companion
+stars, one close to Rho on the right and a little below, and
+the other still closer and directly above Rho. The latter is
+quite difficult to be seen distinctly, but the sight is a very
+pretty one.</p>
+
+<p>The opera-glass will show a number of faint stars scattered
+around Antares. Turn now to Beta (&#946;) in Scorpio,
+with the glass. A very pretty pair of stars will be seen
+hanging below &#946;. Sweeping downward from this point to
+the horizon you will find many beautiful star-fields. The
+star marked Nu (&#957;) is a double which you will be able to
+separate with a powerful field-glass, the distance between
+its components being 40".</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 1024px;">
+<img src="images/034-illus.jpg" width="1024" height="682" alt="Map 8." title="" />
+<span class="caption">Map 8.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>And next let us look at a star-cluster. You will see on
+Map No. 8 an object marked 4 M, near Antares. Its designation
+means that it is No. 4 in Messier's catalogue of nebul&aelig;.
+It is not a true nebula, but a closely compacted cluster of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[35]</a></span>
+stars. With the opera-glass, if you are looking in a clear
+and moonless night, you will see it as a curious nebulous
+speck. With a field-glass its real nature is more apparent,
+and it is seen to blaze brighter toward the center. It is, in
+fact, one of those universes within the universe where thousands
+of suns are associated together by some unknown law
+of aggregation into assemblages of whose splendor the slight
+view that we can get gives us but the faintest conception.</p>
+
+<p>The object above and to the right of Antares, marked in the
+map 80 M., is a nebula, and although the nebula itself is too
+small to be seen with an opera-glass (a field-glass shows it as
+a mere wisp of light), yet there is a pretty array of small
+stars in its neighborhood worth looking at. Besides, this
+nebula is of special interest, because in 1860 a star suddenly
+took its place. At least, that is what seemed to have happened.
+What really did occur, probably, was that a variable
+or temporary star, situated between us and the nebula, and
+ordinarily too faint to be perceived, received a sudden and
+enormous accession of light, and blazed up so brightly as to
+blot out of sight the faint nebula behind it. If this star
+should make its appearance again, it could easily be seen
+with an opera-glass, and so it will not be useless for the
+reader to know where to look for it. The quarter of the
+heavens with which we are now dealing is famous for these
+celestial conflagrations, if so they may be called. The first
+temporary star of which there is any record appeared in the
+constellation of the Scorpion, near the head, 134 years before
+Christ. It must have been a most extraordinary phenomenon,
+for it attracted attention all over the world, and both
+Greek and Chinese annals contain descriptions of it. In 393
+A. D. a temporary star shone out in the tail of Scorpio. In
+827 A. D. Arabian astronomers, under the Caliph Al-Mamoun,
+the son of Haroun-al-Raschid, who broke into the great pyramid,
+observed a temporary star, that shone for four months
+in the constellation of the Scorpion. In 1203 there was a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[36]</a></span>
+temporary star, of a bluish color, in the tail of Scorpio, and
+in 1578 another in the head of the constellation. Besides
+these there are records of the appearance of four temporary
+stars in the neighboring constellation of Ophiuchus, one of
+which, that of 1604, is very famous, and will be described
+later on. It is conceivable that these strange outbursts in
+and near Scorpio may have had some effect in causing this
+constellation to be regarded by the ancients as malign in its
+influence.</p>
+
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 336px;">
+<img src="images/036-illus.jpg" width="336" height="363" alt="Zeta Scorpionis." title="" />
+<span class="caption">Zeta Scorpionis.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>We shall presently see some examples of star-clusters and
+nebul&aelig; with which the instruments we are using are better
+capable of dealing than with the one described above. In the
+mean time, let us follow the bending row of stars from Antares
+toward the south and east. When you reach the star
+Mu (&#956;), you are not unlikely to stop with an exclamation of
+admiration, for the glass will separate it into two stars that,
+shining side by side, seem trying to rival each other in brightness.
+But the next star below &#956;, marked Zeta (&#950;), is even
+more beautiful. It also separates into two stars, one being
+reddish and the other bluish in color. The contrast in a clear
+night is very pleasing. But this is not all.
+Above the two stars you will notice a curious
+nebulous speck. Now, if you have
+a powerful field-glass, here is an opportunity
+to view one of the prettiest sights
+in the heavens. The field-glass not only
+makes the two stars appear brighter, and
+their colors more pronounced, but it shows
+a third, fainter star below them, making a small triangle,
+and brings other still fainter stars into sight, while the nebulous
+speck above turns into a charmingly beautiful little
+star-cluster, whose components are so close that their rays
+are inextricably mingled in a maze of light. This little
+cut is an attempt to represent the scene, but no engraving
+can reproduce the life and sparkle of it.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[37]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Following the bend of the Scorpion's tail upward, we
+come to the pair of stars in the sting. These, of course, are
+thrown wide apart by the opera-glass. Then let us sweep off
+to the eastward a little way and find the cluster known as
+7 M. You will see it marked on the map. Above it, and
+near enough to be included in the same field of view, is 6 M.,
+a smaller cluster. Both of these have a sparkling appearance
+with an opera-glass, and by close attention some of the separate
+stars in 7 M. may be detected. With a field-glass these
+clusters become much more striking and starry looking, and
+the curious radiated structure of 7 M. comes out.</p>
+
+<p>In looking at such objects we can not too often recall to
+our minds the significance of what we see&mdash;that these glimmering
+specks are the lights in the windows of the universe
+which carry to us, across inconceivable tracts of space, the
+assurance that we and our little system are not alone in the
+heavens; that all around us, and even on the very confines of
+immensity, Nature is busy, as she is here, and the laws of
+light, heat, gravitation (and why not of life?), are in full
+activity.</p>
+
+<p>The clusters we have just been looking at lie on the borders
+of Scorpio and Sagittarius. Let us cross over into the
+latter constellation, which commemorates the centaur Chiron.
+We are now in another, and even a richer, region of wonders.
+The Milky-Way, streaming down out of the northeast,
+pours, in a luminous flood, through Sagittarius, inundating
+that whole region of the heavens with seeming deeps
+and shallows, and finally bursting the barriers of the horizon
+disappears, only to glow with redoubled splendor in the
+southern hemisphere. The stars Zeta (&#950;), Tau (&#964;), Sigma (&#963;),
+Phi (&#966;), Lambda (&#955;), and Mu (&#956;) indicate the outlines of a
+figure sometimes called the Milk-Dipper, which is very evident
+when the eye has once recognized it. On either side of
+the upturned handle of this dipper-like figure lie some of the
+most interesting objects in the sky. Let us take the star &#956;<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[38]</a></span>
+for a starting-point. Sweep downward and to the right a little
+way, and you will be startled by a most singular phenomenon
+that has suddenly made its appearance in the field of view of
+your glass. You may, perhaps, be tempted to congratulate
+yourself on having got ahead of all the astronomers, and discovered
+a comet. It is really a combination of a star-cluster
+with a nebula, and is known as 8 M. Sir John Herschel has
+described the "nebulous folds and masses" and dark oval
+gaps which he saw in this nebula with his large telescope at
+the Cape of Good Hope. But no telescope is needed to make
+it appear a wonderful object; an opera-glass suffices for that,
+and a field-glass reveals still more of its marvelous structure.</p>
+
+<p>The reader will recollect that we found the summer solstice
+close to a wonderful star-swarm in the feet of Gemini.
+Singularly enough the winter solstice is also near a star-cluster.
+It is to be found near a line drawn from 8 M. to the star
+&#956; Sagittarii, and about one third of the way from the cluster
+to the star. There is another less conspicuous star-cluster
+still closer to the solstitial point here, for this part of the
+heavens teems with such aggregations.</p>
+
+<p>On the opposite side of the star &#956;&mdash;that is to say, above
+and a little to the left&mdash;is an entirely different but almost
+equally attractive spectacle, the swarm of stars called 24 M.
+Here, again, the field-glass easily shows its superiority over
+the opera-glass, for magnifying power is needed to bring out
+the innumerable little twinklers of which the cluster is composed.
+But, whether you use an opera-glass or a field-glass,
+do not fail to gaze long and steadily at this island of stars, for
+much of its beauty becomes evident only after the eye has
+accustomed itself to disentangle the glimmering rays with
+which the whole field of view is filled. Try the method of
+averted vision, and hundreds of the finest conceivable points
+of light will seem to spring into view out of the depths of the
+sky. The necessity of a perfectly clear night, and the absence
+of moonlight, can not be too much insisted upon for<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[39]</a></span>
+observations such as these. Everybody knows how the moonlight
+blots out the smaller stars. A slight haziness, or smoke,
+in the air produces a similar effect. It is as important to the
+observer with an opera-glass to have a transparent atmosphere
+as it is to one who would use a telescope; but, fortunately,
+the work of the former is not so much interfered with
+by currents of air. Always avoid the neighborhood of any
+bright light. Electric lights in particular are an abomination
+to star-gazers.</p>
+
+<p>The cloud of stars we have just been looking at is in a
+very rich region of the Milky-Way, in the little modern constellation
+called "Sobieski's Shield," which we have not
+named upon our map. Sweeping slowly upward from 24 M.
+a little way with the field-glass, we will pass in succession
+over three nebulous-looking spots. The second of these,
+counting upward, is the famous Horseshoe nebula. Its wonders
+are beyond the reach of our instrument, but its place
+may be recognized. Look carefully all around this region,
+and you will perceive that the old gods, who traveled this
+road (the Milky-Way was sometimes called the pathway of
+the gods), trod upon golden sands. Off a little way to the
+east you will find the rich cluster called 25 M. But do not
+imagine the thousands of stars that your opera-glass or field-glass
+reveals comprise all the riches of this Golconda of the
+heavens. You might ply the powers of the greatest telescope
+in a vain attempt to exhaust its wealth. As a hint of the
+wonders that lie hidden here, let me quote Father Secchi's
+description of a starry spot in this same neighborhood, viewed
+with the great telescope at Rome. After telling of "beds of
+stars superposed upon one another," and of the wonderful
+geometrical arrangement of the larger stars visible in the
+field, he adds:</p>
+
+<p>"The greater number are arranged in spiral arcs, in which
+one can count as many as ten or twelve stars of the ninth to
+the tenth magnitude following one another in a curve, like<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[40]</a></span>
+beads upon a string. Sometimes they form rays which seem
+to diverge from a common focus, and, what is very singular,
+one usually finds, either at the center of the rays, or at the
+beginning of the curve, a more brilliant star of a red color,
+which seems to lead the march. It is impossible to believe
+that such an arrangement can be accidental."</p>
+
+<p>The reader will recall the somewhat similar description
+that Admiral Smyth and Mr. Webb have given of a star-cluster
+in Gemini (see Chapter I).</p>
+
+<p>The milky look of the background of the Galaxy is, of
+course, caused by the intermingled radiations of inconceivably
+minute and inconceivably numerous stars, thousands of
+which become separately visible, the number thus distinguishable
+varying with the size of the instrument. But the
+most powerful telescope yet placed in human hands can not
+sound these starry deeps to the bottom. The evidence given
+by Prof. Holden, the Director of the Lick Observatory, on
+this point is very interesting. Speaking of the performance
+of the gigantic telescope on Mount Hamilton, thirty-six
+inches in aperture, he says:</p>
+
+<p>"The Milky-Way is a wonderful sight, and I have been
+much interested to see that there is, even with our superlative
+power, no final resolution of its finer parts into stars.
+There is always the background of unresolved nebulosity on
+which hundreds and thousands of stars are studded&mdash;each a
+bright, sharp, separate point."</p>
+
+<p>The groups of stars forming the eastern half of the constellation
+of Sagittarius are worth sweeping over with the
+glass, as a number of pretty pairs may be found there.</p>
+
+<p>Sagittarius stands in the old star-maps as a centaur,
+half-horse-half-man, facing the west, with drawn bow, and arrow
+pointed at the Scorpion.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 768px;">
+<img src="images/041-illus.jpg" width="768" height="804" alt="Map 9." title="" />
+<span class="caption">Map 9.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Next let us pass to the double constellation adjoining
+Scorpio and Sagittarius on the north&mdash;Ophiuchus and the
+Serpent. These constellations, as our map shows, are curi<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[41]</a></span>ously
+intermixed. The imagination of the old star-gazers, who
+named them, saw here the figure of a giant grasping a writhing
+serpent with his hands. The head of the serpent is
+under the Northern Crown, and its tail ends over the star-gemmed
+region that we have just described, called "Sobieski's
+Shield." Ophiuchus stands, as figured in Flamsteed's
+"Atlas," upon the back of the Scorpion, holding the serpent
+with one hand below the neck, this hand being indicated by
+the pair of stars marked Epsilon (&#949;) and Delta (&#948;), and with
+the other near the tail. The stars Tau (&#964;) and Nu (&#957;) indicate
+the second hand. The giant's face is toward the observer,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[42]</a></span>
+and the star Alpha (&#945;), also called Ras Alhague, shines in
+his forehead, while Beta (&#946;) and Gamma (&#947;) mark his right
+shoulder. Ophiuchus has been held to represent the famous
+physician &AElig;sculapius. One may well repress the tendency
+to smile at these fanciful legends when he reflects upon their
+antiquity. There is no doubt that this double constellation
+is at least three thousand years old&mdash;that is to say, for thirty
+centuries the imagination of men has continued to shape these
+stars into the figures of a gigantic man struggling with a huge
+serpent. If it possesses no other interest, then it at least has
+that which attaches to all things ancient. Like many other
+of the constellations it has proved longer-lived than the
+mightiest nations. While Greece flourished and decayed,
+while Rome rose and fell, while the scepter of civilization has
+passed from race to race, these starry creations of fancy have
+shone on unchanged. The mind that would ignore them
+now deserves compassion.</p>
+
+<p>The reader will observe a little circle in the map, and near
+it the figures 1604. This indicates the spot where one of the
+most famous temporary stars on record appeared in the year
+1604. At first it was far brighter than any other star in the
+heavens; but it quickly faded, and in a little over a year disappeared.
+It is particularly interesting, because Kepler&mdash;the
+quaintest, and not far from the greatest, figure in astronomical
+history&mdash;wrote a curious book about it. Some of the
+philosophers of the day argued that the sudden outburst of
+the wonderful star was caused by the chance meeting of
+atoms. Kepler's reply was characteristic, as well as amusing:</p>
+
+<p>"I will tell those disputants, my opponents, not my own
+opinion, but my wife's. Yesterday, when I was weary with
+writing, my mind being quite dusty with considering these
+atoms, I was called to supper, and a salad I had asked for
+was set before me. 'It seems, then,' said I, aloud, 'that if
+pewter dishes, leaves of lettuce, grains of salt, drops of water,
+vinegar and oil, and slices of egg, had been flying about in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[43]</a></span>
+the air from all eternity, it might at last happen by chance
+that there would come a salad.' 'Yes,' says my wife, 'but
+not so nice and well-dressed as this of mine is.'"</p>
+
+<p>While there are no objects of special interest for the observer
+with an opera-glass in Ophiuchus, he will find it worth
+while to sweep over it for what he may pick up, and, in particular,
+he should look at the group of stars southeast of &#946;
+and &#947;. These stars have been shaped into a little modern
+asterism called Taurus Poniatowskii, and it will be noticed
+that five of them mark the outlines of a letter V, resembling
+the well-known figure of the Hyades.</p>
+
+<p>Also look at the stars in the head of Serpens, several of
+which form a figure like a letter X. A little west of Theta (&#952;)
+in the tail of Serpens, is a beautiful swarm of little stars,
+upon which a field-glass may be used with advantage. The
+star &#952; is itself a charming double, just within the separating
+power of a very powerful field-glass under favorable circumstances,
+the component stars being only about one third of a
+minute apart.</p>
+
+<p>Do not fail to notice the remarkable subdivisions of the
+Milky-Way in this neighborhood. Its current seems divided
+into numerous channels and bays, interspersed with gaps
+that might be likened to islands, and the star &#952; appears to be
+situated upon one of these islands of the galaxy. This complicated
+structure of the Milky-Way extends downward to
+the horizon, and upward through the constellation Cygnus,
+and of its phenomenal appearance in that region we shall
+have more to say further on.</p>
+
+<p>Directly north of Ophiuchus is the constellation Hercules,
+interesting as occupying that part of the heavens toward
+which the proper motion of the sun is bearing the earth and
+its fellow-planets, at the rate, probably, of not less than
+160,000,000 miles in a year&mdash;a stupendous voyage through space,
+of whose destination we are as ignorant as the crew of a ship
+sailing under sealed orders, and, like whom, we must depend<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[44]</a></span>
+upon such inferences as we can draw from courses and distances,
+for no other information comes to us from the flagship
+of our squadron.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 832px;">
+<img src="images/044-illus.jpg" width="832" height="768" alt="Map 10." title="" />
+<span class="caption">Map 10.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>In the accompanying map we have represented the beautiful
+constellations Lyra and the Northern Crown, lying on
+either side of Hercules. The reader should note that the
+point overhead in this map is not far from the star Eta (&#951;) in
+Hercules. The bottom of the map is toward the south, the
+right-hand side is west, and the left-hand side east. It is important
+to keep these directions in mind, in comparing the
+map with the sky. For instance, the observer must not expect
+to look into the south and see Hercules half-way up the
+sky, with Lyra a little east of it; he must look for Hercules<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[45]</a></span>
+nearly overhead, and Lyra a little east of the zenith. The
+same precautions are not necessary in using the maps of
+Scorpio, Sagittarius, and Ophiuchus, because those constellations
+are nearer the horizon, and so the observer does not
+have to imagine the map as being suspended over his head.</p>
+
+<p>The name Hercules sufficiently indicates the mythological
+origin of the constellation, and yet the Greeks did not know
+it by that name, for Aratus calls it "the Phantom whose
+name none can tell." The Northern Crown, according to
+fable, was the celebrated crown of Ariadne, and Lyra was the
+harp of Orpheus himself, with whose sweet music he charmed
+the hosts of Hades, and persuaded Pluto to yield up to him
+his lost Eurydice.</p>
+
+<p>With the aid of the map you will be able to recognize the
+principal stars and star-groups in Hercules, and will find
+many interesting combinations of stars for yourself. An
+object of special interest is the celebrated star-cluster 13 M.
+You will find it on the map between the stars Eta (&#951;) and
+Zeta (&#950;). While an opera-glass will only show it as a faint
+and minute speck, lying nearly between two little stars, it is
+nevertheless well worth looking for, on account of the great
+renown of this wonderful congregation of stars. Sir William
+Herschel computed the number of stars contained in it as
+about fourteen thousand. It is roughly spherical in shape,
+though there are many straggling stars around it evidently
+connected with the cluster. In short, it is <i>a ball of suns</i>.
+The reader should not mistake what that implies, however.
+These suns, though truly solar bodies, are probably very
+much smaller than our sun. Mr. Gore has computed their
+average diameter to be forty-five thousand miles, and the
+distance separating each from the next to be 9,000,000,000
+miles. It may not be uninteresting to inquire what would
+be the appearance of the sky to dwellers within such a system
+of suns. Adopting Mr. Gore's estimates, and supposing
+9,000,000,000 miles to be very nearly the uniform distance<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[46]</a></span>
+apart of the stars in the cluster, and forty-five thousand miles
+their uniform diameter, then, starting with a single star in
+the center, their arrangement might be approximately in
+concentric spherical shells, situated about 9,000,000,000 miles
+apart. The first shell, counting outward from the center,
+would contain a dozen stars, each of which, as seen by an
+observer stationed upon a planet at the center of the cluster,
+would shine eleven hundred times as bright as Sirius appears
+to us. The number of the stars in each shell would increase
+as they receded from the center in proportion to the squares
+of the radii of the successive shells, while their luminosity,
+as seen from the center, would vary inversely as those
+squares. Still, the outermost stars&mdash;the total number being
+limited to fourteen or fifteen thousand&mdash;would appear to our
+observer at the center of the system about five times as brilliant
+as Sirius.</p>
+
+<p>It is clear, then, that he would be dwelling in a sort of
+perpetual daylight. His planet might receive from the particular
+sun around which it revolved as brilliant a daylight as
+our sun gives to us, but let us see what would be the illumination
+of its night side. Adopting Z&ouml;llner's estimate of the
+light of the sun as 618,000 times as great as that of the full
+moon, and choosing among the various estimates of the light
+of Sirius as compared with the sun 1/4000000000 as probably
+the nearest the truth, we find that the moon sends us about
+sixty-five hundred times as much light as Sirius does. Now,
+since the dozen stars nearest the center of the cluster would
+each appear to our observer eleven hundred times as bright
+as Sirius, all of them together would give a little more than
+twice as much light as the full moon sheds upon the earth.
+But as only half the stars in the cluster would be above the
+horizon at once we must diminish this estimate by one half,
+in order to obtain the amount of light that our supposititious
+planet would receive on its night side from the nearest stars
+in the cluster. And since the number of these stars increases<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[47]</a></span>
+with their distance from the center in the same ratio as their
+light diminishes, it follows that the total light received from
+the cluster would exceed that received from the dozen nearest
+stars as many times as there were spherical shells in the cluster.
+This would be about fifteen times, and accordingly all
+the stars together would shed, at the center, some thirty times
+as much light as that of the moon. Dividing this again by
+two, because only half of the stars could be seen at once, we
+find that the night side of our observer's planet would be illuminated
+with fifteen times as much light as the full moon
+sheds upon the earth.</p>
+
+<p>It is evident, too, that our observer would enjoy the spectacle
+of a starry firmament incomparably more splendid than
+that which we behold. Only about three thousand stars are
+visible to our unassisted eyes at once on any clear night, and
+of those only a few are conspicuous, and two thirds are so
+faint that they require some attention in order to be distinguished.
+But the spectator at the center of the Hercules
+cluster would behold some seven thousand stars at once, the
+faintest of which would be five times as brilliant as the brightest
+star in our sky, while the brighter ones would blaze like
+nearing suns. One effect of this flood of starlight would be
+to shut out from our observer's eyes all the stars of the outside
+universe. They would be effaced in the blaze of his sky,
+and he would be, in a manner, shut up within his own little
+star-system, knowing nothing of the greater universe beyond,
+in which we behold his multitude of luminaries, diminished
+and blended by distance into a faintly shining speck, floating
+like a silvery mote in a sunbeam.</p>
+
+<p>If our observer's planet, instead of being situated in the
+center of the cluster, circled around one of the stars at the
+outer edge of it, the appearance of his sky would be, in some
+respects, still more wonderful, the precise phenomena depending
+upon the position of the planet's orbit and the station
+of the observer. Less than half of his sky would be<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[48]</a></span>
+filled, at any time, by the stars of the cluster, the other half
+opening upon outer space and appearing by comparison
+almost starless&mdash;a vast, cavernous expanse, with a few faint
+glimmerings out of its gloomy depths. The plane of the
+orbit of his planet being supposed to pass through the center
+of the spherical system, our observer would, during his year,
+behold the night at one season blazing with the splendors of
+the clustered suns, and at another emptied of brilliant orbs
+and faintly lighted with the soft glow of the Milky-Way and
+the feeble flickering of distant stars, scattered over the dark
+vault. The position of the orbit, and the inclination of the
+planet's axis might be such that the glories of the cluster
+would not be visible from one of its hemispheres, necessitating
+a journey to the other side of the globe to behold them.<a name="FNanchor_A_2" id="FNanchor_A_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_2" class="fnanchor">[B]</a></p>
+
+<p>Of course, it is not to be assumed that the arrangement
+of the stars in the cluster actually is exactly that which
+we have imagined. Still, whatever the arrangement, so long
+as the cluster is practically spherical, and the stars composing
+it are of nearly uniform size and situated at nearly
+uniform distances, the phenomena we have described would
+fairly represent the appearances presented to inhabitants of
+worlds situated in such a system. As to the possibility of
+the existence of such worlds and inhabitants, everybody
+must draw his own conclusions. Astronomy, as a science,
+is silent upon that question. But there shine the congregated
+stars, mingling their rays in a message of light, that
+comes to us across the gulf, proclaiming their brotherhood
+with our own glorious sun. Mathematicians can not unravel
+the interlocking intricacies of their orbits, and some would,
+perhaps <i>a priori</i>, have said that such a system was impossible,
+but the telescope has revealed them, and there they are!
+What purposes they subserve in the economy of the universe,
+who shall declare?</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[49]</a></span>If
+you have a field-glass, by all means try it upon 13 M.
+It will give you a more satisfactory view than an opera-glass
+is capable of doing, and will magnify the cluster so that there
+can be no possibility of mistaking it for a star. Compare this
+compact cluster, which only a powerful telescope can partially
+resolve into its component stars, with 7 M. and 24 M.,
+described before, in order to comprehend the wide variety in
+the structure of these aggregations of stars.</p>
+
+<p>The Northern Crown, although a strikingly beautiful
+constellation to the naked eye, offers few attractions to the
+opera-glass. Let us turn, then, to Lyra. I have never been
+able to make up my mind which of three great stars is entitled
+to precedence&mdash;Vega, the leading brilliant of Lyra,
+Arcturus in Bo&ouml;tes, or Capella in Auriga. They are the
+three leaders of the northern firmament, but which of them
+should be called the chief, is very hard to say. At any rate,
+Vega would probably be generally regarded as the most
+beautiful, on account of the delicate bluish tinge in its light,
+especially when viewed with a glass. There is no possibility
+of mistaking this star because of its surpassing brilliancy.
+Two faint stars close to Vega on the east make a beautiful
+little triangle with it, and thus form a further means of recognition,
+if any were needed. Your opera-glass will show that
+the floor of heaven is powdered with stars, fine as the dust of
+a diamond, all around the neighborhood of Vega, and the
+longer you gaze the more of these diminutive twinklers you
+will discover.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 768px;">
+<img src="images/050-illus.jpg" width="768" height="770" alt="Map 11." title="" />
+<span class="caption">Map 11.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Now direct your glass to the northernmost of the two little
+stars near Vega, the one marked Epsilon (&#949;) in the map.
+You will perceive that it is composed of two stars of almost
+equal magnitude. If you had a telescope of considerable
+power, you would find that each of these stars is in turn
+double. In other words, this wonderful star which appears
+single to the unassisted eye, is in reality quadruple, and
+there is reason to think that the four stars composing it are<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[50]</a></span>
+connected in pairs, the members of each pair revolving
+around their common center while the two pairs in turn circle
+around a center common to all. With a field-glass you
+will be able to see that the other star near Vega, Zeta (&#950;), is
+also double, the distance between its components being three
+quarters of a minute, while the two stars in &#949; are a little less
+than 3&frac12;&acute; apart. The star Beta (&#946;) is remarkably variable in
+brightness. You may watch these variations, which run
+through a regular period of about 12 days, 21&frac34; hours, for
+yourself. Between Beta and Gamma (&#947;) lies the beautiful
+Ring nebula, but it is hopelessly beyond the reach of the
+optical means we are employing.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[51]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Let us turn next to the stars in the west. In consulting
+the accompanying map of Virgo and Bo&ouml;tes (Map No. 11),
+the observer is supposed to face the southwest, at the hours
+and dates mentioned above as those to which the circular
+map corresponds. He will then see the bright star Spica in
+Virgo not far above the horizon, while Arcturus will be half-way
+up the sky, and the Northern Crown will be near the
+zenith.</p>
+
+<p>The constellation Virgo is an interesting one in mythological
+story. Aratus tells us that the Virgin's home was
+once on earth, where she bore the name of Justice, and in the
+golden age all men obeyed her. In the silver age her visits
+to men became less frequent, "no longer finding the spirits of
+former days"; and, finally, when the brazen age came with
+the clangor of war:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><p class="noin">
+"Justice, loathing that race of men,<br />
+Winged her flight to heaven; and fixed<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Her station in that region</span><br />
+Where still by night is seen<br />
+The Virgin goddess near to bright Bo&ouml;tes."<br />
+</p></div>
+
+<p>The chief star of Virgo, Spica, is remarkable for its pure
+white light. To my eye there is no conspicuous star in the
+sky equal to it in this respect, and it gains in beauty when
+viewed with a glass. With the aid of the map the reader will
+find the celebrated binary star Gamma (&#947;) Virginis, although
+he will not be able to separate its components without a telescope.
+It is a curious fact that the star Epsilon (&#949;) in Virgo
+has for many ages been known as the Grape-Gatherer. It
+has borne this name in Greek, in Latin, in Persian, and in
+Arabic, the origin of the appellation undoubtedly being that
+it was observed to rise just before the sun in the season of the
+vintage. It will be observed that the stars &#949;, &#948;, &#947;, &#951;, and &#946;,
+mark two sides of a quadrilateral figure of which the opposite
+corner is indicated by Denebola in the tail of Leo.
+Within this quadrilateral lies the marvelous Field of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[52]</a></span>
+Nebul&aelig;, a region where with adequate optical power one
+may find hundreds of these strange objects thronging together,
+a very storehouse of the germs of suns and worlds.
+Unfortunately, these nebul&aelig; are far beyond the reach of an
+opera-glass, but it is worth while to know where this curious
+region is, even if we can not behold the wonders it contains.
+The stars Omicron (&#959;), Pi (&#960;), etc., forming a little group,
+mark the head of Virgo.</p>
+
+<p>The autumnal equinox, or the place where the sun
+crosses the equator of the heavens on his southerly journey
+about the 21st of September, is situated nearly between the
+stars &#951; and &#946; Virginis, a little below the line joining them,
+and somewhat nearer to &#951;. Both &#951; and &#950; Virginis are almost
+exactly upon the equator of the heavens.</p>
+
+<p>The constellation Libra, lying between Virgo and Scorpio,
+does not contain much to attract our attention. Its two chief
+stars, &#945; and &#946;, may be readily recognized west of and above
+the head of Scorpio. The upper one of the two, &#946;, has a
+singular greenish tint, and the lower one, &#945;, is a very pretty
+double for an opera-glass.</p>
+
+<p>The constellation of Libra appears to have been of later
+date than the other eleven members of the zodiacal circle.
+Its two chief stars at one time marked the extended claws of
+Scorpio, which were afterward cut off (perhaps the monster
+proved too horrible even for its inventors) to form Libra.
+As its name signifies, Libra represents a balance, and this
+fact seems to refer the invention of the constellation back
+to at least three hundred years before Christ, when the autumnal
+equinox occurred at the moment when the sun was
+just crossing the western border of the constellation. The
+equality of the days and nights at that season readily
+suggests the idea of a balance. Milton, in "Paradise
+Lost," suggests another origin for the constellation of the
+Balance in the account of Gabriel's discovery of Satan in
+paradise:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[53]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figright" style="width: 480px;">
+<img src="images/053-illus.jpg" width="480" height="496" alt="Berenice&#39;s Hair." title="" />
+<span class="caption">Berenice&#39;s Hair.</span>
+</div>
+
+<div class="poem"><p class="noin">
+<span style="margin-left: 5em;">"... Now dreadful deeds</span><br />
+Might have ensued, nor only paradise<br />
+In this commotion, but the starry cope<br />
+Of heaven, perhaps, or all the elements<br />
+At least had gone to wrack, disturbed and torn<br />
+With violence of this conflict, had not soon<br />
+The Eternal, to prevent such horrid fray,<br />
+Hung forth in heaven his golden scales, yet seen<br />
+Betwixt Astrea and the Scorpion sign."<br />
+</p></div>
+
+<p>Just north of Virgo's head will be seen the glimmering
+of Berenice's Hair. This little constellation was included
+among those described in the chapter on "The Stars of
+Spring," but it is worth
+looking at again in the
+early summer, on moonless
+nights, when the singular
+arrangement of the brighter
+members of the cluster at
+once strikes the eye.</p>
+
+<p>Bo&ouml;tes, whose leading
+brilliant, Arcturus, occupies
+the center of our map, also
+possesses a curious mythical
+history. It is called by
+the Greeks the Bear-Driver,
+because it seems continually to chase Ursa Major, the Great
+Bear, in his path around the pole. The story is that Bo&ouml;tes
+was the son of the nymph Calisto, whom Juno, in one of her
+customary fits of jealousy, turned into a bear. Bo&ouml;tes, who
+had become a famous hunter, one day roused a bear from
+her lair, and, not knowing that it was his mother, was about
+to kill her, when Jupiter came to the rescue and snatched
+them both up into the sky, where they have shone ever since.
+Lucan refers to this story when, describing Brutus's visit to
+Cato at night, he fixes the time by the position of these constellations
+in the heavens:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[54]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="poem"><p class="noin">
+"'Twas when the solemn dead of night came on,<br />
+When bright Calisto, with her shining son,<br />
+Now half the circle round the pole had run."<br />
+</p></div>
+
+<p>Bo&ouml;tes is not specially interesting for our purposes, except
+for the splendor of Arcturus. This star has possessed a
+peculiar charm for me ever since boyhood, when, having read
+a description of it in an old treatise on Uranography, I felt
+an eager desire to see it. As my search for it chanced to begin
+at a season when Arcturus did not rise till after a boy's
+bed-time, I was for a long time disappointed, and I shall
+never forget the start of surprise and almost of awe with
+which I finally caught sight of it, one spring evening, shooting
+its flaming rays through the boughs of an apple-orchard,
+like a star on fire.</p>
+
+<p>When near the horizon, Arcturus has a remarkably reddish
+color; but, after it has attained a high elevation in the
+sky, it appears rather a deep yellow than red. There is a
+scattered cluster of small stars surrounding Arcturus, forming
+an admirable spectacle with an opera-glass on a clear
+night. To see these stars well, the glass should be slowly
+moved about. Many of them are hidden by the glare of Arcturus.
+The little group of stars near the end of the handle
+of the Great Dipper, or, what is the same thing, the tail of
+the Great Bear, marks the upraised hand of Bo&ouml;tes. Between
+Berenice's Hair and the tail of the Bear you will see a
+small constellation called Canes Venatici, the Hunting-Dogs.
+On the old star-maps Bo&ouml;tes is represented as holding these
+dogs with a leash, while they are straining in chase of the
+Bear. You will find some pretty groupings of stars in this
+constellation.</p>
+
+<p>And now we will turn to the east. Our next map shows
+Cygnus, a constellation especially remarkable for the large
+and striking figure that it contains, called the Northern
+Cross, Aquila the Eagle, the Dolphin, and the little asterisms
+Sagitta and Vulpecula. In consulting the map, the observer<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[55]</a></span>
+is supposed to face toward the east. In Aquila the curious
+arrangement of two stars on either side of the chief star of
+the constellation, called Altair, at once attracts the eye.
+Within a circle including the two attendants of Altair you
+will probably be able to see with the naked eye only two or
+three stars in addition to the three large ones. Now turn
+your glass upon the same spot, and you will see eight or
+ten times as many stars, and with a field-glass still more can
+be seen. Watch the star marked Eta (&#951;), and you will find
+that its light is variable, being sometimes more than twice as
+bright as at other times. Its changes are periodical, and occupy
+a little over a week.</p>
+
+<p>The Eagle is fabled to have been the bird that Jupiter
+kept beside his throne. A constellation called Antinous, invented
+by Tycho Brahe, is represented on some maps as occupying
+the lower portion of the space given to Aquila.</p>
+
+<p>The Dolphin is an interesting little constellation, and the
+ancients said it represented the very animal on whose back
+the famous musician Arion rode through the sea after his escape
+from the sailors who tried to murder him. But some
+modern has dubbed it with the less romantic name of Job's
+Coffin, by which it is sometimes called. It presents a very
+pretty sight to the opera-glass.</p>
+
+<p>Cygnus, the swan, is a constellation whose mythological
+history is not specially interesting, although, as remarked
+above, it contains one of the most clearly marked figures to
+be found among the stars, the famous Northern Cross. The
+outlines of this cross are marked with great distinctness
+by the stars Alpha (&#945;), Epsilon (&#949;), Gamma (&#947;), Delta (&#948;), and
+Beta (&#946;), together with some fainter stars lying along the
+main beam of the cross between &#946; and &#947;. The star &#946;, also
+called Albireo, is one of the most beautiful double stars in
+the heavens. The components are sharply contrasted in color,
+the larger star being golden-yellow, while the smaller one is
+a deep, rich blue. With a field-glass of 1.6-inch aperture<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[56]</a></span>
+and magnifying seven times I have sometimes been able to
+divide this pair, and to recognize the blue color of the smaller
+star. It will be found a severe test for such a glass.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 768px;">
+<img src="images/056-illus.jpg" width="768" height="799" alt="Map 12." title="" />
+<span class="caption">Map 12.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>About half-way from Albireo to the two stars &#950; and &#949; in
+Aquila is a very curious little group, consisting of six or
+seven stars in a straight row, with a garland of other stars
+hanging from the center. To see it best, take a field-glass,
+although an opera-glass shows it.</p>
+
+<p>I have indicated the place of the celebrated star 61 Cygni
+in the map, because of the interest attaching to it as the nearest
+to us, so far as we know, of all the stars in the northern<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[57]</a></span>
+hemisphere, and with one exception the nearest star in all
+the heavens. Yet it is very faint, and the fact that so inconspicuous
+a star should be nearer than such brilliants as Vega
+and Arcturus shows how wide is the range of magnitude
+among the suns that light the universe. The actual distance
+of 61 Cygni is something like 650,000 times as great as the
+distance from the earth to the sun.</p>
+
+<p>The star Omicron (&#959;) is very interesting with an opera-glass.
+The naked eye sees a little star near it. The glass
+throws them wide apart, and divides &#959; itself into two stars.
+Now, a field-glass, if of sufficient power, will divide the larger
+of these stars again into two&mdash;a fine test.</p>
+
+<p>Sweep around &#945; and &#947; for the splendid star-fields that
+abound in this neighborhood; also around the upper part of
+the figure of the cross. We are here in one of the richest
+parts of the Milky-Way. Between the stars &#945;, &#947;, &#949;, is the
+strange dark gap in the galaxy called the Coal-Sack, a sort
+of hole in the starry heavens. Although it is not entirely
+empty of stars, its blackness is striking in contrast with the
+brilliancy of the Milky-Way in this neighborhood. The
+divergent streams of the great river of light in this region
+present a very remarkable appearance.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 768px;">
+<img src="images/058-illus.jpg" width="768" height="799" alt="Map 13." title="" />
+<span class="caption">Map 13.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Finally, we come to the great dragon of the sky. In using
+the map of Draco and the neighboring constellations, the
+reader is supposed to face the north. The center of the upper
+edge of the map is directly over the observer's head. One
+of the stories told of this large constellation is that it represents
+a dragon that had the temerity to war against Minerva.
+The goddess "seized it in her hand, and hurled it, twisted
+as it was, into the heavens round the axis of the world, before
+it had time to unwind its contortions." Others say it is
+the dragon that guarded the golden apples in the Garden of
+the Hesperides, and that was slain by the redoubtable Hercules.
+At any rate, it is plainly a monster of the first magnitude.
+The stars &#946;, &#947;, &#958;, &#957;, and &#956; represent its head, while its<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[58]</a></span>
+body runs trailing along, first sweeping in a long curve toward
+Cepheus, and then bending around and passing between
+the two bears. Try &#957; with your opera-glass, and if you succeed
+in seeing it double you may congratulate yourself on
+your keen sight. The distance between the stars is about 1&acute;.
+Notice the contrasted colors of &#947; and &#946;, the former being a
+rich orange and the latter white. As you sweep along the
+winding way that Draco follows, you will run across many
+striking fields of stars, although the heavens are not as rich
+here as in the splendid regions that we have just left. You
+will also find that Cepheus, although not an attractive con<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[59]</a></span>stellation
+to the naked eye, is worth some attention with an
+opera-glass. The head and upper part of the body of Cepheus
+are plunged in the stream of the Milky Way, while his
+feet are directed toward the pole of the heavens, upon which
+he is pictured as standing. Cepheus, however, sinks into insignificance
+in comparison with its neighbor Cassiopeia, but
+that constellation belongs rather to the autumn sky, and we
+shall pass it by here.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 80%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[60]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_III" id="CHAPTER_III"></a>CHAPTER III.</h2>
+
+<h3>THE STARS OF AUTUMN.</h3>
+
+
+<p>IN the "Fifth Evening" of that delightful, old, out-of-date
+book of Fontenelle's, on the "Plurality of Worlds," the
+Astronomer and the Marchioness, who have been making a
+wonderful pilgrimage through the heavens during their evening
+strolls in the park, come at last to the starry systems beyond
+the "solar vortex," and the Marchioness experiences a
+lively impatience to know what the fixed stars will turn out
+to be, for the Astronomer has sharpened her appetite for
+marvels.</p>
+
+<p>"Tell me," says she, eagerly, "are they, too, inhabited
+like the planets, or are they not peopled? In short, what can
+we make of them?"</p>
+
+<p>The Astronomer answers his charming questioner, as we
+should do to-day, that the fixed stars are so many suns. And
+he adds to this information a great deal of entertaining talk
+about the planets that may be supposed to circle around these
+distant suns, interspersing his conversation with explanations
+of "vortexes," and many quaint conceits, in which he is
+helped out by the ready wit of the Marchioness.</p>
+
+<p>Finally, the impressionable mind of the lady is overwhelmed
+by the grandeur of the scenes that the Astronomer
+opens to her view, her head swims, infinity oppresses her,
+and she cries for mercy.</p>
+
+<p>"You show me," she exclaims, "a perspective so interminably
+long that the eye can not see the end of it. I see
+plainly the inhabitants of the earth; then you cause me to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[61]</a></span>
+perceive those of the moon and of the other planets belonging
+to our vortex (system), quite clearly, yet not so distinctly as
+those of the earth. After them come the inhabitants of planets
+in the other vortexes. I confess, they seem to me hidden
+deep in the background, and, however hard I try, I can barely
+glimpse them at all. In truth, are they not almost annihilated
+by the very expression which you are obliged to use
+in speaking of them? You have to call them inhabitants of
+one of the planets contained in one out of the infinity of vortexes.
+Surely we ourselves, to whom the same expression
+applies, are almost lost among so many millions of worlds.
+For my part, the earth begins to appear so frightfully little
+to me that henceforth I shall hardly consider any object worthy
+of eager pursuit. Assuredly, people who seek so earnestly
+their own aggrandizement, who lay schemes upon schemes,
+and give themselves so much trouble, know nothing of the
+vortexes! I am sure my increase of knowledge will redound
+to the credit of my idleness, and when people reproach me
+with indolence I shall reply: 'Ah! if you but knew the history
+of the fixed stars!'"</p>
+
+<p>It is certainly true that a contemplation of the unthinkable
+vastness of the universe, in the midst of which we dwell
+upon a speck illuminated by a spark, is calculated to make all
+terrestrial affairs appear contemptibly insignificant. We can
+not wonder that men for ages regarded the earth as the center,
+and the heavens with their lights as tributary to it, for to
+have thought otherwise, in those times, would have been to
+see things from the point of view of a superior intelligence.
+It has taken a vast amount of experience and knowledge to
+convince men of the parvitude of themselves and their belongings.
+So, in all ages they have applied a terrestrial measure
+to the universe, and imagined they could behold human
+affairs reflected in the heavens and human interests setting the
+gods together by the ears.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[62]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 768px;">
+<img src="images/062-illus.jpg" width="768" height="804" alt="Map. 14." title="" />
+<span class="caption">Map. 14.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>This is clearly shown in the story of the constellations.
+The tremendous truth that on a starry night we look, in
+every direction, into an almost endless vista of suns beyond
+suns and systems upon systems, was too overwhelming for
+comprehension by the inventors of the constellations. So
+they amused themselves, like imaginative children, as they
+were, by tracing the outlines of men and beasts formed by
+those pretty lights, the stars. They turned the starry heavens
+into a scroll filled with pictured stories of mythology.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[63]</a></span>
+Four of the constellations with which we are going to deal
+in this chapter are particularly interesting on this account.
+They preserve in the stars, more lasting than parchment or
+stone, one of the oldest and most pleasing of all the romantic
+stories that have amused and inspired the minds of men&mdash;the
+story of Perseus and Andromeda&mdash;a better story than any
+that modern novelists have invented. The four constellations
+to which I refer bear the names of Andromeda, Perseus, Cassiopeia,
+and Cepheus, and are sometimes called, collectively,
+the Royal Family. In the autumn they occupy a conspicuous
+position in the sky, forming a group that remains unrivaled
+until the rising of Orion with his imperial <i>cort&eacute;ge</i>.
+The reader will find them in Map No. 14, occupying the
+northeastern quarter of the heavens.</p>
+
+<p>This map represents the visible heavens at about midnight
+on September 1st, ten o'clock P. M. on October 1st, and eight
+o'clock P. M. on November 1st. At this time the constellations
+that were near the meridian in summer will be found
+sinking in the west, Hercules being low in the northwest,
+with the brilliant Lyra and the head of Draco suspended
+above it; Aquila, "the eagle of the winds," soars high in the
+southwest; while the Cross of Cygnus is just west of the
+zenith; and Sagittarius, with its wealth of star-dust, is disappearing
+under the horizon in the southwest.</p>
+
+<p>Far down in the south the observer catches the gleam of a
+bright lone star of the first magnitude, though not one of the
+largest of that class. It is Fomalhaut, in the mouth of the
+Southern Fish, Piscis Australis. A slight reddish tint will
+be perceived in the light of this beautiful star, whose brilliance
+is enhanced by the fact that it shines without a rival in
+that region of the sky. Fomalhaut is one of the important
+"nautical stars," and its position was long ago carefully computed
+for the benefit of mariners. The constellation of Piscis
+Australis, which will be found in our second map, does not
+possess much to interest us except its splendid leading star.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[64]</a></span>
+In consulting Map 15, the observer is supposed to be facing
+south, or slightly west of south, and he must remember that
+the upper part of the map reaches nearly to the zenith, while
+at the bottom it extends down to the horizon.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 768px;">
+<img src="images/064-illus.jpg" width="768" height="942" alt="Map 15." title="" />
+<span class="caption">Map 15.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>To the right, or west, of Fomalhaut, and higher up, is the
+constellation of Capricornus, very interesting on many ac<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[65]</a></span>counts,
+though by no means a striking constellation to the
+unassisted eye. The stars Alpha (&#945;), called Giedi, and Beta
+&#946;), called Dabih, will be readily recognized, and a keen eye
+will perceive that Alpha really consists of two stars. They
+are about six minutes of arc apart, and are of the third and
+the fourth magnitude respectively. These stars, which to the
+naked eye appear almost blended into one, really have no
+physical connection with each other, and are slowly drifting
+apart. The ancient astronomers make no mention of Giedi
+being composed of two stars, and the reason is plain, when it
+is known that in the time of Hipparchus, as Flammarion has
+pointed out, their distance apart was not more than two
+thirds as great as it is at present, so that the naked eye
+could not have detected the fact that there were two of
+them; and it was not until the seventeenth century that they
+got far enough asunder to begin to be separated by eyes of
+unusual power. With an ordinary opera-glass they are
+thrown well apart, and present a very pretty sight. Considering
+the manner in which these stars are separating, the
+fact that both of them have several faint companions, which
+our powerful telescopes reveal, becomes all the more interesting.
+A suggestion of Sir John Herschel, concerning one
+of these faint companions, that it shines by reflected light,
+adds to the interest, for if the suggestion is well founded the
+little star must, of course, be actually a planet, and granting
+that, then some of the other faint points of light seen there
+are probably planets too. It must be said that the probabilities
+are against Herschel's suggestion. The faint stars
+more likely shine with their own light. Even so, however,
+these two systems, which apparently have met and are passing
+one another, at a distance small as compared with the
+space that separates them from us, possess a peculiar interest,
+like two celestial fleets that have spoken one another in the
+midst of the ocean of space.</p>
+
+<p>The star Beta, or Dabih, is also a double star. The com<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[66]</a></span>panion
+is of a beautiful blue color, generally described as
+"sky-blue." It is of the seventh magnitude, while the larger
+star is of magnitude three and a half. The latter is golden-yellow.
+The blue of the small star can be seen with either
+an opera- or a field-glass, but it requires careful looking and
+a clear and steady atmosphere. I recollect discovering the
+color of this star with a field-glass, and exclaiming to myself,
+"Why, the little one is as blue as a bluebell!" before I
+knew that that was its hue as seen with a telescope. Trying
+my opera-glass upon it I found that the color was even more
+distinct, although the small star was then more or less enveloped
+in the yellow rays of the large one. The distance
+between the two stars in Dabih is nearly the same as that
+between the components of &#949; Lyr&aelig;, and the comparative
+difficulty of separating them is an instructive example of the
+effect of a large star in concealing a small one close beside
+it. The two stars in &#949; Lyr&aelig; are of nearly equal brightness,
+and are very easily separated and distinguished, but in &#946;
+Capricorni, or Dabih, one star is about twenty times as bright
+as the other, and consequently the fainter star is almost concealed
+in the glare of its more brilliant neighbor.</p>
+
+<p>With the most powerful glass at your disposal, sweep
+from the star Zeta (&#950;) eastward a distance somewhat greater
+than that separating Alpha and Beta, and you will find a
+fifth-magnitude star beside a little nebulous spot. This is the
+cluster known as 30 M, one of those sun-swarms that overwhelm
+the mind of the contemplative observer with astonishment,
+and especially remarkable in this case for the apparent
+vacancy of the heavens immediately surrounding the cluster,
+as if all the stars in that neighborhood had been drawn into
+the great assemblage, leaving a void around it. Of course,
+with the instrument that our observer is supposed to be
+using, merely the <i>existence</i> of this solar throng can be detected;
+but, if he sees that it is there, he may be led to provide
+himself with a telescope capable of revealing its glories.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[67]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Admiral Smyth remarks that, "although Capricorn is not
+a striking object, it has been the very pet of all constellations
+with astrologers," and he quotes from an old almanac of the
+year 1386, that "whoso is borne in Capcorn schal be ryche
+and wel lufyd." The mythological account of the constellation
+is that it represents the goat into which Pan was turned
+in order to escape from the giant Typhon, who once on a time
+scared all the gods out of their wits, and caused them to
+change themselves into animals, even Jupiter assuming the
+form of a ram. According to some authorities, Piscis Australis
+represents the fish into which Venus changed herself
+on that interesting occasion.</p>
+
+<p>Directly above Piscis Australis, and to the east or left of
+Capricorn, the map shows the constellation of Aquarius, or the
+Water-Bearer. Some say this commemorates Ganymede, the
+cup-bearer of the gods. It is represented in old star-maps by
+the figure of a young man pouring water from an urn. The
+star Alpha (&#945;) marks his right shoulder, and Beta (&#946;) his left,
+and Gamma (&#947;), Zeta (&#950;), Eta (&#951;), and Pi (&#960;) indicate his right
+hand and the urn. From this group a current of small stars
+will be recognized, sweeping downward with a curve toward
+the east, and ending at Fomalhaut; this represents the water
+poured from the urn, which the Southern Fish appears to be
+drinking. In fact, according to the pictures in the old maps,
+the fish succeeds in swallowing the stream completely, and it
+vanishes from the sky in the act of entering his distended
+mouth! It is worthy of remark that in Greek, Latin, and
+Arabic this constellation bears names all of which signify "a
+man pouring water." The ancient Egyptians imagined that
+the setting of Aquarius caused the rising of the Nile, as he
+sank his huge urn in the river to fill it. Alpha Aquarii was
+called by the Arabs Sadalmelik, which is interpreted to mean
+the "king's lucky star," but whether it proved itself a lucky
+star in war or in love, and what particular king enjoyed its
+benign influence and recorded his gratitude in its name, we<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[68]</a></span>
+are not informed. Thus, at every step, we find how shreds of
+history and bits of superstition are entangled among the
+stars. Surely, humanity has been reflected in the heavens
+as lastingly as it has impressed itself upon the earth.</p>
+
+<p>Starting from the group of stars just described as forming
+the Water-Bearer's urn, follow with a glass the winding
+stream of small stars that represent the water. Several very
+pretty and striking assemblages of stars will be encountered
+in its course. The star Tau (&#964;) is double and presents a beautiful
+contrast of color, one star being white and the other
+reddish-orange&mdash;two solar systems, it may be, apparently
+neighbors as seen from the earth, in one of which daylight is
+white and in the other red!</p>
+
+<p>Point a good glass upon the star marked Nu (&#957;), and you
+will see, somewhat less than a degree and a half to the west
+of it, what appears to be a faint star of between the seventh
+and eighth magnitudes. You will have to look sharp to see
+it. It is with your mind's eye that you must gaze, in order
+to perceive the wonder here hidden in the depths of space.
+That faint speck is a nebula, unrivaled for interest by many
+of the larger and more conspicuous objects of that kind.
+Lord Rosse's great telescope has shown that in form it resembles
+the planet Saturn; in other words, that it consists
+apparently of a ball surrounded by a ring. But the spectroscope
+proves that it is a gaseous mass, and the micrometer&mdash;supposing
+its distance to be equal to that of the stars, and
+we have no reason to think it less&mdash;that it must be large
+enough to fill the whole space included within the orbit of
+Neptune! Here, then, as has been said, we seem to behold
+a genesis in the heavens. If Laplace's nebular hypothesis,
+or any of the modifications of that hypothesis, represents the
+process of formation of a solar system, then we may fairly
+conclude that such a process is now actually in operation in
+this nebula in Aquarius, where a vast ring of nebulous matter
+appears to have separated off from the spherical mass<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[69]</a></span>
+within it. This may not be the true explanation of what we
+see there, but, whatever the explanation is, there can be no
+question of the high significance of this nebula, whose shape
+proclaims unmistakably the operation of great metamorphic
+forces there. Of course, with his insignificant optical means,
+our observer can see nothing of the strange form of this
+object, the detection of which requires the aid of the most
+powerful telescopes, but it is much to know where that unfinished
+creation lies, and to see it, even though diminished
+by distance to a mere speck of light.</p>
+
+<p>Turn your glass upon the star shown in the map just
+above Mu (&#956;) and Epsilon (&#949;). You will find an attractive
+arrangement of small stars in its neighborhood. The star
+marked 104 is double to the naked eye, and the row of stars
+below it is well worth looking at. The star Delta (&#948;) indicates
+the place where, in 1756, Tobias Mayer narrowly escaped
+making a discovery that would have anticipated that which
+a quarter of a century later made the name of Sir William
+Herschel world-renowned. The planet Uranus passed near
+Delta in 1756, and Tobias Mayer saw it, but it moved so
+slowly that he took it for a fixed star, never suspecting that
+his eyes had rested upon a member of the solar system whose
+existence was, up to that time, unknown to the inhabitants of
+Adam's planet.</p>
+
+<p>Above Aquarius you will find the constellation Pegasus.
+It is conspicuously marked by four stars of about the second
+magnitude, which shine at the corners of a large square,
+called the Great Square of Pegasus. This figure is some fifteen
+degrees square, and at once attracts the eye, there being
+few stars visible within the quadrilateral, and no large ones
+in the immediate neighborhood to distract attention from it.
+One of the four stars, however, as will be seen by consulting
+Map 15, does not belong to Pegasus, but to the constellation
+Andromeda. Mythologically, this constellation represents
+the celebrated winged horse of antiquity:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[70]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="poem"><p class="noin">
+"Now heaven his further wandering flight confines,<br />
+Where, splendid with his numerous stars, he shines."
+</p></div>
+
+<p>The star Alpha (&#945;) is called Markab; Beta (&#946;) is Scheat,
+and Gamma (&#947;) is Algenib; the fourth star in the square,
+belonging to Andromeda, is called Alpheratz. Although
+Pegasus presents a striking appearance to the unassisted eye,
+on account of its great square, it contains little to attract the
+observer with an opera-glass. It will prove interesting, however,
+to sweep with the glass carefully over the space within
+the square, which is comparatively barren to the naked eye,
+but in which many small stars will be revealed, of whose existence
+the naked-eye observer would be unaware. The star
+marked Pi (&#960;) is an interesting double, which can be separated
+by a good eye without artificial aid, and which, with an
+opera-glass, presents a fine appearance.</p>
+
+<p>And now we come to Map No. 16, representing the constellations
+Cetus, Pisces, Aries, and the Triangles. In consulting
+it the observer is supposed to face the southeast.
+Cetus is a very large constellation, and from the peculiar conformation
+of its principal stars it can be readily recognized.
+The head is to the east, the star Alpha (&#945;), called Menkar,
+being in the nose of this imaginary inhabitant of the sky-depths.
+The constellation is supposed to represent the monster
+that, according to fable, was sent by Neptune to devour
+the fair Andromeda, but whose bloodthirsty design was happily
+and gallantly frustrated by Perseus, as we shall learn
+from starry mythology further on.</p>
+
+<p>Although bearing the name Cetus, the Whale, the pictures
+of the constellation in the old maps do not present us
+with the form of a whale, but that of a most extraordinary
+scaly creature with enormous jaws filled with large teeth, a
+forked tongue, fore-paws armed with gigantic claws, and a
+long, crooked, and dangerous-looking tail. Indeed, Aratus
+does not call it a "whale," but a "sea-monster," and Dr.
+Seiss would have us believe that it was intended to represent<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[71]</a></span>
+the leviathan, whose terrible prowess is celebrated in the
+book of Job.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 768px;">
+<img src="images/071-illus.jpg" width="768" height="804" alt="Map 16." title="" />
+<span class="caption">Map 16.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>By far the most interesting object in Cetus is the star
+Mira. This is a famous variable&mdash;a sun that sometimes
+shines a thousand-fold more brilliantly than at others! It
+changes from the second magnitude to the ninth or tenth, its
+period from maximum to maximum being about eleven
+months. During about five months of that time it is completely
+invisible to the naked eye; then it begins to appear<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[72]</a></span>
+again, slowly increasing in brightness for some three months,
+until it shines as a star of the second magnitude, being then
+as bright as, if not brighter than, the most brilliant stars in
+the constellation. It retains this brilliance for about two
+weeks, and then begins to fade again, and, within three
+months, once more disappears. There are various irregularities
+in its changes, which render its exact period somewhat
+uncertain, and it does not always attain the same degree of
+brightness at its maximum. For instance, in 1779, Mira was
+almost equal in brilliance to a first-magnitude star, but frequently
+at its greatest brightness it is hardly equal to an
+ordinary star of the second magnitude. By the aid of our
+little map you will readily be able to find it. You will perceive
+that it has a slightly reddish tint. Watch it from one
+of its maxima, and you will see it gradually fade from sight
+until, at last, only the blackness of the empty sky appears
+where, a few months before, a conspicuous star was visible.
+Keep watch of that spot, and in due course you will perceive
+Mira shining there again&mdash;a mere speck, but slowly brightening&mdash;and
+in three months more the wonderful star will blaze
+again with renewed splendor.</p>
+
+<p>Knowing that our own sun is a variable star&mdash;though variable
+only to a slight degree, its variability being due to the
+spots that appear upon its surface in a period of about eleven
+years&mdash;we possess some light that may be cast upon the mystery
+of Mira's variations. It seems not improbable that, in
+the case of Mira, the surface of the star at the maximum of
+spottedness is covered to an enormously greater extent than
+occurs during our own sun-spot maxima, so that the light of
+the star, instead of being merely dimmed to an almost imperceptible
+extent, as with our sun, is almost blotted out.
+When the star blazes with unwonted splendor, as in 1779, we
+may fairly assume that the pent-up forces of this perishing
+sun have burst forth, as in a desperate struggle against extinction.
+But nothing can prevail against the slow, remorse<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[73]</a></span>less,
+unswerving progress of that obscuration, which comes
+from the leaking away of the solar heat, and which constitutes
+what we may call the death of a sun. And that word
+seems peculiarly appropriate to describe the end of a body
+which, during its period of visible existence, not only presents
+the highest type of physical activity, but is the parent
+and supporter of all forms of life upon the planets that surround
+it.</p>
+
+<p>We might even go so far as to say that possibly Mira
+presents to us an example of what our sun will be in the
+course of time, as the dead and barren moon shows us, as in
+a magician's glass, the approaching fate of the earth. Fortunately,
+human life is a mere span in comparison with the
+&aelig;ons of cosmic existence, and so we need have no fear that
+either we or our descendants for thousands of generations
+shall have to play the tragic <i>r&ocirc;le</i> of Campbell's "Last Man,"
+and endeavor to keep up a stout heart amid the crash of time
+by meanly boasting to the perishing sun, whose rays have
+nurtured us, that, though his proud race is ended, we have
+confident anticipations of immortality. I trust that, when
+man makes his exit from this terrestrial stage, it will not be
+in the contemptible act of kicking a fallen benefactor.</p>
+
+<p>There are several other variable stars in Cetus, but none
+possessing much interest for us. The observer should look
+at the group of stars in the head, where he will find some interesting
+combinations, and also at Chi, which is the little star
+shown in the map near Zeta (&#950;). This is a double that will
+serve as a very good test of eye and instrument, the smaller
+companion-star being of only seven and a half magnitude.</p>
+
+<p>Directly above Cetus is the long, straggling constellation
+of Pisces, the Fishes. The Northern Fish is represented by
+the group of stars near Andromeda and the Triangles. A
+long band or ribbon, supposed to bind the fish together, trends
+thence first southeast and then west until it joins a group of
+stars under Pegasus, which represents the Western Fish, not<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[74]</a></span>
+to be confounded with the Southern Fish described near the
+beginning of this chapter, which is a separate constellation.
+Fable has, however, somewhat confounded these fishes; for
+while, as I have remarked above, the Southern Fish is said
+to represent Venus after she had turned herself into a fish to
+escape from the giant Typhon, the two fishes of the constellation
+we are now dealing with are also fabled to represent
+Venus and her interesting son Cupid under the same disguise
+assumed on precisely the same occasion. If Typhon, however,
+was so great a brute that even Cupid's arrows were of
+no avail against him, we should, perhaps, excuse mythology
+for duplicating the record of so wondrous an event.</p>
+
+<p>You will find it very interesting to take your glass and,
+beginning with the attractive little group in the Northern
+Fish, follow the windings of the ribbon, with its wealth of
+tiny stars, to the Western Fish. When you have arrived at
+that point, sweep well over the sky in that neighborhood, and
+particularly around and under the stars Iota (&#953;), Theta (&#952;),
+Lambda (&#955;), and Kappa (&#954;). If you are using a powerful
+glass, you will be surprised and delighted by what you see.
+Below the star Omega (&#969;), and to the left of Lambda, is the
+place which the sun occupies at the time of the spring equinox&mdash;in
+other words, one of the two crossing-places of the
+equinoctial or the equator of the heavens, and the ecliptic, or
+the sun's path. The prime meridian of the heavens passes
+through this point. You can trace out this great circle, from
+which astronomical longitudes are reckoned, by drawing an
+imaginary line from the equinoctial point just indicated
+through &#945; in Andromeda and &#946; in Cassiopeia to the pole-star.</p>
+
+<p>To the left of Pisces, and above the head of Cetus, is the
+constellation Aries, or the Ram. Two pretty bright stars,
+four degrees apart, one of which has a fainter star near it,
+mark it out plainly to the eye. These stars are in the head
+of the Ram. The brightest one, Alpha (&#945;), is called Hamal;<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[75]</a></span>
+Beta (&#946;) is named Sheratan; and its fainter neighbor is Mesarthim.
+According to fable, this constellation represents the
+ram that wore the golden fleece, which was the object of the
+celebrated expedition of the Argonauts. There is not much
+in the constellation to interest us, except its historical importance,
+as it was more than two thousand years ago the leading
+constellation of the zodiac, and still stands first in the list of
+the zodiacal signs. Owing to the precession of the equinoxes,
+however, the vernal equinoctial point, which was formerly in
+this constellation, has now advanced into the constellation
+Pisces, as we saw above. Gamma (&#947;), Arietis, is interesting as
+the first telescopic double star ever discovered. Its duplicity
+was detected by Dr. Hooke while watching the passage of a
+comet near the star in 1664. Singularly enough, the brightest
+star in the constellation, now bearing the letter &#945;, originally
+did not belong to the constellation. Tycho Brahe finally
+placed it in the head of Aries.</p>
+
+<p>The little constellation of the Triangles, just above Aries,
+is worth only a passing notice. Insignificant as it appears,
+this little group is a very ancient constellation. It received
+its name, Deltoton, from the Greek letter &#916;.</p>
+
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 768px;">
+<img src="images/076-illus.jpg" width="768" height="1021" alt="Map 17." title="" />
+<span class="caption">Map 17.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The reader must now be introduced to the "Royal Family."
+Although the story of Perseus and Andromeda is, of course,
+well known to nearly all readers, yet, on account of the great
+beauty and brilliancy of the group of constellations that perpetuate
+the memory of it among the stars, it is worth recalling
+here. It will be remembered that, as Perseus was returning
+through the air from his conquest of the Gorgon Medusa,
+he saw the beautiful Andromeda chained to a rock on the
+sea-coast, waiting to be devoured by a sea-monster. The
+poor girl's only offense was that her mother, Cassiopeia, had
+boasted for her that she was fairer than the sea-beauty,
+Atergatis, and for this Neptune had decreed that all the
+land of the Ethiopians should be drowned and destroyed
+unless Andromeda was delivered up as a sacrifice to the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[76]</a></span>
+dreadful sea-monster. When Perseus, dropping down to
+learn why this maiden was chained to the rocks, heard from
+Andromeda's lips the story of her woes, he laughed with<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[77]</a></span>
+joy. Here was an adventure just to his liking, and besides,
+unlike his previous adventures, it involved the fate of a beautiful
+woman with whom he was already in love. Could he
+save her? Well, wouldn't he! The sea-monster might frighten
+a kingdom full of Ethiops, but it could not shake the
+nerves of a hero from Greece. He whispered words of encouragement
+to Andromeda, who could scarce believe the
+good news that a champion had come to defend her after all
+her friends and royal relations had deserted her. Neither
+could she feel much confidence in her young champion's powers
+when suddenly her horrified gaze met the awful leviathan
+of the deep advancing to his feast! But Perseus, with a
+warning to Andromeda not to look at what he was about to
+do, sprang with his winged sandals up into the air. And
+then, as Charles Kingsley has so beautifully told the story&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"On came the great sea-monster, coasting along like a
+huge black galley, lazily breasting the ripple, and stopping at
+times by creek or headland to watch for the laughter of girls
+at their bleaching, or cattle pawing on the sand-hills, or boys
+bathing on the beach. His great sides were fringed with
+clustering shells and sea-weeds, and the water gurgled in and
+out of his wide jaws as he rolled along, dripping and glistening
+in the beams of the morning sun. At last he saw Andromeda,
+and shot forward to take his prey, while the waves
+foamed white behind him, and before him the fish fled leaping.</p>
+
+<p>"Then down from the height of the air fell Perseus like a
+shooting-star&mdash;down to the crest of the waves, while Andromeda
+hid her face as he shouted. And then there was silence
+for a while.</p>
+
+<p>"At last she looked up trembling, and saw Perseus
+springing toward her; and, instead of the monster, a long,
+black rock, with the sea rippling quietly round it."</p>
+
+<p>Perseus had turned the monster into stone by holding the
+blood-freezing head of Medusa before his eyes; and it was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[78]</a></span>
+fear lest Andromeda herself might see the Gorgon's head, and
+suffer the fate of all who looked upon it, that had led him to
+forbid her watching him when he attacked her enemy.
+Afterward he married her, and Cassiopeia, Andromeda's
+mother, and Cepheus, her father, gave their daughter's rescuer
+a royal welcome, and all the Ethiops rose up and blessed
+him for ridding the land of the monster. And now, if we
+choose, we can, any fair night, see the principal characters of
+this old romance shining in starry garb in the sky. Aratus
+saw them there in his day, more than two hundred years before
+Christ, and has left this description in his "Skies," as
+translated by Poste:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><p class="noin">
+"Nor shall blank silence whelm the harassed house<br />
+Of Cepheus; the high heavens know their name,<br />
+For Zeus is in their line at few removes.<br />
+Cepheus himself by She-bear Cynosure,<br />
+Iasid king stands with uplifted arms.<br />
+From his belt thou castest not a glance<br />
+To see the first spire of the mighty Dragon.<br />
+<br />
+"Eastward from him, heaven-troubled queen, with scanty stars<br />
+But lustrous in the full-mooned night, sits Cassiopeia.<br />
+Not numerous nor double-rowed<br />
+The gems that deck her form,<br />
+But like a key which through an inward-fastened<br />
+Folding-door men thrust to knock aside the bolts,<br />
+They shine in single zigzag row.<br />
+She, too, o'er narrow shoulders stretching<br />
+Uplifted hands, seems wailing for her child.<br />
+<br />
+"For there, a woful statue-form, is seen<br />
+Andromeda, parted from her mother's side. Long I trow<br />
+Thou wilt not seek her in the nightly sky,<br />
+So bright her head, so bright<br />
+Her shoulders, feet, and girdle.<br />
+Yet even there she has her arms extended,<br />
+And shackled even in heaven; uplifted,<br />
+Outspread eternally are those fair hands.<br />
+<br />
+"Her feet point to her bridegroom<br />
+Perseus, on whose shoulder they rest.<br />
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[79]</a></span>He in the north-wind stands gigantic,<br />
+His right hand stretched toward the throne<br />
+Where sits the mother of his bride. As one bent on some high deed,<br />
+Dust-stained he strides over the floor of heaven."<br />
+</p></div>
+
+<p>The makers of old star-maps seem to have vied in the
+effort to represent with effect the figures of Andromeda,
+Perseus, and Cassiopeia among the stars, and it must be admitted
+that some of them succeeded in giving no small degree
+of life and spirit to their sketches.</p>
+
+<p>The starry riches of these constellations are well matched
+with their high mythological repute. Lying in and near the
+Milky-Way, they are particularly interesting to the observer
+with an opera-glass. Besides, they include several of the
+most celebrated wonders of the firmament.</p>
+
+<p>In consulting Map No. 17, the observer is supposed to
+face the east and northeast. We will begin our survey with
+Andromeda. The three chief stars of this constellation are of
+the second magnitude, and lie in a long, bending row, beginning
+with Alpha (&#945;), or Alpheratz, in the head, which, as we
+have seen, marks one corner of the great Square of Pegasus.
+Beta (&#946;), or Mirach, with the smaller stars Mu (&#956;) and Nu (&#957;),
+form the girdle. The third of the chief stars is Gamma (&#947;),
+or Almaach, situated in the left foot. The little group of
+stars designated Lambda (&#955;), Kappa (&#954;), and Iota (&#953;), mark the
+extended right hand chained to the rock, and Zeta (&#950;) and
+some smaller stars southwest of it show the left arm and
+hand, also stretched forth and shackled.</p>
+
+<p>In searching for picturesque objects in Andromeda, begin
+with Alpheratz and the groups forming the hands. Below
+the girdle will be seen a rather remarkable arrangement of
+small stars in the mouth of the Northern Fish. Now follow
+up the line of the girdle to the star Nu (&#957;). If your glass has
+a pretty wide field, your eye will immediately catch the glimmer
+of the Great Nebula of Andromeda in the same field<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[80]</a></span>
+with the star. This is the oldest or earliest discovered of
+the nebul&aelig;, and, with the exception of that in Orion, is
+the grandest visible in this hemisphere. Of course, not
+much can be expected of an opera-glass in viewing such
+an object; and yet a good glass, in clear weather and the
+absence of the moon, makes a very attractive spectacle
+of it.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 768px;">
+<img src="images/080-illus.jpg" width="768" height="817" alt="The Great Andromeda Nebula." title="" />
+<span class="caption">The Great Andromeda Nebula.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>By turning the eyes aside, the nebula can be seen, extended
+as a faint, wispy light, much elongated on either side
+of the brighter nucleus.
+The cut here
+given shows, approximately,
+the appearance
+of the nebula,
+together with some of
+the small stars in its
+neighborhood, as seen
+with a field-glass.
+With large telescopes
+it appears both larger
+and broader, expanding
+to a truly enormous
+extent, and in
+Bond's celebrated picture
+of it we behold
+gigantic rifts running lengthwise, while the whole field of
+sky in which it is contained appears sprinkled over with
+minute stars apparently between us and the nebula. It
+was in, or, probably more properly speaking, in line with,
+this nebula that a new star suddenly shone out in 1885,
+and, after flickering and fading for a few months, disappeared.
+That the outburst of light in this star had any
+real connection with the nebula is exceedingly improbable.
+Although it appeared to be close beside the bright nucleus of
+the nebula, it is likely that it was really hundreds or thou<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[81]</a></span>sands
+of millions of miles either this side or the other side of
+it. Why it should suddenly have blazed into visibility, and
+then in so short a time have disappeared, is a question as
+difficult as it is interesting. The easiest way to account for
+it, if not the most satisfactory, is to assume that it is a variable
+star of long period, and possessing a very wide range of
+variability. One significant fact that would seem to point
+to some connection between star and the nebula, after all,
+is that a similar occurrence was noticed in the constellation
+Scorpio in 1860, and to which I have previously referred (see
+Chapter II). In that case a faint star projected against the
+background of a nebula, suddenly flamed into comparatively
+great brilliance, and then faded again. The chances against
+the accidental superposition of a variable star of such extreme
+variability upon a known nebula occurring twice are so
+great that, for that reason alone, we might be justified in
+thinking some mysterious causal relation must in each case
+exist between the nebula and the star. The temptation to indulge
+in speculation is very great here, but it is better to
+wait for more light, and confess that for the present these
+things are inexplicable.</p>
+
+<p>It will be found very interesting to sweep with the glass
+slowly from side to side over Andromeda, gradually approaching
+toward Cassiopeia or Perseus. The increase in the
+richness of the stratum of faint stars that apparently forms
+the background of the sky will be clearly discernible as you
+approach the Milky-Way, which passes directly through
+Cassiopeia and Perseus. It may be remarked that the Milky-Way
+itself, in that splendidly rich region about Sagittarius
+(described in the "Stars of Summer"), is not nearly so effective
+an object with an opera-glass as it is above Cygnus and in
+the region with which we are now dealing. This seems to be
+owing to the smaller magnitude of its component stars in the
+southern part of the stream. There the background appears
+more truly "milky," while in the northern region the little<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[82]</a></span>
+stars shine distinct, like diamond-specks, on a black background.</p>
+
+<p>The star Nu, which serves as a pointer to the Great Nebula,
+is itself worth some attention with a pretty strong glass
+on account of a pair of small stars near it.</p>
+
+<p>The star Gamma (&#947;) is interesting, not only as one of the
+most beautiful triples in the heavens (an opera-glass is far too
+feeble an instrument to reveal its companions), but because it
+serves to indicate the radiant point of the Biela meteors.
+There was once a comet well known to astronomers by the
+name of its discoverer, Biela. It repeated its visits to the
+neighborhood of the sun once in every six or seven years.
+In 1846 this comet astonished all observers by splitting into
+two comets, which continued to run side by side, like two
+equal racers, in their course around the sun. Each developed
+a tail of its own. In 1852, when the twin comets were due
+again, the astronomical world was on the <i>qui vive</i>, and they
+did not disappoint expectation, for back they came out of the
+depths of space, still racing, but much farther apart than
+they had been before, alternating in brightness as if the long
+struggle had nearly exhausted them, and finally, like spent
+runners, growing faint and disappearing. They have never
+been seen since.</p>
+
+<p>In 1872, when the comets should have been visible, if they
+still existed, a very startling thing happened. Out of the
+northern heavens, along the track of the missing comets,
+where the earth crossed it, on the night of the 27th of November
+came glistening and dashing the fiery spray of a storm of
+meteors. It was the dust and fragments of the lost comet of
+Biela, which, after being split in two in 1852, had evidently
+continued the process of disintegration until its cometary
+character was completely lost. It seems to have made a truly
+ghostly exit, for right after the meteor swarm of 1872 a mysterious
+cometary body was seen, which was supposed at the
+time to be the missing comet itself, and which, it is not alto<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[83]</a></span>gether
+improbable, may have been a fragment of it. Three
+days after the meteors burst over Europe, it occurred to Professor
+Klinkerfues, of Berlin, that if they came from Biela's
+comet the comet itself ought to be seen in the southern
+hemisphere retreating from its encounter with the earth. On
+November 30th he sent his now historical telegram to Mr.
+Pogson, an astronomer at Madras; "Biela touched earth November
+27th. Search near Theta Centauri." For thirty-six
+hours after the receipt of this extraordinary request Mr. Pogson
+was prevented by clouds from scanning the heavens with
+his telescope. When the sky cleared at last, behold there
+was a comet in the place indicated in the telegram! It was
+glimpsed again the next night, and then clouds intervened,
+and not a trace of it was ever seen afterward.</p>
+
+<p>But every year, on the 27th of November, when the earth
+crosses the orbit of the lost comet, meteoric fragments come
+plunging into our atmosphere, burning as they fly. Ordinarily
+their number is small, but when, as in 1872, a swarm of
+the meteors is in that part of their orbit which the earth
+crosses, there is a brilliant spectacle. In 1885 this occurred,
+and the world was treated to one of the most splendid meteoric
+displays on record.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 768px;">
+<img src="images/084-illus.jpg" width="768" height="974" alt="The Attendants of Alpha Persei." title="" />
+<span class="caption">The Attendants of Alpha Persei.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Next let us turn to Perseus. The bending row of stars
+marking the center of this constellation is very striking and
+brilliant. The brightest star in the constellation is Alpha, or
+Algenib, in the center of the row. The head of Perseus is
+toward Cassiopeia, and in his left hand he grasps the head of
+Medusa, which hangs down in such a way that its principal
+star Beta, or Algol, forms a right angle with Algenib and
+Almaach in Andromeda. This star Algol, or the Demon, as
+the Arabs call it, is in some respects the most wonderful and
+interesting in all the heavens. It is as famous for the variability
+of its light as Mira, but it differs widely from that star
+both in its period, which is very short, and in the extent of
+the changes it undergoes. During about two days and a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[84]</a></span>
+half, Algol is equal in brilliance to Algenib, which is a second-magnitude
+star; then it begins to fade, and in the course
+of about four and a half hours it sinks to the fourth magnitude,
+being then about equal to the faint stars near it. It
+remains thus obscured for only a few minutes, and then begins
+to brighten again, and in about four and a half hours
+more resumes its former brilliance. This phenomenon is very
+easily observed, for, as will be seen by consulting our little
+map, Algol can be readily found, and its changes are so rapid
+that under favorable circumstances it can be seen in the
+course of a single night to run through the whole gamut.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[85]</a></span>
+Of course, no optical instrument whatever is needed to enable
+one to see these changes of Algol, for it is plainly visible to
+the naked eye throughout, but it will be found interesting to
+watch the star with an opera-glass. Its periodic time from
+minimum to minimum is two days, twenty hours, and forty-nine
+minutes, lacking a few seconds. Any one can calculate
+future minima for himself by adding the periodic time above
+given to the time of any observed minimum.</p>
+
+<p>While spots upon its surface may be the cause of the
+variations in the light of Mira, it is believed that the more
+rapid changes of Algol may be due to another cause; namely,
+the existence of a huge, dark body revolving swiftly around
+it at close quarters in an orbit whose plane is directed edgewise
+toward the earth, so that at regular intervals this dark
+body causes a partial eclipse of Algol. Notwithstanding the
+attacks that have been made upon this theory, it seems to
+hold its ground, and it will probably continue to find favor
+as a working hypothesis until some fresh light is cast upon
+the problem. It hardly needs to be said that the dark body
+in question, if it exists, must be of enormous size, bearing
+no such insignificant proportion to the size of Algol as the
+earth does to the sun, but being rather the rival in bulk of
+its shining brother&mdash;a blind companion, an extinguished sun.</p>
+
+<p>There was certainly great fitness in the selection of the
+little group of stars of which this mysterious Algol forms the
+most conspicuous member, to represent the awful head of the
+Gorgon carried by the victorious Perseus for the confusion of
+his enemies. In a darker age than ours the winking of this
+demon-star must have seemed a prodigy of sinister import.</p>
+
+<p>Turn now to the bright star Algenib, or Alpha Persei.
+You will find with the glass an exceedingly attractive spectacle
+there. In my note-book I find this entry, made while
+sweeping over Perseus for materials for this chapter: "The
+field about Alpha is one of the finest in the sky for an opera-glass.
+Stars conspicuously ranged in curving lines and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[86]</a></span>
+streams. A host follows Alpha from the east and south."
+The picture on page 84 will give the reader some notion of
+the exceeding beauty of this field of stars, and of the singular
+manner in which they are grouped, as it were, behind their
+leader. A field-glass increases the beauty of the scene.</p>
+
+<p>The reader will find a starry cluster marked on Map 17 as
+the "Great Cluster." This object can be easily detected by
+the naked eye, resembling a wisp of luminous cloud. It
+marks the hand in which Perseus clasps his diamond sword,
+and, with a telescope of medium power, it is one of the most
+marvelously beautiful objects in the sky&mdash;a double swarm of
+stars, bright enough to be clearly distinguished from one another,
+and yet so numerous as to dazzle the eye with their
+lively beams. An opera-glass does not possess sufficient
+power to "resolve" this cluster, but it gives a startling suggestion
+of its half-hidden magnificence, and the observer will
+be likely to turn to it again and again with increasing admiration.
+Sweep from this to Alpha Persei and beyond to get
+an idea of the procession of suns in the Milky-Way. The
+nebulous-looking cluster marked 34 M appears with an opera-glass
+like a faint comet.</p>
+
+<p>About a thousand years ago the theologians undertook to
+reconstruct the constellation figures, and to give them a religious
+significance. They divided the zodiac up among the
+twelve apostles, St. Peter taking the place of Aries, with the
+Triangles for his mitre. In this reconstruction Perseus was
+transmogrified into St. Paul, armed with a sword in one hand
+and a book in the other; Cassiopeia became Mary Magdalene;
+while poor Andromeda, stripped of all her beauty and
+romance, was turned into a sepulchre!</p>
+
+<p>Next look at Cassiopeia, which is distinctly marked out
+by the zigzag row of stars so well described by Aratus. Here
+the Milky-Way is so rich that the observer hardly needs any
+guidance; he is sure to stumble upon interesting sights for
+himself. The five brightest stars are generally represented as<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[87]</a></span>
+indicating the outlines of the chair or throne in which the
+queen sits, the star Zeta (&#950;) being in her head. Look at Zeta
+with a good field-glass, and you will see a singular and brilliant
+array of stars near it in a broken half-circle, which may
+suggest the notion of a crown. Near the little star Kappa (&#954;)
+in the map will be seen a small circle and the figures 1572.
+This shows the spot where the famous temporary star, which
+has of late been frequently referred to as the "Star of Bethlehem,"
+appeared. It was seen in 1572, and carefully observed
+by the famous astronomer Tycho Brahe. It seems to
+have suddenly burst forth with a brilliance that outshone
+every other star in the heavens, not excepting Sirius itself.
+But its supremacy was short-lived. In a few months it had
+sunk to the second magnitude. It continued to grow fainter,
+exhibiting some remarkable changes of color in the mean
+time, and in less than a year and a half it disappeared. It
+has never been seen since. But in 1264, and again in 945,
+a star is said to have suddenly blazed out near that point in
+the heavens. There is no certainty about these earlier apparitions,
+but, assuming that they are not apocryphal, they
+might possibly indicate that the star seen by Tycho was a
+periodical one, its period considerably exceeding three hundred
+years. Carrying this supposed period back, it was
+found that an apparition of this star might have occurred
+about the time of the birth of Christ. It did not require a
+very prolific imagination to suggest its identity with the so-called
+star of the Magi, and hence the legend of the Star of
+Bethlehem and its impending reappearance, of which we have
+heard so much of late. It will be observed, from the dates
+given above, that, even supposing them to be correct, no definite
+period is indicated for the reappearance of the star. In
+one case the interval is three hundred and eight years, and in
+the other three hundred and nineteen years. In short, there
+are too many suppositions and assumptions involved to allow
+of any credence being given to the theory of the periodicity<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[88]</a></span>
+of Tycho's wonderful star. At the same time, nobody can
+say it is impossible that the star should appear again, and so
+it may be interesting for the reader to know where to look
+for it.</p>
+
+<p>Many of the most beautiful sights of this splendid constellation
+are beyond the reach of an opera-glass, and reserved
+for the grander powers of the telescope.</p>
+
+<p>We will pause but briefly with Cepheus, for the old king's
+constellation is comparatively dim in the heavens, as his part
+in the dramatic story of Andromeda was contemptible, and
+he seems to have got among the stars only by virtue of his
+relationship to more interesting persons. He does possess
+one gem of singular beauty&mdash;the star Mu, which may be
+found about two and a half degrees south of the star Nu (&#957;).
+It is the so-called "Garnet Star," thus named by William
+Herschel, who advises the observer, in order to appreciate its
+color, to glance from it to Alpha Cephei, which is a white
+star. Mu is variable, changing from the fourth to the sixth
+magnitude in a long period of five or six years. Its color is
+changeable, like its light. Sometimes it is of a deep garnet
+hue, and at other times it is orange-colored. Upon the whole,
+it appears of a deeper red than any other star visible to the
+naked eye.</p>
+
+<p>If you have a good field-glass, try its powers upon the star
+Delta (&#948;) Cephei. This is a double star, the components being
+about forty-one seconds of arc apart, the larger of four and
+one half magnitude, and the smaller of the seventh magnitude.
+The latter is of a beautiful blue color, while the larger
+star is yellow or orange. With a good eye, a steady hand,
+and a clear glass, magnifying not less than six diameters, you
+can separate them, and catch the contrasted tints of their
+light. Besides being a double star, Delta is variable.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 80%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[89]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IV" id="CHAPTER_IV"></a>CHAPTER IV.</h2>
+
+<h3>THE STARS OF WINTER.</h3>
+
+
+<p>I have never beheld the first indications of the rising of
+Orion without a peculiar feeling of awakened expectation,
+like that of one who sees the curtain rise upon a drama of
+absorbing interest. And certainly the magnificent company
+of the winter constellations, of which Orion is the chief, make
+their entrance upon the scene in a manner that may be described
+as almost dramatic. First in the east come the world-renowned
+Pleiades. At about the same time Capella, one of
+the most beautiful of stars, is seen flashing above the northeastern
+horizon. These are the sparkling ushers to the coming
+spectacle. In an hour the fiery gleam of Aldebaran
+appears at the edge of the dome below the Pleiades, a star
+noticeable among a thousand for its color alone, besides being
+one of the brightest of the heavenly host. The observer
+familiar with the constellations knows, when he sees this red
+star which marks the eye of the angry bull, Taurus, that just
+behind the horizon stands Orion with starry shield and upraised
+club to meet the charge of his gigantic enemy. With
+Aldebaran rises the beautiful V-shaped group of the Hyades.
+Presently the star-streams of Eridanus begin to appear in the
+east and southeast, the immediate precursors of the rising of
+Orion:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><p class="noin">
+"And now the river-flood's first winding reach<br />
+The becalmed mariner may see in heaven,<br />
+As he watches for Orion to espy if he hath aught to say<br />
+Of the night's measure or the slumbering winds."<br />
+</p></div>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[90]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The first glimpse we get of the hero of the sky is the long
+bending row of little stars that glitter in the lion's skin which,
+according to mythology, serves him for a shield. The great
+constellation then advances majestically into sight. First of
+its principal stars appears Bellatrix in the left shoulder; then
+the little group forming the head, followed closely by the
+splendid Betelgeuse, "the martial star," flashing like a decoration
+upon the hero's right shoulder. Then come into view
+the equally beautiful Rigel in the left foot, and the striking
+row of three bright stars forming the Belt. Below these
+hangs another starry pendant marking the famous sword of
+Orion, and last of all appears Saiph in the right knee. There
+is no other constellation containing so many bright stars. It
+has two of the first magnitude, Betelgeuse and Rigel; the
+three stars in the Belt, and Bellatrix in the left shoulder, are
+all of the second magnitude; and besides these there are
+three stars of the third magnitude, more than a dozen of the
+fourth, and innumerable twinklers of smaller magnitudes,
+whose commingled scintillations form a celestial illumination
+of singular splendor.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><p class="noin">
+"Thus graced and armed he leads the starry host."<br />
+</p></div>
+
+<p>By the time Orion has chased the Bull half-way up the
+eastern slope of the firmament, the peerless Dog-Star, Sirius,
+is flaming at the edge of the horizon, while farther north glitters
+Procyon, the little Dog-Star, and still higher are seen the
+twin stars in Gemini. When these constellations have advanced
+well toward the meridian, as shown in our circular
+map, their united radiance forms a scene never to be forgotten.
+Counting one of the stars in Gemini as of the first rank,
+there are no less than seven first-magnitude stars ranged
+around one another in a way that can not fail to attract the
+attention and the admiration of the most careless observer.
+Aldebaran, Capella, the Twins, Procyon, Sirius, and Rigel
+mark the angles of a huge hexagon, while Betelgeuse shines<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[91]</a></span>
+with ruddy beauty not far from the center of the figure. The
+heavens contain no other naked-eye view comparable with
+this great array, not even the glorious celestial region where
+the Southern Cross shines supreme, being equal to it in
+splendor.</p>
+
+<p>As an offset to the discomforts of winter observations
+of the stars, the observer finds that the softer skies of summer
+have no such marvelous brilliants to dazzle his eyes as
+those that illumine the hyemal heavens. To comprehend the
+real glories of the celestial sphere in the depth of winter one
+should spend a few clear nights in the rural districts of New
+York or New England, when the hills, clad with sparkling
+blankets of crusted snow, reflect the glitter of the living sky.
+In the pure frosty air the stars seem splintered and multiplied
+indefinitely, and the brighter ones shine with a splendor
+of light and color unknown to the denizen of the smoky
+city, whose eyes are dulled and blinded by the glare of streetlights.
+There one may detect the delicate shade of green
+that lurks in the imperial blaze of Sirius, the beautiful rose-red
+light of Aldebaran, the rich orange hue of Betelgeuse,
+the blue-white radiance of Rigel, and the pearly luster of
+Capella. If you have never seen the starry heavens except
+as they appear from city streets and squares, then, I had
+almost said, you have never seen them at all, and especially
+in the winter is this true. I wish I could describe to you the
+impression that they can make upon the opening mind of a
+country boy, who, knowing as yet nothing of the little great
+world around him, stands in the yawning silence of night
+and beholds the illimitably great world above him, looking
+deeper than thought can go into the shining vistas of the
+universe, and overwhelmed with the wonder of those marshaled
+suns.</p>
+
+<p>Looking now at Map 18, we see the heavens as they appear
+at midnight on the 1st of December, at 10 o'clock P. M.
+on the 1st of January, and at 8 o'clock P. M. on the 1st of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[92]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 768px;">
+<img src="images/092-illus.jpg" width="768" height="801" alt="Map. 18." title="" />
+<span class="caption">Map. 18.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>February. In the western half of the sky we recognize Andromeda,
+Pegasus, Pisces, Cetus, Aries, Cassiopeia, and other
+constellations that we studied in the "Stars of Autumn."
+Far over in the east we see rising Leo, Cancer, and Hydra,
+which we included among the "Stars of Spring." Occupying
+most of the southern and eastern heavens are the constellations
+which we are now to describe under the name of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[93]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 768px;">
+<img src="images/093-illus.jpg" width="768" height="986" alt="Map 19." title="" />
+<span class="caption">Map 19.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Stars of Winter," because in that season they are seen under
+the most favorable circumstances. I have already referred
+to the admirable way in which the principal stars of
+some of these constellations are ranged round one another.
+By the aid of the map the observer can perceive the relative
+position of the different constellations, and, having<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[94]</a></span>
+fixed this in his mind, he will be prepared to study them in
+detail.</p>
+
+<p>Let us now begin with Map No. 19, which shows us the
+constellations of Eridanus, Lepus, Orion, and Taurus. Eridanus
+is a large though not very conspicuous constellation,
+which is generally supposed to represent the celebrated river
+now known as the Po. It has had different names among
+different peoples, but the idea of a river, suggested by its
+long, winding streams of stars, has always been preserved.
+According to fable, it is the river into which Phaeton fell
+after his disastrous attempt to drive the chariot of the sun for
+his father Ph&#339;bus, and in which hare-brained adventure he
+narrowly missed burning the world up. The imaginary river
+starts from the brilliant star Rigel, in the left foot of Orion,
+and flows in a broad upward bend toward the west; then it
+turns in a southerly direction until it reaches the bright star
+Gamma (&#947;), where it bends sharply to the north, and then
+quickly sweeps off to the west once more, until it meets the
+group of stars marking the head of Cetus. Thence it runs
+south, gradually turning eastward, until it flows back more
+than half-way to Orion. Finally it curves south again and
+disappears beneath the horizon. Throughout the whole distance
+of more than 100&deg; the course of the stream is marked
+by rows of stars, and can be recognized without difficulty
+by the amateur observer.</p>
+
+<p>The first thing to do with your opera-glass, after you have
+fixed the general outlines of the constellation in your mind
+by naked-eye observations, is to sweep slowly over the whole
+course of the stream, beginning at Rigel, and following its various
+wanderings. Eridanus ends in the southern hemisphere
+near a first-magnitude star called Achernar, which is situated
+in the stream, but can not be seen from our latitudes. Along
+the stream you will find many interesting groupings of the
+stars. In the map see the pair of stars below and to the right
+of Nu (&#957;). These are the two Omicrons, the upper one being<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[95]</a></span>
+&#959;&sup1; and the lower one &#959;&sup2;. The latter is of an orange hue, and
+is remarkable for the speed with which it is flying through
+space. There are only one or two stars whose proper motion,
+as it is called, is more rapid than that of &#959;&sup2; in Eridanus. It
+changes its place nearly seven minutes of arc in a century.
+The records of the earliest observations we possess show that
+near the beginning of the Christian era it was about half-way
+between &#959;&sup1; and &#957;. Its companion &#959;&sup1;, on the contrary, seems
+to be almost stationary, so that &#959;&sup2; will gradually draw away
+from it, passing on toward the southwest until, in the course
+of centuries, it will become invisible from our latitudes.
+This flying star is accompanied by two minute companions,
+which in themselves form a close and very delicate double
+star. These two little stars, of only 9.5 and 10.5 magnitude,
+respectively, are, of course beyond the ken of the observer
+with an opera-glass. The system of which they form a part,
+however, is intensely interesting, since the appearances indicate
+that they belong, in the manner of satellites, to &#959;&sup2;, and
+are fellow-voyagers of that wonderful star.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 940px;">
+<img src="images/096-illus.jpg" width="940" height="768" alt="The &quot;golden Horns&quot; of Taurus." title="" />
+<span class="caption">The &quot;golden Horns&quot; of Taurus.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Having admired the star-groups of Eridanus, one of the
+prettiest of which is to be seen around Beta (&#946;), let us turn
+next to Taurus, just above or north of Eridanus. Two remarkable
+clusters at once attract the eye, the Hyades, which
+are shaped somewhat like the letter V, with Aldebaran in the
+upper end of the left-hand branch, and the Pleiades, whose
+silvery glittering has made them celebrated in all ages. The
+Pleiades are in the shoulder and the Hyades in the face of
+Taurus, Aldebaran most appropriately representing one of
+his blazing eyes as he hurls himself against Orion. The constellation-makers
+did not trouble themselves to make a complete
+Bull, and only the head and fore-quarters of the animal
+are represented. If Taurus had been completed on the scale
+on which he was begun, there would have been no room in the
+sky for Aries; one of the Fishes would have had to abandon
+his celestial swimming-place, and even the fair Andromeda<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[96]</a></span>
+would have found herself uncomfortably situated. But, as if
+to make amends for neglecting to furnish their heavenly Bull
+with hind-quarters, the ancients gave him a most prodigious
+and beautiful pair of horns, which make the beholder feel
+alarm for the safety of Orion. Starting out of the head
+above the Hyades, as illustrated in our cut, the horns curve
+upward and to the east, each being tipped by a bright star.
+Along and between the horns runs a scattered and broken
+stream of minute stars which seem to be gathered into knots
+just beyond the end of the horns, where they dip into the
+edge of the Milky-Way. Many of these stars can be seen, on
+a dark night, with an ordinary opera-glass, but, to see them
+well, one should use as large a field-glass as he can obtain.
+With such a glass their appearance almost makes one suspect
+that Virgil had a poetic prevision of the wonders yet to be
+revealed by the telescope when he wrote, as rendered by Dryden,
+of the season&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><p class="noin">
+"When with his <i>golden horns</i> in full career<br />
+The Bull beats down the barriers of the year."<br />
+</p></div>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[97]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figright" style="width: 480px;">
+<img src="images/098-illus.jpg" width="480" height="509" alt="The Crab Nebula." title="" />
+<span class="caption">The Crab Nebula.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Below the tips of the horns, and over Orion's head, there
+are also rich clusters of stars, as if the Bull were flaunting
+shreds of sparkling raiment torn from some celestial victim
+of his fury. With an ordinary glass, however, the observer
+will not find this star-sprinkled region around the horns of
+Taurus as brilliant a spectacle as that presented by the
+Hyades and the group of stars just above them in the Bull's
+ear. The two stars in the tips of the horns are both interesting,
+each in a different way. The upper and brighter one of
+the two, marked Beta (&#946;) in Map No. 19, is called El Nath. It
+is common to the left horn of Taurus and the right foot of
+Auriga, who is represented standing just above. It is a
+singularly white star. This quality of its light becomes conspicuous
+when it is looked at with a glass. The most inexperienced
+observer will hardly fail to be impressed by the
+pure whiteness of El Nath, in comparison with which he will
+find that many of the stars he had supposed to be white
+show a decided tinge of color. The star in the tip of the
+right or southern horn, Zeta (&#950;), is remarkable, not on its
+own account, but because it serves as a pointer to a famous
+nebula, the discovery of which led Messier to form his catalogue
+of nebul&aelig;. This is sometimes called the "Crab Nebula,"
+from the long sprays of nebulous matter which were seen
+surrounding it with Lord Rosse's great telescope. Our little
+sketch is simply intended to enable the observer to locate
+this strange object. If he wishes to study its appearance, he
+must use a powerful telescope. But with a first-rate field-glass
+he can see it as a speck of light in the position shown in
+the cut, where the large star is Zeta and the smaller ones are
+faint stars, the relative position of which will enable the observer
+to find the nebula, if he keeps in mind that the top of
+the cut is toward the north. It is noteworthy that this nebula
+for a time deceived several of the watchers who were on
+the lookout for the predicted return of Halley's comet in
+1835.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[98]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>And now let us look at the Hyades, an assemblage of stars
+not less beautiful than their more celebrated sisters the Pleiades.
+The leader of the Hyades
+is Aldebaran, or Alpha Tauri, and
+his followers are worthy of their
+leader. The inexperienced observer
+is certain to be surprised
+by the display of stars which an
+opera-glass brings to view in the
+Hyades. Our illustration will
+give some notion of their appearance
+with a large field-glass. The
+"brackish poet," of whose rhymes
+Admiral Smyth was so fond, thus describes the Hyades:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><p class="noin">
+"In lustrous dignity aloft see Alpha Tauri shine,<br />
+The splendid zone he decorates attests the Power divine:<br />
+For mark around what glitt'ring orbs attract the wandering eye,<br />
+You'll soon confess no other star has such attendants nigh."<br />
+</p></div>
+
+<p>The redness of the light of Aldebaran is a very interesting
+phenomenon. Careful observation detects a decided difference
+between its color and that of Betelgeuse, or Alpha Orionis,
+which is also a red star. It differs, too, from the brilliant
+red star of summer, Antares. Aldebaran has a trace of
+rose-color in its light, while Betelgeuse is of a very deep
+orange, and Antares may be described as fire-red. These
+shades of color can easily be detected by the naked eye after
+a little practice. First compare Aldebaran and Betelgeuse,
+and glance from each to the brilliant white, or bluish-white,
+star Rigel in Orion's foot. Upon turning the eye back from
+Rigel to Aldebaran the peculiar color of the latter is readily
+perceived. Spectroscopic analysis has revealed the presence
+in Aldebaran of hydrogen, sodium, magnesium, calcium,
+iron, bismuth, tellurium, antimony, and mercury. And so
+modern discoveries, while they have pushed back the stars to
+distances of which the ancients could not conceive, have, at<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[99]</a></span>
+the same time, and equally, widened the recognized boundaries
+of the physical universe and abolished forever the ancient
+distinction between the heavens and the earth. It is a plain
+road from the earth to the stars, though mortal feet can not
+tread it.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 768px;">
+<img src="images/099-illus.jpg" width="768" height="807" alt="The Hyades." title="" />
+<span class="caption">The Hyades.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Keeping in mind that in our little picture of the Hyades
+the top is north, the right hand west, and the left hand east,
+the reader will be able to identify the principal stars in the
+group. Aldebaran is readily recognized, because it is the
+largest of all. The bright star near the upper edge of the
+picture is Epsilon Tauri, and its sister star, forming the point
+of the V, is Gamma Tauri. The three brightest stars between
+Epsilon and Gamma, forming a little group, are the Deltas,
+while the pair of stars surrounded by many smaller ones,
+half-way between Aldebaran and Gamma, are the Thetas.
+These stars present a very pretty appearance, viewed with a
+good glass, the effect being heightened by a contrast of color
+in the two Thetas.
+The little pair
+southeast of Aldebaran,
+called the
+Sigmas, is also a
+beautiful object.
+The distance apart
+of these stars is
+about seven minutes
+of arc, while
+the distance between
+the two Thetas
+is about five
+and a half minutes
+of arc. These
+measures may be
+useful to the reader
+in estimating the distances between other stars that he<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[100]</a></span>
+may observe. It will also be found an interesting test of
+the eye-sight to endeavor to see these stars as doubles without
+the aid of a glass. Persons having keen eyes will be
+able to accomplish this.</p>
+
+<p>North of the star Epsilon will be seen a little group in the
+ear of the Bull (see cut, "The Golden Horns of Taurus"),
+which presents a brilliant appearance with a small glass.
+The southernmost pair in the group are the Kappas, whose
+distance apart is very nearly the same as that of the Thetas,
+described above; but I think it improbable that anybody
+could separate them with the naked eye, as there is a full
+magnitude between them in brightness, and the smaller star
+is only of magnitude 6.5, while sixth-magnitude stars are
+generally reckoned as the smallest that can be seen by the
+naked eye. Above the Kappas, and in the same group in the
+ear, are the two Upsilons, forming a wider pair.</p>
+
+<p>Next we come to the Pleiades:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><p class="noin">
+"Though small their size and pale their light, wide is their fame."<br />
+</p></div>
+
+<p>In every age and in every country the Pleiades have been
+watched, admired, and wondered at, for they are visible from
+every inhabited land on the globe. To many they are popularly
+known as the Seven Stars, although few persons can see
+more than six stars in the group with the unaided eye. It is
+a singular fact that many of the earliest writers declare that
+only six Pleiades can be seen, although they all assert that
+they are seven in number. These seven were the fabled
+daughters of Atlas, or the Atlantides, whose names were
+Merope, Alcyone, Cel&aelig;no, Electra, Taygeta, Asterope, and
+Maia. One of the stories connected with them is that Merope
+married a mortal, whereupon her star grew dim among her
+sisters. Another fable assures us that Electra, unable to endure
+the sight of the burning of Troy, hid her face in her
+hands, and so blotted her star from the sky. While we may
+smile at these stories, we can not entirely disregard them, for<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[101]</a></span>
+they are intermingled with some of the richest literary treasures
+of the world, and they come to us, like some old keepsake,
+perfumed with the memory of a past age. The mythological
+history of the Pleiades is intensely interesting, too,
+because it is world-wide. They have impressed their mark,
+in one way or another, upon the habits, customs, traditions,
+language, and history of probably every nation. This is true
+of savage tribes as well as of great empires. The Pleiades
+furnish one of the principal links that appear to connect the
+beginnings of human history with that wonderful prehistoric
+past, where, as through a gulf of mist, we seem to perceive
+faintly the glow of a golden age beyond. The connection of
+the Pleiades with traditions of the Flood is most remarkable.
+In almost every part of the world, and in various ages, the
+celebration of a feast or festival of the dead, dimly connected
+by traditions with some great calamity to the human race in
+the past, has been found to be directly related to the Pleiades.
+This festival or rite, which has been discovered in
+various forms among the ancient Hindoos, Egyptians, Persians,
+Peruvians, Mexicans, Druids, etc., occurs always in
+the month of November, and is regulated by the culmination
+of the Pleiades. The Egyptians directly connected this celebration
+with a deluge, and the Mexicans, at the time of the
+Spanish conquest, had a tradition that the world had once
+been destroyed at the time of the midnight culmination of the
+Pleiades. Among the savages inhabiting Australia and the
+Pacific island groups a similar rite has been discovered. It
+has also been suggested that the Japanese feast of lanterns is
+not improbably related to this world-wide observance of the
+Pleiades, as commemorating some calamitous event in the far
+past which involved the whole race of man in its effects.</p>
+
+<p>The Pleiades also have a supposed connection with that
+mystery of mysteries, the great Pyramid of Cheops. It has
+been found that about the year 2170 B. C., when the beginning
+of spring coincided with the culmination of the Pleiades<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[102]</a></span>
+at midnight, that wonderful group of stars was visible, just
+at midnight, through the mysterious southward-pointing passage
+of the Pyramid. At the same date the then pole-star,
+Alpha Draconis, was visible through the northward-pointing
+passage of the Pyramid.</p>
+
+<p>Another curious myth involving the Pleiades as a part of
+the constellation Taurus is that which represents this constellation
+as the Bull into which Jupiter changed himself when
+he carried the fair Europa away from Ph&#339;nicia to the continent
+that now bears her name. In this story the fact that
+only the head and fore-quarters of the Bull are visible in the
+sky is accounted for on the ground that the remainder of his
+body is beneath the water through which he is swimming.
+Here, then, is another apparent link with the legends of the
+Flood, with which the Pleiades have been so strangely connected,
+as by common consent among many nations, and in
+the most widely separated parts of the earth.</p>
+
+<p>With the most powerful field-glass you may be able to see
+all of the stars represented in our picture of the Pleiades.
+With an ordinary opera-glass the fainter ones will not be visible;
+yet even with such a glass the scene is a remarkable one.
+Not only all of the "Seven Sisters," but many other stars,
+can be seen twinkling among them. The superiority of
+Alcyone to the others, which is not so clear to the naked eye,
+becomes very apparent. Alcyone is the large star below the
+middle of the picture with a triangle of little stars beside it.
+To the left or east of Alcyone the two most conspicuous stars
+are Atlas and Pleione. The latter&mdash;which is the uppermost
+one&mdash;is represented too large in the picture. It requires a
+sharp eye to see Pleione without a glass, while Atlas is plainly
+visible to the unaided vision, and is always counted among
+the naked-eye Pleiades, although it does not bear the name
+of one of the mythological sisters, but that of their father.
+The bright star below and to the right of Alcyone is Merope;
+the one near the right-hand edge of the picture, about on a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[103]</a></span>
+level with Alcyone, is Electra. Above, or to the north of
+Electra, are two
+bright stars lying
+in a line pointing
+toward Alcyone;
+the upper one of
+these, or the one
+farthest from Alcyone,
+is Taygeta,
+and the other is
+Maia. Above Taygeta
+and Maia, and
+forming a little triangle
+with them, is
+a pair of stars which
+bears the name of
+Asterope. About half-way between Taygeta and Electra, and
+directly above the latter, is Cel&aelig;no.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 807px;">
+<img src="images/103-illus.jpg" width="807" height="768" alt="The Pleiades." title="" />
+<span class="caption">The Pleiades.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The naked-eye observer will probably find it difficult
+to decide which he can detect the more easily, Cel&aelig;no or
+Pleione, while he will discover that Asterope, although composed
+of two stars, as seen with a glass, is so faint as to be
+much more difficult than either Cel&aelig;no or Pleione. Unless,
+as is not improbable, the names have become interchanged
+in the course of centuries, the brightness of these stars would
+seem to have undergone remarkable changes. The star of
+Merope, it will be remembered, was said to have become indistinct,
+or disappeared, because she married a mortal. At
+present Merope is one of those that can be plainly seen with
+the naked-eye, while the star of Asterope, who was said to
+have had the god Mars for her spouse, has faded away until
+only a glass can show it. It would appear, then, that notwithstanding
+an occasional temporary eclipse, it is, in the
+long run, better to marry a plain mortal than a god. Electra,
+too, who hid her eyes at the sight of burning Troy, seems to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[104]</a></span>
+have recovered from her fright, and is at present, next to
+Alcyone, the brightest star in the cluster. But, however we
+may regard those changes in the brightness of the Pleiades
+which are based upon tradition, there is no doubt that well-attested
+changes have taken place in the comparative brilliancy
+of stars in this cluster since astronomy became an exact
+science.</p>
+
+<p>Observations of the proper motions of the Pleiades have
+shown that there is an actual physical connection between
+them; that they are, literally speaking, a flight of suns.
+Their common motion is toward the southwest, under the
+impulse of forces that remain as yet beyond the grasp of
+human knowledge. Alcyone was selected by M&auml;dler as the
+central sun around which the whole starry system revolved,
+but later investigations have shown that his speculation was
+not well founded, and that, so far as we can determine, the
+proper motions of the stars are not such as to indicate the
+existence of any common center. They appear to be flying
+with different velocities in every direction, although&mdash;as in
+the case of the Pleiades&mdash;we often find groups of them associated
+together in a common direction of flight.</p>
+
+<p>Still another curious fact about the Pleiades is the existence
+of some rather mysterious nebulous masses in the cluster.
+In 1859 Temple discovered an extensive nebula, of a
+broad oval form, with the star Merope immersed in one end
+of it. Subsequent observations showed that this strange
+phenomenon was variable. Sometimes it could not be seen;
+at other times it was very plain and large. In Jeaurat's
+chart of the Pleiades, made in 1779, a vast nebulous mass
+is represented near the stars Atlas and Pleione. This has
+since been identified by Goldschmidt as part of a huge, ill-defined
+nebula, which he thought he could perceive enveloping
+the whole group of the Pleiades. Many observers,
+however, could never see these nebulous masses, and were
+inclined to doubt their actual existence. Within the past<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[105]</a></span>
+few years astronomical photography, having made astonishing
+progress, has thrown new light upon this mysterious subject.
+The sensitized plate of the camera, when applied at the
+focus of a properly constructed telescope, has proved more
+effective than the human retina, and has, so to speak, enabled
+us to see beyond the reach of vision by means of the pictures
+it makes of objects which escape the eye. In November,
+1885, Paul and Prosper Henry turned their great photographing
+telescope upon the Pleiades, and with it discovered a
+nebula apparently attached to the star Maia. The most powerful
+telescopes in the world had never revealed this to the
+eye. Yet of its actual existence there can be no question.
+Their photograph also showed the Merope nebula, although
+much smaller, and of a different form from that represented
+by its discoverer and others. There evidently yet remains
+much to be discovered in this singular group, and the mingling
+of nebulous matter with its stars makes Tennyson's
+picturesque description of the Pleiades appear all the more
+life-like:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><p class="noin">
+"Many a night I saw the Pleiads, rising through the mellow shade,<br />
+Glitter like <i>a swarm of fire-flies tangled in a silver braid</i>."<br />
+</p></div>
+
+<p>The reader should not expect to be able to see the nebul&aelig;
+in the Pleiades with an opera-glass. I have thought it proper
+to mention these singular objects only in order that he
+might be in possession of the principal and most curious facts
+about those interesting stars.<a name="FNanchor_A_3" id="FNanchor_A_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_3" class="fnanchor">[C]</a></p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[106]</a></span>Orion will next command our attention. You will find
+the constellation in Map No. 19:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><p class="noin">
+"Eastward beyond the region of the Bull<br />
+Stands great Orion; whoso kens not him in cloudless night<br />
+Gleaming aloft, shall cast his eyes in vain<br />
+To find a brighter sign in all the heaven."<br />
+</p></div>
+
+<p>To the naked eye, to the opera-glass, and to the telescope,
+Orion is alike a mine of wonders. This great constellation
+embraces almost every variety of interesting phenomena that
+the heavens contain. Here we have the grandest of the nebul&aelig;,
+some of the largest and most beautifully colored stars,
+star-streams, star-clusters, nebulous stars, variable stars. I
+have already mentioned the positions of the principal stars
+in the imaginary figure of the great hunter. I may add that
+his upraised arm and club are represented by the stars seen
+in the map above Alpha (&#945;) or Betelgeuse, one of which is
+marked Nu (&#957;), and another, in the knob of the club, Chi (&#967;).
+I have also, in speaking of Aldebaran, described the contrast
+in the colors of Betelgeuse and Beta (&#946;) or Rigel. Betelgeuse,
+it may be remarked, is slightly variable. Sometimes it appears
+brighter than Rigel, and sometimes less brilliant. It is
+interesting to note that, according to Secchi's division of the
+stars into types, based upon their spectra, Betelgeuse falls
+into the third order, which seems to represent a type of suns
+in which the process of cooling, and the formation of an absorptive
+envelope or shell, have gone on so far that we may
+regard them as approaching the point of extinction. Rigel,
+on the other hand, belongs to the first order or type which
+represents suns that are probably both hotter and younger in
+the order of development. So, then, we may look upon the
+two chief stars of this great constellation as representing two
+stages of cosmical existence. Betelgeuse shows us a sun that
+has almost run its course, that has passed into its decline,
+and that already begins to faint and flicker and grow dim
+before the on-coming and inevitable fate of extinction; but<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[107]</a></span>
+in Rigel we see a sun blazing with the fires of youth, splendid
+in the first glow of its solar energies, and holding the
+promise of the future yet before it. Rigel belongs to a new
+generation of the universe; Betelgeuse
+to the universe that is passing.
+We may pursue this comparison
+one step farther back and see
+in the great nebula, which glows
+dimly in the middle of the constellation,
+between Rigel triumphant
+and Betelgeuse languishing,
+a still earlier cosmical condition&mdash;the
+germ of suns whose infant rays
+may illuminate space when Rigel
+itself is growing dim.</p>
+
+<div class="figright" style="width: 376px;">
+<img src="images/107-illus.jpg" width="376" height="640" alt="The Sword of Orion and the
+Great Nebula." title="" />
+<span class="caption">The Sword of Orion and the
+Great Nebula.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Turn your glass upon the three
+stars forming the Belt. You will
+not be likely to undertake to count
+all the twinkling lights that you
+will see, especially as many of
+them appear and disappear as you turn your attention to
+different parts of the field. Sweep all around the Belt and
+also between the Belt and Gamma (&#947;) or Bellatrix. According
+to the old astrologers, women born under the influence
+of the star Bellatrix were lucky, and provided with good
+tongues. Of course, this was fortunate for their husbands
+too!</p>
+
+<p>Below the Belt will be seen a short row of stars hanging
+downward and representing the sword. In the middle of
+this row is the great Orion nebula. The star Theta (&#952;) involved
+in the nebula is multiple, and the position of this
+little cluster of suns is such that, as has been said, they seem
+to be feeding upon the substance of the nebula surrounding
+them. Other stars are seen scattered in different parts of
+the nebula. This phenomenon can be plainly seen with an<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[108]</a></span>
+opera-glass. Our picture of the Sword of Orion shows its
+appearance with a good field-glass. With such a glass several
+fine test-objects will be found in the Sword. One of the
+best of these is formed by the two five-pointed stars seen in
+the picture close together above the nebula. No difficulty
+will be encountered in separating these stars with a field-glass,
+but it will require a little sharp watching to detect
+the small star between the two and just above the line
+joining them. So, the bending row of faint stars above
+and to the right of the group just described will be found
+rather elusive as individuals, though easily glimpsed as a
+whole. Of the great nebula itself not much detail can be
+seen. Yet by averting the eyes the extension of the
+nebulous light in every direction from the center can be
+detected and traced, under favorable circumstances, to a
+considerable distance. The changes that this nebula certainly
+has undergone in the brilliancy, if not in the form,
+of different parts of it, are perhaps indications of the operation
+of forces, which we know must prevail there, and whose
+tendency can only be in the direction of condensation, and
+the ultimate formation of future suns and worlds. Yet,
+as the appearance of the nebula in great telescopes shows, we
+can not expect that the processes of creation will here produce
+a homologue of our solar system. The curdled appearance
+of the nebula indicates the formation of various centers
+of condensation, the final result of which will doubtless be a
+group of stars like some of those which we see in the heavens,
+and whose common motion shows that they are bound together
+in the chains of reciprocal gravitation. The Pleiades are
+an example of such a group.</p>
+
+<p>Do not fail to look for a little star just west of Rigel,
+which, with a good opera-glass, appears to be almost hidden
+in the flashing rays of its brilliant companion. If you have
+also a field-glass, after you have detected this shy little
+twinkler with your opera-glass, try the larger glass upon it.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[109]</a></span>
+You will find then that the little star originally seen is not
+the only one there. A still smaller star, which had before
+been completely hidden, will now be perceived. I may add
+that, with telescopes, Rigel is one of the most beautiful
+double stars in the sky, having a little blue companion close
+under its wing. Run your glass along the line of little stars
+forming the lion's skin or shield that Orion opposes to the
+onset of Taurus. Here you will find some interesting combinations,
+and the star marked on the map &#960;<sup>6</sup> will especially
+attract your eye, because it is accompanied, about fifteen
+minutes to the northwest, by a seventh-magnitude star of a
+rich orange hue.</p>
+
+<p>Look next at the little group of three stars forming the
+head of Orion. Although there is no nebula here, yet these
+stars, as seen with the naked eye, have a remarkably nebulous
+look, and Ptolemy regarded the group as a nebulous
+star. The largest star is called Lambda (&#955;); the others are
+Phi (&#966;) one and two. An opera-glass will show another star
+above (&#955;), and a fifth star below &#966;<sup>2</sup> which is the farthest of
+the two Phis from Lambda. It will also reveal a faint twinkling
+between &#955; and &#966;<sup>1</sup>. A field-glass shows that this twinkling
+is produced by a pretty little row of three stars of the eighth
+and ninth magnitudes.</p>
+
+<p>In fact, Orion is such a striking object in the sky that
+more than one attempt has been made to steal away its name
+and substitute that of some modern hero. The University of
+Leipsic, in 1807, formally resolved that the stars forming the
+Belt and Sword of Orion should henceforth be known as the
+constellation of Napoleon. As if to offset this, an Englishman
+proposed to rename Orion for the British naval bull-dog
+Nelson. But "Orion armed" has successfully maintained
+his name and place against all comers. As becomes the
+splendor of his constellation, Orion is a tremendous hero of
+antiquity, although it must be confessed that his history is
+somewhat shadowy and uncertain, even for a mythological<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[110]</a></span>
+story. All accounts agree, however, that he was the mightiest
+hunter ever known, and the Hebrews claimed that he was
+no less a person than Nimrod himself.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 768px;">
+<img src="images/110-illus.jpg" width="768" height="871" alt="Map 20." title="" />
+<span class="caption">Map 20.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The little constellations of Lepus and Columba, below
+Orion, need not detain us long. You will find in them some
+pretty combinations of stars. In Lepus is the celebrated
+"Crimson Star," which has been described as resembling a
+drop of blood in color&mdash;a truly marvelous hue for a sun&mdash;but,
+as it is never brighter than the sixth magnitude, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[111]</a></span>
+from that varies down to the ninth, we could hardly hope to
+see its color well with an opera-glass. Besides, the observer
+would have difficulty in finding it.</p>
+
+<p>We will now turn to the constellation of Canis Major, represented
+in Map No. 20. Although, as a constellation, it is
+not to be compared with the brilliant Orion, yet, on account
+of the unrivaled magnificence of its chief star, Canis Major
+presents almost as attractive a scene as its more extensive
+rival. Everybody has heard of Sirius, or the Dog-Star, and
+everybody must have seen it flashing and scintillating so
+splendidly in the winter heavens, that to call it a first-magnitude
+star does it injustice, since no other star of that magnitude
+is at all comparable with it. Sirius, in fact, stands in a
+class by itself as the brightest star in the sky. Its light is
+white, with a shade of green, which requires close watching to
+be detected. When it is near the horizon, or when the atmosphere
+is very unsteady, Sirius flashes prismatic colors
+like a great diamond. The question has been much discussed,
+as to whether Sirius was formerly a red star. It
+is described as red by several ancient authors, but it seems
+to be pretty well established that these descriptions are most
+of them due to a blunder made by Cicero in his translation
+of the astronomical poem of Aratus. It is not impossible,
+though it is highly improbable, that Sirius has changed
+color.</p>
+
+<p>So intimately was Sirius connected in the minds of the
+ancient Egyptians with the annual rising of the Nile, that it
+was called the Nile-star. When it appeared in the morning
+sky, just before sunrise, the season of the overflowing of the
+great river was about to begin, and so the appearance of this
+star was regarded as foretelling the coming of the floods.
+The dog-days got their name from Sirius, as they occur at
+the time when that star rises with the sun.</p>
+
+<p>Your eyes will be fairly dazzled when you turn your glass
+upon this splendid star. By close attention you will be able<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[112]</a></span>
+to perceive a number of faint stars, mere points by comparison,
+in the immediate neighborhood of Sirius. There are
+many interesting objects
+in the constellation.
+The star marked
+Nu (&#957;) in the map is
+really triple, as the
+smallest glass will show.
+Look next at the star-group
+41 M. The cloud
+of minute stars of which
+it is composed can be
+very well seen with a
+field-glass or a powerful
+opera-glass. The star
+22 is of a very ruddy
+color that contrasts
+beautifully with the light of Epsilon (&#949;), which can be seen
+in the same field of view with an opera-glass. Between the
+stars Delta (&#948;) and &#959;&sup1; and &#959;&sup2; there is a remarkable array of
+minute stars, as shown in the accompanying cut. One never
+sees stars arranged in streams or rows, like these, without
+an irresistible impression that the arrangement can not be
+accidental; that some law must have been in operation which
+associated them together in the forms which we see. Yet,
+when we reflect that these are all suns, how far do we seem
+to be from understanding the meaning of the universe!</p>
+
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 480px;">
+<img src="images/112-illus.jpg" width="480" height="496" alt="Delta Canis Majoris and its Neighbors." title="" />
+<span class="caption">Delta Canis Majoris and its Neighbors.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The extraordinary size and brilliancy of Sirius might
+naturally enough lead one to suppose that it is the nearest of
+the stars, and such it was once believed to be. Observations
+of stellar parallax, however, show that this was a mistake.
+The distance of Sirius is so great that no satisfactory determination
+of it has yet been made. We may safely say, though,
+that that distance is, at the least calculation, 50,000,000,000,000
+miles. In other words, Sirius is about 537,000 times as<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[113]</a></span>
+far from the earth as the sun is. Then, since light diminishes
+as the square of the distance increases, the sun, if placed as
+far from us as Sirius is, would send us, in round numbers,
+288,000,000,000 times less light than we now receive from it.
+But Sirius actually sends us only about 4,000,000,000 times
+less light than the sun does; consequently Sirius must shine
+288,000,000,000/4,000,000,000 = 72 times as brilliantly as the sun. If we
+adopt Wollaston's estimate of the light of Sirius, as compared
+with that of the sun, viz., 1/20,000,000,000, we shall still find
+that the actual brilliancy of that grand star is more than fourteen
+times as great as that of our sun. But as observations
+on the companion of Sirius show that Sirius's mass is fully
+twenty times the sun's, and since the character of Sirius's
+spectrum indicates that its intrinsic brightness, surface for
+surface, is much superior to the sun's, it is probable that our
+estimate of the star's actual brilliancy, as compared with what
+the sun would possess at the same distance, viz., seventy-two
+times, is much nearer the truth. It is evident that life
+would be insupportable upon the earth if it were placed as
+near to Sirius as it is to the sun. If the earth were a planet
+belonging to the system of Sirius, in order to enjoy the same
+amount of heat and light it now receives, it would have to be
+removed to a distance of nearly 800,000,000 miles, or eight
+and a half times its distance from the sun. Its time of revolution
+around Sirius would then be nearly five and a half years,
+or, in other words, the year would be lengthened five and a
+half times.</p>
+
+<p>But, as I have said, the estimate of Sirius's distance used
+in these calculations is the smallest that can be accepted.
+Good authorities regard the distance as being not less than
+100,000,000,000,000 miles; in which case the star's brilliancy
+must be as much as 228 times greater than that of the sun!
+And yet even Sirius is probably not the greatest sun belonging
+to the visible universe. There can be little doubt that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[114]</a></span>
+Canopus, in the southern hemisphere, is a grander sun than
+Sirius. To our eyes, Canopus is only about half as bright as
+Sirius, and it ranks as the second star in the heavens in the order
+of brightness. But while Sirius's distance is measurable,
+that of Canopus is so unthinkably immense that astronomers
+can get no grip upon it. If it were only twice as remote as
+Sirius, it would be equal to two of the latter, but in all probability
+its distance is much greater than that. And possibly
+even Canopus is not the greatest gem in the coronet of
+creation.</p>
+
+<p>Sirius, as we saw when talking of Procyon (see Chapter I),
+is a double star. For many years after Bessel had declared
+his belief that the Dog-Star was subjected to the attraction
+of an invisible companion, telescopes failed to reveal the accompanying
+star.<a name="FNanchor_A_4" id="FNanchor_A_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_4" class="fnanchor">[D]</a> Finally, in 1862, a new telescope that
+Alvan Clark had just finished and was testing, brought the
+hidden star into view. The suggestion that it may shine by
+reflected light from Sirius has been made. In that case it
+must, of course, be a planet, but a planet of such stupendous
+magnitude that the imagination can scarcely grasp it; a
+planet probably as large as our sun, perhaps larger; a planet
+equal in size to more than a million earths! But, as was remarked
+of the faint stars in Alpha Capricornis, it is probable
+that the hypothesis of reflected light is not the true one.
+More probably the companion of Sirius shines with light of
+its own, though its excessive faintness in comparison with its
+bulk indicates that its condition must be very different from
+that of an ordinary star.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[115]</a></span>Readers of Voltaire will remember that the hero of his extraordinary
+story of "Micromegas" came from an imaginary
+planet circling around Sirius. Inasmuch as Voltaire, together
+with Dean Swift, ascribed two moons to Mars many
+years before they were discovered (probably suggested by a
+curiously mistaken interpretation by Kepler of an anagram
+in which Galileo had concealed his discovery of the ring of
+Saturn), it is all the more interesting that the great infidel
+should have imagined an enormous planet circling around the
+Dog-Star. But Voltaire went far astray when he ascribed a
+gigantic stature to his "Sirian." He makes Micromegas,
+whose world was 21,600,000 times larger in circumference than
+the earth, more than twenty miles tall, so that when he visited
+our little planet he was able to wade through the oceans and
+step over the mountains without inconvenience, and, when
+he had scooped up some of the inhabitants on his thumb-nail,
+was obliged to use a powerful microscope in order to see
+them. Voltaire should rather have gone to some of the most
+minute of the asteroids for his giant, for under the tremendous
+gravitation of such a world as he has described
+Micromegas himself would have been a fit subject for microscopic
+examination. But, however much we may doubt the
+stature of Voltaire's visitor from Sirius, we can not doubt the
+soundness of the conclusion at which he arrived, after having,
+by an ingenious arrangement, succeeded in holding a
+conversation with some earthly philosophers under his microscope,
+namely, that these infinitely little creatures possessed a
+pride that was almost infinitely great.</p>
+
+<p>East and south of Canis Major, which, by-the-way, is
+said to represent one of Orion's hounds, is part of the constellation
+Argo, which stands for the ship in which Jason
+sailed in search of the golden fleece. The observer will find
+many objects of interest here, although some of them are so
+close to the horizon in our latitudes that much of their brilliancy
+is lost. Note the two stars &#950; and &#960; near the lower edge<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[116]</a></span>
+of the map, then sweep slowly over the space lying between
+them. About half-way your attention will be arrested by a
+remarkable stellar arrangement, in which a beautiful half-circle
+of small stars curving above a larger star, which is reddish
+in color, is conspicuous. This neighborhood will be
+found rich in stars that the naked eye can not see. Just below
+the star &#951;, in Canis Major, is another fine group. The
+star &#960;, which is deep yellow or orange, has three little stars
+above it, two of which form a pretty pair. The star &#958; has a
+companion, which forms a fine test for an opera-glass, and is
+well worth looking for. Look also at the cluster 93 M, just
+above and to the west of &#958;. The stars &#956; and &#954; are seen
+double with an opera-glass.</p>
+
+<p>The two neighboring clusters, 46 M and 38<sup>8</sup>, are very interesting
+objects. To see them well, use a powerful field-glass.
+A "fiery fifth-magnitude star," as Webb calls it, can be seen
+in the field at the same time. The presence of the Milky-Way
+is manifest by the sprinkling of stars all about this
+region. In fact, the attentive observer will before this have
+noticed that the majority of the most brilliant constellations
+lie either in the Milky-Way or along its borders. Cassiopeia,
+as we saw, sits athwart the galaxy whose silvery current
+winds in and out among the stars of her "chair"; Perseus
+is aglow with its sheen as it wraps him about like a mantle
+of stars; Taurus has the tips of his horns dipped in the great
+stream; it flows between the shining feet of Gemini and the
+head and shoulders of Orion as between starry banks; the
+peerless Sirius hangs like a gem pendent from the celestial
+girdle. In the southern hemisphere we should find the beautiful
+constellation of the ship Argo, containing Canopus, sailing
+along the Milky-Way, blown by the breath of old romance
+on an endless voyage; the Southern Cross glitters in the very
+center of the galaxy; and the bright stars of the Centaur
+might be likened to the heads of golden nails pinning this
+wondrous scarf, woven of the beams of millions of tiny stars,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[117]</a></span>
+against the dome of the sky. Passing back into the northern
+hemisphere we find Scorpio, Sagittarius, Aquila, the Dolphin,
+Cygnus, and resplendent Lyra, all strung along the course of
+the Milky-Way.</p>
+
+<p>Turning now to the constellation Monoceros, we shall find
+a few objects worthy of attention. This constellation is of
+comparatively modern origin, having been formed by Bartschius,
+whose chief title to distinction is that he married the
+daughter of John Kepler. The region around the stars 8, 13,
+and 17 will be found particularly rich, and the cluster 2<sup>7</sup>
+shows well with a strong glass. Look also at the cluster
+50 M, and compare its appearance with that of the clusters in
+Argo.</p>
+
+<p>With these constellations we finish our review of the
+stellar wonders that lie within the reach of so humble an
+instrument as an opera-or field-glass. We have made the
+circuit of the sky, and the hosts that illumine the vernal
+heavens are now seen advancing from the east, and pressing
+close upon the brighter squadrons of winter. Their familiar
+figures resemble the faces of old friends whom we are glad to
+welcome. These starry acquaintances never grow wearisome.
+Their interest for us is as fathomless as the deeps of space in
+which they shine. The man never yet lived whose mind
+could comprehend the full meaning of the wondrous messages
+that they flash to us upon the wings of light. As we watch
+them in their courses, the true music of the spheres comes to
+our listening ears, the chorus of creation&mdash;faint with distance,
+for it is by slow approaches that man draws near to it&mdash;chanting
+the grandest of epics, the Poem of the Universe;
+and the theme that runs through it all is the reign of law.
+Do not be afraid to become a star-gazer. The human mind
+can find no higher exercise. He who studies the stars will
+discover&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><p class="noin">
+"An endless fountain of immortal drink<br />
+Pouring unto us from heaven's brink."<br />
+</p></div>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 80%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[118]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_V" id="CHAPTER_V"></a>CHAPTER V.</h2>
+
+<h3>THE MOON, THE PLANETS, AND THE SUN.</h3>
+
+
+<p>"It is a most beautiful and delightful sight," exclaims
+Galileo, in describing the discoveries he had made with his
+telescope, "to behold the body of the moon, which is distant
+from us nearly sixty semi-diameters of the earth, as near as
+if it was at a distance of only two of the same measures....
+And, consequently, any one may know with the certainty
+that is due to the use of our senses that the moon assuredly
+does not possess a smooth and polished surface, but one
+rough and uneven, and, just like the face of the earth itself,
+is everywhere full of vast protuberances, deep chasms, and
+sinuosities."</p>
+
+<p>There was, perhaps, nothing in the long series of discoveries
+with which Galileo astonished the world after he had
+constructed his telescope, which, as he expresses it, "was
+devised by me through God's grace first enlightening my
+mind," that had a greater charm for him than his lunar observations.
+Certainly there was nothing which he has described
+with greater enthusiasm and eloquence. And this
+could hardly have been otherwise, for the moon was the first
+celestial object to which Galileo turned his telescope, and
+then for the first time human eyes may be said to have
+actually looked into another world than the earth, though
+his discoveries and those of his successors have not realized
+all the poetic fancies about the moon contained in the verses
+that are ascribed to Orpheus:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[119]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="poem"><p class="noin">
+"And he another wandering world has made<br />
+Which gods Selene name, and men the moon.<br />
+It mountains, cities has, and temples grand."<br />
+</p></div>
+
+<p>Yet Galileo's observations at once upset the theory, for which
+Apollonius was responsible, and which seems to have been
+widely prevalent up to his time, that the moon was a smooth
+body, polished like a mirror, and presenting in its light and
+dark spots reflections of the continents and oceans of the
+earth. He also demonstrated that its surface was covered
+with plains and mountains, but the "cities and temples" of
+the moon have remained to our time only within the ken of
+romance.</p>
+
+<p>Galileo's telescope, as I have before remarked, was, in the
+principle of its construction, simply an opera-glass of one
+tube. He succeeded in making a glass of this kind that
+magnified thirty diameters, a very much higher power than
+is given to the opera-and field-glasses of to-day. Yet he had
+to contend with the disadvantages of single lenses, achromatic
+combinations of glass for optical purposes not being
+contrived until nearly a hundred years after his death, and
+so his telescope did not possess quite as decided a superiority
+over a modern field-glass as the difference in magnifying
+power would imply. In fact, if the reader will view the
+moon with a first-rate field-glass, he will perceive that the
+true nature of the surface of the lunar globe can be readily
+discerned with such an instrument. Even a small opera-glass
+will reveal much to the attentive observer of the moon;
+but for these observations the reader should, if possible,
+make use of a field-glass, and the higher its power the better.
+The illustrations accompanying this chapter were made by the
+author with the aid of a glass magnifying seven diameters.</p>
+
+<p>Of course, the first thing the observer will wish to see will
+be the mountains of the moon, for everybody has heard of
+them, and the most sluggish imagination is stirred by the
+thought that one can look off into the sky and behold "the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[120]</a></span>
+eternal hills" of another planet as solid and substantial as
+our own. But the chances are that, if left to their own
+guidance, ninety-nine persons out of a hundred would choose
+exactly the wrong time to see these mountains. At any rate,
+that is my experience with people who have come to look at
+the moon through my telescope. Unless warned beforehand,
+they invariably wait until full moon, when the flood of sunshine
+poured perpendicularly upon the face of our satellite
+conceals its rugged features as effectually as if a veil had
+been drawn over them. Begin your observations with the
+appearance of the narrowest crescent of the new moon, and
+follow it as it gradually fills, and then you will see how beautifully
+the advancing line of lunar sunrise reveals the mountains,
+over whose slopes and peaks it is climbing, by its ragged
+and sinuous outline. The observer must keep in mind the
+fact that he is looking straight down upon the tops of the
+lunar mountains. It is like a view from a balloon, only at a
+vastly greater height than any balloon has ever attained.
+Even with a powerful telescope the observer sees the moon
+at an apparent distance of several hundred miles, while with
+a field-glass, magnifying seven diameters, the moon appears as
+if thirty-five thousand miles off. The apparent distance with
+Galileo's telescope was eight thousand miles. Recollect how
+when seen from a great height the rugosities of the earth's
+surface flatten out and disappear, and then try to imagine
+how the highest mountains on the earth would look if you
+were suspended thirty-five thousand miles above them, and
+you will, perhaps, rather wonder at the fact that the moon's
+mountains can be seen at all.</p>
+
+<p>It is the contrast of lights and shadows that not only reveals
+them to us, but enables us to measure their height.
+On the moon shadows are very much darker than upon the
+earth, because of the extreme rarity of the moon's atmosphere,
+if indeed it has any atmosphere at all. By stepping
+around the corner of a rock there, one might pass abruptly<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[121]</a></span>
+from dazzling noonday into the blackness of midnight. The
+surface of the moon is extraordinarily rough and uneven.
+It possesses broad plains, which are probably the bottoms of
+ancient seas that have now dried up, but these cover only
+about two fifths of the surface visible to us, and most of the
+remaining three fifths are exceedingly rugged and mountainous.
+Many of the mountains of the moon are, foot for foot,
+as lofty as the highest mountains on the earth, while all of
+them, in proportion to the size of the moon's globe, are much
+larger than the earth's mountains. It is obvious, then, that
+the sunshine, as it creeps over these Alpine landscapes in the
+moon, casting the black shadows of the peaks and craters
+many miles across the plains, and capping the summits of
+lofty mountains with light, while the lower regions far around
+them are yet buried in night, must clearly reveal the character
+of the lunar surface. Mountains that can not be seen at
+all when the light falls perpendicularly upon them, or, at the
+most, appear then merely as shining points, picture themselves
+by their shadows in startling silhouettes when illuminated
+laterally by the rising sun.</p>
+
+<p>But at full moon, while the mountains hide themselves in
+light, the old sea-beds are seen spread out among the shining
+table-lands with great distinctness. Even the naked eye
+readily detects these as ill-defined, dark patches upon the
+face of the moon, and to their presence are due the popular
+notions that have prevailed in all quarters of the world about
+the "Man in the Moon," the "Woman in the Moon," "Jacob
+in the Moon," the "Hare in the Moon," the "Toad in the
+Moon," and so on. But, however clearly one may imagine
+that he discerns a man in the moon while recalling the
+nursery-rhymes about him, an opera-glass instantly puts the
+specter to flight, and shows the round lunar disk diversified
+and shaded like a map.<a name="FNanchor_A_5" id="FNanchor_A_5"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_5" class="fnanchor">[E]</a></p>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[122]</a></span></p>
+<p>A feature of the full moon's surface that instantly attracts
+attention is the remarkable brightness of the southern part
+of the disk, and the brilliant streaks radiating from a bright
+point near the lower edge. The same simile almost invariably
+comes to the lips of every person who sees this phenomenon
+for the first time&mdash;"It looks like a peeled orange." The
+bright point, which is the great crater-mountain Tycho, looks
+exactly like the pip of the orange, and the light-streaks radiating
+from it in all directions bear an equally striking resemblance
+to the streaks that one sees upon an orange after the
+outer rind has been removed. I shall have something more
+to say about these curious streaks further on; in the mean
+time, let us glance at our little sketch-map of the moon.</p>
+
+<p>The so-called seas are marked on the map, for the purpose
+of reference, by the letters which they ordinarily bear in
+lunar maps. The numerals indicate craters, or ring-plains,
+and mountain-ranges. The following key-list will enable
+the reader to identify all the objects that are lettered or numbered
+upon the map. I have given English translations of
+the Latin names which the old astronomers bestowed upon
+the seas:</p>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[123]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 768px;">
+<img src="images/123-illus.jpg" width="768" height="792" alt="Map of the Moon." title="" />
+<span class="caption">Map of the Moon.</span>
+</div>
+
+<h4><i>Seas, Gulfs, and Marshes.</i></h4>
+
+<div class='center'>
+<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="" width="80%">
+<tr><td align='left' valign='top'>
+A. The Crisian Sea.<br />
+B. Humboldt Sea.<br />
+C. The Sea of Cold.<br />
+D. The Lake of Death.<br />
+E. The Lake of Dreams.<br />
+F. The Marsh of Sleep.<br />
+G. The Sea of Tranquillity.<br />
+H. The Sea of Serenity.<br />
+</td>
+<td align='left' valign='top'>
+I. The Marsh of Mists.<br />
+K. The Marsh of Putrefaction.<br />
+L. The Sea of Vapors.<br />
+M. The Central Gulf.<br />
+N. The Gulf of Heats.<br />
+O. The Sea of Showers.<br />
+P. The Bay of Rainbows.<br />
+Q. The Ocean of Storms.<br />
+</td>
+<td align='left' valign='top'>
+R. The Bay of Dew.<br />
+S. The Sea of Clouds.<br />
+T. The Sea of Humors.<br />
+V. The Sea of Nectar.<br />
+X. The Sea of Fertility.<br />
+Z. The South Sea.<br />
+</td></tr>
+</table></div>
+
+<h4><i>Mountains and Crater Rings.</i></h4>
+
+
+<div class='center'>
+<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="" width="80%">
+<tr><td align='left' valign='top'>
+1. Grimaldi.<br />
+2. Letronne.<br />
+3. Gassendi.<br />
+4. Euclides.<br />
+5. Bullialdus.<br />
+6. Pitatus.<br />
+7. Schickhard.<br />
+8. Longomontanus.<br />
+9. Tycho.<br />
+10. Maginus.<br />
+11. Clavius.<br />
+12. Newton.<br />
+13. Maurolycus.<br />
+14. St&ouml;fler.<br />
+</td>
+<td align='left' valign='top'>
+15. Walter.<br />
+16. Regiomontanus.<br />
+17. Purbach.<br />
+18. Arzachel.<br />
+19. Alphonsus.<br />
+20. Ptolemaus.<br />
+21. Hipparchus.<br />
+22. Albategnius.<br />
+23. Theophilus.<br />
+24. Cyrillus.<br />
+25. Catharina.<br />
+26. The Altai Mts.<br />
+27. Piccolomini.<br />
+</td>
+<td align='left' valign='top'>
+28. Petavius.<br />
+29. Langrenus.<br />
+80. Proclus.<br />
+31. Cleomedes.<br />
+32. Atlas.<br />
+33. Hercules.<br />
+34. Posidonius.<br />
+35. Plinius.<br />
+36. Menelaus.<br />
+37. Manilius.<br />
+38. The Caucasus Mts.<br />
+39. Eudoxus.<br />
+40. Aristotle.<br />
+</td>
+<td align='left' valign='top'>
+41. The Alps.<br />
+42. Plato.<br />
+43. Archimedes.<br />
+44. The Apennines.<br />
+45. Eratosthenes.<br />
+46. Copernicus.<br />
+47. The Carpathian Mts.<br />
+48. Timocharis.<br />
+49. Lambert.<br />
+50. Euler.<br />
+51. Aristarchus.<br />
+52. Kepler.<br />
+53. Flamsteed.<br />
+</td></tr>
+</table></div>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[124]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The early selenographers certainly must have been men of
+vivid imagination, and the romantic names they gave to the
+lunar landscapes, and particularly to the "seas," add a charm
+of their own to the study of the moon. Who would not wish
+to see the "Bay of Rainbows," or the "Lake of Dreams," or
+the "Sea of Tranquillity," if for no other reason than a curiosity
+to know what could have induced men to give to these
+regions in the moon such captivating titles? Or who would
+not desire to visit them if he could? though no doubt we
+should find them, like the "Delectable Mountains" in the
+"Pilgrim's Progress," most charming when seen from afar.</p>
+
+<p>The limited scale of our map, of course, renders it impossible
+to represent upon it more than a comparatively small
+number of the lunar mountains that have received names. In
+selecting those to be put in the map I have endeavored to
+choose such as, on account of their size, their situation, or
+some striking peculiarity, would be most likely to attract the
+attention of a novice. The observer must not expect to see
+them all at once, however. The lunar features change their
+appearance to a surprising extent, in accordance with the
+direction of their illumination. Some great mountain-masses
+and ring-plains, or craters, which present scenes of magnificence
+when the sun is rising or setting upon them, disappear
+under a perpendicular light, such as they receive at full
+moon. The great crater-plain, known as Maginus, numbered
+10 in our map, is one of these. The broken mountain-wall
+surrounding this vast depressed plain rises in some places to
+a height of over fourteen thousand feet above the valley within,
+and the spectacle of sunrise upon Maginus, seen with a
+powerful telescope, is a most impressive sight, and even
+with a field-glass is very interesting. Yet, a few days later,
+Maginus vanishes, as if it had been swallowed up, and as
+Beer and M&auml;dler have expressed it, "the full moon knows no
+Maginus." The still grander formation of mountain, plain,
+and crater, called Clavius (11 in the map), disappears almost<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[125]</a></span>
+as completely as Maginus at full moon, yet, under the proper
+illumination, it presents a splendid pageant of light and
+shadow.</p>
+
+<p>On the other hand, some of the lunar mountains shine
+vividly at full moon, and can be well seen then, though, of
+course, only as light spots, since at that time they cast no
+shadows. Menelaus (36 in the map), Aristarchus (51), Proclus
+(30), Copernicus (46), and Kepler (52), are among these
+shining mountains. Aristarchus is the most celebrated of
+them all, being the brightest point on the moon. It can even
+be seen glimmering on the dark side of the moon&mdash;that is to
+say, when no light reaches it except that which is reflected
+from the earth. With a large telescope, Aristarchus is so
+dazzlingly bright under a high sun, that the eye is partly
+blinded in gazing at it. It consists of a mountain-ring surrounding
+a circular valley, about twenty-eight miles in diameter.
+The flanks of these mountains, especially on their
+inner slopes, and the floor of the valley within, are very
+bright, while a peak in the center of the valley, about as high
+as Storm-King Mountain on the Hudson, shines with piercing
+brilliancy. Sir William Herschel mistook it for a volcano in
+action. It certainly is not an active volcano, but just what
+makes it so dazzling no one knows. The material of which
+this mountain is formed would seem to possess a higher reflective
+power than that of any other portion of the moon's
+surface. One is irresistibly reminded of the crystallized
+mountains described in the celebrated "Moon Hoax" of
+Richard Adams Locke. With an opera-glass you can readily
+recognize Aristarchus as a bright point at full moon.
+With a field-glass it is better seen, and some of the short,
+light rays surrounding it are perceived, while, when the sun
+is rising upon it, about four days after first quarter, its crateriform
+shape can be detected with such a glass.</p>
+
+<p>The visibility of Aristarchus on the dark side of the moon
+leads us to a brief consideration of the illumination by the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[126]</a></span>
+earth of that portion of the moon's surface which is not
+touched directly by sunlight at new and old moon. This
+phenomenon is
+shown in the accompanying
+illustration.
+Not only
+can the outlines of
+the dark part of
+the moon be seen
+under such circumstances,
+but even
+the distinction in
+color between the
+dusky "seas" and
+the more brilliant
+table-lands and
+mountain-regions
+can be perceived,
+and with powerful
+telescopes many minor features come into sight. A little consideration
+must convince any one, as it convinced Galileo more
+than two hundred and seventy-five years ago, that the light
+reflected from the earth upon the moon is sufficient to produce
+this faint illumination of the lunar landscapes. We
+have only to recall the splendors of a night that is lighted by
+a full moon, and then to recollect that at new or old moon
+the earth is "full" as seen from our satellite, and that a full
+earth must give some fourteen times as much light as a full
+moon, in order to realize the brilliancy of an earth-lit night
+upon the moon. As the moon waxes to us, the earth wanes
+to the moon, and <i>vice versa</i>, and so the phenomenon of earth-shine
+on the lunar surface must be looked for before the first
+quarter and after the last quarter of the moon.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 768px;">
+<img src="images/126-illus.jpg" width="768" height="830" alt="Sunrise on the Sea of Serenity, and Theophilus And Other Craters." title="" />
+<span class="caption">Sunrise on the Sea of Serenity, and Theophilus And
+Other Craters.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The reader will find it an attractive occupation to identify,
+by means of the map, the various "seas," "lakes," and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[127]</a></span>
+"marshes," for not only are they interesting on account of
+the singularity of their names, but they present many remarkable
+differences of appearance, which may be perceived
+with the instrument he is supposed to be using. The oval
+form of the Crisian Sea (A), which is the first of the "seas"
+to come into sight at new moon, makes it a very striking
+object. With good telescopes, and under favorable illumination,
+a decidedly green tint is perceived in the Crisian Sea.
+It measures about two hundred and eighty by three hundred
+and fifty-five miles in extent, and is, perhaps, the deepest of
+all the old sea-beds visible on the moon. It is surrounded
+by mountains, which can be readily seen when the sun strikes
+athwart them a few days after new or full moon. On the
+southwestern border a stupendous mountain-promontory,
+called Cape Agarum, projects into the Crisian Sea fifty or
+sixty miles, the highest part rising precipitously eleven thousand
+feet above the floor of the sea. I have seen Cape Agarum
+very clearly defined with a field-glass. Near the eastern
+border is the crater-mountain Proclus, which I have already
+mentioned as possessing great brilliancy under a high sun,
+being in this respect second only to Aristarchus.</p>
+
+<p>From the foot of Proclus spreads away the somewhat
+triangular region called the Marsh of Sleep (F). The term
+"golden-brown," which has been applied to it, perhaps
+describes its hue well enough. With a telescope it is a
+most interesting region, but with less powerful instruments
+one must be content with recognizing its outline and
+color.</p>
+
+<p>The broad, dark-gray expanse of the Sea of Tranquillity
+(G) will be readily recognized by the observer, and he will be
+interested in the mottled aspect which it presents in certain
+regions, caused by ridges and elevations, which, when this
+sea-bottom was covered with water, may have formed shoals
+and islands.</p>
+
+<p>The Sea of Fertility (X) is remarkable for its irregular<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[128]</a></span>
+surface, and the long, crooked bays into which its southern
+extremity is divided.</p>
+
+<p>The Sea of Nectar (V) is connected with the Sea of Tranquillity
+by a broad strait (one would naturally anticipate
+from their names that there must be some connection between
+them), while between it and the Sea of Fertility runs the
+range of the Pyrenees Mountains, twelve thousand feet high,
+flanked by many huge volcanic mountain-rings.</p>
+
+<p>The Sea of Serenity (H), lying northeast of the Sea of
+Tranquillity, is about four hundred and twenty miles broad
+by four hundred and thirty miles long, being very nearly of
+the same area as our Caspian Sea. It is deeper than the Sea
+of Tranquillity, and a greenish hue is sometimes detected in
+its central parts. It deepens toward the middle. Three
+quarters of its shore-line are bordered by high mountains,
+and many isolated elevations and peaks are scattered over
+its surface. In looking at these dried-up seas of the moon,
+one is forcibly reminded of the undulating and in some
+places mountainous character of terrestrial sea-bottoms, as
+shown by soundings and the existence of small islands in
+the deep sea, like the Bermudas, the Azores and St. Helena.
+The Sea of Serenity is divided nearly through the center by
+a narrow, bright streak, apparently starting from the crater-mountain
+Menelaus (36 in the map), but really taking its rise
+at Tycho far in the south. This curious streak can be readily
+detected even with a small opera-glass. Just what it is no
+one is prepared to say, and so the author of the "Moon
+Hoax" was fairly entitled to take advantage of the romancer's
+license, and declare that "its edge throughout its
+whole length of three hundred and forty miles is an acute
+angle of solid quartz-crystal, brilliant as a piece of Derbyshire
+spar just brought from the mine, and containing scarcely
+a fracture or a chasm from end to end!" Along the southern
+shore, on either side of Menelaus, extends the high range
+of the H&aelig;mus Mountains. South and southeast of the Sea<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[129]</a></span>
+of Serenity are the Sea of Vapors (L), the Central Gulf (M),
+and the Gulf of Heats (N). The observer will notice at full
+moon three or four curious dark spots in the region occupied
+by these flat expanses. On the north and northwest of the
+Sea of Serenity are the Lake of Death (D), and the Lake of
+Dreams (E), chiefly remarkable for their names.</p>
+
+<p>The Sea of Showers (O) is a very interesting region, not
+only in itself, but on account of its surroundings. Its level
+is very much broken by low, winding ridges, and it is variegated
+by numerous light-streaks. At its western end it
+blends into the Marsh of Mists (I) and the Marsh of Putrefaction
+(K). On its northeast border is the celebrated Sinus
+Iridum, or Bay of Rainbows (P), upon which selenographers
+have exhausted the adjectives of admiration. The bay is
+semicircular in form, one hundred and thirty-five miles long
+and eighty-four miles broad. Its surface is dark and level.
+At either end a splendid cape extends into the Sea of Showers,
+the eastern one being called Cape Heraclides, and the
+western Cape Laplace. They are both crowned by high
+peaks. Along the whole shore of the bay runs a chain of
+gigantic mountains, forming the southern border of a wild
+and lofty plateau, called the Sinus Iridum Highlands. Of
+course, a telescope is required to see the details of this
+"most magnificent of all lunar landscapes," and yet much
+can be done with a good field-glass. With such an instrument
+I have seen the capes at the ends of the bay projecting
+boldly into the dark, level expanse surrounding them,
+and the high lights of the bordering mountains sharply contrasted
+with the dusky semicircle at their feet, and have been
+able to detect the presence of the low ridges that cross the
+front of the bay like shoals, separating it from the "sea"
+outside. Two or three days after first quarter, the shadows
+of the peaks about the Bay of Rainbows may be seen. The
+Bay of Dew (R) above the Bay of Rainbows, and the Sea of
+Cold (C), are the northernmost of the dark levels visible. It<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[130]</a></span>
+was in keeping with the supposed character of this region of
+the Moon that Riccioli named two portions of it the Land of
+Hoar Frost and the Land of Drought.</p>
+
+<p>Extending along the eastern side of the disk is the great
+Ocean of Storms (Q), while between the Ocean of Storms and
+the middle of the moon lies the Sea of Clouds (S). Both of
+these are very irregular in outline, and much broken by
+ridges and mountains. The Sea of Humors (T), although
+comparatively small, is one of the most easily seen of all
+the lunar plains. To the naked eye it looks like a dark,
+oval patch on the moon. With a telescope it is seen, under
+favorable conditions, to possess a decided green tint.
+Humboldt Sea (B) and the South Sea (Z) belong principally
+to that part of the moon which is always turned away from
+the earth, and only their edges project into the visible hemisphere,
+although, under favorable librations, their farther
+borders, lined as usual with mountain-peaks, may be detected.
+For our purposes they possess little interest.</p>
+
+<p>Let us now glance at some of the mountains and "craters."
+The dark oval called Grimaldi (1) can be detected by the
+naked eye, or at least it has been thus seen, although it requires
+a sharp eye; and perhaps a shade or a pair of eye-glasses
+of London smoke-glass, to take off the glare of the
+moon, should be used in looking for it.<a name="FNanchor_A_6" id="FNanchor_A_6"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_6" class="fnanchor">[F]</a> It is simply a plain,
+containing some fourteen thousand square miles, remarkable
+for its dark color, and surrounded by mountains. Schickhard
+(7) is another similar plain, nearly as large, but not possessing
+the same dark tint in the interior. The huge mountains
+around Schickhard make a fine spectacle when the sun is
+rising upon them shortly before full moon.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[131]</a></span>Tycho (9) is the most famous of the crater-mountains,
+though not the largest. It is about fifty-four miles across
+and three miles deep. In its center is a peak five or six
+thousand feet high. Tycho is the radial point of the great
+light-streaks that, as I have already remarked, cause the
+southern half of the moon to be likened to a peeled orange.
+It is a tough problem in selenography to account for these
+streaks. They are best seen at full moon. They can not
+be seen at all until the sun has risen to a certain elevation
+above them, 25&deg; according to Neison; but, when they once
+become visible, they dominate everything. They turn aside
+for neither mountains nor plains, but pass straight on their
+courses over the ruggedest regions of the moon, retaining
+their brilliancy undiminished, and pouring back such a flood
+of reflected light that they completely conceal some of the
+most stupendous mountain-masses across which they lie.
+They clearly consist of different material from that of which
+the most of the moon's surface is composed&mdash;a material possessing
+a higher reflective power. In this respect they resemble
+Aristarchus and other lunar craters that are remarkable
+for their brilliancy under a high illumination. Tycho
+itself, the center or hub, from which these streaks radiate
+like spokes, is very brilliant in the full moon. But immediately
+around Tycho there is a dark rim some twenty-five
+miles broad. Beyond this rim the surface becomes bright,
+and the bright region extends about ninety miles farther.
+Out of it spring the great rays or streaks, which vary from
+ten to twenty miles in width, and many of which are several
+hundred miles long&mdash;one, which we have already mentioned
+as extending across the Sea of Serenity, being upward of
+two thousand miles in length. It has been truly said that
+we have nothing like these streaks upon the earth, and so
+there is no analogy to go by in trying to determine their
+nature. It has been suggested that if the moon had been
+split or shattered from within by some tremendous force,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[132]</a></span>
+and molten matter from the interior had been thrust up into
+the cracks thus formed, and had cooled there into broad
+seams of rock, possessing a higher reflective power than the
+surrounding surface of the moon, then the appearances presented
+would not be unlike what we actually see. But there
+are serious objections to such a view, which we have not
+space to discuss here. It is enough to say that the nature
+of these streaks is still a question awaiting solution, and here
+is an opportunity for an important discovery, but not one to
+be achieved with an opera-glass.</p>
+
+<p>I may add an interesting suggestion as to the nature of
+these streaks made by the Rev. Mr. Grensted. He holds that
+the air and water of the moon were chemically, and not mechanically,
+absorbed in the process of oxidation which went
+on at the time when her surface temperature was above a red
+heat. Having a much larger surface in proportion to her
+bulk than the earth, the oxidation of the moon has, he
+thinks, extended much deeper than that of the earth, and
+her atmosphere and oceans have been exhausted in the process.
+Both the earth and the moon, he maintains, have
+metallic nuclei, and the streaks about Tycho and Copernicus,
+and some other lunar craters, may be dikes of pure and
+shining metal, which have escaped oxidation owing to the
+comparatively small supply of lunar oxygen. Upon this
+theory Aristarchus must be a metallic mountain.</p>
+
+<div class="figright" style="width: 480px;">
+<img src="images/133-illus.jpg" width="480" height="576" alt="Sunrise on Clavius, Tycho, Plato, etc." title="" />
+<span class="caption">Sunrise on Clavius, Tycho, Plato, etc.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>Clavius (11) is one of the most impressive of all the lunar
+formations. There probably does not exist anywhere upon
+the earth so wild a scene upon a corresponding scale of grandeur.
+Of course, its details are far beyond the reach of the
+instrument we are supposed to be using, and yet, even with
+a field-glass, or a powerful opera-glass, some of its main features
+are visible. It is represented in our picture of the half-moon,
+being the lowest and largest of the ring-like forms seen
+at the inner edge of the illuminated half of the disk; the rays
+of the rising sun touching the summits of some of the peaks<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[133]</a></span>
+in its interior have brought them into sight as a point of
+light, and at the same time, reaching across the gulf within,
+have lighted up the higher
+slopes of the great mountain-wall
+on the farther or eastern
+side of the crater-valley,
+making it resemble a semicircle
+of light projecting into
+the blackness of the still unilluminated
+plains around it.
+I should advise every reader
+to take advantage of any opportunity
+that may be presented
+to him to see Clavius
+with a powerful telescope
+when the sun is either rising
+or setting upon it. Neison
+has given a spirited description of the scene, as follows:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>The sunrise on Clavius commences with the illumination of a few
+peaks on the western wall, but soon rapidly extends along the whole
+wall of Clavius, which then presents the appearance of a great double
+bay of the dark night-side of the moon penetrating so deep into the
+illuminated portion as to perceptibly blunt the southern horn to the
+naked eye. Within the dark bay some small, bright points soon appear&mdash;the
+summits of the great ring-plains within&mdash;followed shortly by
+similar light-points near the center, due to peaks on the walls of the
+smaller ring-plains, these light-islands gradually widening and forming
+delicate rings of light in the dark mass of shadow still enveloping
+the floor of Clavius. Far in the east then dimly appear a few scarcely
+perceptible points, rapidly widening into a thin bright line, the crest
+of the great southeastern wall of Clavius, the end being still lost far
+within the night-side of the moon. By the period the extreme summit
+of the lofty wall of Clavius on the east becomes distinct, fine
+streaks of light begin to extend across the dark mass of shadow on the
+interior of Clavius, from the light breaking through some of the
+passes on the west wall and illuminating the interior; and these
+streaks widen near the center and form illuminated spots on the
+floor, when both east and west it still lies deeply immersed in shadow,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[134]</a></span>
+strongly contrasting with the now brightly illuminated crest of the
+lofty east wall and the great circular broad rings of light formed by
+the small ring-plains within Clavius. The illumination of the interior
+of Clavius now proceeds rapidly, and forms a magnificent spectacle:
+the great, brightly illuminated ring-plains on the interior, with
+their floors still totally immersed in shadow; the immense steep line
+of cliffs on the east and southeast are now brilliantly illuminated,
+though the entire surface at their base is still immersed in the shades
+of night; and the great peaks on the west towering above the floor
+are thrown strongly into relief against the dark shadow beyond them.</p></div>
+
+<p>Newton (12) is the deepest of the great crateriform chasms
+on the moon. Some of the peaks on its walls rise twenty-four
+thousand feet above the interior gulf. Its shadow, and
+those of its gigantic neighbors&mdash;for the moon is here crowded
+with colossal walls, peaks, and craters&mdash;may be seen breaking
+the line of sunlight below Clavius, in our illustration. I
+have just spoken of these great lunar formations as chasms.
+The word describes very well the appearance which some of
+them present when the line separating day and night on the
+moon falls across them, but the reader should not be led by
+it into an erroneous idea of their real character. Such formations
+as Newton, which is one hundred and forty miles long
+by seventy broad, may more accurately be described as vast
+depressed plains, generally containing peaks and craters,
+which are surrounded by a ring of steep mountains, or
+mountain-walls, that rise by successive ridges and terraces
+to a stupendous height.</p>
+
+<p>The double chain of great crater-plains reaching half
+across the center of the moon contains some of the grandest
+of these strange configurations of conjoined mountain, plain,
+and crater. The names of the principal ones can be learned
+from the map, and the reader will find it very interesting to
+watch them coming into sight about first quarter, and passing
+out of sight about third quarter. At such times, with a field-glass,
+some of them look like enormous round holes in the
+inner edge of the illuminated half of the moon. Theophilus<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[135]</a></span>
+(23), Cyrillus (24), and Catharina (25), are three of the finest
+walled plains on the moon&mdash;Theophilus, in particular, being
+a splendid specimen of such formations. This chain of
+craters may be seen rapidly coming into sunlight at the edge
+of the Sea of Nectar, in our picture of "Sunrise on the Sea
+of Serenity," etc. The Altai Mountains (26) are a line of
+lofty cliffs, two hundred and eighty miles in length, surmounting
+a high table-land.</p>
+
+<p>The Caucasus Mountains (38) are a mass of highlands and
+peaks, which introduce us to a series of formations resembling
+those of the mountainous regions of the earth. The
+highest peak in this range is about nineteen thousand feet.
+Between the Caucasus and the Apennines (44) lies a level
+pass, or strait, connecting the Sea of Serenity with the Sea
+of Showers. The Apennines are the greatest of the lunar
+mountain-chains, extending some four hundred and sixty
+miles in length, and containing one peak twenty-one thousand
+feet high, and many varying from twelve thousand to
+nearly twenty thousand. It will thus be seen that the Apennines
+of the earth sink into insignificance in comparison with
+their gigantic namesakes on the moon. As this range runs
+at a considerable angle to the line of sunrise, its high peaks
+are seen tipped with sunlight for a long distance beyond the
+generally illuminated edge about the time of first quarter.
+Even with the naked eye the sun-touched summits of the
+lunar Apennines may at that time be detected as a tongue
+of light projecting into the dark side of the moon. The Alps
+(41) are another mountain-mass of great elevation, whose highest
+peak is a good match for the Mont Blanc of the earth,
+after which it has been named.</p>
+
+<p>Plato (42) is a very celebrated dark and level plain, surrounded
+by a mountain-ring, and presenting in its interior
+many puzzling and apparently changeable phenomena
+which have given rise to much speculation, but which, of
+course, lie far beyond the reach of opera-glasses. Plato is<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[136]</a></span>
+seen in the picture of "Sunrise on Clavius," etc., on page
+133, being the second ring from the top.</p>
+
+<p>If Ariosto had had a telescope, we might have suspected
+that it was this curious plain that he had in mind when he
+described that strange valley in the moon, in which was to
+be found everything that was lost from the earth, including
+lost wits; and where the redoubtable knight Astolpho, having
+been sent in search of the missing wit of the great
+Orlando, was astonished to find what he sought carefully
+preserved in a vial along with other similar vials belonging
+to many supposedly wise people of the earth, whom nobody
+suspected of keeping a good part of their sapience in the
+moon.</p>
+
+<p>Copernicus (46) is the last of the lunar formations that we
+shall describe. It bears a general resemblance to Tycho, and
+is slightly greater in diameter; it is, however, not quite so
+deep. It has a cluster of peaks in the center, whose tops
+may be detected with a field-glass, as a speck of light when
+the rays of the morning sun, slanting across the valley, illuminate
+them while their environs are yet buried in night.
+Copernicus is the center of a system of light-streaks somewhat
+resembling those of Tycho, but very much shorter.</p>
+
+<p>We must not dismiss the moon without a few words as to
+its probable condition. It was but natural, after men had
+seen the surface of the moon diversified with hills and valleys
+like another earth, that the opinion should find ready acceptance
+that beings not unlike ourselves might dwell upon
+it. Nothing could possibly have been more interesting than
+the realization of such a fancy by the actual discovery of the
+lunar inhabitants, or at least of unmistakable evidence of
+their existence. The moon is so near to the earth, as astronomical
+distances go, and the earth and the moon are so intimately
+connected in the companionship of their yearly journey
+around the sun, and their greater journey together with
+the sun and all his family, through the realms of space, that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[137]</a></span>
+we should have looked upon the lunar inhabitants, if any had
+existed, as our neighbors over the way&mdash;dwelling, to be sure,
+upon a somewhat more restricted domain than ours, vassals
+of the earth in one sense, yet upon the whole very respectable
+and interesting people, with whom one would be glad to
+have a closer acquaintance. But, alas! as the powers of the
+telescope increased, the vision of a moon crowded with life
+faded, until at last the cold fact struck home that the moon
+is, in all probability, a frozen and dried-up globe, a mere
+planetary skeleton, which could no more support life than
+the Humboldt glacier could grow roses. And yet this opinion
+may go too far. There is reason for thinking that the
+moon is not absolutely airless, and, while it has no visible
+bodies of water, its soil may, after all, not be entirely arid
+and desiccated. There are observations which hint at visible
+changes in certain spots that could possibly be caused by
+vegetation, and there are other observations which suggest
+the display of electric luminosity in a rarefied atmosphere
+covering the moon. To declare that no possible form of life
+can exist under the conditions prevailing upon the lunar surface
+would be saying too much, for human intelligence can
+not set bounds to creative power. Yet, within the limits of
+life, such as we know them, it is probably safe to assert that
+the moon is a dead and deserted world. In other words, if a
+race of beings resembling ourselves, or resembling any of our
+contemporaries in terrestrial life, ever existed upon the moon,
+they must long since have perished. That such beings may
+have existed, is possible, particularly if it be true, as generally
+believed, that the moon once had a comparatively dense atmosphere
+and water upon its surface, which have now, in the
+process of cooling of the lunar globe, been withdrawn into its
+interior. It certainly does not detract from the interest with
+which we study the rugged and beautiful scenery of the
+moon to reflect that if we could visit those ancient sea-bottoms,
+or explore those glittering mountains, we might, per<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[138]</a></span>chance,
+find there some remains or mementos of a race that
+flourished, and perhaps was all gathered again to its fathers,
+before man appeared upon the earth.</p>
+
+<p>That slight physical changes, such as the downfall of
+mountain-walls or crater-cones, still occasionally occur upon
+the moon, is an opinion entertained by some selenographers,
+and apparently justified by observation. The enormous
+changes of temperature, from burning heat under a cloudless
+sun to the freezing cold of space at night with no atmospheric
+blanket to retain heat (which has generally been assumed to
+be the condition of things on the moon), would naturally
+exert a disintegrating effect upon the lunar rocks. But the
+question is now in dispute whether the surface of the moon
+ever rises above the freezing-point of water, even under a
+midday sun.</p>
+
+<p>Mankind has always been a little piqued by the impossibility
+of seeing the other side of the moon, and all sorts of
+odd fancies have been indulged in regard to it. Among the
+most curious is the ancient belief that the souls of the good
+who die on earth are transported to that side of the moon
+which is turned away from the earth; while the souls of the
+wicked sojourn on this side, in full view of the scene of their
+evil deeds. The visible side of the moon&mdash;with its tremendous
+craters, its yawning chasms, its frightful contrasts of
+burning sunshine and Cimmerian darkness, its airless and
+arid plains and dried-up sea-bottoms exposed to the pitiless
+cold of open space, and heated, if heated at all, by scorching
+sunbeams as fierce as naked flame&mdash;would certainly appear to
+be in a proper condition to serve as a purgatory. But we
+have no reason to think that the other side is any better off
+in these respects. In fact, the glimpses that we get of it
+around the corners, so to speak, indicate that the whole
+round globe of the moon is as ragged, barren, and terrible as
+that portion of it which is turned to our view.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">The Planets.</span>&mdash;In attempting to view the planets with an<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[139]</a></span>
+opera-glass, too much must not be expected; and yet interesting
+views can sometimes be obtained. The features of their
+surfaces, of course, can not be detected even with a powerful
+field-glass, but the difference between the appearance of a
+large planet and that of the stars will at once strike the observer.
+Mercury, which, on account of its nearness to the
+sun and its rapid changes of place, comparatively few persons
+ever see, can perhaps hardly be called an interesting object
+for an opera-glass, and yet the beauty of the planet is greatly
+increased when viewed with such aid. Mercury is brilliant
+enough to be readily distinguishable, even while the twilight
+is still pretty bright; and I have had most charming views of
+the shy planet, glittering like a globule of shining metal
+through the fading curtain of a winter sunset.</p>
+
+<p>Venus is, under favorable circumstances, a very interesting
+planet for opera-glass observations. The crescent phase can
+be seen with a powerful glass near inferior conjunction, and,
+even when the form of the planet can not be discerned, its exceeding
+brilliancy makes it an attractive object. The flood of
+light which Venus pours forth, and which is so dazzling
+that it baffles the best telescopes, to a greater or less extent,
+in any effort to descry the features of that resplendent disk,
+is evidently reflected from a cloud-burdened atmosphere.
+While these clouds render the planet surprisingly lustrous
+to our eyes, they must, of course, keep the globe beneath
+them most of the time in shadow. It is a source of
+keen regret that the surface of Venus can not be seen as
+clearly as that of Mars, for, <i>a priori</i>, there is rather more
+reason to regard Venus as possibly an inhabited world than
+any other of the Earth's sister planets, not excepting Mars.
+Still, even if we could plainly make out the presence of
+oceans and continents on Venus, that fact would hardly be
+any better indication of the possibility of life there than is
+furnished by the phenomena of its atmosphere. It is an
+interesting reflection that in admiring the brilliancy of this<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[140]</a></span>
+splendid planet the light that produces so striking an effect
+upon our eyes has but a few minutes before traversed the
+atmosphere of a distant world, which, like our own air, may
+furnish the breath of life to millions of intelligent creatures,
+and vibrate with the music of tongues speaking languages as
+expressive as those of the earth.</p>
+
+<p>Mars, being both more distant and smaller than Venus,
+does not present so splendid a scene, and yet when it is at
+or near opposition it is a superb object even for an opera-glass,
+its deep reddish-yellow color presenting a fine contrast
+to that of most of the stars. It can often be seen in conjunction
+with, or near to, the moon and stars, and the beauty of
+these phenomena is in some cases greatly enhanced by the
+use of a glass. To find Mars (and the same remark applies
+to the other planets), take its right ascension and declination
+for the required date from the Nautical Almanac, and then
+mark its place upon a planisphere or any good star-map.
+This planet is at the present time (1888) slowly drawing
+nearer to the earth at each opposition, and in 1892 it will be
+closer to us than at any time since 1877, when its two minute
+satellites were discovered. It will consequently grow
+brighter every year until then. How splendidly it shines
+when at its nearest approach to the earth may be inferred
+from the fact that in 1719 it was so brilliant as actually to
+cause a panic. This was doubtless owing to its peculiar redness.
+I well remember the almost startling appearance which
+the planet presented in the autumn of 1877. Mars is especially
+interesting because of the apparently growing belief
+that it may be an inhabited world, and because of certain
+curious markings on its surface that can only be seen under
+favorable conditions. The recent completion of the great
+Lick telescope and other large glasses, and the approach of
+the planet to a favorable opposition, give reason to hope that
+within the next few years a great deal of light will be cast
+upon some of the enigmatical features of Mars's surface.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[141]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figright" style="width: 480px;">
+<img src="images/141-illus.jpg" width="480" height="537" alt="Jupiter and his Moons." title="" />
+<span class="caption">Jupiter and his Moons. (Seen with a
+Field-glass; seven diameters.)</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Jupiter, although much more distant than Mars, is ordinarily
+a far more conspicuous phenomenon in the sky on
+account of his vast bulk. His interest to observers with an
+opera-glass depends mainly upon his four moons, which, as
+they circle about him, present a miniature of the solar system.
+With a strong opera-glass
+one or two of Jupiter's little
+family of moons may occasionally
+be caught sight of as
+excessively minute dots of
+light half-hidden in the glare
+of the planet. If you succeed
+under favorable circumstances
+in seeing one of these moons
+with your glass, you will be
+all the more astonished to
+learn that there are several
+apparently well-authenticated
+instances of one of the moons of Jupiter having been seen
+with the naked eye.</p>
+
+<p>With a field-glass, however, you will have no difficulty in
+seeing all of the moons when they are properly situated. If
+you miss one or more of them, you may know that it is either
+between you and the planet, or behind the planet, or buried
+in the planet's shadow, or else so close to the planet as to be
+concealed by its radiance.</p>
+
+<p>It will be best for the observer to take out of the Nautical
+Almanac the "configurations of Jupiter's satellites" for the
+evenings on which he intends to make his observations, recollecting
+that the position of the whole system, as there given,
+is reversed, or presented as seen with an astronomical telescope,
+which inverts objects looked at, as an opera-glass does
+not. In order to bring the satellites into the positions in which
+he will see them, our observer has only to turn the page in the
+Nautical Almanac showing their configurations upside down.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[142]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Of course, since the motions of the satellites, particularly
+of the inner ones, are very rapid, their positions are continually
+changing, and their configurations are different every
+night. If the observer has any doubt about his identification
+of them, or thinks they may be little stars, he has only to
+carefully note their position and then look at them again the
+next evening. He may even notice their motion in the course
+of a single evening, if he begins early and follows them for
+three or four hours. It is impossible to describe the peculiar
+attractions of the scene presented by the great planet and his
+four little moons on a serene evening to an observer armed
+with a powerful glass. Probably much of the impressiveness
+of the spectacle is owing to the knowledge that those
+little points of light, shining now in a row and now in a cluster,
+are actually, at every instant, under the government of
+their giant neighbor and master, and that as we look upon
+them, obediently making their circuits about him, never
+venturing beyond a certain distance away, we behold a type
+of that gravitational mastery to which our own little planet
+is subject as it revolves around its still greater ruler, the sun,
+to whose control even Jupiter in his turn must submit.</p>
+
+<p>The beautiful planet Saturn requires for the observation
+of its rings magnifying powers far beyond those of the instruments
+with which our readers are supposed to be armed.
+It would be well, however, for the observer to trace its slow
+motion among the stars with the aid of the Nautical Almanac,
+and he should be able with a good field-glass to see, under
+favorable circumstances, the largest of its eight moons, Titan.
+This is equal in brilliancy to an 8.5 magnitude star. Its position
+with respect to Saturn on any given date can be learned
+from the Ephemeris.</p>
+
+<p>It may appear somewhat presumptuous to place Uranus, a
+planet which it required the telescope and the eye of a Herschel
+to discover, in a list of objects for the opera-glass. But
+it must not be forgotten that Uranus was seen certainly sev<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[143]</a></span>eral,
+and probably many, times before Herschel's discovery,
+being simply mistaken, on account of the slowness of its
+motion, for a fixed star. When near opposition, Uranus
+looks as bright as a sixth-magnitude star, and can be easily
+detected with the naked eye when its position is known.
+With an opera-glass (and still more readily with a field-glass)
+this distant planet can be watched as it moves deliberately
+onward in its gigantic orbit. Its passage by neighboring
+stars is an exceedingly interesting phenomenon, and it is in
+this way that you may recognize the planet.</p>
+
+<p>On the evening of May 29, 1888, I knew, from the co-ordinates
+given in the Nautical Almanac, that Uranus was to be
+found a short distance east of Mars, which was then only a
+few degrees from the well-known star Gamma Virginis. Accordingly,
+I turned my opera-glass upon Mars, and at once
+saw a star in the expected position, which I knew was Uranus.
+But there were other small stars in the field, and, supposing
+I had not been certain which was Uranus, how could I
+have recognized it? The answer is plain: simply by watching
+for a night or two to see which star moved. That star would,
+of course, be Uranus. The accompanying cuts will show the
+motions of Mars and Uranus with respect to neighboring stars
+at that time, and will serve as an example of the method of
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[144]</a></span>
+distinguishing a planet from the fixed stars by its change of
+place. In the first cut we have the two planets and three
+neighboring stars as they appeared
+on May 29th. These
+stars were best seen with a
+field-glass, although an opera-glass
+readily showed them.</p>
+
+
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 480px;">
+<img src="images/143a-illus.jpg" width="480" height="514" alt="Mars and Uranus, May 29, 1888." title="" />
+<span class="caption">Mars and Uranus, May 29, 1888.</span>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figright" style="width: 480px;">
+<img src="images/143b-illus.jpg" width="480" height="514" alt="Mars and Uranus, June 1, 1888." title="" />
+<span class="caption">Mars and Uranus, June 1, 1888.</span>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 480px;">
+<img src="images/144-illus.jpg" width="480" height="506" alt="Mars and Uranus, June 6, 1888." title="" />
+<span class="caption">Mars and Uranus, June 6, 1888.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>On June 1st the relative
+positions of the planets and
+stars were as shown in the second
+cut. A glance suffices to
+show that not only Mars but
+Uranus also has shifted its position
+with respect to the three
+immovable stars. This change of place alone would have
+sufficed to indicate the identity of Uranus. To make sure,
+the inexperienced observer had only to continue his observations
+a few nights longer.</p>
+
+<p>On June 6th Mars and Uranus were in conjunction, and
+their position, as well as that of the same set of three stars,
+is shown in the third cut. It will be seen that while Mars
+had changed its place very much more than Uranus, yet that
+the latter planet had now moved so far from its original position
+on May 29th, that there could be no possibility that the
+merest tyro in star-gazing would fail to notice the change.
+Whenever the observer sees an object which he suspects to
+be a planet, he can satisfy himself of its identity by making
+a series of little sketches like the above, showing the position
+of the suspected object on successive evenings, with respect
+to neighboring stars. The same plan suffices to identify the
+larger planets, in the case of which no glass is necessary.
+The observer can simply make a careful estimate by the
+naked eye of the supposed planet's distance and bearing
+from large stars near it, and compare them with similar observations
+made on subsequent evenings.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[145]</a></span></p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">The Sun.</span>&mdash;That spots upon the sun may be seen with no
+greater optical aid than that of an opera-glass is perhaps well
+known to many of my readers, for during the past ten years
+public attention has been drawn to sun-spots in an especial
+manner, on account of their supposed connection with meteorology,
+and in that time there have been many spots upon
+the solar disk which could not only be seen with an opera-glass,
+but even with the unassisted eye. At present (1888)
+we are near a minimum period of sun-spots, and the number
+to be seen even with a telescope is comparatively very small,
+yet only a few days before this page was written there was a
+spot on the sun large enough to be conspicuous with the aid
+of a field-glass. During the time of a spot-maximum the sun
+is occasionally a wonderful object, no matter how small the
+power of the instrument
+used in
+viewing it may be.
+Strings of spots of
+every variety of
+shape sometimes
+extend completely
+across the disk.
+Our illustration
+shows the appearance
+of the sun, as
+drawn by the author
+on the 1st of
+September, 1883.
+Every one of the
+spots and spot-groups
+there represented
+could be seen with a good field-glass, and nearly all
+of them with an opera-glass.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 768px;">
+<img src="images/145-illus.jpg" width="768" height="830" alt="The Sun, September 1, 1883." title="" />
+<span class="caption">The Sun, September 1, 1883.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>As in all such cases, our interest in the phenomena increases
+in proportion to our understanding of their signifi<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[146]</a></span>cance
+and their true scale of magnitude. In glancing from
+side to side of the sun's disk, the eye ranges over a distance
+of more than 860,000 miles&mdash;not a mere ideal distance, or an
+expanse of empty space, but a distance filled by an actual
+and, so to speak, tangible body, whose diameter is of that
+stupendous magnitude. One sees at a glance, then, the enormous
+scale on which these spots are formed. The earth
+placed beside them would be but a speck, and yet they are
+mere pits in the surface of the sun, filled perhaps with partially
+cooled metallic vapors, which have been cast up from
+the interior, and are settling back again. It is worth anybody's
+while to get a glimpse at a sun-spot if he can, for,
+although he may see it merely as a black dot on the shining
+disk, yet it represents the play of physical forces whose
+might and power are there exercised on a scale really beyond
+human comprehension. The imagination of Milton or
+Dante would have beheld the mouth of hell yawning in a
+sun-spot.</p>
+
+<p>In order to view the sun it is, of course, necessary to contrive
+some protection for the eyes. This may be constructed
+by taking two strips of glass four or five inches long and an
+inch wide, and smoking one of them until you can without
+discomfort look at the sun through it. Then place the two
+strips together, with the smoked surface inside&mdash;taking care
+to separate them slightly by pieces of cardboard placed between
+the ends&mdash;and fasten the edges together with strips of
+paper gummed on. Then, by means of a rubber band, fasten
+the dark glass thus prepared over the eye-end of your
+opera-glass in such a way that both of the lenses are completely
+covered by it. It will require a little practice to enable
+you to get the sun into the field of view and keep it
+there, and for this purpose you should assume a posture&mdash;sitting,
+if possible&mdash;which will enable you to hold the glass
+very steady. Then point the glass nearly in the direction of
+the sun, and move it slowly about until the disk comes in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[147]</a></span>
+sight. It is best to carefully focus your instrument on some
+distant object before trying to look at the sun with it.</p>
+
+<p>As there is some danger of the shade-glass being cracked
+by the heat, especially if the object-glasses of the instrument
+are pretty large, it would be well to get the strips of glass for
+the shade large enough to cover the object-end of the instrument
+instead of the eye-end. At a little expense an optician
+will furnish you with strips of glass of complementary tints,
+which, when fastened together, give a very pleasing view of
+the sun without discoloring the disk. Dark red with dark
+blue or green answer very well; but the color must be very
+deep. The same arrangement, of course, will serve for viewing
+an eclipse of the sun.</p>
+
+<p>A word, finally, about the messenger which brings to us
+all the knowledge we possess of the contents and marvels of
+space&mdash;light. Without the all-pervading luminiferous ether,
+narrow indeed would be our acquaintance with the physical
+creation. This is a sympathetic bond by which we may conceive
+that intelligent creatures throughout the universe are
+united. Light tells us of the existence of suns and systems
+so remote that the mind shrinks from the attempt to conceive
+their distance; and light bears back again to them a similar
+message in the feeble glimmering of our own sun. And can
+any one believe that there are no eyes out yonder to receive,
+and no intelligence to interpret that message?</p>
+
+<p>Sir Humphry Davy has beautifully expressed a similar
+thought in one of his philosophical romances:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>In Jupiter you would see creatures similar to those in Saturn,
+but with different powers of locomotion; in Mars and Venus you
+would find races of created forms more analogous to those belonging
+to the Earth; but in every part of the planetary system you
+would find one character peculiar to all intelligent natures, a sense
+of receiving impressions from light by various organs of vision, and
+toward this result you can not but perceive that all the arrangements
+and motions of the planetary bodies, their satellites and atmospheres,
+are subservient. The spiritual natures, therefore, that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[148]</a></span>
+pass from system to system in progression toward power and knowledge
+preserve at least this one invariable character, and their intellectual
+life may be said to depend more or less upon the influence
+of light.<a name="FNanchor_A_7" id="FNanchor_A_7"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_7" class="fnanchor">[G]</a></p></div>
+
+<p>Light is a result, and an expression, of the energy of cosmical
+life. The universe lives while light exists. But when
+the throbbing energies of all the suns are exhausted, and
+space is filled with universal gloom, the light of intelligence
+must vanish too.</p>
+
+<p>One can not read the wonderful messages of light&mdash;one
+can not study the sun, the moon, and the stars in any manner&mdash;without
+perceiving that the physical universe is enormously
+greater than he had thought, and that the creation, of
+which the Earth is an infinitesimal part, is almost infinitely
+more magnificent in actual magnitude than the imaginary
+domain which men of old times pictured as the dwelling-place
+of the all-controlling gods; without feeling that he has
+risen to a higher plane, and that his intellectual life has
+taken a nobler aim and a broader scope.</p>
+
+<div class="footnotes">
+<h3>FOOTNOTES</h3>
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_A_1" id="Footnote_A_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_1"><span class="label">[A]</span></a> Let the reader remember that the distance between the two stars in the
+brim of the bowl of the Dipper is about ten degrees, and he will have a
+measuring-stick that he can apply in estimating other distances in the heavens.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_A_2" id="Footnote_A_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_2"><span class="label">[B]</span></a> A similar calculation of the internal appearances of the Hercules cluster,
+which I made, was published in 1887 in the "New York Sun."</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_A_3" id="Footnote_A_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_3"><span class="label">[C]</span></a> The Henry Brothers have continued the photographic work described
+above, and their later achievements are even more interesting and wonderful.
+They have found that there are many nebulous masses involved in the group of
+the Pleiades, and have photographed them. One of the most amazing phenomena
+in their great photograph of the Pleiades is a long wisp or streak of nebulous
+matter, along which eight or nine stars are strung in a manner which irresistibly
+suggests an intimate connection between the stars and the nebula. This recalls
+the recent (August, 1888) discovery made by Prof. Holden, with the great Lick
+telescope, concerning the structure of the celebrated ring nebula in Lyra, which, it
+appears, is composed of concentric ovals of stars and nebulous stuff, so arranged that
+we must believe they are intimately associated in a most wonderful community.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_A_4" id="Footnote_A_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_4"><span class="label">[D]</span></a> The following extract from a letter by Bessel to Humboldt, written in 1844
+(see "Cosmos," vol. iii, p. 186), is interesting, in view of the discoveries made
+since then: "At all events I continue in the belief that Procyon and Sirius are
+true double stars, consisting of a visible and an invisible star. No reason exists
+for considering luminosity an essential property of these bodies. The fact that
+numberless stars are visible is evidently no proof against the existence of an
+equally incalculable number of invisible ones. The physical difficulty of a
+change in the proper motion is satisfactorily set aside by the hypothesis of dark
+stars."</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_A_5" id="Footnote_A_5"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_5"><span class="label">[E]</span></a> I should, perhaps, qualify the statement in the text slightly in favor of a
+lunar lady to whom Mr. Henry M. Parkhurst first called my attention. About
+nine days after new moon a rather pretty and decidedly feminine face appears on
+the western half of the disk. It is formed by the mountains and table-lands embraced
+by the Sea of Serenity, the Sea of Tranquillity, the Sea of Vapors, etc.,
+and is best seen with the aid of an opera-glass of low power. The face is readily
+distinguishable on Rutherfurd's celebrated photograph of the full moon. It is
+necessary for this purpose to turn the photograph upside down, since it is a telescopic
+picture, and consequently reversed. The crater Tycho forms a breastpin
+for the lady, and Menelaus glitters like a diamond ornament in her hair, while
+the range of the Apennines resembles a sort of coronet resting on her forehead.
+This same woman in the moon, it appears, was described by Dr. James Thompson
+years ago, and, for aught I know, she may be the Diana to whom Herrick sang:
+</p><p class="noin">
+&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; "Queen and huntress chaste and fair,<br />
+&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Seated in thy silver chair,<br />
+&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Now the Sun is laid to sleep,<br />
+&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; State in wonted manner keep.<br />
+&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Hesperus entreats thy light,<br />
+&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Goddess excellently bright."<br />
+</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_A_6" id="Footnote_A_6"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_6"><span class="label">[F]</span></a> There are other uses to which such eye-glasses may be put by sky-gazers.
+I habitually carry a pair for studying clouds. It is wonderful how much the
+effect of great cloud-masses is heightened by them, especially when seen in a
+bright light. Delicate curls and stri&aelig; of cirrus, which escape the uncovered eye
+in the glare of sunlight, can be readily detected and studied by the use of neutral-tinted
+eye-glasses or spectacles.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_A_7" id="Footnote_A_7"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_7"><span class="label">[G]</span></a> See "Consolations in Travel, or, the Last Days of a Philosopher"; Dialogue
+I.</p></div>
+</div>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 80%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[149]</a></span></p>
+<h2>INDEX.</h2>
+
+
+<div class="sblockquot">
+<p class="noin">
+Achernar, <a href="#Page_94">94</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Albireo (&#946; Cygni), <a href="#Page_55">55</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Alcor, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Alcyone, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>.<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">M&auml;dler's "Central Sun," <a href="#Page_104">104</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+Aldebaran, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_89">89</a>, <a href="#Page_91">91</a>, <a href="#Page_94">94</a>, <a href="#Page_95">95</a>, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Algenib (&#945; Persei), <a href="#Page_84">84</a>, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Algol, the Demon-Star, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>.<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">probable cause of variation of, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+Al-Mamoun, the Caliph, observation of a temporary star, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Almaach (&#947; Andromed&aelig;), <a href="#Page_79">79</a>, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Alphard, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Alpha Andromed&aelig;, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>.<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Agnarii (Sadalmelik), <a href="#Page_67">67</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Arietis (Hamal), <a href="#Page_74">74</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Capricorni (Giedi), <a href="#Page_65">65</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Ceti (Menkar), <a href="#Page_70">70</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Draconis, formerly the pole-star, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Libr&aelig;, <a href="#Page_52">52</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Ophiuchi (Ras Alhague), <a href="#Page_42">42</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Orionis (Betelgeuse), <a href="#Page_91">91</a>, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>, <a href="#Page_106">106</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Pegasi (Markab), <a href="#Page_70">70</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Urs&aelig; Majoris, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+Alpheratz (&#945; Andromed&aelig;), <a href="#Page_79">79</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Alps, the lunar, <a href="#Page_135">135</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Altai Mountains, <a href="#Page_135">135</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Altair, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Andromed&aelig;, map of, <a href="#Page_76">76</a>.<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">mythology of, <a href="#Page_75">75</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+Antares, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Antinous, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Apennines, the lunar, <a href="#Page_135">135</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Apollonius, regarded the moon as a mirror, <a href="#Page_119">119</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Aquarius, map of, <a href="#Page_64">64</a>.<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">mythology of, <a href="#Page_67">67</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+Aquila, map of, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>.<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">mythology of, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+Aratus, description of the Manger, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>.<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the "Diosemia" of, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Phenomena of, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">story of Virgo, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">description of the "Royal Family," <a href="#Page_78">78</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">description of Cetus, <a href="#Page_70">70</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+Arcturus, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>, <a href="#Page_26">26</a>, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Argo, map of, <a href="#Page_110">110</a>.<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">mythology of, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+Aries, map of, <a href="#Page_71">71</a>.<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">mythology of, <a href="#Page_75">75</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+Ariosto, story of a trip to the moon, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Aristarchus, the shining mountain, <a href="#Page_125">125</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Aselli, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Asterope, <a href="#Page_103">103</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Atlas, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Auriga, map of, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>.<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">mythology of, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">star swarms in, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+Autumn, map of the Stars of, <a href="#Page_62">62</a>.<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Bartschius invents Monoceros, <a href="#Page_117">117</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Bay of Dew, <a href="#Page_129">129</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Bay of Rainbows, <a href="#Page_129">129</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Bear's head, stars forming the, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Bellatrix, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>, <a href="#Page_107">107</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Belt, Orion's, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>, <a href="#Page_107">107</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Berenice's Hair, the constellation of, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>.<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">picture of, <a href="#Page_53">53</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+Bessel, studies of Sirius and Procyon, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>.<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">letter about "dark stars," <a href="#Page_114">114</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+Beta Andromed&aelig; (Mirach), <a href="#Page_79">79</a>.<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Arietis (Sheratan), <a href="#Page_75">75</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Capricorni (Dabih), <a href="#Page_65">65</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Cassiopeia, <a href="#Page_74">74</a>.</span><br />
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[150]</a></span><br />
+Beta Corvi, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>.<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Cygni (Albireo), <a href="#Page_55">55</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Libr&aelig;, <a href="#Page_52">52</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Leonis (Denebola), <a href="#Page_12">12</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Lyr&aelig;, <a href="#Page_50">50</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Pegasi, <a href="#Page_70">70</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Scorpionis, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Urs&aelig; Minoris (Kochab), <a href="#Page_27">27</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+Betelgeuse (&#945; Orionis), <a href="#Page_91">91</a>, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>, <a href="#Page_106">106</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Bethlehem, the so-called Star of, <a href="#Page_87">87</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Biela's comet, it breaks up, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Biela meteors, radiant point of the, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Bo&ouml;tes, map of, <a href="#Page_50">50</a>.<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">mythology of, <a href="#Page_53">53</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Calisto, another name of Ursa Major, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Cancer, map of, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>.<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">mythology of, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+Canes Venatici, <a href="#Page_54">54</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Canis Major, map of, <a href="#Page_110">110</a>.<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">mythology of, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+Canis Minor, map of, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>.<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">mythology of, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+Canopus, <a href="#Page_114">114</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Capella, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>, <a href="#Page_89">89</a>, <a href="#Page_91">91</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Cape Heraclides, <a href="#Page_129">129</a>.<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Laplace, <a href="#Page_129">129</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+Capricornus, map of, <a href="#Page_64">64</a>.<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">mythology of, <a href="#Page_67">67</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+Cassiopeia, map of, <a href="#Page_76">76</a>.<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">mythology of, <a href="#Page_75">75</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+Castor, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Catharina, <a href="#Page_135">135</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Caucasus Mountains, <a href="#Page_135">135</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Cel&aelig;no, <a href="#Page_103">103</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Central Gulf, <a href="#Page_129">129</a>.<br />
+<br />
+"Central Sun," M&auml;dler's ideas about a, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Cepheus, map of, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>, <a href="#Page_76">76</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Cetus, map of, <a href="#Page_71">71</a>.<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">mythology of, <a href="#Page_70">70</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+Chi Ceti, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Clavius, <a href="#Page_124">124</a>, <a href="#Page_132">132</a>, <a href="#Page_133">133</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Coal-Sack, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Comet, Biela's, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Comet, Halley's, the Crab Nebula mistaken for, <a href="#Page_97">97</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Constellations, origin of, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>, <a href="#Page_61">61</a>.<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">along the Milky-Way, <a href="#Page_116">116</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the zodiacal, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+Constellations, St. Paul's knowledge of, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Copernicus, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Corvus, map of, <a href="#Page_26">26</a>.<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">mythology of, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+"Crimson Star," <a href="#Page_110">110</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Crisian Sea, <a href="#Page_127">127</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Cynosura, a name of Ursa Minor, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Cygnus, map of, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Cyrillus, <a href="#Page_135">135</a>.<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Dabih (&#946; Capricorni), <a href="#Page_65">65</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Dark Stars, Bessel's suggestion about, <a href="#Page_114">114</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Davy, Humphry, on life in other worlds, <a href="#Page_147">147</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Delta Canis Majoris, <a href="#Page_112">112</a>.<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Cephei, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Tauri, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+Deltoton, <a href="#Page_75">75</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Denebola (&#946; Leonis), <a href="#Page_12">12</a>, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Dipper, the Great, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Dog-Days, origin of the, <a href="#Page_111">111</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Dog-Star, <a href="#Page_111">111</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Dolphin, map of the, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>.<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">mythology of the, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+Draco, map of, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>.<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">mythology of, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+<br />
+El Nath, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_97">97</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Epsilon Leonis, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>.<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Lyr&aelig;, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Tauri, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Virginis, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+Equinox, autumnal, <a href="#Page_52">52</a>.<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">vernal, <a href="#Page_74">74</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+Eridanus, map of, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Eta Aquil&aelig;, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>.<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Field-glass, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Field of the Nebul&aelig;, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Flammarion, on &#945; Capricorni, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Flood traditions connected with the Pleiades, <a href="#Page_101">101</a>, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Focus, importance of a sharp, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Fomalhaut, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Fontenelle, "Plurality of Worlds," <a href="#Page_60">60</a>.<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Galileo, his telescope an opera-glass, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>.<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his description of Pr&aelig;sepe, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his description of the moon, <a href="#Page_118">118</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">power of his telescope, <a href="#Page_119">119</a>.</span><br />
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[151]</a></span><br />
+Gamma Andromed&aelig;, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>.<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Leonis, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Pegasi, <a href="#Page_70">70</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Tauri, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Virginis, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+"Garnet Star" (Mu Cephei), <a href="#Page_88">88</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Gemini, map of, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>.<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">mythology of, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+Genesis, a celestial, <a href="#Page_68">68</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Giedi (&#945; Capricorni), <a href="#Page_65">65</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Glass, use of smoked or colored, <a href="#Page_130">130</a>, <a href="#Page_146">146</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Goldschmidt sees a nebula in the Pleiades, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Gomelza, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Gore, estimate of the stars in 13 M, <a href="#Page_45">45</a>.<br />
+<br />
+"Grape-Gatherer" (&#949; Virginis), <a href="#Page_51">51</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Grensted, Rev. Mr., suggestion about lunar rays, <a href="#Page_132">132</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Grimaldi, <a href="#Page_130">130</a>.<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Halley's comet and Crab Nebula, <a href="#Page_97">97</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Hamal (&#945; Arietis), <a href="#Page_74">74</a>.<br />
+<br />
+H&aelig;mus Mountains, <a href="#Page_128">128</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Henry, Paul and Prosper, photographs of the Pleiades, <a href="#Page_105">105</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Hercules, map of, <a href="#Page_44">44</a>.<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">mythology of, <a href="#Page_45">45</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">motion of solar system toward, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+Herschel, William, discovers Uranus, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>.<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">computation of stars in 13 M, <a href="#Page_45">45</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">advice about seeing star-colors, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">thinks he sees lunar volcano, <a href="#Page_125">125</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">John, description of 8 M, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">suggestion about &#945; Capricorni, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+Holden, Prof., on the Milky-Way, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>.<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">structure of Ring Nebula, <a href="#Page_105">105</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+Hooke, discovers first telescopic double star, <a href="#Page_75">75</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Hyades, <a href="#Page_89">89</a>, <a href="#Page_95">95</a>, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Hydra, map of part of, <a href="#Page_26">26</a>.<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">mythology of, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+Hydra's Heart (Alphard), <a href="#Page_16">16</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Humboldt Sea, <a href="#Page_130">130</a>.<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Jeaurat, chart of the Pleiades, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Job's coffin, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Jupiter, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>.<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">satellites of, <a href="#Page_142">142</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Kappa Argus, <a href="#Page_116">116</a>.<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Tauri, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+Kepler observes the star of 1604, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Kingsley, story of Andromeda, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>.<br />
+<br />
+"King's lucky star," <a href="#Page_67">67</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Kochab (Beta Urs&aelig; Minoris), <a href="#Page_27">27</a>.<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Lake of Death, <a href="#Page_129">129</a>.<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">of Dreams, <a href="#Page_129">129</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+Land of Drought, <a href="#Page_130">130</a>.<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">of Hoar Frost, <a href="#Page_130">130</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+Leo, map of, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>.<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">mythology of, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">sickle-shaped figure in, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+Lepus, map of, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Lick telescope, views of Milky-Way, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>.<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">views of Ring Nebula, <a href="#Page_105">105</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+Light, the messenger of the universe, <a href="#Page_147">147</a>.<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">in a star-cluster, <a href="#Page_45">45</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+Libra, description and mythology of, <a href="#Page_52">52</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Life, does it exist beyond the earth? <a href="#Page_37">37</a>, <a href="#Page_48">48</a>, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>, <a href="#Page_139">139</a>, <a href="#Page_140">140</a>, <a href="#Page_147">147</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Locke, Richard Adams, author of the "Moon Hoax," <a href="#Page_125">125</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Lyra, map of, <a href="#Page_44">44</a>.<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">mythology of, <a href="#Page_45">45</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+<br />
+M&auml;dler, on the "Central Sun," <a href="#Page_104">104</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Maginus, <a href="#Page_124">124</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Maia, <a href="#Page_103">103</a>, <a href="#Page_105">105</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Man in the Moon, <a href="#Page_121">121</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Manger (Pr&aelig;sepe), <a href="#Page_15">15</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Marine glass, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Markab (&#945; Pegasi), <a href="#Page_70">70</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Marsh of Mists, <a href="#Page_129">129</a>.<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">of Putrefaction, <a href="#Page_129">129</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">of Sleep, <a href="#Page_127">127</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+Mars, <a href="#Page_140">140</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Medusa, the head of, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Menelaus, <a href="#Page_128">128</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Menkalina, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Menkar (&#945; Ceti), <a href="#Page_70">70</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Mercury, <a href="#Page_139">139</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Merope, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>, <a href="#Page_103">103</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Mesarthim, <a href="#Page_75">75</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Meteors, radiant point of November, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>.<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">radiant point of Biela, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+Micromegas, the story of, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Milk-Dipper, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Milky-Way, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>, <a href="#Page_116">116</a>.<br />
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[152]</a></span><br />
+Mira (&#959; Ceti), <a href="#Page_71">71</a>.<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">probable cause of its variations, <a href="#Page_72">72</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+Milton, account of Libra, <a href="#Page_52">52</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Mirach (&#946; Andromed&aelig;), <a href="#Page_79">79</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Mizar, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Moon, mountains of the, <a href="#Page_120">120</a>.<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">shadows on the, <a href="#Page_120">120</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">map of the, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">list of mountains, "seas," etc., <a href="#Page_123">123</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">inhabitableness of the, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the other side of the, <a href="#Page_138">138</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+"Moon Hoax," <a href="#Page_125">125</a>, <a href="#Page_128">128</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Monoceros, map of, <a href="#Page_110">110</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Mu Argus, <a href="#Page_116">116</a>.<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Scorpionis, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Nebul&aelig; (and Star-Clusters):<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">4 M, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">6 M, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">7 M, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">8 M, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">13 M, <a href="#Page_45">45</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">24 M, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">25 M, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">30 M, <a href="#Page_66">66</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">34 M, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">35 M, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">37 M, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">38 M, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">41 M, <a href="#Page_112">112</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">46 M, <a href="#Page_116">116</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">50 M, <a href="#Page_117">117</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">80 M, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">93 M, <a href="#Page_116">116</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">2<sup>7</sup>, <a href="#Page_117">117</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">33<sup>7</sup>, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">38<sup>8</sup>, <a href="#Page_116">116</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Andromeda, Great Nebula in, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>, <a href="#Page_80">80</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Aquarius, Nebula in, <a href="#Page_68">68</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Crab Nebula, <a href="#Page_97">97</a>, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Field of the Nebul&aelig;, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Horseshoe Nebula, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Orion, Great Nebula in, <a href="#Page_107">107</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Perseus, Great Cluster in, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Pleiades, nebul&aelig; in the, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Ring Nebula in Lyra, <a href="#Page_50">50</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+Nebular hypothesis, <a href="#Page_68">68</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Neison, description of sunrise on Clavius, <a href="#Page_133">133</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Newton, <a href="#Page_134">134</a>.<br />
+<br />
+"Nile-Star," <a href="#Page_111">111</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Northern Cross, <a href="#Page_54">54</a>, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Northern Crown, map of the, <a href="#Page_44">44</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Northern Fish, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Nu Andromed&aelig;, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>.<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Aquarii, a pointer to a nebula, <a href="#Page_68">68</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Canis Majoris, <a href="#Page_112">112</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Draconis, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Scorpionis, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Ocean of Storms, <a href="#Page_130">130</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Omicron Ceti (Mira), <a href="#Page_71">71</a>, <a href="#Page_72">72</a>.<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Cygni, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+Omicron two Eridani, a flying-star, <a href="#Page_95">95</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Opera-glass, views of the stars with, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>.<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">how to choose a good, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">magnifying power of, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">defects of, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+Ophiuchus and Serpens, map of, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>.<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">mythology of, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+Orion, map of, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>.<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">mythology of, <a href="#Page_109">109</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">great array of stars around, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">riches of, <a href="#Page_106">106</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">spectacle of the rising of, <a href="#Page_89">89</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+Orpheus, fancies about the moon, <a href="#Page_119">119</a>.<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Pegasus, map of, <a href="#Page_64">64</a>.<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">mythology of, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+Perseus, map of, <a href="#Page_76">76</a>.<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">mythology of, <a href="#Page_75">75</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">great cluster in, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+Phantom, another name of Hercules, <a href="#Page_45">45</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Photography, astronomical, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>, <a href="#Page_105">105</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Pi Argus, <a href="#Page_116">116</a>.<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Five Orionis, <a href="#Page_109">109</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Pegasi, <a href="#Page_70">70</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+Pisces, map of, <a href="#Page_71">71</a>.<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">mythology of, <a href="#Page_74">74</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+Piscis Australis, <a href="#Page_67">67</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Plato, <a href="#Page_135">135</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Pleiades, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_89">89</a>, <a href="#Page_95">95</a>.<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">names of the, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">mythology of, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">and the Flood, <a href="#Page_101">101</a>, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">and the Great Pyramid, <a href="#Page_101">101</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">picture of the, <a href="#Page_103">103</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">common motion of the, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+Pleione, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>, <a href="#Page_103">103</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Pole-star, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>, <a href="#Page_26">26</a>.<br />
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[153]</a></span><br />
+Pollux, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Pr&aelig;sepe (the Manger), <a href="#Page_15">15</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Prime Meridian, <a href="#Page_74">74</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Proclus, <a href="#Page_127">127</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Procyon, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Pyramid of Cheops and the Pleiades, <a href="#Page_101">101</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Pyrenees Mountains, <a href="#Page_128">128</a>.<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Ras Alhague (&#945; Ophiuchi), <a href="#Page_42">42</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Rays of the Moon, <a href="#Page_131">131</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Regulus, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Revolution of the heavens, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Rho Ophiuchi, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Rigel, <a href="#Page_91">91</a>, <a href="#Page_94">94</a>, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>, <a href="#Page_108">108</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Ring Nebula, <a href="#Page_50">50</a>.<br />
+<br />
+"Royal Family," <a href="#Page_63">63</a>, <a href="#Page_75">75</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Rutherford, photograph of the moon, <a href="#Page_122">122</a>.<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Sadalmelik (&#945; Aquarii), <a href="#Page_67">67</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Sagitta, map of, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Sagittarius, map of, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>.<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">mythology of, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+Saiph, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Saturn, <a href="#Page_142">142</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Scorpio, map of, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>.<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">mythology of, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">pair of stars in sting of, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+Schickhard, <a href="#Page_130">130</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Sea of Clouds, <a href="#Page_130">130</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Sea of Cold, <a href="#Page_129">129</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Sea of Fertility, <a href="#Page_127">127</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Sea of Humors, <a href="#Page_130">130</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Sea of Nectar, <a href="#Page_128">128</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Sea of Serenity, <a href="#Page_128">128</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Sea of Showers, <a href="#Page_129">129</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Sea of Tranquillity, <a href="#Page_127">127</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Sea of Vapors, <a href="#Page_129">129</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Secchi, Father, types of the stars, <a href="#Page_106">106</a>.<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">description of a star-swarm, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+Seiss, Rev. Dr., on Canis Minor, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>.<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">description of Auriga, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+Sheratan (&#946; Arietis), <a href="#Page_75">75</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Sidus Ludovicianum, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Sirius, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_91">91</a>.<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">color of, <a href="#Page_111">111</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">size and distance of, <a href="#Page_112">112</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the companion of, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_114">114</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">its light compared with the sun's, <a href="#Page_46">46</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+Sigma Tauri, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Sixty-one Cygni, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Smyth, Admiral, on Capricorn, <a href="#Page_67">67</a>.<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">description of Aldebaran, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">description of 35 M, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+Solstice, summer, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>.<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">winter, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+Sobieski's Shield, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Solar system, voyaging of, in space, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Southern Cross, <a href="#Page_91">91</a>, <a href="#Page_116">116</a>.<br />
+<br />
+South Sea, <a href="#Page_130">130</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Spectroscopic analysis, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Spica, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>, <a href="#Page_26">26</a>, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Spring, map of the stars of, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Square of Pegasus, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>.<br />
+<br />
+St. Paul, acquainted with the constellations, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Star-Clusters (see Nebul&aelig;, etc.).<br />
+<br />
+Star-Cluster, light in a, <a href="#Page_45">45</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Summer, map of the stars of, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Sun, opera-glass observations of the, <a href="#Page_145">145</a>.<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the, a variable star, <a href="#Page_72">72</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+Sword of Orion, <a href="#Page_107">107</a>.<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Taurus, map of, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>.<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">mythology of, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the "Golden Horns" of, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Poniatowskii, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+Tau Aquarii, <a href="#Page_68">68</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Taygeta, <a href="#Page_103">103</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Temporary stars:<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">134 B. C. the first on record, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">393 A. D., <a href="#Page_35">35</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">827, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">1203, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">1572, Tycho's star, <a href="#Page_87">87</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">1578, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">1604, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">1860, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">1885, <a href="#Page_80">80</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+Temple, discovers a nebula in the Pleiades, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Tennyson, describes the Pleiades, <a href="#Page_105">105</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Theophilus, <a href="#Page_135">135</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Theta Orionis, <a href="#Page_107">107</a>.<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Serpentis, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Tauri, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+Tobias Mayer, sees the planet Neptune, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Triangles, map of the, <a href="#Page_71">71</a>.<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">mythology of, <a href="#Page_75">75</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+Twenty-two Canis Majoris, <a href="#Page_112">112</a>.<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Scorpii, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>.</span><br />
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[154]</a></span><br />
+Tycho Brahe, invents Antinous, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>.<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">places Hamal in Aries, <a href="#Page_75">75</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">studies the star of 1572, <a href="#Page_87">87</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+Tycho, <a href="#Page_122">122</a>, <a href="#Page_131">131</a>.<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Upsilon Tauri, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Uranus, discovery of, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>.<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">how to find, <a href="#Page_142">142</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+Ursa Major, map of, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>.<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">mythology of, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">stars in the feet of, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+Ursa Minor, map of, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>.<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">mythology of, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Vega, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Venus, mistaken for artificial light, <a href="#Page_2">2</a>.<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">opera-glass observation of, <a href="#Page_139">139</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+Virgil, description of Taurus, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Virgo, map of, <a href="#Page_50">50</a>.<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">mythology of, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+Vision, seeing with averted, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Voltaire, story of "Micromegas," <a href="#Page_115">115</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Vulpecula, map of, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>.<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Webb, Rev. T. W., on telescopes, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>.<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">on 35 M, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+Western Fish, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Winter, brilliancy of the heavens in, <a href="#Page_91">91</a>.<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">map of the stars of, <a href="#Page_92">92</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+Woman in the Moon, <a href="#Page_121">121</a>.<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Zeta Corvi, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>.<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Cassiopeia, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Leonis, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Lyr&aelig;, <a href="#Page_50">50</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Scorpionis, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Tauri, a pointer to the Crab Nebula, <a href="#Page_97">97</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+Zi Argus, <a href="#Page_116">116</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Zodiac, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>.<br />
+<br />
+Zodiac, divided among the Twelve Apostles, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>.<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">of Dendera, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>.</span><br />
+<br />
+Z&ouml;llner, estimate of Sirius's light, <a href="#Page_46">46</a>.<br />
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<h5>THE END.</h5>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Astronomy with an Opera-glass, by 
+Garrett Putman Serviss
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ASTRONOMY WITH AN OPERA-GLASS ***
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+***** This file should be named 36741-h.htm or 36741-h.zip *****
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+</body>
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@@ -0,0 +1,5728 @@
+Project Gutenberg's Astronomy with an Opera-glass, by Garrett Putman Serviss
+
+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
+
+
+Title: Astronomy with an Opera-glass
+       A Popular Introduction to the Study of the Starry Heavens
+       with the Simplest of Optical Instruments
+
+Author: Garrett Putman Serviss
+
+Release Date: July 15, 2011 [EBook #36741]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ASTRONOMY WITH AN OPERA-GLASS ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by dkretz and the Online Distributed Proofreading
+Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from
+images generously made available by The Internet Archive)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+  ASTRONOMY
+
+  WITH AN OPERA-GLASS
+
+
+  A POPULAR INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF THE STARRY
+  HEAVENS WITH THE SIMPLEST OF OPTICAL INSTRUMENTS
+
+
+  WITH MAPS AND DIRECTIONS TO FACILITATE THE RECOGNITION
+  OF THE CONSTELLATIONS AND THE PRINCIPAL STARS VISIBLE
+  TO THE NAKED EYE
+
+
+  BY
+
+  GARRETT P. SERVISS
+
+
+  "Known are their laws; in harmony unroll
+  The nineteen-orbed cycles of the Moon.
+  And all the signs through which Night whirls her car
+  From belted Orion back to Orion and his dauntless Hound,
+  And all Poseidon's, all high Zeus' stars
+  Bear on their beams true messages to man."
+                                           POSTE'S ARATUS.
+
+
+  _THIRD EDITION_
+
+
+  NEW YORK
+  D. APPLETON AND COMPANY
+  LONDON: CAXTON HOUSE, PATERNOSTER SQUARE
+  1890
+
+
+  COPYRIGHT, 1888,
+  BY D APPLETON AND COMPANY.
+
+
+
+
+TO THE READER
+
+
+In the pages that follow, the author has endeavored to encourage the
+study of the heavenly bodies by pointing out some of the interesting and
+marvelous phenomena of the universe that are visible with little or no
+assistance from optical instruments, and indicating means of becoming
+acquainted with the constellations and the planets. Knowing that an
+opera-glass is capable of revealing some of the most beautiful sights in
+the starry dome, and believing that many persons would be glad to learn
+the fact, he set to work with such an instrument and surveyed all the
+constellations visible in the latitude of New York, carefully noting
+everything that it seemed might interest amateur star-gazers. All the
+objects thus observed have not been included in this book, lest the
+multiplicity of details should deter or discourage the very readers for
+whom it was specially written. On the other hand, there is nothing
+described as visible with an opera-glass or a field-glass which the
+author has not seen with an instrument of that description, and which
+any person possessing eye-sight of average quality and a competent glass
+should not be able to discern.
+
+But, in order to lend due interest to the subject, and place it before
+the reader in a proper light and true perspective, many facts have been
+stated concerning the objects described, the ascertainment of which has
+required the aid of powerful telescopes, and to observers with such
+instruments is reserved the noble pleasure of confirming with their own
+eyes those wonderful discoveries which the looker with an opera-glass
+can not hope to behold unless, happily, he should be spurred on to the
+possession of a telescope. Yet even to glimpse dimly these distant
+wonders, knowing what a closer view would reveal, is a source of no mean
+satisfaction, while the celestial phenomena that lie easily within reach
+of an opera-glass are sufficient to furnish delight and instruction for
+many an evening.
+
+It should be said that the division of the stars used in this book into
+the "Stars of Spring," "Stars of Summer," "Stars of Autumn," and "Stars
+of Winter," is purely arbitrary, and intended only to indicate the
+seasons when certain constellations are best situated for observation or
+most conspicuous.
+
+The greater part of the matter composing this volume appeared originally
+in a series of articles contributed by the author to "The Popular
+Science Monthly" in 1887-'88. The reception that those articles met with
+encouraged him to revise and enlarge them for publication in the more
+permanent form of a book.
+
+                                                            G. P. S.
+
+  BROOKLYN, N. Y., _September, 1888._
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+
+                                                                  PAGE
+  INTRODUCTION                                                       1
+
+    Popular interest in the phenomena of the heavens.
+
+    The opera-glass as an instrument of observation for beginners
+        in star-study.
+
+    Testing an opera-glass.
+
+
+  CHAPTER I.
+
+  THE STARS OF SPRING                                                7
+
+    _Description of the Constellations_--Auriga, the Charioteer;
+        Berenice's Hair; Cancer, the Crab [the Manger]; Canis
+        Minor, the Lesser Dog; Corvus, the Crow; Crateris, the
+        Cup; Gemini, the Twins; Hydra, the Water-Serpent; Leo,
+        the Lion; Ursa Major, the Greater Bear [the Great Dipper];
+        Ursa Minor, the Lesser Bear [the Pole-Star].
+
+    A circular index-map, maps on a larger scale, of the
+        constellations described, and pictures of remarkable
+        objects.
+
+
+  CHAPTER II.
+
+  THE STARS OF SUMMER                                               30
+
+    _Description of the Constellations_--Aquila, the Eagle;
+        Booetes, the Herdsman, or Bear-Diver; Canes Venatici,
+        the Hunting-Dogs; Cygnus, the Swan [the Northern Cross];
+        Delphinus, the Dolphin; Draco, the Dragon; Hercules
+        [the Great Sun-Swarm, 13 M]; Libra, the Balance; Lyra,
+        the Harp; the Northern Crown; Ophiuchus et Serpens,
+        the Serpent-bearer and the Serpent; Sagitta, the Arrow;
+        Sagittarius, the Archer; Scorpio, the Scorpion;
+        Sobieski's Shield; Taurus Poniatowskii, Poniatowsky's
+        Bull; Virgo, the Virgin [the Field of the Nebulae];
+        Vulpecula, the Little Fox.
+
+    A circular index-map, maps, on a larger scale, of the
+        constellations described, and pictures of remarkable
+        objects.
+
+
+  CHAPTER III.
+
+  THE STARS OF AUTUMN                                               60
+
+    _Description of the Constellations_--Andromeda [the Great
+        Nebula]; Aquarius, the Water-Bearer; Aries, the Ram;
+        Capricornus, the Goat; Cassiopeia; Cepheus; Cetus,
+        the Whale [Mira, the wonderful variable star];
+        Pegasus, the Winged Horse.
+
+    Perseus [Algol, the Demon-Star]; Pisces, the Fishes;
+        Piscis Australis, the Southern Fish; the Triangles.
+
+    A circular index-map, maps on a larger scale, of the
+        constellations described, and pictures of remarkable
+        objects.
+
+
+  CHAPTER IV.
+
+  THE STARS OF WINTER                                               89
+
+    _Description of the Constellations_--Argo, Jason's Ship;
+        Canis Major, the Great Dog [Sirius]; Eridanus, the
+        river Po; Lepus, the Hare; Monoceros, the Unicorn;
+        Orion [the Great Nebula]; Taurus, the Bull [the
+        Pleiades and Hyades].
+
+    A circular index-map, maps on a larger scale, of the
+        constellations described, and pictures of remarkable
+        objects.
+
+
+  CHAPTER V.
+
+  THE MOON, THE PLANETS, AND THE SUN                               118
+
+    Description of lunar "seas," mountains, and "craters,"
+        with a map of the moon, and cuts showing its appearance
+        with a field-glass.
+
+    _Opera-glass observation of_--The sun (one cut), Mercury,
+        Venus, Mars, Jupiter and his satellites (one cut),
+        Saturn, Uranus (three cuts).
+
+
+
+
+ASTRONOMY WITH AN OPERA-GLASS.
+
+
+
+
+INTRODUCTION.
+
+
+Star-gazing was never more popular than it is now. In every civilized
+country many excellent telescopes are owned and used, often to very good
+purpose, by persons who are not practical astronomers, but who wish to
+see for themselves the marvels of the sky, and who occasionally stumble
+upon something that is new even to professional star-gazers. Yet,
+notwithstanding this activity in the cultivation of astronomical
+studies, it is probably safe to assert that hardly one person in a
+hundred knows the chief stars by name, or can even recognize the
+principal constellations, much less distinguish the planets from the
+fixed stars. And of course they know nothing of the intellectual
+pleasure that accompanies a knowledge of the stars. Modern astronomy is
+so rapidly and wonderfully linking the earth and the sun together, with
+all the orbs of space, in the bonds of close physical relationship, that
+a person of education and general intelligence can offer no valid excuse
+for not knowing where to look for Sirius or Aldebaran, or the Orion
+nebula, or the planet Jupiter. As Australia and New Zealand and the
+islands of the sea are made a part of the civilized world through the
+expanding influence of commerce and cultivation, so the suns and planets
+around us are, in a certain sense, falling under the dominion of the
+restless and resistless mind of man. We have come to possess vested
+intellectual interests in Mars and Saturn, and in the sun and all his
+multitude of fellows, which nobody can afford to ignore.
+
+A singular proof of popular ignorance of the starry heavens, as well as
+of popular curiosity concerning any uncommon celestial phenomenon, is
+furnished by the curious notions prevailing about the planet Venus. When
+Venus began to attract general attention in the western sky in the early
+evenings of the spring of 1887, speculation quickly became rife about
+it, particularly on the great Brooklyn Bridge. As the planet hung
+dazzlingly bright over the New Jersey horizon, some people appeared to
+think it was the light of Liberty's torch, mistaking the bronze
+goddess's real flambeau for a part of the electric-light system of the
+metropolis. Finally (to judge from the letters written to the
+newspapers, and the questions asked of individuals supposed to know
+something about the secrets of the sky), the conviction seems to have
+become pretty widely distributed that the strange light in the west was
+no less than an electrically illuminated balloon, nightly sent skyward
+by Mr. Edison, for no other conceivable reason than a wizardly desire to
+mystify his fellow-men. I have positive information that this ridiculous
+notion has been actually entertained by more than one person of
+intelligence. And as Venus glowed with increasing splendor in the serene
+evenings of June, she continued to be mistaken for some petty artificial
+light instead of the magnificent world that she was, sparkling out there
+in the sunshine like a globe of burnished silver. Yet Venus as an
+evening star is not so rare a phenomenon that people of intelligence
+should be surprised at it. Once in every 584 days she reappears at the
+same place in the sunset sky--
+
+  "Gem of the crimson-colored even,
+  Companion of retiring day."
+
+No eye can fail to note her, and as the nearest and most beautiful of
+the Earth's sisters it would seem that everybody should be as familiar
+with her appearance as with the face of a friend. But the popular
+ignorance of Venus, and the other members of the planetary family to
+which our mother, the Earth, belongs, is only an index of the denser
+ignorance concerning the stars--the brothers of our great father, the
+Sun. I believe this ignorance is largely due to mere indifference,
+which, in its turn, arises from a false and pedantic method of
+presenting astronomy as a creature of mathematical formulae, and a humble
+handmaiden of the art of navigation. I do not, of course, mean to cast
+doubt upon the scientific value of technical work in astronomy. The
+science could not exist without it. Those who have made the spectroscope
+reveal the composition of the sun and stars, and who are now making
+photography picture the heavens as they are, and even reveal phenomena
+which lie beyond the range of human vision, are the men who have taken
+astronomy out of its swaddling-clothes, and set it on its feet as a
+progressive science. But when one sees the depressing and repellent
+effect that has evidently been produced upon the popular mind by the
+ordinary methods of presenting astronomy, one can not resist the
+temptation to utter a vigorous protest, and to declare that this
+glorious science is not the grinning mathematical skeleton that it has
+been represented to be.
+
+Perhaps one reason why the average educated man or woman knows so little
+of the starry heavens is because it is popularly supposed that only the
+most powerful telescopes and costly instruments of the observatory are
+capable of dealing with them. No greater mistake could be made. It does
+not require an optical instrument of any kind, nor much labor, as
+compared with that expended in the acquirement of some polished
+accomplishments regarded as indispensable, to give one an acquaintance
+with the stars and planets which will be not only pleasurable but
+useful. And with the aid of an opera-glass most interesting, gratifying,
+and, in some instances, scientifically valuable observations may be made
+in the heavens. I have more than once heard persons who knew nothing
+about the stars, and probably cared less, utter exclamations of surprise
+and delight when persuaded to look at certain parts of the sky with a
+good glass, and thereafter manifest an interest in astronomy of which
+they would formerly have believed themselves incapable.
+
+Being convinced that whoever will survey the heavens with a good
+opera-glass will feel repaid many fold for his time and labor, I have
+undertaken to point out some of the objects most worthy of attention,
+and some of the means of making acquaintance with the stars.
+
+First, a word about the instrument to be used. Galileo made his famous
+discoveries with what was, in principle of construction, simply an
+opera-glass. This form of telescope was afterward abandoned because very
+high magnifying powers could not be employed with it, and the field of
+view was restricted. But, on account of its brilliant illumination of
+objects looked at, and its convenience of form, the opera-glass is still
+a valuable and, in some respects, unrivaled instrument of observation.
+
+In choosing an opera-glass, see first that the object-glasses are
+achromatic, although this caution is hardly necessary, for all modern
+opera-glasses, worthy of the name, are made with achromatic objectives.
+But there are great differences in the quality of the work. If a glass
+shows a colored fringe around a bright object, reject it. Let the
+diameter of the object-glasses, which are the large lenses in the end
+farthest from the eye, be not less than an inch and a half. The
+magnifying power should be at least three or four diameters. A familiar
+way of estimating the magnifying power is by looking at a brick wall
+through one barrel of the opera-glass with one eye, while the other eye
+sees the wall without the intervention of the glass. Then notice how
+many bricks seen by the naked eye are required to equal in thickness one
+brick seen through the glass. That number represents the magnifying
+power.
+
+The instrument used by the writer in making most of the observations for
+this book has object-glasses 1.6 inch in diameter, and a magnifying
+power of about 3.6 times.
+
+See that the fields of view given by the two barrels of the opera-glass
+coincide, or blend perfectly together. If one appears to partially
+overlap the other when looking at a distant object, the effect is very
+annoying. This fault arises from the barrels of the opera-glass being
+placed too far apart, so that their optical centers do not coincide with
+the centers of the observer's eyes.
+
+[Illustration: A VERY BAD FIELD.]
+
+Occasionally, on account of faulty centering of the lenses, a double
+image is given of objects looked at, as illustrated in the accompanying
+cut. In such a case the glass is worthless; but if the effect is simply
+the addition of a small, crescent-shaped extension on one side of the
+field of view without any reduplication, the fault may be overlooked,
+though it is far better to select a glass that gives a perfectly round
+field. Some glasses have an arrangement for adjusting the distance
+between the barrels to suit the eyes of different persons, and it would
+be well if all were made adjustable in the same way.
+
+Don't buy a cheap glass, but don't waste your money on fancy mountings.
+What the Rev. T. W. Webb says of telescopes is equally true of
+opera-glasses: "Inferior articles may be showily got up, and the outside
+must go for nothing." There are a few makers whose names, stamped upon
+the instrument, may generally be regarded as a guarantee of excellence.
+But the best test is that of actual performance. I have a field-glass
+which I found in a pawn-shop, that has no maker's name upon it, but in
+some respects is quite capable of bearing comparison with the work of
+the best advertised opticians. And this leads me to say that, by the
+exercise of good judgment, one may occasionally purchase superior
+glasses at very reasonable prices in the pawn-shops. Ask to be shown the
+old and well-tried articles; you may find among them a second-hand glass
+of fine optical properties. If the lenses are not injured, one need not
+trouble one's self about the worn appearance of the outside of the
+instrument; so much the more evidence that somebody has found it well
+worth using.
+
+A good field or marine glass is in some respects better than an
+opera-glass for celestial observations. It possesses a much higher
+magnifying power, and this gives sometimes a decided advantage. But, on
+the other hand, its field of view is smaller, rendering it more
+difficult to find and hold objects. Besides, it does not present as
+brilliant views of scattered star-clusters as an opera-glass does. For
+the benefit of those who possess field-glasses, however, I have included
+in this brief survey certain objects that lie just beyond the reach of
+opera-glasses, but can be seen with the larger instruments.
+
+I have thought it advisable in the descriptions of the constellations
+which follow to give some account of their mythological origin, both
+because of the historical interest which attaches to it, and because,
+while astronomers have long since banished the constellation figures
+from their maps, the names which the constellations continue to bear
+require some explanation, and they possess a literary and romantic
+interest which can not be altogether disregarded in a work that is not
+intended for purely scientific readers.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+THE STARS OF SPRING.
+
+
+Having selected your glass, the next thing is to find the stars. Of
+course, one could sweep over the heavens at random on a starry night and
+see many interesting things, but he would soon tire of such aimless
+occupation. The observer must know what he is looking at in order to
+derive any real pleasure or satisfaction from the sight.
+
+It really makes no difference at what time of the year such observations
+are begun, but for convenience I will suppose that they are begun in the
+spring. We can then follow the revolution of the heavens through a year,
+at the end of which the diligent observer will have acquired a competent
+knowledge of the constellations. The circular map, No. 1, represents the
+appearance of the heavens at midnight on the 1st of March, at eleven
+o'clock on the 15th of March, at ten o'clock on the 1st of April, at
+nine o'clock on the 15th of April, and at eight o'clock on the 1st of
+May. The reason why a single map can thus be made to show the places of
+the stars at different hours in different months will be plain upon a
+little reflection. In consequence of the earth's annual journey around
+the sun, the whole heavens make one apparent revolution in a year. This
+revolution, it is clear, must be at the rate of 30 deg. in a month, since
+the complete circuit comprises 360 deg.. But, in addition to the annual
+revolution, there is a diurnal revolution of the heavens which is caused
+by the earth's daily rotation upon its axis, and this revolution must,
+for a similar reason, be performed at the rate of 15 deg. for each of the
+twenty-four hours. It follows that in two hours of the daily revolution
+the stars will change their places to the same extent as in one month of
+the annual revolution. It follows also that, if one could watch the
+heavens throughout the whole twenty-four hours, and not be interrupted
+by daylight, he would behold the complete circuit of the stars just as
+he would do if, for a year, he should look at the heavens at a
+particular hour every night. Suppose that at nine o'clock on the 1st of
+June we see the star Spica on the meridian; in consequence of the
+rotation of the earth, two hours later, or at eleven o'clock, Spica will
+be 30 deg. west of the meridian. But that is just the position which Spica
+would occupy at nine o'clock on the 1st of July, for in one month
+(supposing a month to be accurately the twelfth part of a year) the
+stars shift their places 30 deg. toward the west. If, then, we should make a
+map of the stars for nine o'clock on the 1st of July, it would answer
+just as well for eleven o'clock on the 1st of June, or for seven o'clock
+on the 1st of August.
+
+[Illustration: MAP 1.]
+
+The center of the map is the zenith, or point overhead. The reader must
+now exercise his imagination a little, for it is impossible to represent
+the true appearance of the concave of the heavens on flat paper. Holding
+the map over your head, with the points marked East, West, North, and
+South in their proper places, conceive of it as shaped like the inside
+of an open umbrella, the edge all around extending clear down to the
+horizon. Suppose you are facing the south, then you will see, up near
+the zenith, the constellation of Leo, which can be readily recognized on
+the map by six stars that mark out the figure of a sickle standing
+upright on its handle. The large star in the bottom of the handle is
+Regulus. Having fixed the appearance and situation of this constellation
+in your mind, go out-of-doors, face the south, and try to find the
+constellation in the sky. With a little application you will be sure to
+succeed.
+
+Using Leo as a basis of operations, your conquest of the sky will now
+proceed more rapidly. By reference to the map you will be able to
+recognize the twin stars of Gemini, southwest of the zenith and high up;
+the brilliant lone star, Procyon, south of Gemini; the dazzling Sirius,
+flashing low down in the southwest; Orion, with all his brilliants,
+blazing in the west; red Aldebaran and the Pleiades off to his right;
+and Capella, bright as a diamond, high up above Orion, toward the north.
+In the southeast you will recognize the quadrilateral of Corvus, with
+the remarkably white star Spica glittering east of it.
+
+Next face the north. If you are not just sure where north is, try a
+pocket-compass. This advice is by no means unnecessary, for there are
+many intelligent persons who are unable to indicate true north within
+many degrees, though standing on their own doorstep. Having found the
+north point as near as you can, look upward about forty degrees from the
+horizon, and you will see the lone twinkler called the north or pole
+star. Forty degrees is a little less than half-way from the horizon to
+the zenith.
+
+By the aid of the map, again, you will be able to find, high up in the
+northeast, near the zenith, the large dipper-shaped figure in Ursa
+Major, and, when you have once noticed that the two stars in the outer
+edge of the bowl of the Dipper point almost directly to the pole-star,
+you will have an unfailing means of picking out the latter star
+hereafter, when in doubt.[A] Continuing the curve of the Dipper-handle,
+in the northeast, your eye will be led to a bright reddish star, which
+is Arcturus, in the constellation Booetes.
+
+    [A] Let the reader remember that the distance between the two
+        stars in the brim of the bowl of the Dipper is about ten
+        degrees, and he will have a measuring-stick that he can
+        apply in estimating other distances in the heavens.
+
+In the same way you will be able to find the constellations Cassiopeia,
+Cepheus, Draco, and Perseus. Don't expect to accomplish it all in an
+hour. You may have to devote two or three evenings to such observation,
+and make many trips indoors to consult the map, before you have mastered
+the subject; but when you have done it you will feel amply repaid for
+your exertions, and you will have made for yourself silent friends in
+the heavens that will beam kindly upon you, like old neighbors, on
+whatever side of the world you may wander.
+
+Having fixed the general outlines and location of the constellations in
+your mind, and learned to recognize the chief stars, take your
+opera-glass and begin with the constellation Leo and the star Regulus.
+Contrive to have some convenient rest for your arms in holding the
+glass, and thus obtain not only comfort but steadiness of vision. A
+lazy-back chair makes a capital observing-seat. Be very particular, too,
+to get a sharp focus. Remember that no two persons' eyes are alike, and
+that even the eyes of the same observer occasionally require a change.
+In looking for a difficult object, I have sometimes suddenly brought the
+sought-for phenomenon into view by a slight turn of the focusing-screw.
+
+You will at once be gratified by the increased brilliancy of the star as
+seen by the glass. If the night is clear, it will glow like a diamond.
+Yet Regulus, although ranked as a first-magnitude star, and of great
+repute among the ancient astrologers, is far inferior in brilliancy to
+such stars as Capella and Arcturus, to say nothing of Sirius.
+
+By consulting map No. 2 you will next be able to find the celebrated
+star bearing the name of the Greek letter Gamma ([gamma]). If you had a
+telescope, you would see this star as a close and beautiful double, of
+contrasted colors. But it is optically double, even with an opera-glass.
+You can not fail to see a small star near it, looking quite close if the
+magnifying power of your glass is less than three times. You will be
+struck by the surprising change of color in turning from Regulus to
+Gamma--the former is white and the latter deep yellow. It will be well
+to look first at one and then at the other, several times, for this is a
+good instance of what you will meet with many times in your future
+surveys of the heavens--a striking contrast of color in neighboring
+stars. One can thus comprehend that there is more than one sense in
+which to understand the Scriptural declaration that "one star differeth
+from another in glory." The radiant point of the famous November
+meteors, which, in 1833 and 1866, filled the sky with fiery showers, is
+near Gamma. Turn next to the star in Leo marked Zeta ([zeta]). If your
+glass is a pretty large and good one, and your eye keen, you will easily
+see three minute companion stars keeping company with Zeta, two on the
+southeast, and one, much closer, toward the north. The nearest of the
+two on the south is faint, being only between the eighth and ninth
+magnitude, and will probably severely test your powers of vision. Next
+look at Epsilon ([epsilon]), and you will find near it two
+seventh-magnitude companions, making a beautiful little triangle.
+
+[Illustration: MAP 2.]
+
+Away at the eastern end of the constellation, in the tail of the
+imaginary Lion, upon whose breast shines Regulus, is the star Beta
+([beta]) Leonis, also called Denebola. It is almost as bright as its
+leader, Regulus, and you will probably be able to catch a tinge of blue
+in its rays. South of Denebola, at a distance of nineteen minutes of
+arc, or somewhat more than half the apparent diameter of the moon, you
+will see a little star of the sixth magnitude, which is one of the
+several "companions" for which Denebola is celebrated. There is another
+star of the eighth magnitude in the same direction from Denebola, but at
+a distance of less than five minutes, and this you may be able to
+glimpse with a powerful field-glass, under favorable conditions. I have
+seen it well with a field-glass of 1.6-inch aperture, and a magnifying
+power of seven times. But it requires an experienced eye and steady
+vision to catch this shy twinkler.
+
+When looking for a faint and difficult object, the plan pursued by
+telescopists is to avert the eye from the precise point upon which the
+attention is fixed, in order to bring a more sensitive part of the
+retina into play than that usually employed. Look toward the edge of the
+field of view, while the object you are seeking is in the center, and
+then, if it can be seen at all with your glass, you will catch sight of
+it, as it were, out of the corner of your eye. The effect of seeing a
+faint star in this way, in the neighborhood of a large one, whose rays
+hide it from direct vision, is sometimes very amusing. The little star
+seems to dart out into view as through a curtain, perfectly distinct,
+though as immeasurably minute as the point of a needle. But the instant
+you direct your eyes straight at it, presto! it is gone. And so it will
+dodge in and out of sight as often as you turn your eyes.
+
+If you will sweep carefully over the whole extent of Leo, whose chief
+stars are marked with their Greek-letter names on our little map, you
+will be impressed with the power of your glass to bring into sight many
+faint stars in regions that seem barren to the naked eye. An opera-glass
+of 1.5 aperture will show ten times as many stars as the naked eye can
+see.
+
+A word about the "Lion" which this constellation is supposed to
+represent. It requires a vivid imagination to perceive the outlines of
+the celestial king of beasts among the stars, and yet somebody taught
+the people of ancient India and the old Egyptians to see him there, and
+there he has remained since the dawn of history. Modern astronomers
+strike him out of their charts, together with all the picturesque
+multitude of beasts and birds and men and women that bear him company,
+but they can not altogether banish him, or any of his congeners, for the
+old names, and, practically, the old outlines of the constellations are
+retained, and always will be retained. The Lion is the most conspicuous
+figure in the celebrated zodiac of Dendera; and, indeed, there is
+evidence that before the story of Hercules and his labors was told this
+lion was already imagined shining among the stars. It was characteristic
+of the Greeks that they seized him for their own, and tried to rob him
+of his real antiquity by pretending that Jupiter had placed him among
+the stars in commemoration of Hercules's victory over the Nemaean lion.
+In the Hebrew zodiac Leo represented the Lion of Judah. It was thus
+always a lion that the ancients thought they saw in this constellation.
+
+In the old star-maps the Lion is represented as in the act of springing
+upon his prey. His face is to the west, and the star Regulus is in his
+heart. The sickle-shaped figure covers his breast and head, Gamma being
+in the shoulder, Zeta in the mane of the neck, Mu and Epsilon in the
+cheek, and Lambda in the jaws. The fore-paws are drawn up to the breast
+and represented by the stars Zi and Omicron. Denebola is in the tuft of
+the tail. The hind-legs are extended downward at full length, in the act
+of springing. Starting from the star Delta in the hip, the row
+consisting of Theta, Iota, Tau, and Upsilon, shows the line of the
+hind-legs.
+
+Leo had an unsavory reputation among the ancients because of his
+supposed influence upon the weather. The greatest heat of summer was
+felt when the sun was in this constellation:
+
+  "Most scorching is the chariot of the Sun,
+  And waving spikes no longer hide the furrows
+  When he begins to travel with the Lion."
+
+Looking now westwardly from the Sickle of Leo, at a distance about equal
+to twice the length of the Sickle, your eye will be caught by a small
+silvery spot in the sky lying nearly between two rather faint stars.
+This is the famous Praesepe, or Manger, in the center of the
+constellation Cancer. The two stars on either side of it are called the
+Aselli, or the Ass's Colts, and the imagination of the ancients pictured
+them feeding from their silver manger. Turn your glass upon the Manger
+and you will see that it consists of a crowd of little stars, so small
+and numerous that you will probably not undertake to count them, unless
+you are using a large field-glass. Galileo has left a delightful
+description of his surprise and gratification when he aimed his
+telescope at this curious cluster and other similar aggregations of
+stars and discovered what they really were. Using his best instrument,
+he was able to count thirty-six stars in the Manger. The Manger was a
+famous weather-sign in olden times, and Aratus, in his "Diosemia,"
+advises his readers to--
+
+  "... watch the Manger: like a little mist
+  Far north in Cancer's territory it floats.
+  Its confines are two faintly glimmering stars;
+  These are two asses that a manger parts,
+  Which suddenly, when all the sky is clear,
+  Sometimes quite vanishes, and the two stars
+  Seem to have closer moved their sundered orbs.
+  No feeble tempest then will soak the leas;
+  A murky manger with both stars
+  Shining unaltered is a sign of rain."
+
+Like other old weather-saws, this probably possesses a gleam of sense,
+for it is only when the atmosphere is perfectly transparent that the
+Manger can be clearly seen; when the air is thick with mist, the
+harbinger of coming storm, it fades from sight.
+
+The constellation Cancer, or the Crab, was represented by the Egyptians
+under the figure of a scarabaeus. The observer will probably think that
+it is as easy to see a beetle as a crab there. Cancer, like Leo, is one
+of the twelve constellations of the Zodiac, the name applied to the
+imaginary zone 16 deg. degrees wide and extending completely around the
+heavens, the center of which is the ecliptic or annual path of the sun.
+The names of these zodiacal constellations, in their order, beginning at
+the west and counting round the circle, are: Aries, Taurus, Gemini,
+Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricornus, Aquarius,
+and Pisces. Cancer has given its name to the circle called the Tropic of
+Cancer, which indicates the greatest northerly declination of the sun in
+summer, and which he attains on the 21st or 22d of June. But, in
+consequence of the precession of the equinoxes, all of the zodiacal
+constellations are continually shifting toward the east, and Cancer has
+passed away from the place of the summer solstice, which is now to be
+found in Gemini.
+
+Below the Manger, a little way toward the south, your eye will be caught
+by a group of four or five stars of about the same brightness as the
+Aselli. This marks the head of Hydra, and the glass will show a striking
+and beautiful geometrical arrangement of the stars composing it. Hydra
+is a very long constellation, and trending southward and eastward from
+the head it passes underneath Leo, and, sweeping pretty close down to
+the horizon, winds away under Corvus, the tail reaching to the eastern
+horizon. The length of this skyey serpent is about 100 deg.. Its stars are
+all faint, except Alphard, or the Hydra's Heart, a second-magnitude
+star, remarkable for its lonely situation, southwest of Regulus. A line
+from Gamma Leonis through Regulus points it out. It is worth looking at
+with the glass on account of its rich orange-tint.
+
+Hydra is fabled to be the hundred-headed monster that was slain by
+Hercules. It must be confessed that there is nothing very monstrous
+about it now except its length. The most timid can look upon it without
+suspecting its grisly origin.
+
+Coming back to the Manger as a starting-point, look well up to the north
+and west, and at a distance somewhat less than that between Regulus and
+the Manger you will see a pair of first-magnitude stars, which you will
+hardly need to be informed are the celebrated Twins, from which the
+constellation Gemini takes its name. The star marked [alpha] in the map
+is Castor, and the star marked [beta] is Pollux. No classical reader
+needs to be reminded of the romantic origin of these names.
+
+A sharp contrast in the color of Castor and Pollux comes out as soon as
+the glass is turned upon them. Castor is white, with occasionally,
+perhaps, a suspicion of a green ray in its light. Pollux is deep yellow.
+Castor is a celebrated double star, but its components are far too close
+to be separated with an opera-glass, or even the most powerful
+field-glass. You will be at once interested by the singular _cortege_ of
+small stars by which both Castor and Pollux are surrounded. These little
+attendant stars, for such they seem, are arrayed in symmetrical
+groups--pairs, triangles, and other figures--which, it seems difficult
+to believe, could be unintentional, although it would be still more
+difficult to suggest any reason why they should be arranged in that way.
+
+[Illustration: MAP 3.]
+
+Our map will show you the position of the principal stars of the
+constellation. Castor and Pollux are in the heads of the Twins, while
+the row of stars shown in the map Xi ([xi]), Gamma ([gamma]), Nu ([nu]),
+Mu ([mu]), and Eta ([eta]), marks their feet, which are dipped in the
+edge of the Milky-Way. One can spend a profitable and pleasurable
+half-hour in exploring the wonders of Gemini. The whole constellation,
+from head to foot, is gemmed with stars which escape the naked eye, but
+it sparkles like a bead-spangled garment when viewed with the glass.
+Owing to the presence of the Milky-Way, the spectacle around the feet of
+the Twins is particularly magnificent. And here the possessor of a good
+opera-glass can get a fine view of a celebrated star-cluster known in
+the catalogues as 35 M. It is situated a little distance northwest of
+the star Eta, and is visible to the naked eye, on a clear, moonless
+night, as a nebulous speck. With a good glass you will see two wonderful
+streams of little stars starting, one from Eta and the other from Mu,
+and running parallel toward the northwest; 35 M is situated between
+these star-streams. The stars in the cluster are so closely aggregated
+that you will be able to clearly separate only the outlying ones. The
+general aspect is like that of a piece of frosted silver over which a
+twinkling light is playing. A field-glass brings out more of the
+component stars. The splendor of this starry congregation, viewed with a
+powerful telescope, may be guessed at from Admiral Smyth's picturesque
+description: "It presents a gorgeous field of stars, from the ninth to
+the sixteenth magnitude, but with the center of the mass less rich than
+the rest. From the small stars being inclined to form curves of three or
+four, and often with a large one at the root of the curve, it somewhat
+reminds one of the bursting of a sky-rocket." And Webb adds that there
+is an "elegant festoon near the center, starting with a reddish star."
+
+No one can gaze upon this marvelous phenomenon, even with the
+comparatively low powers of an opera-glass, and reflect that all these
+swarming dots of light are really suns, without a stunning sense of the
+immensity of the material universe.
+
+It is an interesting fact that the summer solstice, or the point which
+the sun occupies when it attains its greatest northerly declination, on
+the longest day of the year, is close by this great cluster in Gemini.
+In the glare of the sunshine those swarming stars are then concealed
+from our sight, but with the mind's eye we can look past and beyond our
+sun, across the incomprehensible chasm of space, and behold them still
+shining, their commingled rays making our great God of Day seem but a
+lonely wanderer in the expanse of the universe.
+
+It was only a short distance southwest of this cluster that one of the
+most celebrated discoveries in astronomy was made. There, on the evening
+of March 13, 1781, William Herschel observed a star whose singular
+aspect led him to put a higher magnifying power on his telescope. The
+higher power showed that the object was not a star but a planet, or a
+comet, as Herschel at first supposed. It was the planet Uranus, whose
+discovery "at one stroke doubled the breadth of the sun's dominions."
+
+The constellation of Gemini, as the names of its two chief stars
+indicate, had its origin in the classic story of the twin sons of
+Jupiter and Leda:
+
+  "Fair Leda's twins, in time to stars decreed,
+  One fought on foot, one curbed the fiery steed."
+
+Castor and Pollux were regarded by both the Greeks and the Romans as the
+patrons of navigation, and this fact crops out very curiously in the
+adventures of St. Paul. After his disastrous shipwreck on the island of
+Melita he embarked again on a more prosperous voyage in a ship bearing
+the name of these very brothers. "And after three months," writes the
+celebrated apostle (Acts xxviii, 11) "we departed in a ship of
+Alexandria, which had wintered in the isle, whose sign was Castor and
+Pollux." We may be certain that Paul was acquainted with the
+constellation of Gemini, not only because he was skilled in the learning
+of his times, but because, in his speech on Mars Hill, he quoted a line
+from the opening stanzas of Aratus's "Phenomena," a poem in which the
+constellations are described.
+
+The map will enable you next to find Procyon, or the Little Dog-Star,
+more than twenty degrees south of Castor and Pollux, and almost directly
+below the Manger. This star will interest you by its golden-yellow color
+and its brightness, although it is far inferior in the latter respect to
+Sirius, or the Great Dog-Star, which you will see flashing splendidly
+far down beneath Procyon in the southwest. About four degrees northwest
+of Procyon is a third-magnitude star, called Gomelza, and the glass will
+show you two small stars which make a right-angled triangle with it, the
+nearer one being remarkable for its ruddy color.
+
+Procyon is especially interesting because it is attended by an invisible
+star, which, while it has escaped all efforts to detect it with powerful
+telescopes, nevertheless reveals its presence by the effect of its
+attraction upon Procyon. It is a curious fact that both of the so-called
+Dog-Stars are thus attended by obscure or dusky companion-stars, which,
+notwithstanding their lack of luminosity, are of great magnitude. In the
+case of Sirius, the improvement in telescopes has brought the mysterious
+attendant into view, but Procyon's mate remains hidden from our eyes.
+But it can not escape the ken of the mathematician, whose penetrating
+mental vision has, in more than one instance, outstripped the
+discoveries of the telescope. Almost half a century ago the famous
+Bessel announced his conclusion--in the light of later developments it
+may well be called discovery--that both Sirius and Procyon were binary
+systems, consisting each of a visible and an invisible star. He
+calculated the probable period of revolution, and found it to be, in
+each case, approximately fifty years. Sixteen years after Bessel's
+death, one of Alvan Clark's unrivaled telescopes at last revealed the
+strange companion of Sirius, a huge body, half as massive as the giant
+Dog-Star itself, but ten thousand times less brilliant, and more recent
+observations have shown that its period of revolution is within six or
+seven months of the fifty years assigned by Bessel. If some of the
+enormous telescopes that have been constructed in the past few years
+should succeed in rendering Procyon's companion visible also, it is
+highly probable that Bessel's prediction would receive another
+substantial fulfillment.
+
+The mythological history of Canis Minor is somewhat obscure. According
+to various accounts it represents one of Diana's hunting-dogs, one of
+Orion's hounds, the Egyptian dog-headed god Anubis, and one of the dogs
+that devoured their master Actaeon after Diana had turned him into a
+stag. The mystical Dr. Seiss leaves all the ancient myth-makers far in
+the rear, and advances a very curious theory of his own about this
+constellation, in his "Gospel in the Stars," which is worth quoting as
+an example of the grotesque fancies that even in our day sometimes
+possess the minds of men when they venture beyond the safe confines of
+this terraqueous globe. After summarizing the various myths we have
+mentioned, he proceeds to identify Procyon, putting the name of the
+chief star for the constellation, "as the starry symbol of those
+heavenly armies which came forth along with the King of kings and Lord
+of lords to the battle of the great day of God Almighty, to make an end
+of misrule and usurpation on earth, and clear it of all the wild beasts
+which have been devastating it for these many ages."
+
+The reader will wonder all the more at this rhapsody after he has
+succeeded in picking out the modest Little Dog in the sky.
+
+Sirius, Orion, Aldebaran, and the Pleiades, all of which you will
+perceive in the west and southwest, are generally too much involved in
+the mists of the horizon to be seen to the best advantage at this
+season, although it will pay you to take a look through the glass at
+Sirius. But the splendid star Capella, in the constellation Auriga, may
+claim a moment's attention. You will find it high up in the northwest,
+half-way between Orion and the pole-star, and to the right of the Twins.
+It has no rival near, and its creamy-white light makes it one of the
+most beautiful as well as one of the most brilliant stars in the
+heavens. Its constitution, as revealed by the spectroscope, resembles
+that of our sun, but the sun would make but a sorry figure if removed to
+the side of this giant star. About seven and a half degrees above
+Capella, and a little to the left, you will see a second-magnitude star
+called Menkalina. Two and a half times as far to the left, or south, in
+the direction of Orion, is another star of equal brightness to
+Menkalina. This is El Nath, and marks the place where the foot of
+Auriga, or the Charioteer, rests upon the point of the horn of Taurus.
+Capella, Menkalina, and El Nath make a long triangle which covers the
+central part of Auriga. The naked eye shows two or three misty-looking
+spots within this triangle, one to the right of El Nath, one in the
+upper or eastern part of the constellation, near the third-magnitude
+star Theta ([theta]), and another on a line drawn from Capella to El
+Nath, but much nearer to Capella. Turn your glass upon these spots, and
+you will be delighted by the beauty of the little stars to whose united
+rays they are due.
+
+El Nath has around it some very remarkable rows of small stars, and the
+whole constellation of Auriga, like that of Gemini, glitters with
+star-dust, for the Milky-Way runs directly through it.
+
+With a powerful field-glass you may try a glimpse at the rich
+star-clusters marked 38 M, 37 M, and 33^7.
+
+[Illustration: MAP 4.]
+
+The mythology of Auriga is not clear, but the ancients seem to have been
+of one mind in regarding the constellation as representing the figure of
+a man carrying a goat and her two kids in his arms. Auriga was also
+looked upon as a beneficent constellation, and the goat and kids were
+believed to be on the watch to rescue shipwrecked sailors. As Capella,
+which represents the fabled goat, shines nearly overhead in winter, and
+would ordinarily be the first bright star to beam down through the
+breaking clouds of a storm at that season, it is not difficult to
+imagine how it got its reputation as the seaman's friend. Dr. Seiss has
+so spirited a description of the imaginary figure contained in this
+constellation that I can not refrain from quoting it:
+
+"The figure itself is that of a mighty man seated on the Milky-Way,
+holding a band or ribbon in his right hand, and with his left arm
+holding up on his shoulder a she-goat which clings to his neck and looks
+out in astonishment upon the terrible bull; while in his lap are two
+frightened little kids which he supports with his great hand."
+
+It is scarcely necessary to add that Dr. Seiss insists that Auriga, as a
+constellation, was invented long before the time of the Greeks, and was
+intended prophetically to represent that Good Shepherd who was to come
+and rescue the sinful world.
+
+If any reader wishes to exercise his fancy by trying to trace the
+outlines of this figure, he will find the head of Auriga marked by the
+star Delta ([delta]) and the little group near it. Capella, in the heart
+of the Goat, is just below his left shoulder, and Menkalina marks his
+right shoulder. El Nath is in his right foot, and Iota ([iota]) in his
+left foot. The stars Epsilon ([epsilon]), Zeta ([zeta]), Eta ([eta]),
+and Lambda ([lambda]) shine in the kids which lie in Auriga's lap. The
+faint stars scattered over the eastern part of the constellation are
+sometimes represented as forming a whip with many lashes, which the
+giant flourishes with his right hand.
+
+Let us turn back to Denebola in the Lion's Tail. Now glance from it down
+into the southeast, and you will see a brilliant star flashing well
+above the horizon. This is Spica, the chief twinkler of Virgo, and it is
+marked on our circular map. Then look into the northwest, and at about
+the same distance from Denebola, but higher above the horizon than
+Spica, you will catch the sparkling of a large, reddish star. It is
+Arcturus in Booetes. The three, Denebola, Spica, and Arcturus, mark the
+corners of a great equilateral triangle. Nearly on a line between
+Denebola and Arcturus, and somewhat nearer to the former, you will
+perceive a curious twinkling, as if gossamers spangled with dew-drops
+were entangled there. One might think the old woman of the nursery rhyme
+who went to sweep the cobwebs out of the sky had skipped this corner, or
+else that its delicate beauty had preserved it even from her housewifely
+instincts. This is the little constellation called Berenice's Hair. Your
+opera-glass will enable you to count twenty or thirty of the largest
+stars composing this cluster, which are arranged, as so often happens,
+with a striking appearance of geometrical design. The constellation has
+a very romantic history. It is related that the young Queen Berenice,
+when her husband was called away to the wars, vowed to sacrifice her
+beautiful tresses to Venus if he returned victorious over his enemies.
+He did return home in triumph, and Berenice, true to her vow, cut off
+her hair and bore it to the Temple of Venus. But the same night it
+disappeared. The king was furious, and the queen wept bitterly over the
+loss. There is no telling what might have happened to the guardians of
+the temple, had not a celebrated astronomer named Conon led the young
+king and queen aside in the evening and showed them the missing locks
+shining transfigured in the sky. He assured them that Venus had placed
+Berenice's lustrous ringlets among the stars, and, as they were not
+skilled in celestial lore, they were quite ready to believe that the
+silvery swarm they saw near Arcturus had never been there before. And so
+for centuries the world has recognized the constellation of Berenice's
+Hair.
+
+Look next at Corvus and Crater, the Crow and the Cup, two little
+constellations which you will discover on the circular map, and of which
+we give a separate representation in Map 5. You will find that the stars
+Delta ([delta]) and Eta ([eta]), in the upper left-hand corner of the
+quadrilateral figure of Corvus, make a striking appearance. The little
+star Zeta ([zeta]) is a very pretty double for an opera-glass. There is
+a very faint pair of stars close below and to the right of Beta
+([beta]). This forms a severe test. Only a good opera-glass will show
+these two stars as a single faint point of light. A field-glass,
+however, will show both, one being considerably fainter than the other.
+Crater is worth sweeping over for the pretty combinations of stars to be
+found in it.
+
+You will observe that the interminable Hydra extends his lengthening
+coils along under both of the constellations. In fact, both the Cup and
+the Crow are represented as standing upon the huge serpent. The outlines
+of a cup are tolerably well indicated by the stars included under the
+name Crater, but the constellation of the Crow might as well have borne
+any other name so far as any traceable likeness is concerned. One of the
+legends concerning Corvus avers that it is the daughter of the King of
+Phocis, who was transformed into a crow to escape the pursuit of
+Neptune. She is certainly safe in her present guise.
+
+Arcturus and Spica, and their companions, may be left for observation to
+a more convenient season, when, having risen higher, they can be studied
+to better advantage. It will be well, however, to merely glance at them
+with the glass in order to note the great difference of color--Spica
+being brilliantly white and Arcturus almost red.
+
+[Illustration: MAP 5.]
+
+We will now turn to the north. You have already been told how to find
+the pole-star. Look at it with your glass. The pole-star is a famous
+double, but its minute companion can only be seen with a telescope. As
+so often happens, however, it has another companion for the opera-glass,
+and this latter is sufficiently close and small to make an interesting
+test for an inexperienced observer armed with a glass of small power. It
+must be looked for pretty close to the rays of the large star, with such
+a glass. It is of the seventh magnitude. With a large field-glass
+several smaller companions may be seen, and a very excellent glass may
+show an 8.5-magnitude star almost hidden in the rays of the
+seventh-magnitude companion.
+
+With the aid of map No. 6 find in Ursa Minor, which is the
+constellation to which the pole-star belongs, the star Beta ([beta]),
+which is also called Kochab (the star marked [alpha] in the map is the
+pole-star). Kochab has a pair of faint stars nearly north of it, about
+one degree distant. With a small glass these may appear as a single
+star, but a stronger glass will show them separately.
+
+[Illustration: MAP 6.]
+
+And now for Ursa Major and the Great Dipper--Draco, Cepheus, Cassiopeia,
+and the other constellations represented on the circular map, being
+rather too near the horizon for effective observation at this time of
+the year. First, as the easiest object, look at the star in the middle
+of the handle of the Dipper (this handle forms the tail of Ursa Major),
+and a little attention will show you, without the aid of a glass, if
+your eye-sight is good, that the star is double. A smaller star seems to
+be almost in contact with it. The larger of these two stars is called
+Mizar and the smaller Alcor--the Horse and his Rider the Arabs said.
+Your glass will, of course, greatly increase the distance between Alcor
+and Mizar, and will also bring out a clear difference of color
+distinguishing them. Now, if you have a very powerful glass, you may be
+able to see the Sidus Ludovicianum, a minute star which a German
+astronomer discovered more than a hundred and fifty years ago, and,
+strangely enough, taking it for a planet, named it after a German
+prince. The position of the Sidus Ludovicianum, with reference to Mizar
+and Alcor, is represented in the accompanying sketch. You must look very
+sharply if you expect to see it, and your opera-glass will have to be a
+large and strong one. A field-glass, however, can not fail to show it.
+
+Sweep along the whole length of the Dipper's handle, and you will
+discover many fine fields of stars. Then look at the star Alpha
+([alpha]) in the outer edge of the bowl nearest to the pole-star. There
+is a faint star, of about the eighth magnitude, near it, in the
+direction of Beta ([beta]). This will prove a very difficult test. You
+will have to try it with averted vision. If you have a field-glass,
+catch it first with that, and, having thus fixed its position in your
+mind, try to find it with the opera-glass. Its distance is a little over
+half that between Mizar and Alcor. It is of a reddish color.
+
+You will notice nearly overhead three pairs of pretty bright stars in a
+long, bending row, about half-way between Leo and the Dipper. These mark
+three of Ursa Major's feet, and each of the pairs is well worth looking
+at with a glass, as they are beautifully grouped with stars invisible to
+the naked eye. The letters used to designate the stars forming these
+pairs will be found upon our map of Ursa Major. The scattered group of
+faint stars beyond the bowl of the Dipper forms the Bear's head, and you
+will find that also a field worth a few minutes' exploration.
+
+[Illustration: MIZAR, ALCOR, AND THE SIDUS LUDOVICIANUM.]
+
+The two bears, Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, swinging around the pole of
+the heavens, have been conspicuous in the star-lore of all ages.
+According to fable, they represent the nymph Calisto, with whom Jupiter
+was in love, and her son Arcas, who were both turned into bears by Juno,
+whereupon Jupiter, being unable to restore their form, did the next best
+thing he could by placing them among the stars. Ursa Major is Calisto,
+or Helica, as the Greeks called the constellation. The Greek name of
+Ursa Minor was Cynosura. The use of the pole-star in navigation dates
+back at least to the time of the Phoenicians. The observer will note
+the uncomfortable position of Ursa Minor, attached to the pole by the
+end of its long tail.
+
+But, after all, no one can expect to derive from such studies as these
+any genuine pleasure or satisfaction unless he is mindful of the real
+meaning of what he sees. The actual truth seems almost too stupendous
+for belief. The mind must be brought into an attitude of profound
+contemplation in order to appreciate it. From this globe we can look out
+in every direction into the open and boundless universe. Blinded and
+dazzled during the day by the blaze of that star, of which the earth is
+a near and humble dependent, we are shut in as by a curtain. But at
+night, when our own star is hidden, our vision ranges into the depths of
+creation, and we behold them sparkling with a multitude of other suns.
+With so simple an aid as that of an opera-glass we penetrate still
+deeper into the profundities of space, and thousands more of these
+strange, far-away suns come into sight. They are arranged in pairs,
+sets, rows, streams, clusters--here they gleam alone in distant
+splendor, there they glow and flash in mighty swarms. This is a look
+into heaven more splendid than the imagination of Bunyan pictured; here
+is a celestial city whose temples are suns, and whose streets are the
+pathways of light.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+THE STARS OF SUMMER.
+
+
+Let us now suppose that the Earth has advanced for three months in its
+orbit since we studied the stars of spring, and that, in consequence,
+the heavens have made one quarter of an apparent revolution. Then we
+shall find that the stars which in spring shone above the western
+horizon have been carried down out of sight, while the constellations
+that were then in the east have now climbed to the zenith, or passed
+over to the west, and a fresh set of stars has taken their place in the
+east. In the present chapter we shall deal with what may be called the
+stars of summer; and, in order to furnish occupation for the observer
+with an opera-glass throughout the summer months, I have endeavored to
+so choose the constellations in which our explorations will be made,
+that some of them shall be favorably situated in each of the months of
+June, July, and August. The circular map represents the heavens at
+midnight on the 1st of June; at eleven o'clock, on the 15th of June; at
+ten o'clock, on the 1st of July; at nine o'clock, on the 15th of July;
+and at eight o'clock, on the 1st of August. Remembering that the center
+of the map is the point over his head, and that the edge of it
+represents the circle of the horizon, the reader, by a little attention
+and comparison with the sky, will be able to fix in his mind the
+relative situation of the various constellations. The maps that follow
+will show him these constellations on a larger scale, and give him the
+names of their chief stars.
+
+[Illustration: MAP 7.]
+
+The observer need not wait until midnight on the 1st of June in order to
+find some of the constellations included in our map. Earlier in the
+evening, at about that date, say at nine o'clock, he will be able to see
+many of these constellations, but he must look for them farther toward
+the east than they are represented in the map. The bright stars in
+Booetes and Virgo, for instance, instead of being over in the southwest,
+as in the map, will be near the meridian; while Lyra, instead of shining
+high overhead, will be found climbing up out of the northeast. It would
+be well to begin at nine o'clock, about the 1st of June, and watch the
+motions of the heavens for two or three hours. At the commencement of
+the observations you will find the stars in Booetes, Virgo, and Lyra in
+the positions I have just mentioned, while half-way down the western sky
+will be seen the Sickle of Leo. The brilliant Procyon and Capella will
+be found almost ready to set in the west and northwest, respectively.
+Between Procyon and Capella, and higher above the horizon, shine the
+twin stars in Gemini.
+
+In an hour Procyon, Capella, and the Twins will be setting, and Spica
+will be well past the meridian. In another hour the observer will
+perceive that the constellations are approaching the places given to
+them in our map, and at midnight he will find them all in their assigned
+positions. A single evening spent in observations of this sort will
+teach him more about the places of the stars than he could learn from a
+dozen books.
+
+Taking, now, the largest opera-glass you can get (I have before said
+that the diameter of the object-glasses should not be less than 1.5
+inch, and, I may add, the larger they are the better), find the
+constellation Scorpio, and its chief star Antares. The map shows you
+where to look for it at midnight on the 1st of June. If you prefer to
+begin at nine o'clock at that date, then, instead of looking directly in
+the south for Scorpio, you must expect to see it just rising in the
+southeast. You will recognize Antares by its fiery color, as well as by
+the striking arrangement of its surrounding stars. There are few
+constellations which bear so close a resemblance to the objects they are
+named after as Scorpio. It does not require a very violent exercise of
+the imagination to see in this long, winding trail of stars a gigantic
+scorpion, with its head to the west, and flourishing its upraised sting
+that glitters with a pair of twin stars, as if ready to strike. Readers
+of the old story of Phaeton's disastrous attempt to drive the chariot of
+the Sun for a day will remember it was the sight of this threatening
+monster that so terrified the ambitious youth as he dashed along the
+Zodiac, that he lost control of Apollo's horses, and came near burning
+the earth up by running the Sun into it.
+
+Antares rather gains in redness when viewed with a glass. Its color is
+very remarkable, and it is a curious circumstance that with powerful
+telescopes a small, bright-green star is seen apparently almost touching
+it. Antares belongs to Secchi's third type of suns, that in which the
+spectroscopic appearances suggest the existence of a powerfully
+absorptive atmosphere, and which are believed on various grounds to be,
+as Lockyer has said, "in the last visible stage of cooling"; in other
+words, almost extinct. This great, red star probably in actual size
+exceeds our sun, and no one can help feeling the sublime nature of those
+studies which give us reason to think that here we can actually behold
+almost the expiring throes of a giant brother of our giant sun. Only,
+the lifetime of a sun is many millions of years, and its gradual
+extinction, even after it has reached a stage as advanced as that of
+Antares is supposed to be, may occupy a longer time than the whole
+duration of the human race.
+
+A little close inspection with the naked eye will show three fifth- or
+sixth-magnitude stars above Antares and Sigma ([sigma]), which form,
+with those stars, the figure of an irregular pentagon. An opera-glass
+shows this figure very plainly. The nearest of these stars to Antares,
+the one directly above it, is known by the number 22, and belongs to
+Scorpio, while the farthest away, which marks the northernmost corner of
+the pentagon, is Rho in Ophiuchus. Try a powerful field-glass upon the
+two stars just named. Take 22 first. You will without much difficulty
+perceive that it has a little star under its wing, below and to the
+right, and more than twice as far away above it there is another faint
+star. Then turn to Rho. Look sharp and you will catch sight of two
+companion stars, one close to Rho on the right and a little below, and
+the other still closer and directly above Rho. The latter is quite
+difficult to be seen distinctly, but the sight is a very pretty one.
+
+The opera-glass will show a number of faint stars scattered around
+Antares. Turn now to Beta ([beta]) in Scorpio, with the glass. A very
+pretty pair of stars will be seen hanging below [beta]. Sweeping
+downward from this point to the horizon you will find many beautiful
+star-fields. The star marked Nu ([nu]) is a double which you will be
+able to separate with a powerful field-glass, the distance between its
+components being 40".
+
+[Illustration: MAP 8.]
+
+And next let us look at a star-cluster. You will see on Map No. 8 an
+object marked 4 M, near Antares. Its designation means that it is No. 4
+in Messier's catalogue of nebulae. It is not a true nebula, but a closely
+compacted cluster of stars. With the opera-glass, if you are looking in
+a clear and moonless night, you will see it as a curious nebulous speck.
+With a field-glass its real nature is more apparent, and it is seen to
+blaze brighter toward the center. It is, in fact, one of those universes
+within the universe where thousands of suns are associated together by
+some unknown law of aggregation into assemblages of whose splendor the
+slight view that we can get gives us but the faintest conception.
+
+The object above and to the right of Antares, marked in the map 80 M.,
+is a nebula, and although the nebula itself is too small to be seen with
+an opera-glass (a field-glass shows it as a mere wisp of light), yet
+there is a pretty array of small stars in its neighborhood worth looking
+at. Besides, this nebula is of special interest, because in 1860 a star
+suddenly took its place. At least, that is what seemed to have happened.
+What really did occur, probably, was that a variable or temporary star,
+situated between us and the nebula, and ordinarily too faint to be
+perceived, received a sudden and enormous accession of light, and blazed
+up so brightly as to blot out of sight the faint nebula behind it. If
+this star should make its appearance again, it could easily be seen with
+an opera-glass, and so it will not be useless for the reader to know
+where to look for it. The quarter of the heavens with which we are now
+dealing is famous for these celestial conflagrations, if so they may be
+called. The first temporary star of which there is any record appeared
+in the constellation of the Scorpion, near the head, 134 years before
+Christ. It must have been a most extraordinary phenomenon, for it
+attracted attention all over the world, and both Greek and Chinese
+annals contain descriptions of it. In 393 A. D. a temporary star shone
+out in the tail of Scorpio. In 827 A. D. Arabian astronomers, under the
+Caliph Al-Mamoun, the son of Haroun-al-Raschid, who broke into the great
+pyramid, observed a temporary star, that shone for four months in the
+constellation of the Scorpion. In 1203 there was a temporary star, of a
+bluish color, in the tail of Scorpio, and in 1578 another in the head of
+the constellation. Besides these there are records of the appearance of
+four temporary stars in the neighboring constellation of Ophiuchus, one
+of which, that of 1604, is very famous, and will be described later on.
+It is conceivable that these strange outbursts in and near Scorpio may
+have had some effect in causing this constellation to be regarded by the
+ancients as malign in its influence.
+
+We shall presently see some examples of star-clusters and nebulae with
+which the instruments we are using are better capable of dealing than
+with the one described above. In the mean time, let us follow the
+bending row of stars from Antares toward the south and east. When you
+reach the star Mu ([mu]), you are not unlikely to stop with an
+exclamation of admiration, for the glass will separate it into two stars
+that, shining side by side, seem trying to rival each other in
+brightness. But the next star below [mu], marked Zeta ([zeta]), is even
+more beautiful. It also separates into two stars, one being reddish and
+the other bluish in color. The contrast in a clear night is very
+pleasing. But this is not all. Above the two stars you will notice a
+curious nebulous speck. Now, if you have a powerful field-glass, here is
+an opportunity to view one of the prettiest sights in the heavens. The
+field-glass not only makes the two stars appear brighter, and their
+colors more pronounced, but it shows a third, fainter star below them,
+making a small triangle, and brings other still fainter stars into
+sight, while the nebulous speck above turns into a charmingly beautiful
+little star-cluster, whose components are so close that their rays are
+inextricably mingled in a maze of light. This little cut is an attempt
+to represent the scene, but no engraving can reproduce the life and
+sparkle of it.
+
+[Illustration: ZETA SCORPIONIS.]
+
+Following the bend of the Scorpion's tail upward, we come to the pair of
+stars in the sting. These, of course, are thrown wide apart by the
+opera-glass. Then let us sweep off to the eastward a little way and find
+the cluster known as 7 M. You will see it marked on the map. Above it,
+and near enough to be included in the same field of view, is 6 M., a
+smaller cluster. Both of these have a sparkling appearance with an
+opera-glass, and by close attention some of the separate stars in 7 M.
+may be detected. With a field-glass these clusters become much more
+striking and starry looking, and the curious radiated structure of 7 M.
+comes out.
+
+In looking at such objects we can not too often recall to our minds the
+significance of what we see--that these glimmering specks are the lights
+in the windows of the universe which carry to us, across inconceivable
+tracts of space, the assurance that we and our little system are not
+alone in the heavens; that all around us, and even on the very confines
+of immensity, Nature is busy, as she is here, and the laws of light,
+heat, gravitation (and why not of life?), are in full activity.
+
+The clusters we have just been looking at lie on the borders of Scorpio
+and Sagittarius. Let us cross over into the latter constellation, which
+commemorates the centaur Chiron. We are now in another, and even a
+richer, region of wonders. The Milky-Way, streaming down out of the
+northeast, pours, in a luminous flood, through Sagittarius, inundating
+that whole region of the heavens with seeming deeps and shallows, and
+finally bursting the barriers of the horizon disappears, only to glow
+with redoubled splendor in the southern hemisphere. The stars Zeta
+([zeta]), Tau ([tau]), Sigma ([sigma]), Phi ([phi]), Lambda ([lambda]),
+and Mu ([mu]) indicate the outlines of a figure sometimes called the
+Milk-Dipper, which is very evident when the eye has once recognized it.
+On either side of the upturned handle of this dipper-like figure lie
+some of the most interesting objects in the sky. Let us take the star
+[mu] for a starting-point. Sweep downward and to the right a little
+way, and you will be startled by a most singular phenomenon that has
+suddenly made its appearance in the field of view of your glass. You
+may, perhaps, be tempted to congratulate yourself on having got ahead of
+all the astronomers, and discovered a comet. It is really a combination
+of a star-cluster with a nebula, and is known as 8 M. Sir John Herschel
+has described the "nebulous folds and masses" and dark oval gaps which
+he saw in this nebula with his large telescope at the Cape of Good Hope.
+But no telescope is needed to make it appear a wonderful object; an
+opera-glass suffices for that, and a field-glass reveals still more of
+its marvelous structure.
+
+The reader will recollect that we found the summer solstice close to a
+wonderful star-swarm in the feet of Gemini. Singularly enough the winter
+solstice is also near a star-cluster. It is to be found near a line
+drawn from 8 M. to the star [mu] Sagittarii, and about one third of the
+way from the cluster to the star. There is another less conspicuous
+star-cluster still closer to the solstitial point here, for this part of
+the heavens teems with such aggregations.
+
+On the opposite side of the star [mu]--that is to say, above and a
+little to the left--is an entirely different but almost equally
+attractive spectacle, the swarm of stars called 24 M. Here, again, the
+field-glass easily shows its superiority over the opera-glass, for
+magnifying power is needed to bring out the innumerable little twinklers
+of which the cluster is composed. But, whether you use an opera-glass or
+a field-glass, do not fail to gaze long and steadily at this island of
+stars, for much of its beauty becomes evident only after the eye has
+accustomed itself to disentangle the glimmering rays with which the
+whole field of view is filled. Try the method of averted vision, and
+hundreds of the finest conceivable points of light will seem to spring
+into view out of the depths of the sky. The necessity of a perfectly
+clear night, and the absence of moonlight, can not be too much insisted
+upon for observations such as these. Everybody knows how the moonlight
+blots out the smaller stars. A slight haziness, or smoke, in the air
+produces a similar effect. It is as important to the observer with an
+opera-glass to have a transparent atmosphere as it is to one who would
+use a telescope; but, fortunately, the work of the former is not so much
+interfered with by currents of air. Always avoid the neighborhood of any
+bright light. Electric lights in particular are an abomination to
+star-gazers.
+
+The cloud of stars we have just been looking at is in a very rich region
+of the Milky-Way, in the little modern constellation called "Sobieski's
+Shield," which we have not named upon our map. Sweeping slowly upward
+from 24 M. a little way with the field-glass, we will pass in succession
+over three nebulous-looking spots. The second of these, counting upward,
+is the famous Horseshoe nebula. Its wonders are beyond the reach of our
+instrument, but its place may be recognized. Look carefully all around
+this region, and you will perceive that the old gods, who traveled this
+road (the Milky-Way was sometimes called the pathway of the gods), trod
+upon golden sands. Off a little way to the east you will find the rich
+cluster called 25 M. But do not imagine the thousands of stars that your
+opera-glass or field-glass reveals comprise all the riches of this
+Golconda of the heavens. You might ply the powers of the greatest
+telescope in a vain attempt to exhaust its wealth. As a hint of the
+wonders that lie hidden here, let me quote Father Secchi's description
+of a starry spot in this same neighborhood, viewed with the great
+telescope at Rome. After telling of "beds of stars superposed upon one
+another," and of the wonderful geometrical arrangement of the larger
+stars visible in the field, he adds:
+
+"The greater number are arranged in spiral arcs, in which one can count
+as many as ten or twelve stars of the ninth to the tenth magnitude
+following one another in a curve, like beads upon a string. Sometimes
+they form rays which seem to diverge from a common focus, and, what is
+very singular, one usually finds, either at the center of the rays, or
+at the beginning of the curve, a more brilliant star of a red color,
+which seems to lead the march. It is impossible to believe that such an
+arrangement can be accidental."
+
+The reader will recall the somewhat similar description that Admiral
+Smyth and Mr. Webb have given of a star-cluster in Gemini (see Chapter
+I).
+
+The milky look of the background of the Galaxy is, of course, caused by
+the intermingled radiations of inconceivably minute and inconceivably
+numerous stars, thousands of which become separately visible, the number
+thus distinguishable varying with the size of the instrument. But the
+most powerful telescope yet placed in human hands can not sound these
+starry deeps to the bottom. The evidence given by Prof. Holden, the
+Director of the Lick Observatory, on this point is very interesting.
+Speaking of the performance of the gigantic telescope on Mount Hamilton,
+thirty-six inches in aperture, he says:
+
+"The Milky-Way is a wonderful sight, and I have been much interested to
+see that there is, even with our superlative power, no final resolution
+of its finer parts into stars. There is always the background of
+unresolved nebulosity on which hundreds and thousands of stars are
+studded--each a bright, sharp, separate point."
+
+The groups of stars forming the eastern half of the constellation of
+Sagittarius are worth sweeping over with the glass, as a number of
+pretty pairs may be found there.
+
+Sagittarius stands in the old star-maps as a centaur,
+half-horse-half-man, facing the west, with drawn bow, and
+arrow pointed at the Scorpion.
+
+[Illustration: MAP 9.]
+
+Next let us pass to the double constellation adjoining Scorpio and
+Sagittarius on the north--Ophiuchus and the Serpent. These
+constellations, as our map shows, are curiously intermixed. The
+imagination of the old star-gazers, who named them, saw here the figure
+of a giant grasping a writhing serpent with his hands. The head of the
+serpent is under the Northern Crown, and its tail ends over the
+star-gemmed region that we have just described, called "Sobieski's
+Shield." Ophiuchus stands, as figured in Flamsteed's "Atlas," upon the
+back of the Scorpion, holding the serpent with one hand below the neck,
+this hand being indicated by the pair of stars marked Epsilon
+([epsilon]) and Delta ([delta]), and with the other near the tail. The
+stars Tau ([tau]) and Nu ([nu]) indicate the second hand. The giant's
+face is toward the observer, and the star Alpha ([alpha]), also called
+Ras Alhague, shines in his forehead, while Beta ([beta]) and Gamma
+([gamma]) mark his right shoulder. Ophiuchus has been held to represent
+the famous physician AEsculapius. One may well repress the tendency to
+smile at these fanciful legends when he reflects upon their antiquity.
+There is no doubt that this double constellation is at least three
+thousand years old--that is to say, for thirty centuries the imagination
+of men has continued to shape these stars into the figures of a gigantic
+man struggling with a huge serpent. If it possesses no other interest,
+then it at least has that which attaches to all things ancient. Like
+many other of the constellations it has proved longer-lived than the
+mightiest nations. While Greece flourished and decayed, while Rome rose
+and fell, while the scepter of civilization has passed from race to
+race, these starry creations of fancy have shone on unchanged. The mind
+that would ignore them now deserves compassion.
+
+The reader will observe a little circle in the map, and near it the
+figures 1604. This indicates the spot where one of the most famous
+temporary stars on record appeared in the year 1604. At first it was far
+brighter than any other star in the heavens; but it quickly faded, and
+in a little over a year disappeared. It is particularly interesting,
+because Kepler--the quaintest, and not far from the greatest, figure in
+astronomical history--wrote a curious book about it. Some of the
+philosophers of the day argued that the sudden outburst of the wonderful
+star was caused by the chance meeting of atoms. Kepler's reply was
+characteristic, as well as amusing:
+
+"I will tell those disputants, my opponents, not my own opinion, but my
+wife's. Yesterday, when I was weary with writing, my mind being quite
+dusty with considering these atoms, I was called to supper, and a salad
+I had asked for was set before me. 'It seems, then,' said I, aloud,
+'that if pewter dishes, leaves of lettuce, grains of salt, drops of
+water, vinegar and oil, and slices of egg, had been flying about in the
+air from all eternity, it might at last happen by chance that there
+would come a salad.' 'Yes,' says my wife, 'but not so nice and
+well-dressed as this of mine is.'"
+
+While there are no objects of special interest for the observer with an
+opera-glass in Ophiuchus, he will find it worth while to sweep over it
+for what he may pick up, and, in particular, he should look at the group
+of stars southeast of [beta] and [gamma]. These stars have been shaped
+into a little modern asterism called Taurus Poniatowskii, and it will be
+noticed that five of them mark the outlines of a letter V, resembling
+the well-known figure of the Hyades.
+
+Also look at the stars in the head of Serpens, several of which form a
+figure like a letter [X]. A little west of Theta ([theta]) in the tail
+of Serpens, is a beautiful swarm of little stars, upon which a
+field-glass may be used with advantage. The star [theta] is itself a
+charming double, just within the separating power of a very powerful
+field-glass under favorable circumstances, the component stars being
+only about one third of a minute apart.
+
+Do not fail to notice the remarkable subdivisions of the Milky-Way in
+this neighborhood. Its current seems divided into numerous channels and
+bays, interspersed with gaps that might be likened to islands, and the
+star [theta] appears to be situated upon one of these islands of the
+galaxy. This complicated structure of the Milky-Way extends downward to
+the horizon, and upward through the constellation Cygnus, and of its
+phenomenal appearance in that region we shall have more to say further
+on.
+
+Directly north of Ophiuchus is the constellation Hercules, interesting
+as occupying that part of the heavens toward which the proper motion of
+the sun is bearing the earth and its fellow-planets, at the rate,
+probably, of not less than 160,000,000 miles in a year--a stupendous
+voyage through space, of whose destination we are as ignorant as the
+crew of a ship sailing under sealed orders, and, like whom, we must
+depend upon such inferences as we can draw from courses and distances,
+for no other information comes to us from the flagship of our squadron.
+
+[Illustration: MAP 10.]
+
+In the accompanying map we have represented the beautiful constellations
+Lyra and the Northern Crown, lying on either side of Hercules. The
+reader should note that the point overhead in this map is not far from
+the star Eta ([eta]) in Hercules. The bottom of the map is toward the
+south, the right-hand side is west, and the left-hand side east. It is
+important to keep these directions in mind, in comparing the map with
+the sky. For instance, the observer must not expect to look into the
+south and see Hercules half-way up the sky, with Lyra a little east of
+it; he must look for Hercules nearly overhead, and Lyra a little east
+of the zenith. The same precautions are not necessary in using the maps
+of Scorpio, Sagittarius, and Ophiuchus, because those constellations are
+nearer the horizon, and so the observer does not have to imagine the map
+as being suspended over his head.
+
+The name Hercules sufficiently indicates the mythological origin of the
+constellation, and yet the Greeks did not know it by that name, for
+Aratus calls it "the Phantom whose name none can tell." The Northern
+Crown, according to fable, was the celebrated crown of Ariadne, and Lyra
+was the harp of Orpheus himself, with whose sweet music he charmed the
+hosts of Hades, and persuaded Pluto to yield up to him his lost
+Eurydice.
+
+With the aid of the map you will be able to recognize the principal
+stars and star-groups in Hercules, and will find many interesting
+combinations of stars for yourself. An object of special interest is the
+celebrated star-cluster 13 M. You will find it on the map between the
+stars Eta ([eta]) and Zeta ([zeta]). While an opera-glass will only show
+it as a faint and minute speck, lying nearly between two little stars,
+it is nevertheless well worth looking for, on account of the great
+renown of this wonderful congregation of stars. Sir William Herschel
+computed the number of stars contained in it as about fourteen thousand.
+It is roughly spherical in shape, though there are many straggling stars
+around it evidently connected with the cluster. In short, it is _a ball
+of suns_. The reader should not mistake what that implies, however.
+These suns, though truly solar bodies, are probably very much smaller
+than our sun. Mr. Gore has computed their average diameter to be
+forty-five thousand miles, and the distance separating each from the
+next to be 9,000,000,000 miles. It may not be uninteresting to inquire
+what would be the appearance of the sky to dwellers within such a system
+of suns. Adopting Mr. Gore's estimates, and supposing 9,000,000,000
+miles to be very nearly the uniform distance apart of the stars in the
+cluster, and forty-five thousand miles their uniform diameter, then,
+starting with a single star in the center, their arrangement might be
+approximately in concentric spherical shells, situated about
+9,000,000,000 miles apart. The first shell, counting outward from the
+center, would contain a dozen stars, each of which, as seen by an
+observer stationed upon a planet at the center of the cluster, would
+shine eleven hundred times as bright as Sirius appears to us. The number
+of the stars in each shell would increase as they receded from the
+center in proportion to the squares of the radii of the successive
+shells, while their luminosity, as seen from the center, would vary
+inversely as those squares. Still, the outermost stars--the total number
+being limited to fourteen or fifteen thousand--would appear to our
+observer at the center of the system about five times as brilliant as
+Sirius.
+
+It is clear, then, that he would be dwelling in a sort of perpetual
+daylight. His planet might receive from the particular sun around which
+it revolved as brilliant a daylight as our sun gives to us, but let us
+see what would be the illumination of its night side. Adopting Zoellner's
+estimate of the light of the sun as 618,000 times as great as that of
+the full moon, and choosing among the various estimates of the light of
+Sirius as compared with the sun 1/4000000000 as probably the nearest
+the truth, we find that the moon sends us about sixty-five hundred times
+as much light as Sirius does. Now, since the dozen stars nearest the
+center of the cluster would each appear to our observer eleven hundred
+times as bright as Sirius, all of them together would give a little more
+than twice as much light as the full moon sheds upon the earth. But as
+only half the stars in the cluster would be above the horizon at once we
+must diminish this estimate by one half, in order to obtain the amount
+of light that our supposititious planet would receive on its night side
+from the nearest stars in the cluster. And since the number of these
+stars increases with their distance from the center in the same ratio
+as their light diminishes, it follows that the total light received from
+the cluster would exceed that received from the dozen nearest stars as
+many times as there were spherical shells in the cluster. This would be
+about fifteen times, and accordingly all the stars together would shed,
+at the center, some thirty times as much light as that of the moon.
+Dividing this again by two, because only half of the stars could be seen
+at once, we find that the night side of our observer's planet would be
+illuminated with fifteen times as much light as the full moon sheds upon
+the earth.
+
+It is evident, too, that our observer would enjoy the spectacle of a
+starry firmament incomparably more splendid than that which we behold.
+Only about three thousand stars are visible to our unassisted eyes at
+once on any clear night, and of those only a few are conspicuous, and
+two thirds are so faint that they require some attention in order to be
+distinguished. But the spectator at the center of the Hercules cluster
+would behold some seven thousand stars at once, the faintest of which
+would be five times as brilliant as the brightest star in our sky, while
+the brighter ones would blaze like nearing suns. One effect of this
+flood of starlight would be to shut out from our observer's eyes all the
+stars of the outside universe. They would be effaced in the blaze of his
+sky, and he would be, in a manner, shut up within his own little
+star-system, knowing nothing of the greater universe beyond, in which we
+behold his multitude of luminaries, diminished and blended by distance
+into a faintly shining speck, floating like a silvery mote in a sunbeam.
+
+If our observer's planet, instead of being situated in the center of the
+cluster, circled around one of the stars at the outer edge of it, the
+appearance of his sky would be, in some respects, still more wonderful,
+the precise phenomena depending upon the position of the planet's orbit
+and the station of the observer. Less than half of his sky would be
+filled, at any time, by the stars of the cluster, the other half opening
+upon outer space and appearing by comparison almost starless--a vast,
+cavernous expanse, with a few faint glimmerings out of its gloomy
+depths. The plane of the orbit of his planet being supposed to pass
+through the center of the spherical system, our observer would, during
+his year, behold the night at one season blazing with the splendors of
+the clustered suns, and at another emptied of brilliant orbs and faintly
+lighted with the soft glow of the Milky-Way and the feeble flickering of
+distant stars, scattered over the dark vault. The position of the orbit,
+and the inclination of the planet's axis might be such that the glories
+of the cluster would not be visible from one of its hemispheres,
+necessitating a journey to the other side of the globe to behold
+them.[B]
+
+    [B] A similar calculation of the internal appearances of the
+        Hercules cluster, which I made, was published in 1887 in
+        the "New York Sun."
+
+Of course, it is not to be assumed that the arrangement of the stars in
+the cluster actually is exactly that which we have imagined. Still,
+whatever the arrangement, so long as the cluster is practically
+spherical, and the stars composing it are of nearly uniform size and
+situated at nearly uniform distances, the phenomena we have described
+would fairly represent the appearances presented to inhabitants of
+worlds situated in such a system. As to the possibility of the existence
+of such worlds and inhabitants, everybody must draw his own conclusions.
+Astronomy, as a science, is silent upon that question. But there shine
+the congregated stars, mingling their rays in a message of light, that
+comes to us across the gulf, proclaiming their brotherhood with our own
+glorious sun. Mathematicians can not unravel the interlocking
+intricacies of their orbits, and some would, perhaps _a priori_, have
+said that such a system was impossible, but the telescope has revealed
+them, and there they are! What purposes they subserve in the economy of
+the universe, who shall declare?
+
+If you have a field-glass, by all means try it upon 13 M. It will give
+you a more satisfactory view than an opera-glass is capable of doing,
+and will magnify the cluster so that there can be no possibility of
+mistaking it for a star. Compare this compact cluster, which only a
+powerful telescope can partially resolve into its component stars, with
+7 M. and 24 M., described before, in order to comprehend the wide
+variety in the structure of these aggregations of stars.
+
+The Northern Crown, although a strikingly beautiful constellation to the
+naked eye, offers few attractions to the opera-glass. Let us turn, then,
+to Lyra. I have never been able to make up my mind which of three great
+stars is entitled to precedence--Vega, the leading brilliant of Lyra,
+Arcturus in Booetes, or Capella in Auriga. They are the three leaders of
+the northern firmament, but which of them should be called the chief, is
+very hard to say. At any rate, Vega would probably be generally regarded
+as the most beautiful, on account of the delicate bluish tinge in its
+light, especially when viewed with a glass. There is no possibility of
+mistaking this star because of its surpassing brilliancy. Two faint
+stars close to Vega on the east make a beautiful little triangle with
+it, and thus form a further means of recognition, if any were needed.
+Your opera-glass will show that the floor of heaven is powdered with
+stars, fine as the dust of a diamond, all around the neighborhood of
+Vega, and the longer you gaze the more of these diminutive twinklers you
+will discover.
+
+[Illustration: MAP 11.]
+
+Now direct your glass to the northernmost of the two little stars near
+Vega, the one marked Epsilon ([epsilon]) in the map. You will perceive
+that it is composed of two stars of almost equal magnitude. If you had a
+telescope of considerable power, you would find that each of these stars
+is in turn double. In other words, this wonderful star which appears
+single to the unassisted eye, is in reality quadruple, and there is
+reason to think that the four stars composing it are connected in
+pairs, the members of each pair revolving around their common center
+while the two pairs in turn circle around a center common to all. With a
+field-glass you will be able to see that the other star near Vega, Zeta
+([zeta]), is also double, the distance between its components being
+three quarters of a minute, while the two stars in [epsilon] are a
+little less than 31/2' apart. The star Beta ([beta]) is remarkably
+variable in brightness. You may watch these variations, which run
+through a regular period of about 12 days, 213/4 hours, for yourself.
+Between Beta and Gamma ([gamma]) lies the beautiful Ring nebula, but it
+is hopelessly beyond the reach of the optical means we are employing.
+
+Let us turn next to the stars in the west. In consulting the
+accompanying map of Virgo and Booetes (Map No. 11), the observer is
+supposed to face the southwest, at the hours and dates mentioned above
+as those to which the circular map corresponds. He will then see the
+bright star Spica in Virgo not far above the horizon, while Arcturus
+will be half-way up the sky, and the Northern Crown will be near the
+zenith.
+
+The constellation Virgo is an interesting one in mythological story.
+Aratus tells us that the Virgin's home was once on earth, where she bore
+the name of Justice, and in the golden age all men obeyed her. In the
+silver age her visits to men became less frequent, "no longer finding
+the spirits of former days"; and, finally, when the brazen age came with
+the clangor of war:
+
+  "Justice, loathing that race of men,
+   Winged her flight to heaven; and fixed
+     Her station in that region
+   Where still by night is seen
+   The Virgin goddess near to bright Booetes."
+
+The chief star of Virgo, Spica, is remarkable for its pure white light.
+To my eye there is no conspicuous star in the sky equal to it in this
+respect, and it gains in beauty when viewed with a glass. With the aid
+of the map the reader will find the celebrated binary star Gamma
+([gamma]) Virginis, although he will not be able to separate its
+components without a telescope. It is a curious fact that the star
+Epsilon ([epsilon]) in Virgo has for many ages been known as the
+Grape-Gatherer. It has borne this name in Greek, in Latin, in Persian,
+and in Arabic, the origin of the appellation undoubtedly being that it
+was observed to rise just before the sun in the season of the vintage.
+It will be observed that the stars [epsilon], [delta], [gamma], [eta],
+and [beta], mark two sides of a quadrilateral figure of which the
+opposite corner is indicated by Denebola in the tail of Leo. Within this
+quadrilateral lies the marvelous Field of the Nebulae, a region where
+with adequate optical power one may find hundreds of these strange
+objects thronging together, a very storehouse of the germs of suns and
+worlds. Unfortunately, these nebulae are far beyond the reach of an
+opera-glass, but it is worth while to know where this curious region is,
+even if we can not behold the wonders it contains. The stars Omicron
+([omicron]), Pi ([pi]), etc., forming a little group, mark the head of
+Virgo.
+
+The autumnal equinox, or the place where the sun crosses the equator of
+the heavens on his southerly journey about the 21st of September, is
+situated nearly between the stars [eta] and [beta] Virginis, a little
+below the line joining them, and somewhat nearer to [eta]. Both [eta]
+and [zeta] Virginis are almost exactly upon the equator of the heavens.
+
+The constellation Libra, lying between Virgo and Scorpio, does not
+contain much to attract our attention. Its two chief stars, [alpha] and
+[beta], may be readily recognized west of and above the head of Scorpio.
+The upper one of the two, [beta], has a singular greenish tint, and the
+lower one, [alpha], is a very pretty double for an opera-glass.
+
+The constellation of Libra appears to have been of later date than the
+other eleven members of the zodiacal circle. Its two chief stars at one
+time marked the extended claws of Scorpio, which were afterward cut off
+(perhaps the monster proved too horrible even for its inventors) to form
+Libra. As its name signifies, Libra represents a balance, and this fact
+seems to refer the invention of the constellation back to at least three
+hundred years before Christ, when the autumnal equinox occurred at the
+moment when the sun was just crossing the western border of the
+constellation. The equality of the days and nights at that season
+readily suggests the idea of a balance. Milton, in "Paradise Lost,"
+suggests another origin for the constellation of the Balance in the
+account of Gabriel's discovery of Satan in paradise:
+
+              "... Now dreadful deeds
+  Might have ensued, nor only paradise
+  In this commotion, but the starry cope
+  Of heaven, perhaps, or all the elements
+  At least had gone to wrack, disturbed and torn
+  With violence of this conflict, had not soon
+  The Eternal, to prevent such horrid fray,
+  Hung forth in heaven his golden scales, yet seen
+  Betwixt Astrea and the Scorpion sign."
+
+Just north of Virgo's head will be seen the glimmering of Berenice's
+Hair. This little constellation was included among those described in
+the chapter on "The Stars of Spring," but it is worth looking at again
+in the early summer, on moonless nights, when the singular arrangement
+of the brighter members of the cluster at once strikes the eye.
+
+[Illustration: BERENICE'S HAIR.]
+
+Booetes, whose leading brilliant, Arcturus, occupies the center of our
+map, also possesses a curious mythical history. It is called by the
+Greeks the Bear-Driver, because it seems continually to chase Ursa
+Major, the Great Bear, in his path around the pole. The story is that
+Booetes was the son of the nymph Calisto, whom Juno, in one of her
+customary fits of jealousy, turned into a bear. Booetes, who had become a
+famous hunter, one day roused a bear from her lair, and, not knowing
+that it was his mother, was about to kill her, when Jupiter came to the
+rescue and snatched them both up into the sky, where they have shone
+ever since. Lucan refers to this story when, describing Brutus's visit
+to Cato at night, he fixes the time by the position of these
+constellations in the heavens:
+
+  "'Twas when the solemn dead of night came on,
+  When bright Calisto, with her shining son,
+  Now half the circle round the pole had run."
+
+Booetes is not specially interesting for our purposes, except for the
+splendor of Arcturus. This star has possessed a peculiar charm for me
+ever since boyhood, when, having read a description of it in an old
+treatise on Uranography, I felt an eager desire to see it. As my search
+for it chanced to begin at a season when Arcturus did not rise till
+after a boy's bed-time, I was for a long time disappointed, and I shall
+never forget the start of surprise and almost of awe with which I
+finally caught sight of it, one spring evening, shooting its flaming
+rays through the boughs of an apple-orchard, like a star on fire.
+
+When near the horizon, Arcturus has a remarkably reddish color; but,
+after it has attained a high elevation in the sky, it appears rather a
+deep yellow than red. There is a scattered cluster of small stars
+surrounding Arcturus, forming an admirable spectacle with an opera-glass
+on a clear night. To see these stars well, the glass should be slowly
+moved about. Many of them are hidden by the glare of Arcturus. The
+little group of stars near the end of the handle of the Great Dipper,
+or, what is the same thing, the tail of the Great Bear, marks the
+upraised hand of Booetes. Between Berenice's Hair and the tail of the
+Bear you will see a small constellation called Canes Venatici, the
+Hunting-Dogs. On the old star-maps Booetes is represented as holding
+these dogs with a leash, while they are straining in chase of the Bear.
+You will find some pretty groupings of stars in this constellation.
+
+And now we will turn to the east. Our next map shows Cygnus, a
+constellation especially remarkable for the large and striking figure
+that it contains, called the Northern Cross, Aquila the Eagle, the
+Dolphin, and the little asterisms Sagitta and Vulpecula. In consulting
+the map, the observer is supposed to face toward the east. In Aquila
+the curious arrangement of two stars on either side of the chief star of
+the constellation, called Altair, at once attracts the eye. Within a
+circle including the two attendants of Altair you will probably be able
+to see with the naked eye only two or three stars in addition to the
+three large ones. Now turn your glass upon the same spot, and you will
+see eight or ten times as many stars, and with a field-glass still more
+can be seen. Watch the star marked Eta ([eta]), and you will find that
+its light is variable, being sometimes more than twice as bright as at
+other times. Its changes are periodical, and occupy a little over a
+week.
+
+The Eagle is fabled to have been the bird that Jupiter kept beside his
+throne. A constellation called Antinous, invented by Tycho Brahe, is
+represented on some maps as occupying the lower portion of the space
+given to Aquila.
+
+The Dolphin is an interesting little constellation, and the ancients
+said it represented the very animal on whose back the famous musician
+Arion rode through the sea after his escape from the sailors who tried
+to murder him. But some modern has dubbed it with the less romantic name
+of Job's Coffin, by which it is sometimes called. It presents a very
+pretty sight to the opera-glass.
+
+Cygnus, the swan, is a constellation whose mythological history is not
+specially interesting, although, as remarked above, it contains one of
+the most clearly marked figures to be found among the stars, the famous
+Northern Cross. The outlines of this cross are marked with great
+distinctness by the stars Alpha ([alpha]), Epsilon ([epsilon]), Gamma
+([gamma]), Delta ([delta]), and Beta ([beta]), together with some
+fainter stars lying along the main beam of the cross between [beta] and
+[gamma]. The star [beta], also called Albireo, is one of the most
+beautiful double stars in the heavens. The components are sharply
+contrasted in color, the larger star being golden-yellow, while the
+smaller one is a deep, rich blue. With a field-glass of 1.6-inch
+aperture and magnifying seven times I have sometimes been able to
+divide this pair, and to recognize the blue color of the smaller star.
+It will be found a severe test for such a glass.
+
+[Illustration: MAP 12.]
+
+About half-way from Albireo to the two stars [zeta] and [epsilon] in
+Aquila is a very curious little group, consisting of six or seven stars
+in a straight row, with a garland of other stars hanging from the
+center. To see it best, take a field-glass, although an opera-glass
+shows it.
+
+I have indicated the place of the celebrated star 61 Cygni in the map,
+because of the interest attaching to it as the nearest to us, so far as
+we know, of all the stars in the northern hemisphere, and with one
+exception the nearest star in all the heavens. Yet it is very faint, and
+the fact that so inconspicuous a star should be nearer than such
+brilliants as Vega and Arcturus shows how wide is the range of magnitude
+among the suns that light the universe. The actual distance of 61 Cygni
+is something like 650,000 times as great as the distance from the earth
+to the sun.
+
+The star Omicron ([omicron]) is very interesting with an opera-glass.
+The naked eye sees a little star near it. The glass throws them wide
+apart, and divides [omicron] itself into two stars. Now, a field-glass,
+if of sufficient power, will divide the larger of these stars again into
+two--a fine test.
+
+Sweep around [alpha] and [gamma] for the splendid star-fields that
+abound in this neighborhood; also around the upper part of the figure of
+the cross. We are here in one of the richest parts of the Milky-Way.
+Between the stars [alpha], [gamma], [epsilon], is the strange dark gap
+in the galaxy called the Coal-Sack, a sort of hole in the starry
+heavens. Although it is not entirely empty of stars, its blackness is
+striking in contrast with the brilliancy of the Milky-Way in this
+neighborhood. The divergent streams of the great river of light in this
+region present a very remarkable appearance.
+
+[Illustration: MAP 13.]
+
+Finally, we come to the great dragon of the sky. In using the map of
+Draco and the neighboring constellations, the reader is supposed to face
+the north. The center of the upper edge of the map is directly over the
+observer's head. One of the stories told of this large constellation is
+that it represents a dragon that had the temerity to war against
+Minerva. The goddess "seized it in her hand, and hurled it, twisted as
+it was, into the heavens round the axis of the world, before it had time
+to unwind its contortions." Others say it is the dragon that guarded the
+golden apples in the Garden of the Hesperides, and that was slain by the
+redoubtable Hercules. At any rate, it is plainly a monster of the first
+magnitude. The stars [beta], [gamma], [xi], [nu], and [mu] represent its
+head, while its body runs trailing along, first sweeping in a long
+curve toward Cepheus, and then bending around and passing between the
+two bears. Try [nu] with your opera-glass, and if you succeed in seeing
+it double you may congratulate yourself on your keen sight. The distance
+between the stars is about 1'. Notice the contrasted colors of [gamma]
+and [beta], the former being a rich orange and the latter white. As you
+sweep along the winding way that Draco follows, you will run across many
+striking fields of stars, although the heavens are not as rich here as
+in the splendid regions that we have just left. You will also find that
+Cepheus, although not an attractive constellation to the naked eye, is
+worth some attention with an opera-glass. The head and upper part of the
+body of Cepheus are plunged in the stream of the Milky Way, while his
+feet are directed toward the pole of the heavens, upon which he is
+pictured as standing. Cepheus, however, sinks into insignificance in
+comparison with its neighbor Cassiopeia, but that constellation belongs
+rather to the autumn sky, and we shall pass it by here.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+THE STARS OF AUTUMN.
+
+
+IN the "Fifth Evening" of that delightful, old, out-of-date book of
+Fontenelle's, on the "Plurality of Worlds," the Astronomer and the
+Marchioness, who have been making a wonderful pilgrimage through the
+heavens during their evening strolls in the park, come at last to the
+starry systems beyond the "solar vortex," and the Marchioness
+experiences a lively impatience to know what the fixed stars will turn
+out to be, for the Astronomer has sharpened her appetite for marvels.
+
+"Tell me," says she, eagerly, "are they, too, inhabited like the
+planets, or are they not peopled? In short, what can we make of them?"
+
+The Astronomer answers his charming questioner, as we should do to-day,
+that the fixed stars are so many suns. And he adds to this information a
+great deal of entertaining talk about the planets that may be supposed
+to circle around these distant suns, interspersing his conversation with
+explanations of "vortexes," and many quaint conceits, in which he is
+helped out by the ready wit of the Marchioness.
+
+Finally, the impressionable mind of the lady is overwhelmed by the
+grandeur of the scenes that the Astronomer opens to her view, her head
+swims, infinity oppresses her, and she cries for mercy.
+
+"You show me," she exclaims, "a perspective so interminably long that
+the eye can not see the end of it. I see plainly the inhabitants of the
+earth; then you cause me to perceive those of the moon and of the other
+planets belonging to our vortex (system), quite clearly, yet not so
+distinctly as those of the earth. After them come the inhabitants of
+planets in the other vortexes. I confess, they seem to me hidden deep in
+the background, and, however hard I try, I can barely glimpse them at
+all. In truth, are they not almost annihilated by the very expression
+which you are obliged to use in speaking of them? You have to call them
+inhabitants of one of the planets contained in one out of the infinity
+of vortexes. Surely we ourselves, to whom the same expression applies,
+are almost lost among so many millions of worlds. For my part, the earth
+begins to appear so frightfully little to me that henceforth I shall
+hardly consider any object worthy of eager pursuit. Assuredly, people
+who seek so earnestly their own aggrandizement, who lay schemes upon
+schemes, and give themselves so much trouble, know nothing of the
+vortexes! I am sure my increase of knowledge will redound to the credit
+of my idleness, and when people reproach me with indolence I shall
+reply: 'Ah! if you but knew the history of the fixed stars!'"
+
+It is certainly true that a contemplation of the unthinkable vastness of
+the universe, in the midst of which we dwell upon a speck illuminated by
+a spark, is calculated to make all terrestrial affairs appear
+contemptibly insignificant. We can not wonder that men for ages regarded
+the earth as the center, and the heavens with their lights as tributary
+to it, for to have thought otherwise, in those times, would have been to
+see things from the point of view of a superior intelligence. It has
+taken a vast amount of experience and knowledge to convince men of the
+parvitude of themselves and their belongings. So, in all ages they have
+applied a terrestrial measure to the universe, and imagined they could
+behold human affairs reflected in the heavens and human interests
+setting the gods together by the ears.
+
+[Illustration: MAP. 14.]
+
+This is clearly shown in the story of the constellations. The tremendous
+truth that on a starry night we look, in every direction, into an almost
+endless vista of suns beyond suns and systems upon systems, was too
+overwhelming for comprehension by the inventors of the constellations.
+So they amused themselves, like imaginative children, as they were, by
+tracing the outlines of men and beasts formed by those pretty lights,
+the stars. They turned the starry heavens into a scroll filled with
+pictured stories of mythology. Four of the constellations with which we
+are going to deal in this chapter are particularly interesting on this
+account. They preserve in the stars, more lasting than parchment or
+stone, one of the oldest and most pleasing of all the romantic stories
+that have amused and inspired the minds of men--the story of Perseus and
+Andromeda--a better story than any that modern novelists have invented.
+The four constellations to which I refer bear the names of Andromeda,
+Perseus, Cassiopeia, and Cepheus, and are sometimes called,
+collectively, the Royal Family. In the autumn they occupy a conspicuous
+position in the sky, forming a group that remains unrivaled until the
+rising of Orion with his imperial _cortege_. The reader will find them
+in Map No. 14, occupying the northeastern quarter of the heavens.
+
+This map represents the visible heavens at about midnight on September
+1st, ten o'clock P. M. on October 1st, and eight o'clock P. M. on
+November 1st. At this time the constellations that were near the
+meridian in summer will be found sinking in the west, Hercules being low
+in the northwest, with the brilliant Lyra and the head of Draco
+suspended above it; Aquila, "the eagle of the winds," soars high in the
+southwest; while the Cross of Cygnus is just west of the zenith; and
+Sagittarius, with its wealth of star-dust, is disappearing under the
+horizon in the southwest.
+
+Far down in the south the observer catches the gleam of a bright lone
+star of the first magnitude, though not one of the largest of that
+class. It is Fomalhaut, in the mouth of the Southern Fish, Piscis
+Australis. A slight reddish tint will be perceived in the light of this
+beautiful star, whose brilliance is enhanced by the fact that it shines
+without a rival in that region of the sky. Fomalhaut is one of the
+important "nautical stars," and its position was long ago carefully
+computed for the benefit of mariners. The constellation of Piscis
+Australis, which will be found in our second map, does not possess much
+to interest us except its splendid leading star. In consulting Map 15,
+the observer is supposed to be facing south, or slightly west of south,
+and he must remember that the upper part of the map reaches nearly to
+the zenith, while at the bottom it extends down to the horizon.
+
+[Illustration: MAP 15.]
+
+To the right, or west, of Fomalhaut, and higher up, is the constellation
+of Capricornus, very interesting on many accounts, though by no means a
+striking constellation to the unassisted eye. The stars Alpha ([alpha]),
+called Giedi, and Beta ([beta]), called Dabih, will be readily
+recognized, and a keen eye will perceive that Alpha really consists of
+two stars. They are about six minutes of arc apart, and are of the third
+and the fourth magnitude respectively. These stars, which to the naked
+eye appear almost blended into one, really have no physical connection
+with each other, and are slowly drifting apart. The ancient astronomers
+make no mention of Giedi being composed of two stars, and the reason is
+plain, when it is known that in the time of Hipparchus, as Flammarion
+has pointed out, their distance apart was not more than two thirds as
+great as it is at present, so that the naked eye could not have detected
+the fact that there were two of them; and it was not until the
+seventeenth century that they got far enough asunder to begin to be
+separated by eyes of unusual power. With an ordinary opera-glass they
+are thrown well apart, and present a very pretty sight. Considering the
+manner in which these stars are separating, the fact that both of them
+have several faint companions, which our powerful telescopes reveal,
+becomes all the more interesting. A suggestion of Sir John Herschel,
+concerning one of these faint companions, that it shines by reflected
+light, adds to the interest, for if the suggestion is well founded the
+little star must, of course, be actually a planet, and granting that,
+then some of the other faint points of light seen there are probably
+planets too. It must be said that the probabilities are against
+Herschel's suggestion. The faint stars more likely shine with their own
+light. Even so, however, these two systems, which apparently have met
+and are passing one another, at a distance small as compared with the
+space that separates them from us, possess a peculiar interest, like two
+celestial fleets that have spoken one another in the midst of the ocean
+of space.
+
+The star Beta, or Dabih, is also a double star. The companion is of a
+beautiful blue color, generally described as "sky-blue." It is of the
+seventh magnitude, while the larger star is of magnitude three and a
+half. The latter is golden-yellow. The blue of the small star can be
+seen with either an opera- or a field-glass, but it requires careful
+looking and a clear and steady atmosphere. I recollect discovering the
+color of this star with a field-glass, and exclaiming to myself, "Why,
+the little one is as blue as a bluebell!" before I knew that that was
+its hue as seen with a telescope. Trying my opera-glass upon it I found
+that the color was even more distinct, although the small star was then
+more or less enveloped in the yellow rays of the large one. The distance
+between the two stars in Dabih is nearly the same as that between the
+components of [epsilon] Lyrae, and the comparative difficulty of
+separating them is an instructive example of the effect of a large star
+in concealing a small one close beside it. The two stars in [epsilon]
+Lyrae are of nearly equal brightness, and are very easily separated and
+distinguished, but in [beta] Capricorni, or Dabih, one star is about
+twenty times as bright as the other, and consequently the fainter star
+is almost concealed in the glare of its more brilliant neighbor.
+
+With the most powerful glass at your disposal, sweep from the star Zeta
+([zeta]) eastward a distance somewhat greater than that separating Alpha
+and Beta, and you will find a fifth-magnitude star beside a little
+nebulous spot. This is the cluster known as 30 M, one of those
+sun-swarms that overwhelm the mind of the contemplative observer with
+astonishment, and especially remarkable in this case for the apparent
+vacancy of the heavens immediately surrounding the cluster, as if all
+the stars in that neighborhood had been drawn into the great assemblage,
+leaving a void around it. Of course, with the instrument that our
+observer is supposed to be using, merely the _existence_ of this solar
+throng can be detected; but, if he sees that it is there, he may be led
+to provide himself with a telescope capable of revealing its glories.
+
+Admiral Smyth remarks that, "although Capricorn is not a striking
+object, it has been the very pet of all constellations with
+astrologers," and he quotes from an old almanac of the year 1386, that
+"whoso is borne in Capcorn schal be ryche and wel lufyd." The
+mythological account of the constellation is that it represents the goat
+into which Pan was turned in order to escape from the giant Typhon, who
+once on a time scared all the gods out of their wits, and caused them to
+change themselves into animals, even Jupiter assuming the form of a ram.
+According to some authorities, Piscis Australis represents the fish into
+which Venus changed herself on that interesting occasion.
+
+Directly above Piscis Australis, and to the east or left of Capricorn,
+the map shows the constellation of Aquarius, or the Water-Bearer. Some
+say this commemorates Ganymede, the cup-bearer of the gods. It is
+represented in old star-maps by the figure of a young man pouring water
+from an urn. The star Alpha ([alpha]) marks his right shoulder, and Beta
+([beta]) his left, and Gamma ([gamma]), Zeta ([zeta]), Eta ([eta]), and
+Pi ([pi]) indicate his right hand and the urn. From this group a current
+of small stars will be recognized, sweeping downward with a curve toward
+the east, and ending at Fomalhaut; this represents the water poured from
+the urn, which the Southern Fish appears to be drinking. In fact,
+according to the pictures in the old maps, the fish succeeds in
+swallowing the stream completely, and it vanishes from the sky in the
+act of entering his distended mouth! It is worthy of remark that in
+Greek, Latin, and Arabic this constellation bears names all of which
+signify "a man pouring water." The ancient Egyptians imagined that the
+setting of Aquarius caused the rising of the Nile, as he sank his huge
+urn in the river to fill it. Alpha Aquarii was called by the Arabs
+Sadalmelik, which is interpreted to mean the "king's lucky star," but
+whether it proved itself a lucky star in war or in love, and what
+particular king enjoyed its benign influence and recorded his gratitude
+in its name, we are not informed. Thus, at every step, we find how
+shreds of history and bits of superstition are entangled among the
+stars. Surely, humanity has been reflected in the heavens as lastingly
+as it has impressed itself upon the earth.
+
+Starting from the group of stars just described as forming the
+Water-Bearer's urn, follow with a glass the winding stream of small
+stars that represent the water. Several very pretty and striking
+assemblages of stars will be encountered in its course. The star Tau
+([tau]) is double and presents a beautiful contrast of color, one star
+being white and the other reddish-orange--two solar systems, it may be,
+apparently neighbors as seen from the earth, in one of which daylight is
+white and in the other red!
+
+Point a good glass upon the star marked Nu ([nu]), and you will see,
+somewhat less than a degree and a half to the west of it, what appears
+to be a faint star of between the seventh and eighth magnitudes. You
+will have to look sharp to see it. It is with your mind's eye that you
+must gaze, in order to perceive the wonder here hidden in the depths of
+space. That faint speck is a nebula, unrivaled for interest by many of
+the larger and more conspicuous objects of that kind. Lord Rosse's great
+telescope has shown that in form it resembles the planet Saturn; in
+other words, that it consists apparently of a ball surrounded by a ring.
+But the spectroscope proves that it is a gaseous mass, and the
+micrometer--supposing its distance to be equal to that of the stars, and
+we have no reason to think it less--that it must be large enough to fill
+the whole space included within the orbit of Neptune! Here, then, as has
+been said, we seem to behold a genesis in the heavens. If Laplace's
+nebular hypothesis, or any of the modifications of that hypothesis,
+represents the process of formation of a solar system, then we may
+fairly conclude that such a process is now actually in operation in this
+nebula in Aquarius, where a vast ring of nebulous matter appears to have
+separated off from the spherical mass within it. This may not be the
+true explanation of what we see there, but, whatever the explanation is,
+there can be no question of the high significance of this nebula, whose
+shape proclaims unmistakably the operation of great metamorphic forces
+there. Of course, with his insignificant optical means, our observer can
+see nothing of the strange form of this object, the detection of which
+requires the aid of the most powerful telescopes, but it is much to know
+where that unfinished creation lies, and to see it, even though
+diminished by distance to a mere speck of light.
+
+Turn your glass upon the star shown in the map just above Mu ([mu]) and
+Epsilon ([epsilon]). You will find an attractive arrangement of small
+stars in its neighborhood. The star marked 104 is double to the naked
+eye, and the row of stars below it is well worth looking at. The star
+Delta ([delta]) indicates the place where, in 1756, Tobias Mayer
+narrowly escaped making a discovery that would have anticipated that
+which a quarter of a century later made the name of Sir William Herschel
+world-renowned. The planet Uranus passed near Delta in 1756, and Tobias
+Mayer saw it, but it moved so slowly that he took it for a fixed star,
+never suspecting that his eyes had rested upon a member of the solar
+system whose existence was, up to that time, unknown to the inhabitants
+of Adam's planet.
+
+Above Aquarius you will find the constellation Pegasus. It is
+conspicuously marked by four stars of about the second magnitude, which
+shine at the corners of a large square, called the Great Square of
+Pegasus. This figure is some fifteen degrees square, and at once
+attracts the eye, there being few stars visible within the
+quadrilateral, and no large ones in the immediate neighborhood to
+distract attention from it. One of the four stars, however, as will be
+seen by consulting Map 15, does not belong to Pegasus, but to the
+constellation Andromeda. Mythologically, this constellation represents
+the celebrated winged horse of antiquity:
+
+  "Now heaven his further wandering flight confines,
+  Where, splendid with his numerous stars, he shines."
+
+The star Alpha ([alpha]) is called Markab; Beta ([beta]) is Scheat, and
+Gamma ([gamma]) is Algenib; the fourth star in the square, belonging to
+Andromeda, is called Alpheratz. Although Pegasus presents a striking
+appearance to the unassisted eye, on account of its great square, it
+contains little to attract the observer with an opera-glass. It will
+prove interesting, however, to sweep with the glass carefully over the
+space within the square, which is comparatively barren to the naked eye,
+but in which many small stars will be revealed, of whose existence the
+naked-eye observer would be unaware. The star marked Pi ([pi]) is an
+interesting double, which can be separated by a good eye without
+artificial aid, and which, with an opera-glass, presents a fine
+appearance.
+
+And now we come to Map No. 16, representing the constellations Cetus,
+Pisces, Aries, and the Triangles. In consulting it the observer is
+supposed to face the southeast. Cetus is a very large constellation, and
+from the peculiar conformation of its principal stars it can be readily
+recognized. The head is to the east, the star Alpha ([alpha]), called
+Menkar, being in the nose of this imaginary inhabitant of the
+sky-depths. The constellation is supposed to represent the monster that,
+according to fable, was sent by Neptune to devour the fair Andromeda,
+but whose bloodthirsty design was happily and gallantly frustrated by
+Perseus, as we shall learn from starry mythology further on.
+
+Although bearing the name Cetus, the Whale, the pictures of the
+constellation in the old maps do not present us with the form of a
+whale, but that of a most extraordinary scaly creature with enormous
+jaws filled with large teeth, a forked tongue, fore-paws armed with
+gigantic claws, and a long, crooked, and dangerous-looking tail. Indeed,
+Aratus does not call it a "whale," but a "sea-monster," and Dr. Seiss
+would have us believe that it was intended to represent the leviathan,
+whose terrible prowess is celebrated in the book of Job.
+
+[Illustration: MAP 16.]
+
+By far the most interesting object in Cetus is the star Mira. This is a
+famous variable--a sun that sometimes shines a thousand-fold more
+brilliantly than at others! It changes from the second magnitude to the
+ninth or tenth, its period from maximum to maximum being about eleven
+months. During about five months of that time it is completely invisible
+to the naked eye; then it begins to appear again, slowly increasing in
+brightness for some three months, until it shines as a star of the
+second magnitude, being then as bright as, if not brighter than, the
+most brilliant stars in the constellation. It retains this brilliance
+for about two weeks, and then begins to fade again, and, within three
+months, once more disappears. There are various irregularities in its
+changes, which render its exact period somewhat uncertain, and it does
+not always attain the same degree of brightness at its maximum. For
+instance, in 1779, Mira was almost equal in brilliance to a
+first-magnitude star, but frequently at its greatest brightness it is
+hardly equal to an ordinary star of the second magnitude. By the aid of
+our little map you will readily be able to find it. You will perceive
+that it has a slightly reddish tint. Watch it from one of its maxima,
+and you will see it gradually fade from sight until, at last, only the
+blackness of the empty sky appears where, a few months before, a
+conspicuous star was visible. Keep watch of that spot, and in due course
+you will perceive Mira shining there again--a mere speck, but slowly
+brightening--and in three months more the wonderful star will blaze
+again with renewed splendor.
+
+Knowing that our own sun is a variable star--though variable only to a
+slight degree, its variability being due to the spots that appear upon
+its surface in a period of about eleven years--we possess some light
+that may be cast upon the mystery of Mira's variations. It seems not
+improbable that, in the case of Mira, the surface of the star at the
+maximum of spottedness is covered to an enormously greater extent than
+occurs during our own sun-spot maxima, so that the light of the star,
+instead of being merely dimmed to an almost imperceptible extent, as
+with our sun, is almost blotted out. When the star blazes with unwonted
+splendor, as in 1779, we may fairly assume that the pent-up forces of
+this perishing sun have burst forth, as in a desperate struggle against
+extinction. But nothing can prevail against the slow, remorseless,
+unswerving progress of that obscuration, which comes from the leaking
+away of the solar heat, and which constitutes what we may call the death
+of a sun. And that word seems peculiarly appropriate to describe the end
+of a body which, during its period of visible existence, not only
+presents the highest type of physical activity, but is the parent and
+supporter of all forms of life upon the planets that surround it.
+
+We might even go so far as to say that possibly Mira presents to us an
+example of what our sun will be in the course of time, as the dead and
+barren moon shows us, as in a magician's glass, the approaching fate of
+the earth. Fortunately, human life is a mere span in comparison with the
+aeons of cosmic existence, and so we need have no fear that either we or
+our descendants for thousands of generations shall have to play the
+tragic _role_ of Campbell's "Last Man," and endeavor to keep up a stout
+heart amid the crash of time by meanly boasting to the perishing sun,
+whose rays have nurtured us, that, though his proud race is ended, we
+have confident anticipations of immortality. I trust that, when man
+makes his exit from this terrestrial stage, it will not be in the
+contemptible act of kicking a fallen benefactor.
+
+There are several other variable stars in Cetus, but none possessing
+much interest for us. The observer should look at the group of stars in
+the head, where he will find some interesting combinations, and also at
+Chi, which is the little star shown in the map near Zeta ([zeta]). This
+is a double that will serve as a very good test of eye and instrument,
+the smaller companion-star being of only seven and a half magnitude.
+
+Directly above Cetus is the long, straggling constellation of Pisces,
+the Fishes. The Northern Fish is represented by the group of stars near
+Andromeda and the Triangles. A long band or ribbon, supposed to bind the
+fish together, trends thence first southeast and then west until it
+joins a group of stars under Pegasus, which represents the Western Fish,
+not to be confounded with the Southern Fish described near the
+beginning of this chapter, which is a separate constellation. Fable has,
+however, somewhat confounded these fishes; for while, as I have remarked
+above, the Southern Fish is said to represent Venus after she had turned
+herself into a fish to escape from the giant Typhon, the two fishes of
+the constellation we are now dealing with are also fabled to represent
+Venus and her interesting son Cupid under the same disguise assumed on
+precisely the same occasion. If Typhon, however, was so great a brute
+that even Cupid's arrows were of no avail against him, we should,
+perhaps, excuse mythology for duplicating the record of so wondrous an
+event.
+
+You will find it very interesting to take your glass and, beginning with
+the attractive little group in the Northern Fish, follow the windings of
+the ribbon, with its wealth of tiny stars, to the Western Fish. When you
+have arrived at that point, sweep well over the sky in that
+neighborhood, and particularly around and under the stars Iota ([iota]),
+Theta ([theta]), Lambda ([lambda]), and Kappa ([kappa]). If you are
+using a powerful glass, you will be surprised and delighted by what you
+see. Below the star Omega ([omega]), and to the left of Lambda, is the
+place which the sun occupies at the time of the spring equinox--in other
+words, one of the two crossing-places of the equinoctial or the equator
+of the heavens, and the ecliptic, or the sun's path. The prime meridian
+of the heavens passes through this point. You can trace out this great
+circle, from which astronomical longitudes are reckoned, by drawing an
+imaginary line from the equinoctial point just indicated through [alpha]
+in Andromeda and [beta] in Cassiopeia to the pole-star.
+
+To the left of Pisces, and above the head of Cetus, is the constellation
+Aries, or the Ram. Two pretty bright stars, four degrees apart, one of
+which has a fainter star near it, mark it out plainly to the eye. These
+stars are in the head of the Ram. The brightest one, Alpha ([alpha]), is
+called Hamal; Beta ([beta]) is named Sheratan; and its fainter neighbor
+is Mesarthim. According to fable, this constellation represents the ram
+that wore the golden fleece, which was the object of the celebrated
+expedition of the Argonauts. There is not much in the constellation to
+interest us, except its historical importance, as it was more than two
+thousand years ago the leading constellation of the zodiac, and still
+stands first in the list of the zodiacal signs. Owing to the precession
+of the equinoxes, however, the vernal equinoctial point, which was
+formerly in this constellation, has now advanced into the constellation
+Pisces, as we saw above. Gamma ([gamma]), Arietis, is interesting as the
+first telescopic double star ever discovered. Its duplicity was detected
+by Dr. Hooke while watching the passage of a comet near the star in
+1664. Singularly enough, the brightest star in the constellation, now
+bearing the letter [alpha], originally did not belong to the
+constellation. Tycho Brahe finally placed it in the head of Aries.
+
+The little constellation of the Triangles, just above Aries, is worth
+only a passing notice. Insignificant as it appears, this little group is
+a very ancient constellation. It received its name, Deltoton, from the
+Greek letter [Delta].
+
+[Illustration: MAP 17.]
+
+The reader must now be introduced to the "Royal Family." Although the
+story of Perseus and Andromeda is, of course, well known to nearly all
+readers, yet, on account of the great beauty and brilliancy of the group
+of constellations that perpetuate the memory of it among the stars, it
+is worth recalling here. It will be remembered that, as Perseus was
+returning through the air from his conquest of the Gorgon Medusa, he saw
+the beautiful Andromeda chained to a rock on the sea-coast, waiting to
+be devoured by a sea-monster. The poor girl's only offense was that her
+mother, Cassiopeia, had boasted for her that she was fairer than the
+sea-beauty, Atergatis, and for this Neptune had decreed that all the
+land of the Ethiopians should be drowned and destroyed unless Andromeda
+was delivered up as a sacrifice to the dreadful sea-monster. When
+Perseus, dropping down to learn why this maiden was chained to the
+rocks, heard from Andromeda's lips the story of her woes, he laughed
+with joy. Here was an adventure just to his liking, and besides, unlike
+his previous adventures, it involved the fate of a beautiful woman with
+whom he was already in love. Could he save her? Well, wouldn't he! The
+sea-monster might frighten a kingdom full of Ethiops, but it could not
+shake the nerves of a hero from Greece. He whispered words of
+encouragement to Andromeda, who could scarce believe the good news that
+a champion had come to defend her after all her friends and royal
+relations had deserted her. Neither could she feel much confidence in
+her young champion's powers when suddenly her horrified gaze met the
+awful leviathan of the deep advancing to his feast! But Perseus, with a
+warning to Andromeda not to look at what he was about to do, sprang with
+his winged sandals up into the air. And then, as Charles Kingsley has so
+beautifully told the story--
+
+"On came the great sea-monster, coasting along like a huge black galley,
+lazily breasting the ripple, and stopping at times by creek or headland
+to watch for the laughter of girls at their bleaching, or cattle pawing
+on the sand-hills, or boys bathing on the beach. His great sides were
+fringed with clustering shells and sea-weeds, and the water gurgled in
+and out of his wide jaws as he rolled along, dripping and glistening in
+the beams of the morning sun. At last he saw Andromeda, and shot forward
+to take his prey, while the waves foamed white behind him, and before
+him the fish fled leaping.
+
+"Then down from the height of the air fell Perseus like a
+shooting-star--down to the crest of the waves, while Andromeda hid
+her face as he shouted. And then there was silence for a while.
+
+"At last she looked up trembling, and saw Perseus springing toward her;
+and, instead of the monster, a long, black rock, with the sea rippling
+quietly round it."
+
+Perseus had turned the monster into stone by holding the blood-freezing
+head of Medusa before his eyes; and it was fear lest Andromeda herself
+might see the Gorgon's head, and suffer the fate of all who looked upon
+it, that had led him to forbid her watching him when he attacked her
+enemy. Afterward he married her, and Cassiopeia, Andromeda's mother, and
+Cepheus, her father, gave their daughter's rescuer a royal welcome, and
+all the Ethiops rose up and blessed him for ridding the land of the
+monster. And now, if we choose, we can, any fair night, see the
+principal characters of this old romance shining in starry garb in the
+sky. Aratus saw them there in his day, more than two hundred years
+before Christ, and has left this description in his "Skies," as
+translated by Poste:
+
+  "Nor shall blank silence whelm the harassed house
+  Of Cepheus; the high heavens know their name,
+  For Zeus is in their line at few removes.
+  Cepheus himself by She-bear Cynosure,
+  Iasid king stands with uplifted arms.
+  From his belt thou castest not a glance
+  To see the first spire of the mighty Dragon.
+
+  "Eastward from him, heaven-troubled queen, with scanty stars
+  But lustrous in the full-mooned night, sits Cassiopeia.
+  Not numerous nor double-rowed
+  The gems that deck her form,
+  But like a key which through an inward-fastened
+  Folding-door men thrust to knock aside the bolts,
+  They shine in single zigzag row.
+  She, too, o'er narrow shoulders stretching
+  Uplifted hands, seems wailing for her child.
+
+  "For there, a woful statue-form, is seen
+  Andromeda, parted from her mother's side. Long I trow
+  Thou wilt not seek her in the nightly sky,
+  So bright her head, so bright
+  Her shoulders, feet, and girdle.
+  Yet even there she has her arms extended,
+  And shackled even in heaven; uplifted,
+  Outspread eternally are those fair hands.
+
+  "Her feet point to her bridegroom
+  Perseus, on whose shoulder they rest.
+  He in the north-wind stands gigantic,
+  His right hand stretched toward the throne
+  Where sits the mother of his bride. As one bent on some high deed,
+  Dust-stained he strides over the floor of heaven."
+
+The makers of old star-maps seem to have vied in the effort to represent
+with effect the figures of Andromeda, Perseus, and Cassiopeia among the
+stars, and it must be admitted that some of them succeeded in giving no
+small degree of life and spirit to their sketches.
+
+The starry riches of these constellations are well matched with their
+high mythological repute. Lying in and near the Milky-Way, they are
+particularly interesting to the observer with an opera-glass. Besides,
+they include several of the most celebrated wonders of the firmament.
+
+In consulting Map No. 17, the observer is supposed to face the east and
+northeast. We will begin our survey with Andromeda. The three chief
+stars of this constellation are of the second magnitude, and lie in a
+long, bending row, beginning with Alpha ([alpha]), or Alpheratz, in the
+head, which, as we have seen, marks one corner of the great Square of
+Pegasus. Beta ([beta]), or Mirach, with the smaller stars Mu ([mu]) and
+Nu ([nu]), form the girdle. The third of the chief stars is Gamma
+([gamma]), or Almaach, situated in the left foot. The little group of
+stars designated Lambda ([lambda]), Kappa ([kappa]), and Iota ([iota]),
+mark the extended right hand chained to the rock, and Zeta ([zeta]) and
+some smaller stars southwest of it show the left arm and hand, also
+stretched forth and shackled.
+
+In searching for picturesque objects in Andromeda, begin with Alpheratz
+and the groups forming the hands. Below the girdle will be seen a rather
+remarkable arrangement of small stars in the mouth of the Northern Fish.
+Now follow up the line of the girdle to the star Nu ([nu]). If your
+glass has a pretty wide field, your eye will immediately catch the
+glimmer of the Great Nebula of Andromeda in the same field with the
+star. This is the oldest or earliest discovered of the nebulae, and, with
+the exception of that in Orion, is the grandest visible in this
+hemisphere. Of course, not much can be expected of an opera-glass in
+viewing such an object; and yet a good glass, in clear weather and the
+absence of the moon, makes a very attractive spectacle of it.
+
+[Illustration: THE GREAT ANDROMEDA NEBULA.]
+
+By turning the eyes aside, the nebula can be seen, extended as a faint,
+wispy light, much elongated on either side of the brighter nucleus. The
+cut here given shows, approximately, the appearance of the nebula,
+together with some of the small stars in its neighborhood, as seen with
+a field-glass. With large telescopes it appears both larger and broader,
+expanding to a truly enormous extent, and in Bond's celebrated picture
+of it we behold gigantic rifts running lengthwise, while the whole field
+of sky in which it is contained appears sprinkled over with minute stars
+apparently between us and the nebula. It was in, or, probably more
+properly speaking, in line with, this nebula that a new star suddenly
+shone out in 1885, and, after flickering and fading for a few months,
+disappeared. That the outburst of light in this star had any real
+connection with the nebula is exceedingly improbable. Although it
+appeared to be close beside the bright nucleus of the nebula, it is
+likely that it was really hundreds or thousands of millions of miles
+either this side or the other side of it. Why it should suddenly have
+blazed into visibility, and then in so short a time have disappeared, is
+a question as difficult as it is interesting. The easiest way to account
+for it, if not the most satisfactory, is to assume that it is a variable
+star of long period, and possessing a very wide range of variability.
+One significant fact that would seem to point to some connection between
+star and the nebula, after all, is that a similar occurrence was noticed
+in the constellation Scorpio in 1860, and to which I have previously
+referred (see Chapter II). In that case a faint star projected against
+the background of a nebula, suddenly flamed into comparatively great
+brilliance, and then faded again. The chances against the accidental
+superposition of a variable star of such extreme variability upon a
+known nebula occurring twice are so great that, for that reason alone,
+we might be justified in thinking some mysterious causal relation must
+in each case exist between the nebula and the star. The temptation to
+indulge in speculation is very great here, but it is better to wait for
+more light, and confess that for the present these things are
+inexplicable.
+
+It will be found very interesting to sweep with the glass slowly from
+side to side over Andromeda, gradually approaching toward Cassiopeia or
+Perseus. The increase in the richness of the stratum of faint stars that
+apparently forms the background of the sky will be clearly discernible
+as you approach the Milky-Way, which passes directly through Cassiopeia
+and Perseus. It may be remarked that the Milky-Way itself, in that
+splendidly rich region about Sagittarius (described in the "Stars of
+Summer"), is not nearly so effective an object with an opera-glass as it
+is above Cygnus and in the region with which we are now dealing. This
+seems to be owing to the smaller magnitude of its component stars in the
+southern part of the stream. There the background appears more truly
+"milky," while in the northern region the little stars shine distinct,
+like diamond-specks, on a black background.
+
+The star Nu, which serves as a pointer to the Great Nebula, is itself
+worth some attention with a pretty strong glass on account of a pair of
+small stars near it.
+
+The star Gamma ([gamma]) is interesting, not only as one of the most
+beautiful triples in the heavens (an opera-glass is far too feeble an
+instrument to reveal its companions), but because it serves to indicate
+the radiant point of the Biela meteors. There was once a comet well
+known to astronomers by the name of its discoverer, Biela. It repeated
+its visits to the neighborhood of the sun once in every six or seven
+years. In 1846 this comet astonished all observers by splitting into two
+comets, which continued to run side by side, like two equal racers, in
+their course around the sun. Each developed a tail of its own. In 1852,
+when the twin comets were due again, the astronomical world was on the
+_qui vive_, and they did not disappoint expectation, for back they came
+out of the depths of space, still racing, but much farther apart than
+they had been before, alternating in brightness as if the long struggle
+had nearly exhausted them, and finally, like spent runners, growing
+faint and disappearing. They have never been seen since.
+
+In 1872, when the comets should have been visible, if they still
+existed, a very startling thing happened. Out of the northern heavens,
+along the track of the missing comets, where the earth crossed it, on
+the night of the 27th of November came glistening and dashing the fiery
+spray of a storm of meteors. It was the dust and fragments of the lost
+comet of Biela, which, after being split in two in 1852, had evidently
+continued the process of disintegration until its cometary character was
+completely lost. It seems to have made a truly ghostly exit, for right
+after the meteor swarm of 1872 a mysterious cometary body was seen,
+which was supposed at the time to be the missing comet itself, and
+which, it is not altogether improbable, may have been a fragment of it.
+Three days after the meteors burst over Europe, it occurred to Professor
+Klinkerfues, of Berlin, that if they came from Biela's comet the comet
+itself ought to be seen in the southern hemisphere retreating from its
+encounter with the earth. On November 30th he sent his now historical
+telegram to Mr. Pogson, an astronomer at Madras; "Biela touched earth
+November 27th. Search near Theta Centauri." For thirty-six hours after
+the receipt of this extraordinary request Mr. Pogson was prevented by
+clouds from scanning the heavens with his telescope. When the sky
+cleared at last, behold there was a comet in the place indicated in the
+telegram! It was glimpsed again the next night, and then clouds
+intervened, and not a trace of it was ever seen afterward.
+
+But every year, on the 27th of November, when the earth crosses the
+orbit of the lost comet, meteoric fragments come plunging into our
+atmosphere, burning as they fly. Ordinarily their number is small, but
+when, as in 1872, a swarm of the meteors is in that part of their orbit
+which the earth crosses, there is a brilliant spectacle. In 1885 this
+occurred, and the world was treated to one of the most splendid meteoric
+displays on record.
+
+[Illustration: THE ATTENDANTS OF ALPHA PERSEI.]
+
+Next let us turn to Perseus. The bending row of stars marking the center
+of this constellation is very striking and brilliant. The brightest star
+in the constellation is Alpha, or Algenib, in the center of the row. The
+head of Perseus is toward Cassiopeia, and in his left hand he grasps the
+head of Medusa, which hangs down in such a way that its principal star
+Beta, or Algol, forms a right angle with Algenib and Almaach in
+Andromeda. This star Algol, or the Demon, as the Arabs call it, is in
+some respects the most wonderful and interesting in all the heavens. It
+is as famous for the variability of its light as Mira, but it differs
+widely from that star both in its period, which is very short, and in
+the extent of the changes it undergoes. During about two days and a
+half, Algol is equal in brilliance to Algenib, which is a
+second-magnitude star; then it begins to fade, and in the course of
+about four and a half hours it sinks to the fourth magnitude, being then
+about equal to the faint stars near it. It remains thus obscured for
+only a few minutes, and then begins to brighten again, and in about four
+and a half hours more resumes its former brilliance. This phenomenon is
+very easily observed, for, as will be seen by consulting our little map,
+Algol can be readily found, and its changes are so rapid that under
+favorable circumstances it can be seen in the course of a single night
+to run through the whole gamut. Of course, no optical instrument
+whatever is needed to enable one to see these changes of Algol, for it
+is plainly visible to the naked eye throughout, but it will be found
+interesting to watch the star with an opera-glass. Its periodic time
+from minimum to minimum is two days, twenty hours, and forty-nine
+minutes, lacking a few seconds. Any one can calculate future minima for
+himself by adding the periodic time above given to the time of any
+observed minimum.
+
+While spots upon its surface may be the cause of the variations in the
+light of Mira, it is believed that the more rapid changes of Algol may
+be due to another cause; namely, the existence of a huge, dark body
+revolving swiftly around it at close quarters in an orbit whose plane is
+directed edgewise toward the earth, so that at regular intervals this
+dark body causes a partial eclipse of Algol. Notwithstanding the attacks
+that have been made upon this theory, it seems to hold its ground, and
+it will probably continue to find favor as a working hypothesis until
+some fresh light is cast upon the problem. It hardly needs to be said
+that the dark body in question, if it exists, must be of enormous size,
+bearing no such insignificant proportion to the size of Algol as the
+earth does to the sun, but being rather the rival in bulk of its shining
+brother--a blind companion, an extinguished sun.
+
+There was certainly great fitness in the selection of the little group
+of stars of which this mysterious Algol forms the most conspicuous
+member, to represent the awful head of the Gorgon carried by the
+victorious Perseus for the confusion of his enemies. In a darker age
+than ours the winking of this demon-star must have seemed a prodigy of
+sinister import.
+
+Turn now to the bright star Algenib, or Alpha Persei. You will find with
+the glass an exceedingly attractive spectacle there. In my note-book I
+find this entry, made while sweeping over Perseus for materials for this
+chapter: "The field about Alpha is one of the finest in the sky for an
+opera-glass. Stars conspicuously ranged in curving lines and streams. A
+host follows Alpha from the east and south." The picture on page 84 will
+give the reader some notion of the exceeding beauty of this field of
+stars, and of the singular manner in which they are grouped, as it were,
+behind their leader. A field-glass increases the beauty of the scene.
+
+The reader will find a starry cluster marked on Map 17 as the "Great
+Cluster." This object can be easily detected by the naked eye,
+resembling a wisp of luminous cloud. It marks the hand in which Perseus
+clasps his diamond sword, and, with a telescope of medium power, it is
+one of the most marvelously beautiful objects in the sky--a double swarm
+of stars, bright enough to be clearly distinguished from one another,
+and yet so numerous as to dazzle the eye with their lively beams. An
+opera-glass does not possess sufficient power to "resolve" this cluster,
+but it gives a startling suggestion of its half-hidden magnificence, and
+the observer will be likely to turn to it again and again with
+increasing admiration. Sweep from this to Alpha Persei and beyond to get
+an idea of the procession of suns in the Milky-Way. The nebulous-looking
+cluster marked 34 M appears with an opera-glass like a faint comet.
+
+About a thousand years ago the theologians undertook to reconstruct the
+constellation figures, and to give them a religious significance. They
+divided the zodiac up among the twelve apostles, St. Peter taking the
+place of Aries, with the Triangles for his mitre. In this reconstruction
+Perseus was transmogrified into St. Paul, armed with a sword in one hand
+and a book in the other; Cassiopeia became Mary Magdalene; while poor
+Andromeda, stripped of all her beauty and romance, was turned into a
+sepulchre!
+
+Next look at Cassiopeia, which is distinctly marked out by the zigzag
+row of stars so well described by Aratus. Here the Milky-Way is so rich
+that the observer hardly needs any guidance; he is sure to stumble upon
+interesting sights for himself. The five brightest stars are generally
+represented as indicating the outlines of the chair or throne in which
+the queen sits, the star Zeta ([zeta]) being in her head. Look at Zeta
+with a good field-glass, and you will see a singular and brilliant array
+of stars near it in a broken half-circle, which may suggest the notion
+of a crown. Near the little star Kappa ([kappa]) in the map will be seen
+a small circle and the figures 1572. This shows the spot where the
+famous temporary star, which has of late been frequently referred to as
+the "Star of Bethlehem," appeared. It was seen in 1572, and carefully
+observed by the famous astronomer Tycho Brahe. It seems to have suddenly
+burst forth with a brilliance that outshone every other star in the
+heavens, not excepting Sirius itself. But its supremacy was short-lived.
+In a few months it had sunk to the second magnitude. It continued to
+grow fainter, exhibiting some remarkable changes of color in the mean
+time, and in less than a year and a half it disappeared. It has never
+been seen since. But in 1264, and again in 945, a star is said to have
+suddenly blazed out near that point in the heavens. There is no
+certainty about these earlier apparitions, but, assuming that they are
+not apocryphal, they might possibly indicate that the star seen by Tycho
+was a periodical one, its period considerably exceeding three hundred
+years. Carrying this supposed period back, it was found that an
+apparition of this star might have occurred about the time of the birth
+of Christ. It did not require a very prolific imagination to suggest its
+identity with the so-called star of the Magi, and hence the legend of
+the Star of Bethlehem and its impending reappearance, of which we have
+heard so much of late. It will be observed, from the dates given above,
+that, even supposing them to be correct, no definite period is indicated
+for the reappearance of the star. In one case the interval is three
+hundred and eight years, and in the other three hundred and nineteen
+years. In short, there are too many suppositions and assumptions
+involved to allow of any credence being given to the theory of the
+periodicity of Tycho's wonderful star. At the same time, nobody can say
+it is impossible that the star should appear again, and so it may be
+interesting for the reader to know where to look for it.
+
+Many of the most beautiful sights of this splendid constellation are
+beyond the reach of an opera-glass, and reserved for the grander powers
+of the telescope.
+
+We will pause but briefly with Cepheus, for the old king's constellation
+is comparatively dim in the heavens, as his part in the dramatic story
+of Andromeda was contemptible, and he seems to have got among the stars
+only by virtue of his relationship to more interesting persons. He does
+possess one gem of singular beauty--the star Mu, which may be found
+about two and a half degrees south of the star Nu ([nu]). It is the
+so-called "Garnet Star," thus named by William Herschel, who advises the
+observer, in order to appreciate its color, to glance from it to Alpha
+Cephei, which is a white star. Mu is variable, changing from the fourth
+to the sixth magnitude in a long period of five or six years. Its color
+is changeable, like its light. Sometimes it is of a deep garnet hue, and
+at other times it is orange-colored. Upon the whole, it appears of a
+deeper red than any other star visible to the naked eye.
+
+If you have a good field-glass, try its powers upon the star Delta
+([delta]) Cephei. This is a double star, the components being about
+forty-one seconds of arc apart, the larger of four and one half
+magnitude, and the smaller of the seventh magnitude. The latter is of a
+beautiful blue color, while the larger star is yellow or orange. With a
+good eye, a steady hand, and a clear glass, magnifying not less than six
+diameters, you can separate them, and catch the contrasted tints of
+their light. Besides being a double star, Delta is variable.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+THE STARS OF WINTER.
+
+
+I have never beheld the first indications of the rising of Orion without
+a peculiar feeling of awakened expectation, like that of one who sees
+the curtain rise upon a drama of absorbing interest. And certainly the
+magnificent company of the winter constellations, of which Orion is the
+chief, make their entrance upon the scene in a manner that may be
+described as almost dramatic. First in the east come the world-renowned
+Pleiades. At about the same time Capella, one of the most beautiful of
+stars, is seen flashing above the northeastern horizon. These are the
+sparkling ushers to the coming spectacle. In an hour the fiery gleam of
+Aldebaran appears at the edge of the dome below the Pleiades, a star
+noticeable among a thousand for its color alone, besides being one of
+the brightest of the heavenly host. The observer familiar with the
+constellations knows, when he sees this red star which marks the eye of
+the angry bull, Taurus, that just behind the horizon stands Orion with
+starry shield and upraised club to meet the charge of his gigantic
+enemy. With Aldebaran rises the beautiful V-shaped group of the Hyades.
+Presently the star-streams of Eridanus begin to appear in the east and
+southeast, the immediate precursors of the rising of Orion:
+
+  "And now the river-flood's first winding reach
+  The becalmed mariner may see in heaven,
+  As he watches for Orion to espy if he hath aught to say
+  Of the night's measure or the slumbering winds."
+
+The first glimpse we get of the hero of the sky is the long bending row
+of little stars that glitter in the lion's skin which, according to
+mythology, serves him for a shield. The great constellation then
+advances majestically into sight. First of its principal stars appears
+Bellatrix in the left shoulder; then the little group forming the head,
+followed closely by the splendid Betelgeuse, "the martial star,"
+flashing like a decoration upon the hero's right shoulder. Then come
+into view the equally beautiful Rigel in the left foot, and the striking
+row of three bright stars forming the Belt. Below these hangs another
+starry pendant marking the famous sword of Orion, and last of all
+appears Saiph in the right knee. There is no other constellation
+containing so many bright stars. It has two of the first magnitude,
+Betelgeuse and Rigel; the three stars in the Belt, and Bellatrix in the
+left shoulder, are all of the second magnitude; and besides these there
+are three stars of the third magnitude, more than a dozen of the fourth,
+and innumerable twinklers of smaller magnitudes, whose commingled
+scintillations form a celestial illumination of singular splendor.
+
+  "Thus graced and armed he leads the starry host."
+
+By the time Orion has chased the Bull half-way up the eastern slope of
+the firmament, the peerless Dog-Star, Sirius, is flaming at the edge of
+the horizon, while farther north glitters Procyon, the little Dog-Star,
+and still higher are seen the twin stars in Gemini. When these
+constellations have advanced well toward the meridian, as shown in our
+circular map, their united radiance forms a scene never to be forgotten.
+Counting one of the stars in Gemini as of the first rank, there are no
+less than seven first-magnitude stars ranged around one another in a way
+that can not fail to attract the attention and the admiration of the
+most careless observer. Aldebaran, Capella, the Twins, Procyon, Sirius,
+and Rigel mark the angles of a huge hexagon, while Betelgeuse shines
+with ruddy beauty not far from the center of the figure. The heavens
+contain no other naked-eye view comparable with this great array, not
+even the glorious celestial region where the Southern Cross shines
+supreme, being equal to it in splendor.
+
+As an offset to the discomforts of winter observations of the stars, the
+observer finds that the softer skies of summer have no such marvelous
+brilliants to dazzle his eyes as those that illumine the hyemal heavens.
+To comprehend the real glories of the celestial sphere in the depth of
+winter one should spend a few clear nights in the rural districts of New
+York or New England, when the hills, clad with sparkling blankets of
+crusted snow, reflect the glitter of the living sky. In the pure frosty
+air the stars seem splintered and multiplied indefinitely, and the
+brighter ones shine with a splendor of light and color unknown to the
+denizen of the smoky city, whose eyes are dulled and blinded by the
+glare of streetlights. There one may detect the delicate shade of green
+that lurks in the imperial blaze of Sirius, the beautiful rose-red light
+of Aldebaran, the rich orange hue of Betelgeuse, the blue-white radiance
+of Rigel, and the pearly luster of Capella. If you have never seen the
+starry heavens except as they appear from city streets and squares,
+then, I had almost said, you have never seen them at all, and especially
+in the winter is this true. I wish I could describe to you the
+impression that they can make upon the opening mind of a country boy,
+who, knowing as yet nothing of the little great world around him, stands
+in the yawning silence of night and beholds the illimitably great world
+above him, looking deeper than thought can go into the shining vistas of
+the universe, and overwhelmed with the wonder of those marshaled suns.
+
+[Illustration: MAP. 18.]
+
+Looking now at Map 18, we see the heavens as they appear at midnight on
+the 1st of December, at 10 o'clock P. M. on the 1st of January, and at 8
+o'clock P. M. on the 1st of February. In the western half of the sky we
+recognize Andromeda, Pegasus, Pisces, Cetus, Aries, Cassiopeia, and
+other constellations that we studied in the "Stars of Autumn." Far over
+in the east we see rising Leo, Cancer, and Hydra, which we included
+among the "Stars of Spring." Occupying most of the southern and eastern
+heavens are the constellations which we are now to describe under the
+name of the "Stars of Winter," because in that season they are seen
+under the most favorable circumstances. I have already referred to the
+admirable way in which the principal stars of some of these
+constellations are ranged round one another. By the aid of the map the
+observer can perceive the relative position of the different
+constellations, and, having fixed this in his mind, he will be prepared
+to study them in detail.
+
+[Illustration: MAP 19.]
+
+Let us now begin with Map No. 19, which shows us the constellations of
+Eridanus, Lepus, Orion, and Taurus. Eridanus is a large though not very
+conspicuous constellation, which is generally supposed to represent the
+celebrated river now known as the Po. It has had different names among
+different peoples, but the idea of a river, suggested by its long,
+winding streams of stars, has always been preserved. According to fable,
+it is the river into which Phaeton fell after his disastrous attempt to
+drive the chariot of the sun for his father Phoebus, and in which
+hare-brained adventure he narrowly missed burning the world up. The
+imaginary river starts from the brilliant star Rigel, in the left foot
+of Orion, and flows in a broad upward bend toward the west; then it
+turns in a southerly direction until it reaches the bright star Gamma
+([gamma]), where it bends sharply to the north, and then quickly sweeps
+off to the west once more, until it meets the group of stars marking the
+head of Cetus. Thence it runs south, gradually turning eastward, until
+it flows back more than half-way to Orion. Finally it curves south again
+and disappears beneath the horizon. Throughout the whole distance of
+more than 100 deg. the course of the stream is marked by rows of stars, and
+can be recognized without difficulty by the amateur observer.
+
+The first thing to do with your opera-glass, after you have fixed the
+general outlines of the constellation in your mind by naked-eye
+observations, is to sweep slowly over the whole course of the stream,
+beginning at Rigel, and following its various wanderings. Eridanus ends
+in the southern hemisphere near a first-magnitude star called Achernar,
+which is situated in the stream, but can not be seen from our latitudes.
+Along the stream you will find many interesting groupings of the stars.
+In the map see the pair of stars below and to the right of Nu ([nu]).
+These are the two Omicrons, the upper one being [omicron]� and the
+lower one [omicron] squared. The latter is of an orange hue, and is remarkable
+for the speed with which it is flying through space. There are only one
+or two stars whose proper motion, as it is called, is more rapid than
+that of [omicron] squared in Eridanus. It changes its place nearly seven
+minutes of arc in a century. The records of the earliest observations we
+possess show that near the beginning of the Christian era it was about
+half-way between [omicron]� and [nu]. Its companion [omicron]�, on the
+contrary, seems to be almost stationary, so that [omicron] squared will
+gradually draw away from it, passing on toward the southwest until, in
+the course of centuries, it will become invisible from our latitudes.
+This flying star is accompanied by two minute companions, which in
+themselves form a close and very delicate double star. These two little
+stars, of only 9.5 and 10.5 magnitude, respectively, are, of course
+beyond the ken of the observer with an opera-glass. The system of which
+they form a part, however, is intensely interesting, since the
+appearances indicate that they belong, in the manner of satellites, to
+[omicron] squared, and are fellow-voyagers of that wonderful star.
+
+[Illustration: THE "GOLDEN HORNS" OF TAURUS.]
+
+Having admired the star-groups of Eridanus, one of the prettiest of
+which is to be seen around Beta ([beta]), let us turn next to Taurus,
+just above or north of Eridanus. Two remarkable clusters at once attract
+the eye, the Hyades, which are shaped somewhat like the letter [V], with
+Aldebaran in the upper end of the left-hand branch, and the Pleiades,
+whose silvery glittering has made them celebrated in all ages. The
+Pleiades are in the shoulder and the Hyades in the face of Taurus,
+Aldebaran most appropriately representing one of his blazing eyes as he
+hurls himself against Orion. The constellation-makers did not trouble
+themselves to make a complete Bull, and only the head and fore-quarters
+of the animal are represented. If Taurus had been completed on the scale
+on which he was begun, there would have been no room in the sky for
+Aries; one of the Fishes would have had to abandon his celestial
+swimming-place, and even the fair Andromeda would have found herself
+uncomfortably situated. But, as if to make amends for neglecting to
+furnish their heavenly Bull with hind-quarters, the ancients gave him a
+most prodigious and beautiful pair of horns, which make the beholder
+feel alarm for the safety of Orion. Starting out of the head above the
+Hyades, as illustrated in our cut, the horns curve upward and to the
+east, each being tipped by a bright star. Along and between the horns
+runs a scattered and broken stream of minute stars which seem to be
+gathered into knots just beyond the end of the horns, where they dip
+into the edge of the Milky-Way. Many of these stars can be seen, on a
+dark night, with an ordinary opera-glass, but, to see them well, one
+should use as large a field-glass as he can obtain. With such a glass
+their appearance almost makes one suspect that Virgil had a poetic
+prevision of the wonders yet to be revealed by the telescope when he
+wrote, as rendered by Dryden, of the season--
+
+  "When with his _golden horns_ in full career
+  The Bull beats down the barriers of the year."
+
+Below the tips of the horns, and over Orion's head, there are also rich
+clusters of stars, as if the Bull were flaunting shreds of sparkling
+raiment torn from some celestial victim of his fury. With an ordinary
+glass, however, the observer will not find this star-sprinkled region
+around the horns of Taurus as brilliant a spectacle as that presented by
+the Hyades and the group of stars just above them in the Bull's ear. The
+two stars in the tips of the horns are both interesting, each in a
+different way. The upper and brighter one of the two, marked Beta
+([beta]) in Map No. 19, is called El Nath. It is common to the left horn
+of Taurus and the right foot of Auriga, who is represented standing just
+above. It is a singularly white star. This quality of its light becomes
+conspicuous when it is looked at with a glass. The most inexperienced
+observer will hardly fail to be impressed by the pure whiteness of El
+Nath, in comparison with which he will find that many of the stars he
+had supposed to be white show a decided tinge of color. The star in the
+tip of the right or southern horn, Zeta ([zeta]), is remarkable, not on
+its own account, but because it serves as a pointer to a famous nebula,
+the discovery of which led Messier to form his catalogue of nebulae. This
+is sometimes called the "Crab Nebula," from the long sprays of nebulous
+matter which were seen surrounding it with Lord Rosse's great telescope.
+Our little sketch is simply intended to enable the observer to locate
+this strange object. If he wishes to study its appearance, he must use a
+powerful telescope. But with a first-rate field-glass he can see it as a
+speck of light in the position shown in the cut, where the large star is
+Zeta and the smaller ones are faint stars, the relative position of
+which will enable the observer to find the nebula, if he keeps in mind
+that the top of the cut is toward the north. It is noteworthy that this
+nebula for a time deceived several of the watchers who were on the
+lookout for the predicted return of Halley's comet in 1835.
+
+[Illustration: THE CRAB NEBULA.]
+
+And now let us look at the Hyades, an assemblage of stars not less
+beautiful than their more celebrated sisters the Pleiades. The leader of
+the Hyades is Aldebaran, or Alpha Tauri, and his followers are worthy of
+their leader. The inexperienced observer is certain to be surprised by
+the display of stars which an opera-glass brings to view in the Hyades.
+Our illustration will give some notion of their appearance with a large
+field-glass. The "brackish poet," of whose rhymes Admiral Smyth was so
+fond, thus describes the Hyades:
+
+  "In lustrous dignity aloft see Alpha Tauri shine,
+  The splendid zone he decorates attests the Power divine:
+  For mark around what glitt'ring orbs attract the wandering eye,
+  You'll soon confess no other star has such attendants nigh."
+
+The redness of the light of Aldebaran is a very interesting phenomenon.
+Careful observation detects a decided difference between its color and
+that of Betelgeuse, or Alpha Orionis, which is also a red star. It
+differs, too, from the brilliant red star of summer, Antares. Aldebaran
+has a trace of rose-color in its light, while Betelgeuse is of a very
+deep orange, and Antares may be described as fire-red. These shades of
+color can easily be detected by the naked eye after a little practice.
+First compare Aldebaran and Betelgeuse, and glance from each to the
+brilliant white, or bluish-white, star Rigel in Orion's foot. Upon
+turning the eye back from Rigel to Aldebaran the peculiar color of the
+latter is readily perceived. Spectroscopic analysis has revealed the
+presence in Aldebaran of hydrogen, sodium, magnesium, calcium, iron,
+bismuth, tellurium, antimony, and mercury. And so modern discoveries,
+while they have pushed back the stars to distances of which the ancients
+could not conceive, have, at the same time, and equally, widened the
+recognized boundaries of the physical universe and abolished forever the
+ancient distinction between the heavens and the earth. It is a plain
+road from the earth to the stars, though mortal feet can not tread it.
+
+[Illustration: THE HYADES.]
+
+Keeping in mind that in our little picture of the Hyades the top is
+north, the right hand west, and the left hand east, the reader will be
+able to identify the principal stars in the group. Aldebaran is readily
+recognized, because it is the largest of all. The bright star near the
+upper edge of the picture is Epsilon Tauri, and its sister star, forming
+the point of the [V], is Gamma Tauri. The three brightest stars between
+Epsilon and Gamma, forming a little group, are the Deltas, while the
+pair of stars surrounded by many smaller ones, half-way between
+Aldebaran and Gamma, are the Thetas. These stars present a very pretty
+appearance, viewed with a good glass, the effect being heightened by a
+contrast of color in the two Thetas. The little pair southeast of
+Aldebaran, called the Sigmas, is also a beautiful object. The distance
+apart of these stars is about seven minutes of arc, while the distance
+between the two Thetas is about five and a half minutes of arc. These
+measures may be useful to the reader in estimating the distances between
+other stars that he may observe. It will also be found an interesting
+test of the eye-sight to endeavor to see these stars as doubles without
+the aid of a glass. Persons having keen eyes will be able to accomplish
+this.
+
+North of the star Epsilon will be seen a little group in the ear of the
+Bull (see cut, "The Golden Horns of Taurus"), which presents a brilliant
+appearance with a small glass. The southernmost pair in the group are
+the Kappas, whose distance apart is very nearly the same as that of the
+Thetas, described above; but I think it improbable that anybody could
+separate them with the naked eye, as there is a full magnitude between
+them in brightness, and the smaller star is only of magnitude 6.5, while
+sixth-magnitude stars are generally reckoned as the smallest that can be
+seen by the naked eye. Above the Kappas, and in the same group in the
+ear, are the two Upsilons, forming a wider pair.
+
+Next we come to the Pleiades:
+
+  "Though small their size and pale their light, wide is their fame."
+
+In every age and in every country the Pleiades have been watched,
+admired, and wondered at, for they are visible from every inhabited land
+on the globe. To many they are popularly known as the Seven Stars,
+although few persons can see more than six stars in the group with the
+unaided eye. It is a singular fact that many of the earliest writers
+declare that only six Pleiades can be seen, although they all assert
+that they are seven in number. These seven were the fabled daughters of
+Atlas, or the Atlantides, whose names were Merope, Alcyone, Celaeno,
+Electra, Taygeta, Asterope, and Maia. One of the stories connected with
+them is that Merope married a mortal, whereupon her star grew dim among
+her sisters. Another fable assures us that Electra, unable to endure the
+sight of the burning of Troy, hid her face in her hands, and so blotted
+her star from the sky. While we may smile at these stories, we can not
+entirely disregard them, for they are intermingled with some of the
+richest literary treasures of the world, and they come to us, like some
+old keepsake, perfumed with the memory of a past age. The mythological
+history of the Pleiades is intensely interesting, too, because it is
+world-wide. They have impressed their mark, in one way or another, upon
+the habits, customs, traditions, language, and history of probably every
+nation. This is true of savage tribes as well as of great empires. The
+Pleiades furnish one of the principal links that appear to connect the
+beginnings of human history with that wonderful prehistoric past, where,
+as through a gulf of mist, we seem to perceive faintly the glow of a
+golden age beyond. The connection of the Pleiades with traditions of the
+Flood is most remarkable. In almost every part of the world, and in
+various ages, the celebration of a feast or festival of the dead, dimly
+connected by traditions with some great calamity to the human race in
+the past, has been found to be directly related to the Pleiades. This
+festival or rite, which has been discovered in various forms among the
+ancient Hindoos, Egyptians, Persians, Peruvians, Mexicans, Druids, etc.,
+occurs always in the month of November, and is regulated by the
+culmination of the Pleiades. The Egyptians directly connected this
+celebration with a deluge, and the Mexicans, at the time of the Spanish
+conquest, had a tradition that the world had once been destroyed at the
+time of the midnight culmination of the Pleiades. Among the savages
+inhabiting Australia and the Pacific island groups a similar rite has
+been discovered. It has also been suggested that the Japanese feast of
+lanterns is not improbably related to this world-wide observance of the
+Pleiades, as commemorating some calamitous event in the far past which
+involved the whole race of man in its effects.
+
+The Pleiades also have a supposed connection with that mystery of
+mysteries, the great Pyramid of Cheops. It has been found that about the
+year 2170 B. C., when the beginning of spring coincided with the
+culmination of the Pleiades at midnight, that wonderful group of stars
+was visible, just at midnight, through the mysterious southward-pointing
+passage of the Pyramid. At the same date the then pole-star, Alpha
+Draconis, was visible through the northward-pointing passage of the
+Pyramid.
+
+Another curious myth involving the Pleiades as a part of the
+constellation Taurus is that which represents this constellation as the
+Bull into which Jupiter changed himself when he carried the fair Europa
+away from Phoenicia to the continent that now bears her name. In this
+story the fact that only the head and fore-quarters of the Bull are
+visible in the sky is accounted for on the ground that the remainder of
+his body is beneath the water through which he is swimming. Here, then,
+is another apparent link with the legends of the Flood, with which the
+Pleiades have been so strangely connected, as by common consent among
+many nations, and in the most widely separated parts of the earth.
+
+With the most powerful field-glass you may be able to see all of the
+stars represented in our picture of the Pleiades. With an ordinary
+opera-glass the fainter ones will not be visible; yet even with such a
+glass the scene is a remarkable one. Not only all of the "Seven
+Sisters," but many other stars, can be seen twinkling among them. The
+superiority of Alcyone to the others, which is not so clear to the naked
+eye, becomes very apparent. Alcyone is the large star below the middle
+of the picture with a triangle of little stars beside it. To the left or
+east of Alcyone the two most conspicuous stars are Atlas and Pleione.
+The latter--which is the uppermost one--is represented too large in the
+picture. It requires a sharp eye to see Pleione without a glass, while
+Atlas is plainly visible to the unaided vision, and is always counted
+among the naked-eye Pleiades, although it does not bear the name of one
+of the mythological sisters, but that of their father. The bright star
+below and to the right of Alcyone is Merope; the one near the right-hand
+edge of the picture, about on a level with Alcyone, is Electra. Above,
+or to the north of Electra, are two bright stars lying in a line
+pointing toward Alcyone; the upper one of these, or the one farthest
+from Alcyone, is Taygeta, and the other is Maia. Above Taygeta and Maia,
+and forming a little triangle with them, is a pair of stars which bears
+the name of Asterope. About half-way between Taygeta and Electra, and
+directly above the latter, is Celaeno.
+
+[Illustration: THE PLEIADES.]
+
+The naked-eye observer will probably find it difficult to decide which
+he can detect the more easily, Celaeno or Pleione, while he will discover
+that Asterope, although composed of two stars, as seen with a glass, is
+so faint as to be much more difficult than either Celaeno or Pleione.
+Unless, as is not improbable, the names have become interchanged in the
+course of centuries, the brightness of these stars would seem to have
+undergone remarkable changes. The star of Merope, it will be remembered,
+was said to have become indistinct, or disappeared, because she married
+a mortal. At present Merope is one of those that can be plainly seen
+with the naked-eye, while the star of Asterope, who was said to have had
+the god Mars for her spouse, has faded away until only a glass can show
+it. It would appear, then, that notwithstanding an occasional temporary
+eclipse, it is, in the long run, better to marry a plain mortal than a
+god. Electra, too, who hid her eyes at the sight of burning Troy, seems
+to have recovered from her fright, and is at present, next to Alcyone,
+the brightest star in the cluster. But, however we may regard those
+changes in the brightness of the Pleiades which are based upon
+tradition, there is no doubt that well-attested changes have taken place
+in the comparative brilliancy of stars in this cluster since astronomy
+became an exact science.
+
+Observations of the proper motions of the Pleiades have shown that there
+is an actual physical connection between them; that they are, literally
+speaking, a flight of suns. Their common motion is toward the southwest,
+under the impulse of forces that remain as yet beyond the grasp of human
+knowledge. Alcyone was selected by Maedler as the central sun around
+which the whole starry system revolved, but later investigations have
+shown that his speculation was not well founded, and that, so far as we
+can determine, the proper motions of the stars are not such as to
+indicate the existence of any common center. They appear to be flying
+with different velocities in every direction, although--as in the case
+of the Pleiades--we often find groups of them associated together in a
+common direction of flight.
+
+Still another curious fact about the Pleiades is the existence of some
+rather mysterious nebulous masses in the cluster. In 1859 Temple
+discovered an extensive nebula, of a broad oval form, with the star
+Merope immersed in one end of it. Subsequent observations showed that
+this strange phenomenon was variable. Sometimes it could not be seen; at
+other times it was very plain and large. In Jeaurat's chart of the
+Pleiades, made in 1779, a vast nebulous mass is represented near the
+stars Atlas and Pleione. This has since been identified by Goldschmidt
+as part of a huge, ill-defined nebula, which he thought he could
+perceive enveloping the whole group of the Pleiades. Many observers,
+however, could never see these nebulous masses, and were inclined to
+doubt their actual existence. Within the past few years astronomical
+photography, having made astonishing progress, has thrown new light upon
+this mysterious subject. The sensitized plate of the camera, when
+applied at the focus of a properly constructed telescope, has proved
+more effective than the human retina, and has, so to speak, enabled us
+to see beyond the reach of vision by means of the pictures it makes of
+objects which escape the eye. In November, 1885, Paul and Prosper Henry
+turned their great photographing telescope upon the Pleiades, and with
+it discovered a nebula apparently attached to the star Maia. The most
+powerful telescopes in the world had never revealed this to the eye. Yet
+of its actual existence there can be no question. Their photograph also
+showed the Merope nebula, although much smaller, and of a different form
+from that represented by its discoverer and others. There evidently yet
+remains much to be discovered in this singular group, and the mingling
+of nebulous matter with its stars makes Tennyson's picturesque
+description of the Pleiades appear all the more life-like:
+
+  "Many a night I saw the Pleiads, rising through the mellow shade,
+  Glitter like _a swarm of fire-flies tangled in a silver braid_."
+
+The reader should not expect to be able to see the nebulae in the
+Pleiades with an opera-glass. I have thought it proper to mention these
+singular objects only in order that he might be in possession of the
+principal and most curious facts about those interesting stars.[C]
+
+[Footnote C: The Henry Brothers have continued the photographic work
+described above, and their later achievements are even more interesting
+and wonderful. They have found that there are many nebulous masses
+involved in the group of the Pleiades, and have photographed them. One
+of the most amazing phenomena in their great photograph of the Pleiades
+is a long wisp or streak of nebulous matter, along which eight or nine
+stars are strung in a manner which irresistibly suggests an intimate
+connection between the stars and the nebula. This recalls the recent
+(August, 1888) discovery made by Prof. Holden, with the great Lick
+telescope, concerning the structure of the celebrated ring nebula in
+Lyra, which, it appears, is composed of concentric ovals of stars and
+nebulous stuff, so arranged that we must believe they are intimately
+associated in a most wonderful community.]
+
+Orion will next command our attention. You will find the constellation
+in Map No. 19:
+
+  "Eastward beyond the region of the Bull
+  Stands great Orion; whoso kens not him in cloudless night
+  Gleaming aloft, shall cast his eyes in vain
+  To find a brighter sign in all the heaven."
+
+To the naked eye, to the opera-glass, and to the telescope, Orion is
+alike a mine of wonders. This great constellation embraces almost every
+variety of interesting phenomena that the heavens contain. Here we have
+the grandest of the nebulae, some of the largest and most beautifully
+colored stars, star-streams, star-clusters, nebulous stars, variable
+stars. I have already mentioned the positions of the principal stars in
+the imaginary figure of the great hunter. I may add that his upraised
+arm and club are represented by the stars seen in the map above Alpha
+([alpha]) or Betelgeuse, one of which is marked Nu ([nu]), and another,
+in the knob of the club, Chi ([chi]). I have also, in speaking of
+Aldebaran, described the contrast in the colors of Betelgeuse and Beta
+([beta]) or Rigel. Betelgeuse, it may be remarked, is slightly variable.
+Sometimes it appears brighter than Rigel, and sometimes less brilliant.
+It is interesting to note that, according to Secchi's division of the
+stars into types, based upon their spectra, Betelgeuse falls into the
+third order, which seems to represent a type of suns in which the
+process of cooling, and the formation of an absorptive envelope or
+shell, have gone on so far that we may regard them as approaching the
+point of extinction. Rigel, on the other hand, belongs to the first
+order or type which represents suns that are probably both hotter and
+younger in the order of development. So, then, we may look upon the two
+chief stars of this great constellation as representing two stages of
+cosmical existence. Betelgeuse shows us a sun that has almost run its
+course, that has passed into its decline, and that already begins to
+faint and flicker and grow dim before the on-coming and inevitable fate
+of extinction; but in Rigel we see a sun blazing with the fires of
+youth, splendid in the first glow of its solar energies, and holding the
+promise of the future yet before it. Rigel belongs to a new generation
+of the universe; Betelgeuse to the universe that is passing. We may
+pursue this comparison one step farther back and see in the great
+nebula, which glows dimly in the middle of the constellation, between
+Rigel triumphant and Betelgeuse languishing, a still earlier cosmical
+condition--the germ of suns whose infant rays may illuminate space when
+Rigel itself is growing dim.
+
+[Illustration: THE SWORD OF ORION AND THE GREAT NEBULA.]
+
+Turn your glass upon the three stars forming the Belt. You will not be
+likely to undertake to count all the twinkling lights that you will see,
+especially as many of them appear and disappear as you turn your
+attention to different parts of the field. Sweep all around the Belt and
+also between the Belt and Gamma ([gamma]) or Bellatrix. According to the
+old astrologers, women born under the influence of the star Bellatrix
+were lucky, and provided with good tongues. Of course, this was
+fortunate for their husbands too!
+
+Below the Belt will be seen a short row of stars hanging downward and
+representing the sword. In the middle of this row is the great Orion
+nebula. The star Theta ([theta]) involved in the nebula is multiple, and
+the position of this little cluster of suns is such that, as has been
+said, they seem to be feeding upon the substance of the nebula
+surrounding them. Other stars are seen scattered in different parts of
+the nebula. This phenomenon can be plainly seen with an opera-glass.
+Our picture of the Sword of Orion shows its appearance with a good
+field-glass. With such a glass several fine test-objects will be found
+in the Sword. One of the best of these is formed by the two five-pointed
+stars seen in the picture close together above the nebula. No difficulty
+will be encountered in separating these stars with a field-glass, but it
+will require a little sharp watching to detect the small star between
+the two and just above the line joining them. So, the bending row of
+faint stars above and to the right of the group just described will be
+found rather elusive as individuals, though easily glimpsed as a whole.
+Of the great nebula itself not much detail can be seen. Yet by averting
+the eyes the extension of the nebulous light in every direction from the
+center can be detected and traced, under favorable circumstances, to a
+considerable distance. The changes that this nebula certainly has
+undergone in the brilliancy, if not in the form, of different parts of
+it, are perhaps indications of the operation of forces, which we know
+must prevail there, and whose tendency can only be in the direction of
+condensation, and the ultimate formation of future suns and worlds. Yet,
+as the appearance of the nebula in great telescopes shows, we can not
+expect that the processes of creation will here produce a homologue of
+our solar system. The curdled appearance of the nebula indicates the
+formation of various centers of condensation, the final result of which
+will doubtless be a group of stars like some of those which we see in
+the heavens, and whose common motion shows that they are bound together
+in the chains of reciprocal gravitation. The Pleiades are an example of
+such a group.
+
+Do not fail to look for a little star just west of Rigel, which, with a
+good opera-glass, appears to be almost hidden in the flashing rays of
+its brilliant companion. If you have also a field-glass, after you have
+detected this shy little twinkler with your opera-glass, try the larger
+glass upon it. You will find then that the little star originally seen
+is not the only one there. A still smaller star, which had before been
+completely hidden, will now be perceived. I may add that, with
+telescopes, Rigel is one of the most beautiful double stars in the sky,
+having a little blue companion close under its wing. Run your glass
+along the line of little stars forming the lion's skin or shield that
+Orion opposes to the onset of Taurus. Here you will find some
+interesting combinations, and the star marked on the map [pi]^6 will
+especially attract your eye, because it is accompanied, about fifteen
+minutes to the northwest, by a seventh-magnitude star of a rich orange
+hue.
+
+Look next at the little group of three stars forming the head of Orion.
+Although there is no nebula here, yet these stars, as seen with the
+naked eye, have a remarkably nebulous look, and Ptolemy regarded the
+group as a nebulous star. The largest star is called Lambda ([lambda]);
+the others are Phi ([phi]) one and two. An opera-glass will show another
+star above ([lambda]), and a fifth star below [phi]^2 which is the
+farthest of the two Phis from Lambda. It will also reveal a faint
+twinkling between [lambda] and [phi]^1. A field-glass shows that this
+twinkling is produced by a pretty little row of three stars of the
+eighth and ninth magnitudes.
+
+In fact, Orion is such a striking object in the sky that more than one
+attempt has been made to steal away its name and substitute that of some
+modern hero. The University of Leipsic, in 1807, formally resolved that
+the stars forming the Belt and Sword of Orion should henceforth be known
+as the constellation of Napoleon. As if to offset this, an Englishman
+proposed to rename Orion for the British naval bull-dog Nelson. But
+"Orion armed" has successfully maintained his name and place against all
+comers. As becomes the splendor of his constellation, Orion is a
+tremendous hero of antiquity, although it must be confessed that his
+history is somewhat shadowy and uncertain, even for a mythological
+story. All accounts agree, however, that he was the mightiest hunter
+ever known, and the Hebrews claimed that he was no less a person than
+Nimrod himself.
+
+[Illustration: MAP 20.]
+
+The little constellations of Lepus and Columba, below Orion, need not
+detain us long. You will find in them some pretty combinations of stars.
+In Lepus is the celebrated "Crimson Star," which has been described as
+resembling a drop of blood in color--a truly marvelous hue for a
+sun--but, as it is never brighter than the sixth magnitude, and from
+that varies down to the ninth, we could hardly hope to see its color
+well with an opera-glass. Besides, the observer would have difficulty in
+finding it.
+
+We will now turn to the constellation of Canis Major, represented in Map
+No. 20. Although, as a constellation, it is not to be compared with the
+brilliant Orion, yet, on account of the unrivaled magnificence of its
+chief star, Canis Major presents almost as attractive a scene as its
+more extensive rival. Everybody has heard of Sirius, or the Dog-Star,
+and everybody must have seen it flashing and scintillating so splendidly
+in the winter heavens, that to call it a first-magnitude star does it
+injustice, since no other star of that magnitude is at all comparable
+with it. Sirius, in fact, stands in a class by itself as the brightest
+star in the sky. Its light is white, with a shade of green, which
+requires close watching to be detected. When it is near the horizon, or
+when the atmosphere is very unsteady, Sirius flashes prismatic colors
+like a great diamond. The question has been much discussed, as to
+whether Sirius was formerly a red star. It is described as red by
+several ancient authors, but it seems to be pretty well established that
+these descriptions are most of them due to a blunder made by Cicero in
+his translation of the astronomical poem of Aratus. It is not
+impossible, though it is highly improbable, that Sirius has changed
+color.
+
+So intimately was Sirius connected in the minds of the ancient Egyptians
+with the annual rising of the Nile, that it was called the Nile-star.
+When it appeared in the morning sky, just before sunrise, the season of
+the overflowing of the great river was about to begin, and so the
+appearance of this star was regarded as foretelling the coming of the
+floods. The dog-days got their name from Sirius, as they occur at the
+time when that star rises with the sun.
+
+Your eyes will be fairly dazzled when you turn your glass upon this
+splendid star. By close attention you will be able to perceive a number
+of faint stars, mere points by comparison, in the immediate neighborhood
+of Sirius. There are many interesting objects in the constellation. The
+star marked Nu ([nu]) in the map is really triple, as the smallest glass
+will show. Look next at the star-group 41 M. The cloud of minute stars
+of which it is composed can be very well seen with a field-glass or a
+powerful opera-glass. The star 22 is of a very ruddy color that
+contrasts beautifully with the light of Epsilon ([epsilon]), which can
+be seen in the same field of view with an opera-glass. Between the stars
+Delta ([delta]) and [omicron]� and [omicron] squared there is a remarkable
+array of minute stars, as shown in the accompanying cut. One never sees
+stars arranged in streams or rows, like these, without an irresistible
+impression that the arrangement can not be accidental; that some law
+must have been in operation which associated them together in the forms
+which we see. Yet, when we reflect that these are all suns, how far do
+we seem to be from understanding the meaning of the universe!
+
+[Illustration: DELTA CANIS MAJORIS AND ITS NEIGHBORS.]
+
+The extraordinary size and brilliancy of Sirius might naturally enough
+lead one to suppose that it is the nearest of the stars, and such it was
+once believed to be. Observations of stellar parallax, however, show
+that this was a mistake. The distance of Sirius is so great that no
+satisfactory determination of it has yet been made. We may safely say,
+though, that that distance is, at the least calculation,
+50,000,000,000,000 miles. In other words, Sirius is about 537,000 times
+as far from the earth as the sun is. Then, since light diminishes as
+the square of the distance increases, the sun, if placed as far from us
+as Sirius is, would send us, in round numbers, 288,000,000,000 times
+less light than we now receive from it. But Sirius actually sends us
+only about 4,000,000,000 times less light than the sun does;
+consequently Sirius must shine 288,000,000,000/4,000,000,000 = 72
+times as brilliantly as the sun. If we adopt Wollaston's estimate
+of the light of Sirius, as compared with that of the sun, viz.,
+1/20,000,000,000, we shall still find that the actual brilliancy of
+that grand star is more than fourteen times as great as that of our sun.
+But as observations on the companion of Sirius show that Sirius's mass
+is fully twenty times the sun's, and since the character of Sirius's
+spectrum indicates that its intrinsic brightness, surface for surface,
+is much superior to the sun's, it is probable that our estimate of the
+star's actual brilliancy, as compared with what the sun would possess at
+the same distance, viz., seventy-two times, is much nearer the truth. It
+is evident that life would be insupportable upon the earth if it were
+placed as near to Sirius as it is to the sun. If the earth were a planet
+belonging to the system of Sirius, in order to enjoy the same amount of
+heat and light it now receives, it would have to be removed to a
+distance of nearly 800,000,000 miles, or eight and a half times its
+distance from the sun. Its time of revolution around Sirius would then
+be nearly five and a half years, or, in other words, the year would be
+lengthened five and a half times.
+
+But, as I have said, the estimate of Sirius's distance used in these
+calculations is the smallest that can be accepted. Good authorities
+regard the distance as being not less than 100,000,000,000,000 miles; in
+which case the star's brilliancy must be as much as 228 times greater
+than that of the sun! And yet even Sirius is probably not the greatest
+sun belonging to the visible universe. There can be little doubt that
+Canopus, in the southern hemisphere, is a grander sun than Sirius. To
+our eyes, Canopus is only about half as bright as Sirius, and it ranks
+as the second star in the heavens in the order of brightness. But while
+Sirius's distance is measurable, that of Canopus is so unthinkably
+immense that astronomers can get no grip upon it. If it were only twice
+as remote as Sirius, it would be equal to two of the latter, but in all
+probability its distance is much greater than that. And possibly even
+Canopus is not the greatest gem in the coronet of creation.
+
+Sirius, as we saw when talking of Procyon (see Chapter I), is a double
+star. For many years after Bessel had declared his belief that the
+Dog-Star was subjected to the attraction of an invisible companion,
+telescopes failed to reveal the accompanying star.[D] Finally, in 1862,
+a new telescope that Alvan Clark had just finished and was testing,
+brought the hidden star into view. The suggestion that it may shine by
+reflected light from Sirius has been made. In that case it must, of
+course, be a planet, but a planet of such stupendous magnitude that the
+imagination can scarcely grasp it; a planet probably as large as our
+sun, perhaps larger; a planet equal in size to more than a million
+earths! But, as was remarked of the faint stars in Alpha Capricornis, it
+is probable that the hypothesis of reflected light is not the true one.
+More probably the companion of Sirius shines with light of its own,
+though its excessive faintness in comparison with its bulk indicates
+that its condition must be very different from that of an ordinary star.
+
+    [D] The following extract from a letter by Bessel to Humboldt,
+        written in 1844 (see "Cosmos," vol. iii, p. 186), is
+        interesting, in view of the discoveries made since then:
+        "At all events I continue in the belief that Procyon and
+        Sirius are true double stars, consisting of a visible and
+        an invisible star. No reason exists for considering
+        luminosity an essential property of these bodies. The
+        fact that numberless stars are visible is evidently no
+        proof against the existence of an equally incalculable
+        number of invisible ones. The physical difficulty of a
+        change in the proper motion is satisfactorily set aside
+        by the hypothesis of dark stars."
+
+Readers of Voltaire will remember that the hero of his extraordinary
+story of "Micromegas" came from an imaginary planet circling around
+Sirius. Inasmuch as Voltaire, together with Dean Swift, ascribed two
+moons to Mars many years before they were discovered (probably suggested
+by a curiously mistaken interpretation by Kepler of an anagram in which
+Galileo had concealed his discovery of the ring of Saturn), it is all
+the more interesting that the great infidel should have imagined an
+enormous planet circling around the Dog-Star. But Voltaire went far
+astray when he ascribed a gigantic stature to his "Sirian." He makes
+Micromegas, whose world was 21,600,000 times larger in circumference
+than the earth, more than twenty miles tall, so that when he visited our
+little planet he was able to wade through the oceans and step over the
+mountains without inconvenience, and, when he had scooped up some of the
+inhabitants on his thumb-nail, was obliged to use a powerful microscope
+in order to see them. Voltaire should rather have gone to some of the
+most minute of the asteroids for his giant, for under the tremendous
+gravitation of such a world as he has described Micromegas himself would
+have been a fit subject for microscopic examination. But, however much
+we may doubt the stature of Voltaire's visitor from Sirius, we can not
+doubt the soundness of the conclusion at which he arrived, after having,
+by an ingenious arrangement, succeeded in holding a conversation with
+some earthly philosophers under his microscope, namely, that these
+infinitely little creatures possessed a pride that was almost infinitely
+great.
+
+East and south of Canis Major, which, by-the-way, is said to represent
+one of Orion's hounds, is part of the constellation Argo, which stands
+for the ship in which Jason sailed in search of the golden fleece. The
+observer will find many objects of interest here, although some of them
+are so close to the horizon in our latitudes that much of their
+brilliancy is lost. Note the two stars [zeta] and [pi] near the lower
+edge of the map, then sweep slowly over the space lying between them.
+About half-way your attention will be arrested by a remarkable stellar
+arrangement, in which a beautiful half-circle of small stars curving
+above a larger star, which is reddish in color, is conspicuous. This
+neighborhood will be found rich in stars that the naked eye can not see.
+Just below the star [eta], in Canis Major, is another fine group. The
+star [pi], which is deep yellow or orange, has three little stars above
+it, two of which form a pretty pair. The star [xi] has a companion,
+which forms a fine test for an opera-glass, and is well worth looking
+for. Look also at the cluster 93 M, just above and to the west of [xi].
+The stars [mu] and [kappa] are seen double with an opera-glass.
+
+The two neighboring clusters, 46 M and 38^8, are very interesting
+objects. To see them well, use a powerful field-glass. A "fiery
+fifth-magnitude star," as Webb calls it, can be seen in the field at the
+same time. The presence of the Milky-Way is manifest by the sprinkling
+of stars all about this region. In fact, the attentive observer will
+before this have noticed that the majority of the most brilliant
+constellations lie either in the Milky-Way or along its borders.
+Cassiopeia, as we saw, sits athwart the galaxy whose silvery current
+winds in and out among the stars of her "chair"; Perseus is aglow with
+its sheen as it wraps him about like a mantle of stars; Taurus has the
+tips of his horns dipped in the great stream; it flows between the
+shining feet of Gemini and the head and shoulders of Orion as between
+starry banks; the peerless Sirius hangs like a gem pendent from the
+celestial girdle. In the southern hemisphere we should find the
+beautiful constellation of the ship Argo, containing Canopus, sailing
+along the Milky-Way, blown by the breath of old romance on an endless
+voyage; the Southern Cross glitters in the very center of the galaxy;
+and the bright stars of the Centaur might be likened to the heads of
+golden nails pinning this wondrous scarf, woven of the beams of millions
+of tiny stars, against the dome of the sky. Passing back into the
+northern hemisphere we find Scorpio, Sagittarius, Aquila, the Dolphin,
+Cygnus, and resplendent Lyra, all strung along the course of the
+Milky-Way.
+
+Turning now to the constellation Monoceros, we shall find a few objects
+worthy of attention. This constellation is of comparatively modern
+origin, having been formed by Bartschius, whose chief title to
+distinction is that he married the daughter of John Kepler. The region
+around the stars 8, 13, and 17 will be found particularly rich, and the
+cluster 2^7 shows well with a strong glass. Look also at the cluster 50
+M, and compare its appearance with that of the clusters in Argo.
+
+With these constellations we finish our review of the stellar wonders
+that lie within the reach of so humble an instrument as an opera-or
+field-glass. We have made the circuit of the sky, and the hosts that
+illumine the vernal heavens are now seen advancing from the east, and
+pressing close upon the brighter squadrons of winter. Their familiar
+figures resemble the faces of old friends whom we are glad to welcome.
+These starry acquaintances never grow wearisome. Their interest for us
+is as fathomless as the deeps of space in which they shine. The man
+never yet lived whose mind could comprehend the full meaning of the
+wondrous messages that they flash to us upon the wings of light. As we
+watch them in their courses, the true music of the spheres comes to our
+listening ears, the chorus of creation--faint with distance, for it is
+by slow approaches that man draws near to it--chanting the grandest of
+epics, the Poem of the Universe; and the theme that runs through it all
+is the reign of law. Do not be afraid to become a star-gazer. The human
+mind can find no higher exercise. He who studies the stars will
+discover--
+
+  "An endless fountain of immortal drink
+  Pouring unto us from heaven's brink."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+THE MOON, THE PLANETS, AND THE SUN.
+
+
+"It is a most beautiful and delightful sight," exclaims Galileo, in
+describing the discoveries he had made with his telescope, "to behold
+the body of the moon, which is distant from us nearly sixty
+semi-diameters of the earth, as near as if it was at a distance of only
+two of the same measures.... And, consequently, any one may know with
+the certainty that is due to the use of our senses that the moon
+assuredly does not possess a smooth and polished surface, but one rough
+and uneven, and, just like the face of the earth itself, is everywhere
+full of vast protuberances, deep chasms, and sinuosities."
+
+There was, perhaps, nothing in the long series of discoveries with which
+Galileo astonished the world after he had constructed his telescope,
+which, as he expresses it, "was devised by me through God's grace first
+enlightening my mind," that had a greater charm for him than his lunar
+observations. Certainly there was nothing which he has described with
+greater enthusiasm and eloquence. And this could hardly have been
+otherwise, for the moon was the first celestial object to which Galileo
+turned his telescope, and then for the first time human eyes may be said
+to have actually looked into another world than the earth, though his
+discoveries and those of his successors have not realized all the poetic
+fancies about the moon contained in the verses that are ascribed to
+Orpheus:
+
+  "And he another wandering world has made
+  Which gods Selene name, and men the moon.
+  It mountains, cities has, and temples grand."
+
+Yet Galileo's observations at once upset the theory, for which
+Apollonius was responsible, and which seems to have been widely
+prevalent up to his time, that the moon was a smooth body, polished like
+a mirror, and presenting in its light and dark spots reflections of the
+continents and oceans of the earth. He also demonstrated that its
+surface was covered with plains and mountains, but the "cities and
+temples" of the moon have remained to our time only within the ken of
+romance.
+
+Galileo's telescope, as I have before remarked, was, in the principle of
+its construction, simply an opera-glass of one tube. He succeeded in
+making a glass of this kind that magnified thirty diameters, a very much
+higher power than is given to the opera-and field-glasses of to-day. Yet
+he had to contend with the disadvantages of single lenses, achromatic
+combinations of glass for optical purposes not being contrived until
+nearly a hundred years after his death, and so his telescope did not
+possess quite as decided a superiority over a modern field-glass as the
+difference in magnifying power would imply. In fact, if the reader will
+view the moon with a first-rate field-glass, he will perceive that the
+true nature of the surface of the lunar globe can be readily discerned
+with such an instrument. Even a small opera-glass will reveal much to
+the attentive observer of the moon; but for these observations the
+reader should, if possible, make use of a field-glass, and the higher
+its power the better. The illustrations accompanying this chapter were
+made by the author with the aid of a glass magnifying seven diameters.
+
+Of course, the first thing the observer will wish to see will be the
+mountains of the moon, for everybody has heard of them, and the most
+sluggish imagination is stirred by the thought that one can look off
+into the sky and behold "the eternal hills" of another planet as solid
+and substantial as our own. But the chances are that, if left to their
+own guidance, ninety-nine persons out of a hundred would choose exactly
+the wrong time to see these mountains. At any rate, that is my
+experience with people who have come to look at the moon through my
+telescope. Unless warned beforehand, they invariably wait until full
+moon, when the flood of sunshine poured perpendicularly upon the face of
+our satellite conceals its rugged features as effectually as if a veil
+had been drawn over them. Begin your observations with the appearance of
+the narrowest crescent of the new moon, and follow it as it gradually
+fills, and then you will see how beautifully the advancing line of lunar
+sunrise reveals the mountains, over whose slopes and peaks it is
+climbing, by its ragged and sinuous outline. The observer must keep in
+mind the fact that he is looking straight down upon the tops of the
+lunar mountains. It is like a view from a balloon, only at a vastly
+greater height than any balloon has ever attained. Even with a powerful
+telescope the observer sees the moon at an apparent distance of several
+hundred miles, while with a field-glass, magnifying seven diameters, the
+moon appears as if thirty-five thousand miles off. The apparent distance
+with Galileo's telescope was eight thousand miles. Recollect how when
+seen from a great height the rugosities of the earth's surface flatten
+out and disappear, and then try to imagine how the highest mountains on
+the earth would look if you were suspended thirty-five thousand miles
+above them, and you will, perhaps, rather wonder at the fact that the
+moon's mountains can be seen at all.
+
+It is the contrast of lights and shadows that not only reveals them to
+us, but enables us to measure their height. On the moon shadows are very
+much darker than upon the earth, because of the extreme rarity of the
+moon's atmosphere, if indeed it has any atmosphere at all. By stepping
+around the corner of a rock there, one might pass abruptly from
+dazzling noonday into the blackness of midnight. The surface of the moon
+is extraordinarily rough and uneven. It possesses broad plains, which
+are probably the bottoms of ancient seas that have now dried up, but
+these cover only about two fifths of the surface visible to us, and most
+of the remaining three fifths are exceedingly rugged and mountainous.
+Many of the mountains of the moon are, foot for foot, as lofty as the
+highest mountains on the earth, while all of them, in proportion to the
+size of the moon's globe, are much larger than the earth's mountains. It
+is obvious, then, that the sunshine, as it creeps over these Alpine
+landscapes in the moon, casting the black shadows of the peaks and
+craters many miles across the plains, and capping the summits of lofty
+mountains with light, while the lower regions far around them are yet
+buried in night, must clearly reveal the character of the lunar surface.
+Mountains that can not be seen at all when the light falls
+perpendicularly upon them, or, at the most, appear then merely as
+shining points, picture themselves by their shadows in startling
+silhouettes when illuminated laterally by the rising sun.
+
+But at full moon, while the mountains hide themselves in light, the old
+sea-beds are seen spread out among the shining table-lands with great
+distinctness. Even the naked eye readily detects these as ill-defined,
+dark patches upon the face of the moon, and to their presence are due
+the popular notions that have prevailed in all quarters of the world
+about the "Man in the Moon," the "Woman in the Moon," "Jacob in the
+Moon," the "Hare in the Moon," the "Toad in the Moon," and so on. But,
+however clearly one may imagine that he discerns a man in the moon while
+recalling the nursery-rhymes about him, an opera-glass instantly puts
+the specter to flight, and shows the round lunar disk diversified and
+shaded like a map.[E]
+
+    [E] I should, perhaps, qualify the statement in the text
+        slightly in favor of a lunar lady to whom Mr. Henry M.
+        Parkhurst first called my attention. About nine days
+        after new moon a rather pretty and decidedly feminine
+        face appears on the western half of the disk. It is
+        formed by the mountains and table-lands embraced by
+        the Sea of Serenity, the Sea of Tranquillity, the
+        Sea of Vapors, etc., and is best seen with the aid
+        of an opera-glass of low power. The face is readily
+        distinguishable on Rutherfurd's celebrated photograph
+        of the full moon. It is necessary for this purpose
+        to turn the photograph upside down, since it is a
+        telescopic picture, and consequently reversed. The
+        crater Tycho forms a breastpin for the lady, and
+        Menelaus glitters like a diamond ornament in her hair,
+        while the range of the Apennines resembles a sort of
+        coronet resting on her forehead. This same woman in
+        the moon, it appears, was described by Dr. James
+        Thompson years ago, and, for aught I know, she may be
+        the Diana to whom Herrick sang:
+
+            "Queen and huntress chaste and fair,
+            Seated in thy silver chair,
+            Now the Sun is laid to sleep,
+            State in wonted manner keep.
+            Hesperus entreats thy light,
+            Goddess excellently bright."
+
+A feature of the full moon's surface that instantly attracts attention
+is the remarkable brightness of the southern part of the disk, and the
+brilliant streaks radiating from a bright point near the lower edge. The
+same simile almost invariably comes to the lips of every person who sees
+this phenomenon for the first time--"It looks like a peeled orange." The
+bright point, which is the great crater-mountain Tycho, looks exactly
+like the pip of the orange, and the light-streaks radiating from it in
+all directions bear an equally striking resemblance to the streaks that
+one sees upon an orange after the outer rind has been removed. I shall
+have something more to say about these curious streaks further on; in
+the mean time, let us glance at our little sketch-map of the moon.
+
+[Illustration: MAP OF THE MOON.]
+
+The so-called seas are marked on the map, for the purpose of reference,
+by the letters which they ordinarily bear in lunar maps. The numerals
+indicate craters, or ring-plains, and mountain-ranges. The following
+key-list will enable the reader to identify all the objects that are
+lettered or numbered upon the map. I have given English translations of
+the Latin names which the old astronomers bestowed upon the seas:
+
+_Seas, Gulfs, and Marshes._
+
+  A. The Crisian Sea.
+  B. Humboldt Sea.
+  C. The Sea of Cold.
+  D. The Lake of Death.
+  E. The Lake of Dreams.
+  F. The Marsh of Sleep.
+  G. The Sea of Tranquillity.
+  H. The Sea of Serenity.
+  I. The Marsh of Mists.
+  K. The Marsh of Putrefaction.
+  L. The Sea of Vapors.
+  M. The Central Gulf.
+  N. The Gulf of Heats.
+  O. The Sea of Showers.
+  P. The Bay of Rainbows.
+  Q. The Ocean of Storms.
+  R. The Bay of Dew.
+  S. The Sea of Clouds.
+  T. The Sea of Humors.
+  V. The Sea of Nectar.
+  X. The Sea of Fertility.
+  Z. The South Sea.
+
+_Mountains and Crater Rings._
+
+  1. Grimaldi.
+  2. Letronne.
+  3. Gassendi.
+  4. Euclides.
+  5. Bullialdus.
+  6. Pitatus.
+  7. Schickhard.
+  8. Longomontanus.
+  9. Tycho.
+  10. Maginus.
+  11. Clavius.
+  12. Newton.
+  13. Maurolycus.
+  14. Stoefler.
+  15. Walter.
+  16. Regiomontanus.
+  17. Purbach.
+  18. Arzachel.
+  19. Alphonsus.
+  20. Ptolemaus.
+  21. Hipparchus.
+  22. Albategnius.
+  23. Theophilus.
+  24. Cyrillus.
+  25. Catharina.
+  26. The Altai Mts.
+  27. Piccolomini.
+  28. Petavius.
+  29. Langrenus.
+  80. Proclus.
+  31. Cleomedes.
+  32. Atlas.
+  33. Hercules.
+  34. Posidonius.
+  35. Plinius.
+  36. Menelaus.
+  37. Manilius.
+  38. The Caucasus Mts.
+  39. Eudoxus.
+  40. Aristotle.
+  41. The Alps.
+  42. Plato.
+  43. Archimedes.
+  44. The Apennines.
+  45. Eratosthenes.
+  46. Copernicus.
+  47. The Carpathian Mts.
+  48. Timocharis.
+  49. Lambert.
+  50. Euler.
+  51. Aristarchus.
+  52. Kepler.
+  53. Flamsteed.
+
+The early selenographers certainly must have been men of vivid
+imagination, and the romantic names they gave to the lunar landscapes,
+and particularly to the "seas," add a charm of their own to the study of
+the moon. Who would not wish to see the "Bay of Rainbows," or the "Lake
+of Dreams," or the "Sea of Tranquillity," if for no other reason than a
+curiosity to know what could have induced men to give to these regions
+in the moon such captivating titles? Or who would not desire to visit
+them if he could? though no doubt we should find them, like the
+"Delectable Mountains" in the "Pilgrim's Progress," most charming when
+seen from afar.
+
+The limited scale of our map, of course, renders it impossible to
+represent upon it more than a comparatively small number of the lunar
+mountains that have received names. In selecting those to be put in the
+map I have endeavored to choose such as, on account of their size, their
+situation, or some striking peculiarity, would be most likely to attract
+the attention of a novice. The observer must not expect to see them all
+at once, however. The lunar features change their appearance to a
+surprising extent, in accordance with the direction of their
+illumination. Some great mountain-masses and ring-plains, or craters,
+which present scenes of magnificence when the sun is rising or setting
+upon them, disappear under a perpendicular light, such as they receive
+at full moon. The great crater-plain, known as Maginus, numbered 10 in
+our map, is one of these. The broken mountain-wall surrounding this vast
+depressed plain rises in some places to a height of over fourteen
+thousand feet above the valley within, and the spectacle of sunrise upon
+Maginus, seen with a powerful telescope, is a most impressive sight, and
+even with a field-glass is very interesting. Yet, a few days later,
+Maginus vanishes, as if it had been swallowed up, and as Beer and Maedler
+have expressed it, "the full moon knows no Maginus." The still grander
+formation of mountain, plain, and crater, called Clavius (11 in the
+map), disappears almost as completely as Maginus at full moon, yet,
+under the proper illumination, it presents a splendid pageant of light
+and shadow.
+
+On the other hand, some of the lunar mountains shine vividly at full
+moon, and can be well seen then, though, of course, only as light spots,
+since at that time they cast no shadows. Menelaus (36 in the map),
+Aristarchus (51), Proclus (30), Copernicus (46), and Kepler (52), are
+among these shining mountains. Aristarchus is the most celebrated of
+them all, being the brightest point on the moon. It can even be seen
+glimmering on the dark side of the moon--that is to say, when no light
+reaches it except that which is reflected from the earth. With a large
+telescope, Aristarchus is so dazzlingly bright under a high sun, that
+the eye is partly blinded in gazing at it. It consists of a
+mountain-ring surrounding a circular valley, about twenty-eight miles in
+diameter. The flanks of these mountains, especially on their inner
+slopes, and the floor of the valley within, are very bright, while a
+peak in the center of the valley, about as high as Storm-King Mountain
+on the Hudson, shines with piercing brilliancy. Sir William Herschel
+mistook it for a volcano in action. It certainly is not an active
+volcano, but just what makes it so dazzling no one knows. The material
+of which this mountain is formed would seem to possess a higher
+reflective power than that of any other portion of the moon's surface.
+One is irresistibly reminded of the crystallized mountains described in
+the celebrated "Moon Hoax" of Richard Adams Locke. With an opera-glass
+you can readily recognize Aristarchus as a bright point at full moon.
+With a field-glass it is better seen, and some of the short, light rays
+surrounding it are perceived, while, when the sun is rising upon it,
+about four days after first quarter, its crateriform shape can be
+detected with such a glass.
+
+The visibility of Aristarchus on the dark side of the moon leads us to a
+brief consideration of the illumination by the earth of that portion of
+the moon's surface which is not touched directly by sunlight at new and
+old moon. This phenomenon is shown in the accompanying illustration. Not
+only can the outlines of the dark part of the moon be seen under such
+circumstances, but even the distinction in color between the dusky
+"seas" and the more brilliant table-lands and mountain-regions can be
+perceived, and with powerful telescopes many minor features come into
+sight. A little consideration must convince any one, as it convinced
+Galileo more than two hundred and seventy-five years ago, that the light
+reflected from the earth upon the moon is sufficient to produce this
+faint illumination of the lunar landscapes. We have only to recall the
+splendors of a night that is lighted by a full moon, and then to
+recollect that at new or old moon the earth is "full" as seen from our
+satellite, and that a full earth must give some fourteen times as much
+light as a full moon, in order to realize the brilliancy of an earth-lit
+night upon the moon. As the moon waxes to us, the earth wanes to the
+moon, and _vice versa_, and so the phenomenon of earth-shine on the
+lunar surface must be looked for before the first quarter and after the
+last quarter of the moon.
+
+[Illustration: SUNRISE ON THE SEA OF SERENITY, AND THEOPHILUS AND OTHER
+CRATERS.]
+
+The reader will find it an attractive occupation to identify, by means
+of the map, the various "seas," "lakes," and "marshes," for not only
+are they interesting on account of the singularity of their names, but
+they present many remarkable differences of appearance, which may be
+perceived with the instrument he is supposed to be using. The oval form
+of the Crisian Sea (A), which is the first of the "seas" to come into
+sight at new moon, makes it a very striking object. With good
+telescopes, and under favorable illumination, a decidedly green tint is
+perceived in the Crisian Sea. It measures about two hundred and eighty
+by three hundred and fifty-five miles in extent, and is, perhaps, the
+deepest of all the old sea-beds visible on the moon. It is surrounded by
+mountains, which can be readily seen when the sun strikes athwart them a
+few days after new or full moon. On the southwestern border a stupendous
+mountain-promontory, called Cape Agarum, projects into the Crisian Sea
+fifty or sixty miles, the highest part rising precipitously eleven
+thousand feet above the floor of the sea. I have seen Cape Agarum very
+clearly defined with a field-glass. Near the eastern border is the
+crater-mountain Proclus, which I have already mentioned as possessing
+great brilliancy under a high sun, being in this respect second only to
+Aristarchus.
+
+From the foot of Proclus spreads away the somewhat triangular region
+called the Marsh of Sleep (F). The term "golden-brown," which has been
+applied to it, perhaps describes its hue well enough. With a telescope
+it is a most interesting region, but with less powerful instruments one
+must be content with recognizing its outline and color.
+
+The broad, dark-gray expanse of the Sea of Tranquillity (G) will be
+readily recognized by the observer, and he will be interested in the
+mottled aspect which it presents in certain regions, caused by ridges
+and elevations, which, when this sea-bottom was covered with water, may
+have formed shoals and islands.
+
+The Sea of Fertility (X) is remarkable for its irregular surface, and
+the long, crooked bays into which its southern extremity is divided.
+
+The Sea of Nectar (V) is connected with the Sea of Tranquillity by a
+broad strait (one would naturally anticipate from their names that there
+must be some connection between them), while between it and the Sea of
+Fertility runs the range of the Pyrenees Mountains, twelve thousand feet
+high, flanked by many huge volcanic mountain-rings.
+
+The Sea of Serenity (H), lying northeast of the Sea of Tranquillity, is
+about four hundred and twenty miles broad by four hundred and thirty
+miles long, being very nearly of the same area as our Caspian Sea. It is
+deeper than the Sea of Tranquillity, and a greenish hue is sometimes
+detected in its central parts. It deepens toward the middle. Three
+quarters of its shore-line are bordered by high mountains, and many
+isolated elevations and peaks are scattered over its surface. In looking
+at these dried-up seas of the moon, one is forcibly reminded of the
+undulating and in some places mountainous character of terrestrial
+sea-bottoms, as shown by soundings and the existence of small islands in
+the deep sea, like the Bermudas, the Azores and St. Helena. The Sea of
+Serenity is divided nearly through the center by a narrow, bright
+streak, apparently starting from the crater-mountain Menelaus (36 in the
+map), but really taking its rise at Tycho far in the south. This curious
+streak can be readily detected even with a small opera-glass. Just what
+it is no one is prepared to say, and so the author of the "Moon Hoax"
+was fairly entitled to take advantage of the romancer's license, and
+declare that "its edge throughout its whole length of three hundred and
+forty miles is an acute angle of solid quartz-crystal, brilliant as a
+piece of Derbyshire spar just brought from the mine, and containing
+scarcely a fracture or a chasm from end to end!" Along the southern
+shore, on either side of Menelaus, extends the high range of the Haemus
+Mountains. South and southeast of the Sea of Serenity are the Sea of
+Vapors (L), the Central Gulf (M), and the Gulf of Heats (N). The
+observer will notice at full moon three or four curious dark spots in
+the region occupied by these flat expanses. On the north and northwest
+of the Sea of Serenity are the Lake of Death (D), and the Lake of Dreams
+(E), chiefly remarkable for their names.
+
+The Sea of Showers (O) is a very interesting region, not only in itself,
+but on account of its surroundings. Its level is very much broken by
+low, winding ridges, and it is variegated by numerous light-streaks. At
+its western end it blends into the Marsh of Mists (I) and the Marsh of
+Putrefaction (K). On its northeast border is the celebrated Sinus
+Iridum, or Bay of Rainbows (P), upon which selenographers have exhausted
+the adjectives of admiration. The bay is semicircular in form, one
+hundred and thirty-five miles long and eighty-four miles broad. Its
+surface is dark and level. At either end a splendid cape extends into
+the Sea of Showers, the eastern one being called Cape Heraclides, and
+the western Cape Laplace. They are both crowned by high peaks. Along the
+whole shore of the bay runs a chain of gigantic mountains, forming the
+southern border of a wild and lofty plateau, called the Sinus Iridum
+Highlands. Of course, a telescope is required to see the details of this
+"most magnificent of all lunar landscapes," and yet much can be done
+with a good field-glass. With such an instrument I have seen the capes
+at the ends of the bay projecting boldly into the dark, level expanse
+surrounding them, and the high lights of the bordering mountains sharply
+contrasted with the dusky semicircle at their feet, and have been able
+to detect the presence of the low ridges that cross the front of the bay
+like shoals, separating it from the "sea" outside. Two or three days
+after first quarter, the shadows of the peaks about the Bay of Rainbows
+may be seen. The Bay of Dew (R) above the Bay of Rainbows, and the Sea
+of Cold (C), are the northernmost of the dark levels visible. It was in
+keeping with the supposed character of this region of the Moon that
+Riccioli named two portions of it the Land of Hoar Frost and the Land of
+Drought.
+
+Extending along the eastern side of the disk is the great Ocean of
+Storms (Q), while between the Ocean of Storms and the middle of the moon
+lies the Sea of Clouds (S). Both of these are very irregular in outline,
+and much broken by ridges and mountains. The Sea of Humors (T), although
+comparatively small, is one of the most easily seen of all the lunar
+plains. To the naked eye it looks like a dark, oval patch on the moon.
+With a telescope it is seen, under favorable conditions, to possess a
+decided green tint. Humboldt Sea (B) and the South Sea (Z) belong
+principally to that part of the moon which is always turned away from
+the earth, and only their edges project into the visible hemisphere,
+although, under favorable librations, their farther borders, lined as
+usual with mountain-peaks, may be detected. For our purposes they
+possess little interest.
+
+Let us now glance at some of the mountains and "craters." The dark oval
+called Grimaldi (1) can be detected by the naked eye, or at least it has
+been thus seen, although it requires a sharp eye; and perhaps a shade or
+a pair of eye-glasses of London smoke-glass, to take off the glare of
+the moon, should be used in looking for it.[F] It is simply a plain,
+containing some fourteen thousand square miles, remarkable for its dark
+color, and surrounded by mountains. Schickhard (7) is another similar
+plain, nearly as large, but not possessing the same dark tint in the
+interior. The huge mountains around Schickhard make a fine spectacle
+when the sun is rising upon them shortly before full moon.
+
+    [F] There are other uses to which such eye-glasses may be put
+        by sky-gazers. I habitually carry a pair for studying clouds.
+        It is wonderful how much the effect of great cloud-masses is
+        heightened by them, especially when seen in a bright light.
+        Delicate curls and striae of cirrus, which escape the uncovered
+        eye in the glare of sunlight, can be readily detected and
+        studied by the use of neutral-tinted eye-glasses or spectacles.
+
+Tycho (9) is the most famous of the crater-mountains, though not the
+largest. It is about fifty-four miles across and three miles deep. In
+its center is a peak five or six thousand feet high. Tycho is the radial
+point of the great light-streaks that, as I have already remarked, cause
+the southern half of the moon to be likened to a peeled orange. It is a
+tough problem in selenography to account for these streaks. They are
+best seen at full moon. They can not be seen at all until the sun has
+risen to a certain elevation above them, 25 deg. according to Neison; but,
+when they once become visible, they dominate everything. They turn aside
+for neither mountains nor plains, but pass straight on their courses
+over the ruggedest regions of the moon, retaining their brilliancy
+undiminished, and pouring back such a flood of reflected light that they
+completely conceal some of the most stupendous mountain-masses across
+which they lie. They clearly consist of different material from that of
+which the most of the moon's surface is composed--a material possessing
+a higher reflective power. In this respect they resemble Aristarchus and
+other lunar craters that are remarkable for their brilliancy under a
+high illumination. Tycho itself, the center or hub, from which these
+streaks radiate like spokes, is very brilliant in the full moon. But
+immediately around Tycho there is a dark rim some twenty-five miles
+broad. Beyond this rim the surface becomes bright, and the bright region
+extends about ninety miles farther. Out of it spring the great rays or
+streaks, which vary from ten to twenty miles in width, and many of which
+are several hundred miles long--one, which we have already mentioned as
+extending across the Sea of Serenity, being upward of two thousand miles
+in length. It has been truly said that we have nothing like these
+streaks upon the earth, and so there is no analogy to go by in trying to
+determine their nature. It has been suggested that if the moon had been
+split or shattered from within by some tremendous force, and molten
+matter from the interior had been thrust up into the cracks thus formed,
+and had cooled there into broad seams of rock, possessing a higher
+reflective power than the surrounding surface of the moon, then the
+appearances presented would not be unlike what we actually see. But
+there are serious objections to such a view, which we have not space to
+discuss here. It is enough to say that the nature of these streaks is
+still a question awaiting solution, and here is an opportunity for an
+important discovery, but not one to be achieved with an opera-glass.
+
+I may add an interesting suggestion as to the nature of these streaks
+made by the Rev. Mr. Grensted. He holds that the air and water of the
+moon were chemically, and not mechanically, absorbed in the process of
+oxidation which went on at the time when her surface temperature was
+above a red heat. Having a much larger surface in proportion to her bulk
+than the earth, the oxidation of the moon has, he thinks, extended much
+deeper than that of the earth, and her atmosphere and oceans have been
+exhausted in the process. Both the earth and the moon, he maintains,
+have metallic nuclei, and the streaks about Tycho and Copernicus, and
+some other lunar craters, may be dikes of pure and shining metal, which
+have escaped oxidation owing to the comparatively small supply of lunar
+oxygen. Upon this theory Aristarchus must be a metallic mountain.
+
+[Illustration: SUNRISE ON CLAVIUS, TYCHO, PLATO, ETC.]
+
+Clavius (11) is one of the most impressive of all the lunar formations.
+There probably does not exist anywhere upon the earth so wild a scene
+upon a corresponding scale of grandeur. Of course, its details are far
+beyond the reach of the instrument we are supposed to be using, and yet,
+even with a field-glass, or a powerful opera-glass, some of its main
+features are visible. It is represented in our picture of the half-moon,
+being the lowest and largest of the ring-like forms seen at the inner
+edge of the illuminated half of the disk; the rays of the rising sun
+touching the summits of some of the peaks in its interior have brought
+them into sight as a point of light, and at the same time, reaching
+across the gulf within, have lighted up the higher slopes of the great
+mountain-wall on the farther or eastern side of the crater-valley,
+making it resemble a semicircle of light projecting into the blackness
+of the still unilluminated plains around it. I should advise every
+reader to take advantage of any opportunity that may be presented to him
+to see Clavius with a powerful telescope when the sun is either rising
+or setting upon it. Neison has given a spirited description of the
+scene, as follows:
+
+  The sunrise on Clavius commences with the illumination of a few peaks
+  on the western wall, but soon rapidly extends along the whole wall of
+  Clavius, which then presents the appearance of a great double bay of
+  the dark night-side of the moon penetrating so deep into the
+  illuminated portion as to perceptibly blunt the southern horn to the
+  naked eye. Within the dark bay some small, bright points soon
+  appear--the summits of the great ring-plains within--followed shortly
+  by similar light-points near the center, due to peaks on the walls of
+  the smaller ring-plains, these light-islands gradually widening and
+  forming delicate rings of light in the dark mass of shadow still
+  enveloping the floor of Clavius. Far in the east then dimly appear a
+  few scarcely perceptible points, rapidly widening into a thin bright
+  line, the crest of the great southeastern wall of Clavius, the end
+  being still lost far within the night-side of the moon. By the period
+  the extreme summit of the lofty wall of Clavius on the east becomes
+  distinct, fine streaks of light begin to extend across the dark mass
+  of shadow on the interior of Clavius, from the light breaking through
+  some of the passes on the west wall and illuminating the interior; and
+  these streaks widen near the center and form illuminated spots on the
+  floor, when both east and west it still lies deeply immersed in
+  shadow, strongly contrasting with the now brightly illuminated crest
+  of the lofty east wall and the great circular broad rings of light
+  formed by the small ring-plains within Clavius. The illumination of
+  the interior of Clavius now proceeds rapidly, and forms a magnificent
+  spectacle: the great, brightly illuminated ring-plains on the
+  interior, with their floors still totally immersed in shadow; the
+  immense steep line of cliffs on the east and southeast are now
+  brilliantly illuminated, though the entire surface at their base is
+  still immersed in the shades of night; and the great peaks on the west
+  towering above the floor are thrown strongly into relief against the
+  dark shadow beyond them.
+
+Newton (12) is the deepest of the great crateriform chasms on the moon.
+Some of the peaks on its walls rise twenty-four thousand feet above the
+interior gulf. Its shadow, and those of its gigantic neighbors--for the
+moon is here crowded with colossal walls, peaks, and craters--may be
+seen breaking the line of sunlight below Clavius, in our illustration. I
+have just spoken of these great lunar formations as chasms. The word
+describes very well the appearance which some of them present when the
+line separating day and night on the moon falls across them, but the
+reader should not be led by it into an erroneous idea of their real
+character. Such formations as Newton, which is one hundred and forty
+miles long by seventy broad, may more accurately be described as vast
+depressed plains, generally containing peaks and craters, which are
+surrounded by a ring of steep mountains, or mountain-walls, that rise by
+successive ridges and terraces to a stupendous height.
+
+The double chain of great crater-plains reaching half across the center
+of the moon contains some of the grandest of these strange
+configurations of conjoined mountain, plain, and crater. The names of
+the principal ones can be learned from the map, and the reader will find
+it very interesting to watch them coming into sight about first quarter,
+and passing out of sight about third quarter. At such times, with a
+field-glass, some of them look like enormous round holes in the inner
+edge of the illuminated half of the moon. Theophilus (23), Cyrillus
+(24), and Catharina (25), are three of the finest walled plains on the
+moon--Theophilus, in particular, being a splendid specimen of such
+formations. This chain of craters may be seen rapidly coming into
+sunlight at the edge of the Sea of Nectar, in our picture of "Sunrise on
+the Sea of Serenity," etc. The Altai Mountains (26) are a line of lofty
+cliffs, two hundred and eighty miles in length, surmounting a high
+table-land.
+
+The Caucasus Mountains (38) are a mass of highlands and peaks, which
+introduce us to a series of formations resembling those of the
+mountainous regions of the earth. The highest peak in this range is
+about nineteen thousand feet. Between the Caucasus and the Apennines
+(44) lies a level pass, or strait, connecting the Sea of Serenity with
+the Sea of Showers. The Apennines are the greatest of the lunar
+mountain-chains, extending some four hundred and sixty miles in length,
+and containing one peak twenty-one thousand feet high, and many varying
+from twelve thousand to nearly twenty thousand. It will thus be seen
+that the Apennines of the earth sink into insignificance in comparison
+with their gigantic namesakes on the moon. As this range runs at a
+considerable angle to the line of sunrise, its high peaks are seen
+tipped with sunlight for a long distance beyond the generally
+illuminated edge about the time of first quarter. Even with the naked
+eye the sun-touched summits of the lunar Apennines may at that time be
+detected as a tongue of light projecting into the dark side of the moon.
+The Alps (41) are another mountain-mass of great elevation, whose
+highest peak is a good match for the Mont Blanc of the earth, after
+which it has been named.
+
+Plato (42) is a very celebrated dark and level plain, surrounded by a
+mountain-ring, and presenting in its interior many puzzling and
+apparently changeable phenomena which have given rise to much
+speculation, but which, of course, lie far beyond the reach of
+opera-glasses. Plato is seen in the picture of "Sunrise on Clavius,"
+etc., on page 133, being the second ring from the top.
+
+If Ariosto had had a telescope, we might have suspected that it was this
+curious plain that he had in mind when he described that strange valley
+in the moon, in which was to be found everything that was lost from the
+earth, including lost wits; and where the redoubtable knight Astolpho,
+having been sent in search of the missing wit of the great Orlando, was
+astonished to find what he sought carefully preserved in a vial along
+with other similar vials belonging to many supposedly wise people of the
+earth, whom nobody suspected of keeping a good part of their sapience in
+the moon.
+
+Copernicus (46) is the last of the lunar formations that we shall
+describe. It bears a general resemblance to Tycho, and is slightly
+greater in diameter; it is, however, not quite so deep. It has a cluster
+of peaks in the center, whose tops may be detected with a field-glass,
+as a speck of light when the rays of the morning sun, slanting across
+the valley, illuminate them while their environs are yet buried in
+night. Copernicus is the center of a system of light-streaks somewhat
+resembling those of Tycho, but very much shorter.
+
+We must not dismiss the moon without a few words as to its probable
+condition. It was but natural, after men had seen the surface of the
+moon diversified with hills and valleys like another earth, that the
+opinion should find ready acceptance that beings not unlike ourselves
+might dwell upon it. Nothing could possibly have been more interesting
+than the realization of such a fancy by the actual discovery of the
+lunar inhabitants, or at least of unmistakable evidence of their
+existence. The moon is so near to the earth, as astronomical distances
+go, and the earth and the moon are so intimately connected in the
+companionship of their yearly journey around the sun, and their greater
+journey together with the sun and all his family, through the realms of
+space, that we should have looked upon the lunar inhabitants, if any
+had existed, as our neighbors over the way--dwelling, to be sure, upon a
+somewhat more restricted domain than ours, vassals of the earth in one
+sense, yet upon the whole very respectable and interesting people, with
+whom one would be glad to have a closer acquaintance. But, alas! as the
+powers of the telescope increased, the vision of a moon crowded with
+life faded, until at last the cold fact struck home that the moon is, in
+all probability, a frozen and dried-up globe, a mere planetary skeleton,
+which could no more support life than the Humboldt glacier could grow
+roses. And yet this opinion may go too far. There is reason for thinking
+that the moon is not absolutely airless, and, while it has no visible
+bodies of water, its soil may, after all, not be entirely arid and
+desiccated. There are observations which hint at visible changes in
+certain spots that could possibly be caused by vegetation, and there are
+other observations which suggest the display of electric luminosity in a
+rarefied atmosphere covering the moon. To declare that no possible form
+of life can exist under the conditions prevailing upon the lunar surface
+would be saying too much, for human intelligence can not set bounds to
+creative power. Yet, within the limits of life, such as we know them, it
+is probably safe to assert that the moon is a dead and deserted world.
+In other words, if a race of beings resembling ourselves, or resembling
+any of our contemporaries in terrestrial life, ever existed upon the
+moon, they must long since have perished. That such beings may have
+existed, is possible, particularly if it be true, as generally believed,
+that the moon once had a comparatively dense atmosphere and water upon
+its surface, which have now, in the process of cooling of the lunar
+globe, been withdrawn into its interior. It certainly does not detract
+from the interest with which we study the rugged and beautiful scenery
+of the moon to reflect that if we could visit those ancient sea-bottoms,
+or explore those glittering mountains, we might, perchance, find there
+some remains or mementos of a race that flourished, and perhaps was all
+gathered again to its fathers, before man appeared upon the earth.
+
+That slight physical changes, such as the downfall of mountain-walls or
+crater-cones, still occasionally occur upon the moon, is an opinion
+entertained by some selenographers, and apparently justified by
+observation. The enormous changes of temperature, from burning heat
+under a cloudless sun to the freezing cold of space at night with no
+atmospheric blanket to retain heat (which has generally been assumed to
+be the condition of things on the moon), would naturally exert a
+disintegrating effect upon the lunar rocks. But the question is now in
+dispute whether the surface of the moon ever rises above the
+freezing-point of water, even under a midday sun.
+
+Mankind has always been a little piqued by the impossibility of seeing
+the other side of the moon, and all sorts of odd fancies have been
+indulged in regard to it. Among the most curious is the ancient belief
+that the souls of the good who die on earth are transported to that side
+of the moon which is turned away from the earth; while the souls of the
+wicked sojourn on this side, in full view of the scene of their evil
+deeds. The visible side of the moon--with its tremendous craters, its
+yawning chasms, its frightful contrasts of burning sunshine and
+Cimmerian darkness, its airless and arid plains and dried-up sea-bottoms
+exposed to the pitiless cold of open space, and heated, if heated at
+all, by scorching sunbeams as fierce as naked flame--would certainly
+appear to be in a proper condition to serve as a purgatory. But we have
+no reason to think that the other side is any better off in these
+respects. In fact, the glimpses that we get of it around the corners, so
+to speak, indicate that the whole round globe of the moon is as ragged,
+barren, and terrible as that portion of it which is turned to our view.
+
+THE PLANETS.--In attempting to view the planets with an opera-glass,
+too much must not be expected; and yet interesting views can sometimes
+be obtained. The features of their surfaces, of course, can not be
+detected even with a powerful field-glass, but the difference between
+the appearance of a large planet and that of the stars will at once
+strike the observer. Mercury, which, on account of its nearness to the
+sun and its rapid changes of place, comparatively few persons ever see,
+can perhaps hardly be called an interesting object for an opera-glass,
+and yet the beauty of the planet is greatly increased when viewed with
+such aid. Mercury is brilliant enough to be readily distinguishable,
+even while the twilight is still pretty bright; and I have had most
+charming views of the shy planet, glittering like a globule of shining
+metal through the fading curtain of a winter sunset.
+
+Venus is, under favorable circumstances, a very interesting planet for
+opera-glass observations. The crescent phase can be seen with a powerful
+glass near inferior conjunction, and, even when the form of the planet
+can not be discerned, its exceeding brilliancy makes it an attractive
+object. The flood of light which Venus pours forth, and which is so
+dazzling that it baffles the best telescopes, to a greater or less
+extent, in any effort to descry the features of that resplendent disk,
+is evidently reflected from a cloud-burdened atmosphere. While these
+clouds render the planet surprisingly lustrous to our eyes, they must,
+of course, keep the globe beneath them most of the time in shadow. It is
+a source of keen regret that the surface of Venus can not be seen as
+clearly as that of Mars, for, _a priori_, there is rather more reason to
+regard Venus as possibly an inhabited world than any other of the
+Earth's sister planets, not excepting Mars. Still, even if we could
+plainly make out the presence of oceans and continents on Venus, that
+fact would hardly be any better indication of the possibility of life
+there than is furnished by the phenomena of its atmosphere. It is an
+interesting reflection that in admiring the brilliancy of this splendid
+planet the light that produces so striking an effect upon our eyes has
+but a few minutes before traversed the atmosphere of a distant world,
+which, like our own air, may furnish the breath of life to millions of
+intelligent creatures, and vibrate with the music of tongues speaking
+languages as expressive as those of the earth.
+
+Mars, being both more distant and smaller than Venus, does not present
+so splendid a scene, and yet when it is at or near opposition it is a
+superb object even for an opera-glass, its deep reddish-yellow color
+presenting a fine contrast to that of most of the stars. It can often be
+seen in conjunction with, or near to, the moon and stars, and the beauty
+of these phenomena is in some cases greatly enhanced by the use of a
+glass. To find Mars (and the same remark applies to the other planets),
+take its right ascension and declination for the required date from the
+Nautical Almanac, and then mark its place upon a planisphere or any good
+star-map. This planet is at the present time (1888) slowly drawing
+nearer to the earth at each opposition, and in 1892 it will be closer to
+us than at any time since 1877, when its two minute satellites were
+discovered. It will consequently grow brighter every year until then.
+How splendidly it shines when at its nearest approach to the earth may
+be inferred from the fact that in 1719 it was so brilliant as actually
+to cause a panic. This was doubtless owing to its peculiar redness. I
+well remember the almost startling appearance which the planet presented
+in the autumn of 1877. Mars is especially interesting because of the
+apparently growing belief that it may be an inhabited world, and because
+of certain curious markings on its surface that can only be seen under
+favorable conditions. The recent completion of the great Lick telescope
+and other large glasses, and the approach of the planet to a favorable
+opposition, give reason to hope that within the next few years a great
+deal of light will be cast upon some of the enigmatical features of
+Mars's surface.
+
+[Illustration: JUPITER AND HIS MOONS. (SEEN WITH A FIELD-GLASS; SEVEN
+DIAMETERS.)]
+
+Jupiter, although much more distant than Mars, is ordinarily a far more
+conspicuous phenomenon in the sky on account of his vast bulk. His
+interest to observers with an opera-glass depends mainly upon his four
+moons, which, as they circle about him, present a miniature of the solar
+system. With a strong opera-glass one or two of Jupiter's little family
+of moons may occasionally be caught sight of as excessively minute dots
+of light half-hidden in the glare of the planet. If you succeed under
+favorable circumstances in seeing one of these moons with your glass,
+you will be all the more astonished to learn that there are several
+apparently well-authenticated instances of one of the moons of Jupiter
+having been seen with the naked eye.
+
+With a field-glass, however, you will have no difficulty in seeing all
+of the moons when they are properly situated. If you miss one or more of
+them, you may know that it is either between you and the planet, or
+behind the planet, or buried in the planet's shadow, or else so close to
+the planet as to be concealed by its radiance.
+
+It will be best for the observer to take out of the Nautical Almanac the
+"configurations of Jupiter's satellites" for the evenings on which he
+intends to make his observations, recollecting that the position of the
+whole system, as there given, is reversed, or presented as seen with an
+astronomical telescope, which inverts objects looked at, as an
+opera-glass does not. In order to bring the satellites into the
+positions in which he will see them, our observer has only to turn the
+page in the Nautical Almanac showing their configurations upside down.
+
+Of course, since the motions of the satellites, particularly of the
+inner ones, are very rapid, their positions are continually changing,
+and their configurations are different every night. If the observer has
+any doubt about his identification of them, or thinks they may be little
+stars, he has only to carefully note their position and then look at
+them again the next evening. He may even notice their motion in the
+course of a single evening, if he begins early and follows them for
+three or four hours. It is impossible to describe the peculiar
+attractions of the scene presented by the great planet and his four
+little moons on a serene evening to an observer armed with a powerful
+glass. Probably much of the impressiveness of the spectacle is owing to
+the knowledge that those little points of light, shining now in a row
+and now in a cluster, are actually, at every instant, under the
+government of their giant neighbor and master, and that as we look upon
+them, obediently making their circuits about him, never venturing beyond
+a certain distance away, we behold a type of that gravitational mastery
+to which our own little planet is subject as it revolves around its
+still greater ruler, the sun, to whose control even Jupiter in his turn
+must submit.
+
+The beautiful planet Saturn requires for the observation of its rings
+magnifying powers far beyond those of the instruments with which our
+readers are supposed to be armed. It would be well, however, for the
+observer to trace its slow motion among the stars with the aid of the
+Nautical Almanac, and he should be able with a good field-glass to see,
+under favorable circumstances, the largest of its eight moons, Titan.
+This is equal in brilliancy to an 8.5 magnitude star. Its position with
+respect to Saturn on any given date can be learned from the Ephemeris.
+
+It may appear somewhat presumptuous to place Uranus, a planet which it
+required the telescope and the eye of a Herschel to discover, in a list
+of objects for the opera-glass. But it must not be forgotten that Uranus
+was seen certainly several, and probably many, times before Herschel's
+discovery, being simply mistaken, on account of the slowness of its
+motion, for a fixed star. When near opposition, Uranus looks as bright
+as a sixth-magnitude star, and can be easily detected with the naked eye
+when its position is known. With an opera-glass (and still more readily
+with a field-glass) this distant planet can be watched as it moves
+deliberately onward in its gigantic orbit. Its passage by neighboring
+stars is an exceedingly interesting phenomenon, and it is in this way
+that you may recognize the planet.
+
+On the evening of May 29, 1888, I knew, from the co-ordinates given in
+the Nautical Almanac, that Uranus was to be found a short distance east
+of Mars, which was then only a few degrees from the well-known star
+Gamma Virginis. Accordingly, I turned my opera-glass upon Mars, and at
+once saw a star in the expected position, which I knew was Uranus. But
+there were other small stars in the field, and, supposing I had not been
+certain which was Uranus, how could I have recognized it? The answer is
+plain: simply by watching for a night or two to see which star moved.
+That star would, of course, be Uranus. The accompanying cuts will show
+the motions of Mars and Uranus with respect to neighboring stars at that
+time, and will serve as an example of the method of distinguishing a
+planet from the fixed stars by its change of place. In the first cut we
+have the two planets and three neighboring stars as they appeared on May
+29th. These stars were best seen with a field-glass, although an
+opera-glass readily showed them.
+
+[Illustration: MARS AND URANUS, MAY 29, 1888.]
+
+[Illustration: MARS AND URANUS, JUNE 1, 1888.]
+
+[Illustration: MARS AND URANUS, JUNE 6, 1888.]
+
+On June 1st the relative positions of the planets and stars were as
+shown in the second cut. A glance suffices to show that not only Mars
+but Uranus also has shifted its position with respect to the three
+immovable stars. This change of place alone would have sufficed to
+indicate the identity of Uranus. To make sure, the inexperienced
+observer had only to continue his observations a few nights longer.
+
+On June 6th Mars and Uranus were in conjunction, and their position, as
+well as that of the same set of three stars, is shown in the third cut.
+It will be seen that while Mars had changed its place very much more
+than Uranus, yet that the latter planet had now moved so far from its
+original position on May 29th, that there could be no possibility that
+the merest tyro in star-gazing would fail to notice the change. Whenever
+the observer sees an object which he suspects to be a planet, he can
+satisfy himself of its identity by making a series of little sketches
+like the above, showing the position of the suspected object on
+successive evenings, with respect to neighboring stars. The same plan
+suffices to identify the larger planets, in the case of which no glass
+is necessary. The observer can simply make a careful estimate by the
+naked eye of the supposed planet's distance and bearing from large stars
+near it, and compare them with similar observations made on subsequent
+evenings.
+
+THE SUN.--That spots upon the sun may be seen with no greater optical
+aid than that of an opera-glass is perhaps well known to many of my
+readers, for during the past ten years public attention has been drawn
+to sun-spots in an especial manner, on account of their supposed
+connection with meteorology, and in that time there have been many spots
+upon the solar disk which could not only be seen with an opera-glass,
+but even with the unassisted eye. At present (1888) we are near a
+minimum period of sun-spots, and the number to be seen even with a
+telescope is comparatively very small, yet only a few days before this
+page was written there was a spot on the sun large enough to be
+conspicuous with the aid of a field-glass. During the time of a
+spot-maximum the sun is occasionally a wonderful object, no matter how
+small the power of the instrument used in viewing it may be. Strings of
+spots of every variety of shape sometimes extend completely across the
+disk. Our illustration shows the appearance of the sun, as drawn by the
+author on the 1st of September, 1883. Every one of the spots and
+spot-groups there represented could be seen with a good field-glass, and
+nearly all of them with an opera-glass.
+
+[Illustration: THE SUN, SEPTEMBER 1, 1883.]
+
+As in all such cases, our interest in the phenomena increases in
+proportion to our understanding of their significance and their true
+scale of magnitude. In glancing from side to side of the sun's disk, the
+eye ranges over a distance of more than 860,000 miles--not a mere ideal
+distance, or an expanse of empty space, but a distance filled by an
+actual and, so to speak, tangible body, whose diameter is of that
+stupendous magnitude. One sees at a glance, then, the enormous scale on
+which these spots are formed. The earth placed beside them would be but
+a speck, and yet they are mere pits in the surface of the sun, filled
+perhaps with partially cooled metallic vapors, which have been cast up
+from the interior, and are settling back again. It is worth anybody's
+while to get a glimpse at a sun-spot if he can, for, although he may see
+it merely as a black dot on the shining disk, yet it represents the play
+of physical forces whose might and power are there exercised on a scale
+really beyond human comprehension. The imagination of Milton or Dante
+would have beheld the mouth of hell yawning in a sun-spot.
+
+In order to view the sun it is, of course, necessary to contrive some
+protection for the eyes. This may be constructed by taking two strips of
+glass four or five inches long and an inch wide, and smoking one of them
+until you can without discomfort look at the sun through it. Then place
+the two strips together, with the smoked surface inside--taking care to
+separate them slightly by pieces of cardboard placed between the
+ends--and fasten the edges together with strips of paper gummed on.
+Then, by means of a rubber band, fasten the dark glass thus prepared
+over the eye-end of your opera-glass in such a way that both of the
+lenses are completely covered by it. It will require a little practice
+to enable you to get the sun into the field of view and keep it there,
+and for this purpose you should assume a posture--sitting, if
+possible--which will enable you to hold the glass very steady. Then
+point the glass nearly in the direction of the sun, and move it slowly
+about until the disk comes in sight. It is best to carefully focus your
+instrument on some distant object before trying to look at the sun with
+it.
+
+As there is some danger of the shade-glass being cracked by the heat,
+especially if the object-glasses of the instrument are pretty large, it
+would be well to get the strips of glass for the shade large enough to
+cover the object-end of the instrument instead of the eye-end. At a
+little expense an optician will furnish you with strips of glass of
+complementary tints, which, when fastened together, give a very pleasing
+view of the sun without discoloring the disk. Dark red with dark blue or
+green answer very well; but the color must be very deep. The same
+arrangement, of course, will serve for viewing an eclipse of the sun.
+
+A word, finally, about the messenger which brings to us all the
+knowledge we possess of the contents and marvels of space--light.
+Without the all-pervading luminiferous ether, narrow indeed would be our
+acquaintance with the physical creation. This is a sympathetic bond by
+which we may conceive that intelligent creatures throughout the universe
+are united. Light tells us of the existence of suns and systems so
+remote that the mind shrinks from the attempt to conceive their
+distance; and light bears back again to them a similar message in the
+feeble glimmering of our own sun. And can any one believe that there are
+no eyes out yonder to receive, and no intelligence to interpret that
+message?
+
+Sir Humphry Davy has beautifully expressed a similar thought in one of
+his philosophical romances:
+
+  In Jupiter you would see creatures similar to those in Saturn, but
+  with different powers of locomotion; in Mars and Venus you would find
+  races of created forms more analogous to those belonging to the Earth;
+  but in every part of the planetary system you would find one character
+  peculiar to all intelligent natures, a sense of receiving impressions
+  from light by various organs of vision, and toward this result you can
+  not but perceive that all the arrangements and motions of the
+  planetary bodies, their satellites and atmospheres, are subservient.
+  The spiritual natures, therefore, that pass from system to system in
+  progression toward power and knowledge preserve at least this one
+  invariable character, and their intellectual life may be said to
+  depend more or less upon the influence of light.[G]
+
+    [G] See "Consolations in Travel, or, the Last Days of a
+        Philosopher"; Dialogue I.
+
+Light is a result, and an expression, of the energy of cosmical life.
+The universe lives while light exists. But when the throbbing energies
+of all the suns are exhausted, and space is filled with universal gloom,
+the light of intelligence must vanish too.
+
+One can not read the wonderful messages of light--one can not study the
+sun, the moon, and the stars in any manner--without perceiving that the
+physical universe is enormously greater than he had thought, and that
+the creation, of which the Earth is an infinitesimal part, is almost
+infinitely more magnificent in actual magnitude than the imaginary
+domain which men of old times pictured as the dwelling-place of the
+all-controlling gods; without feeling that he has risen to a higher
+plane, and that his intellectual life has taken a nobler aim and a
+broader scope.
+
+
+
+
+INDEX.
+
+
+  Achernar, 94.
+
+  Albireo ([beta] Cygni), 55.
+
+  Alcor, 27.
+
+  Alcyone, 102.
+    Maedler's "Central Sun," 104.
+
+  Aldebaran, 22, 89, 91, 94, 95, 98.
+
+  Algenib ([alpha] Persei), 84, 85.
+
+  Algol, the Demon-Star, 83.
+    probable cause of variation of, 85.
+
+  Al-Mamoun, the Caliph, observation of a temporary star, 35.
+
+  Almaach ([gamma] Andromedae), 79, 82.
+
+  Alphard, 16.
+
+  Alpha Andromedae, 79.
+    Agnarii (Sadalmelik), 67.
+    Arietis (Hamal), 74.
+    Capricorni (Giedi), 65.
+    Ceti (Menkar), 70.
+    Draconis, formerly the pole-star, 102.
+    Librae, 52.
+    Ophiuchi (Ras Alhague), 42.
+    Orionis (Betelgeuse), 91, 98, 106.
+    Pegasi (Markab), 70.
+    Ursae Majoris, 28.
+
+  Alpheratz ([alpha] Andromedae), 79.
+
+  Alps, the lunar, 135.
+
+  Altai Mountains, 135.
+
+  Altair, 55.
+
+  Andromedae, map of, 76.
+    mythology of, 75.
+
+  Antares, 32, 33, 98.
+
+  Antinous, 55.
+
+  Apennines, the lunar, 135.
+
+  Apollonius, regarded the moon as a mirror, 119.
+
+  Aquarius, map of, 64.
+    mythology of, 67.
+
+  Aquila, map of, 56.
+    mythology of, 55.
+
+  Aratus, description of the Manger, 15.
+    the "Diosemia" of, 15.
+    the Phenomena of, 20.
+    story of Virgo, 51.
+    description of the "Royal Family," 78.
+    description of Cetus, 70.
+
+  Arcturus, 10, 24, 26, 49, 56.
+
+  Argo, map of, 110.
+    mythology of, 115.
+
+  Aries, map of, 71.
+    mythology of, 75.
+
+  Ariosto, story of a trip to the moon, 136.
+
+  Aristarchus, the shining mountain, 125.
+
+  Aselli, 15.
+
+  Asterope, 103.
+
+  Atlas, 102.
+
+  Auriga, map of, 23.
+    mythology of, 23.
+    star swarms in, 22.
+
+  Autumn, map of the Stars of, 62.
+
+
+  Bartschius invents Monoceros, 117.
+
+  Bay of Dew, 129.
+
+  Bay of Rainbows, 129.
+
+  Bear's head, stars forming the, 28.
+
+  Bellatrix, 90, 107.
+
+  Belt, Orion's, 90, 107.
+
+  Berenice's Hair, the constellation of, 24.
+    picture of, 53.
+
+  Bessel, studies of Sirius and Procyon, 20.
+    letter about "dark stars," 114.
+
+  Beta Andromedae (Mirach), 79.
+    Arietis (Sheratan), 75.
+    Capricorni (Dabih), 65.
+    Cassiopeia, 74.
+
+  Beta Corvi, 25.
+    Cygni (Albireo), 55.
+    Librae, 52.
+    Leonis (Denebola), 12.
+    Lyrae, 50.
+    Pegasi, 70.
+    Scorpionis, 34.
+    Ursae Minoris (Kochab), 27.
+
+  Betelgeuse ([alpha] Orionis), 91, 98, 106.
+
+  Bethlehem, the so-called Star of, 87.
+
+  Biela's comet, it breaks up, 82.
+
+  Biela meteors, radiant point of the, 82.
+
+  Booetes, map of, 50.
+    mythology of, 53.
+
+
+  Calisto, another name of Ursa Major, 29.
+
+  Cancer, map of, 18.
+    mythology of, 15.
+
+  Canes Venatici, 54.
+
+  Canis Major, map of, 110.
+    mythology of, 115.
+
+  Canis Minor, map of, 18.
+    mythology of, 21.
+
+  Canopus, 114.
+
+  Capella, 9, 22, 49, 89, 91.
+
+  Cape Heraclides, 129.
+    Laplace, 129.
+
+  Capricornus, map of, 64.
+    mythology of, 67.
+
+  Cassiopeia, map of, 76.
+    mythology of, 75.
+
+  Castor, 17.
+
+  Catharina, 135.
+
+  Caucasus Mountains, 135.
+
+  Celaeno, 103.
+
+  Central Gulf, 129.
+
+  "Central Sun," Maedler's ideas about a, 104.
+
+  Cepheus, map of, 58, 76.
+
+  Cetus, map of, 71.
+    mythology of, 70.
+
+  Chi Ceti, 73.
+
+  Clavius, 124, 132, 133.
+
+  Coal-Sack, 57.
+
+  Comet, Biela's, 82.
+
+  Comet, Halley's, the Crab Nebula mistaken for, 97.
+
+  Constellations, origin of, 6, 42, 61.
+    along the Milky-Way, 116.
+    the zodiacal, 16.
+
+  Constellations, St. Paul's knowledge of, 19.
+
+  Copernicus, 136.
+
+  Corvus, map of, 26.
+    mythology of, 25.
+
+  "Crimson Star," 110.
+
+  Crisian Sea, 127.
+
+  Cynosura, a name of Ursa Minor, 29.
+
+  Cygnus, map of, 56.
+
+  Cyrillus, 135.
+
+
+  Dabih ([beta] Capricorni), 65.
+
+  Dark Stars, Bessel's suggestion about, 114.
+
+  Davy, Humphry, on life in other worlds, 147.
+
+  Delta Canis Majoris, 112.
+    Cephei, 88.
+    Tauri, 99.
+
+  Deltoton, 75.
+
+  Denebola ([beta] Leonis), 12, 14, 24.
+
+  Dipper, the Great, 10, 27.
+
+  Dog-Days, origin of the, 111.
+
+  Dog-Star, 111.
+
+  Dolphin, map of the, 56.
+    mythology of the, 55.
+
+  Draco, map of, 58.
+    mythology of, 57.
+
+
+  El Nath, 22, 97.
+
+  Epsilon Leonis, 12.
+    Lyrae, 49.
+    Tauri, 99.
+    Virginis, 51.
+
+  Equinox, autumnal, 52.
+    vernal, 74.
+
+  Eridanus, map of, 93.
+
+  Eta Aquilae, 55.
+
+
+  Field-glass, 6.
+
+  Field of the Nebulae, 51.
+
+  Flammarion, on [alpha] Capricorni, 65.
+
+  Flood traditions connected with the Pleiades, 101, 102.
+
+  Focus, importance of a sharp, 11.
+
+  Fomalhaut, 63.
+
+  Fontenelle, "Plurality of Worlds," 60.
+
+
+  Galileo, his telescope an opera-glass, 4.
+    his description of Praesepe, 15.
+    his description of the moon, 118.
+    power of his telescope, 119.
+
+  Gamma Andromedae, 79, 82.
+    Leonis, 11.
+    Pegasi, 70.
+    Tauri, 99.
+    Virginis, 51.
+
+  "Garnet Star" (Mu Cephei), 88.
+
+  Gemini, map of, 18.
+    mythology of, 19.
+
+  Genesis, a celestial, 68.
+
+  Giedi ([alpha] Capricorni), 65.
+
+  Glass, use of smoked or colored, 130, 146.
+
+  Goldschmidt sees a nebula in the Pleiades, 104.
+
+  Gomelza, 20.
+
+  Gore, estimate of the stars in 13 M, 45.
+
+  "Grape-Gatherer" ([epsilon] Virginis), 51.
+
+  Grensted, Rev. Mr., suggestion about lunar rays, 132.
+
+  Grimaldi, 130.
+
+
+  Halley's comet and Crab Nebula, 97.
+
+  Hamal ([alpha] Arietis), 74.
+
+  Haemus Mountains, 128.
+
+  Henry, Paul and Prosper, photographs of the Pleiades, 105.
+
+  Hercules, map of, 44.
+    mythology of, 45.
+    motion of solar system toward, 43.
+
+  Herschel, William, discovers Uranus, 19.
+    computation of stars in 13 M, 45.
+    advice about seeing star-colors, 88.
+    thinks he sees lunar volcano, 125.
+    John, description of 8 M, 34.
+    suggestion about [alpha] Capricorni, 65.
+
+  Holden, Prof., on the Milky-Way, 40.
+    structure of Ring Nebula, 105.
+
+  Hooke, discovers first telescopic double star, 75.
+
+  Hyades, 89, 95, 98, 99.
+
+  Hydra, map of part of, 26.
+    mythology of, 16.
+
+  Hydra's Heart (Alphard), 16.
+
+  Humboldt Sea, 130.
+
+
+  Jeaurat, chart of the Pleiades, 104.
+
+  Job's coffin, 55.
+
+  Jupiter, 141.
+    satellites of, 142.
+
+
+  Kappa Argus, 116.
+    Tauri, 100.
+
+  Kepler observes the star of 1604, 42.
+
+  Kingsley, story of Andromeda, 77.
+
+  "King's lucky star," 67.
+
+  Kochab (Beta Ursae Minoris), 27.
+
+
+  Lake of Death, 129.
+    of Dreams, 129.
+
+  Land of Drought, 130.
+    of Hoar Frost, 130.
+
+  Leo, map of, 12.
+    mythology of, 13.
+    sickle-shaped figure in, 9, 14.
+
+  Lepus, map of, 93.
+
+  Lick telescope, views of Milky-Way, 40.
+    views of Ring Nebula, 105.
+
+  Light, the messenger of the universe, 147.
+    in a star-cluster, 45.
+
+  Libra, description and mythology of, 52.
+
+  Life, does it exist beyond the earth? 37, 48, 137, 139, 140, 147.
+
+  Locke, Richard Adams, author of the "Moon Hoax," 125.
+
+  Lyra, map of, 44.
+    mythology of, 45.
+
+
+  Maedler, on the "Central Sun," 104.
+
+  Maginus, 124.
+
+  Maia, 103, 105.
+
+  Man in the Moon, 121.
+
+  Manger (Praesepe), 15.
+
+  Marine glass, 6.
+
+  Markab ([alpha] Pegasi), 70.
+
+  Marsh of Mists, 129.
+    of Putrefaction, 129.
+    of Sleep, 127.
+
+  Mars, 140.
+
+  Medusa, the head of, 83.
+
+  Menelaus, 128.
+
+  Menkalina, 22.
+
+  Menkar ([alpha] Ceti), 70.
+
+  Mercury, 139.
+
+  Merope, 102, 103.
+
+  Mesarthim, 75.
+
+  Meteors, radiant point of November, 11.
+    radiant point of Biela, 82.
+
+  Micromegas, the story of, 115.
+
+  Milk-Dipper, 34.
+
+  Milky-Way, 17, 34, 39, 40, 43, 57, 81, 86, 116.
+
+  Mira ([omicron] Ceti), 71.
+    probable cause of its variations, 72.
+
+  Milton, account of Libra, 52.
+
+  Mirach ([beta] Andromedae), 79.
+
+  Mizar, 27.
+
+  Moon, mountains of the, 120.
+    shadows on the, 120.
+    map of the, 123.
+    list of mountains, "seas," etc., 123.
+    inhabitableness of the, 136.
+    the other side of the, 138.
+
+  "Moon Hoax," 125, 128.
+
+  Monoceros, map of, 110.
+
+  Mu Argus, 116.
+    Scorpionis, 36.
+
+
+  Nebulae (and Star-Clusters):
+    4 M, 34.
+    6 M, 37.
+    7 M, 37.
+    8 M, 38.
+    13 M, 45.
+    24 M, 38.
+    25 M, 39.
+    30 M, 66.
+    34 M, 86.
+    35 M, 18.
+    37 M, 23.
+    38 M, 23.
+    41 M, 112.
+    46 M, 116.
+    50 M, 117.
+    80 M, 35.
+    93 M, 116.
+    2^7, 117.
+    33^7, 23.
+    38^8, 116.
+    Andromeda, Great Nebula in, 79, 80.
+    Aquarius, Nebula in, 68.
+    Crab Nebula, 97, 98.
+    Field of the Nebulae, 51.
+    Horseshoe Nebula, 39.
+    Orion, Great Nebula in, 107.
+    Perseus, Great Cluster in, 86.
+    Pleiades, nebulae in the, 104.
+    Ring Nebula in Lyra, 50.
+
+  Nebular hypothesis, 68.
+
+  Neison, description of sunrise on Clavius, 133.
+
+  Newton, 134.
+
+  "Nile-Star," 111.
+
+  Northern Cross, 54, 55.
+
+  Northern Crown, map of the, 44.
+
+  Northern Fish, 73, 79.
+
+  Nu Andromedae, 79, 82.
+    Aquarii, a pointer to a nebula, 68.
+    Canis Majoris, 112.
+    Draconis, 58.
+    Scorpionis, 34.
+
+
+  Ocean of Storms, 130.
+
+  Omicron Ceti (Mira), 71, 72.
+    Cygni, 57.
+
+  Omicron two Eridani, a flying-star, 95.
+
+  Opera-glass, views of the stars with, 3.
+    how to choose a good, 4.
+    magnifying power of, 4.
+    defects of, 5.
+
+  Ophiuchus and Serpens, map of, 41.
+    mythology of, 41.
+
+  Orion, map of, 93.
+    mythology of, 109.
+    great array of stars around, 90.
+    riches of, 106.
+    spectacle of the rising of, 89.
+
+  Orpheus, fancies about the moon, 119.
+
+
+  Pegasus, map of, 64.
+    mythology of, 69.
+
+  Perseus, map of, 76.
+    mythology of, 75.
+    great cluster in, 86.
+
+  Phantom, another name of Hercules, 45.
+
+  Photography, astronomical, 3, 105.
+
+  Pi Argus, 116.
+    Five Orionis, 109.
+    Pegasi, 70.
+
+  Pisces, map of, 71.
+    mythology of, 74.
+
+  Piscis Australis, 67.
+
+  Plato, 135.
+
+  Pleiades, 10, 22, 89, 95.
+    names of the, 100.
+    mythology of, 100.
+    and the Flood, 101, 102.
+    and the Great Pyramid, 101.
+    picture of the, 103.
+    common motion of the, 104.
+
+  Pleione, 102, 103.
+
+  Pole-star, 10, 26.
+
+  Pollux, 17.
+
+  Praesepe (the Manger), 15.
+
+  Prime Meridian, 74.
+
+  Proclus, 127.
+
+  Procyon, 9, 20.
+
+  Pyramid of Cheops and the Pleiades, 101.
+
+  Pyrenees Mountains, 128.
+
+
+  Ras Alhague ([alpha] Ophiuchi), 42.
+
+  Rays of the Moon, 131.
+
+  Regulus, 9, 11.
+
+  Revolution of the heavens, 7, 30.
+
+  Rho Ophiuchi, 33.
+
+  Rigel, 91, 94, 98, 108.
+
+  Ring Nebula, 50.
+
+  "Royal Family," 63, 75.
+
+  Rutherford, photograph of the moon, 122.
+
+
+  Sadalmelik ([alpha] Aquarii), 67.
+
+  Sagitta, map of, 56.
+
+  Sagittarius, map of, 34.
+    mythology of, 34.
+
+  Saiph, 90.
+
+  Saturn, 142.
+
+  Scorpio, map of, 34.
+    mythology of, 32.
+    pair of stars in sting of, 37.
+
+  Schickhard, 130.
+
+  Sea of Clouds, 130.
+
+  Sea of Cold, 129.
+
+  Sea of Fertility, 127.
+
+  Sea of Humors, 130.
+
+  Sea of Nectar, 128.
+
+  Sea of Serenity, 128.
+
+  Sea of Showers, 129.
+
+  Sea of Tranquillity, 127.
+
+  Sea of Vapors, 129.
+
+  Secchi, Father, types of the stars, 106.
+    description of a star-swarm, 39.
+
+  Seiss, Rev. Dr., on Canis Minor, 21.
+    description of Auriga, 23.
+
+  Sheratan ([beta] Arietis), 75.
+
+  Sidus Ludovicianum, 27.
+
+  Sirius, 9, 22, 91.
+    color of, 111.
+    size and distance of, 112.
+    the companion of, 21, 114.
+    its light compared with the sun's, 46.
+
+  Sigma Tauri, 99.
+
+  Sixty-one Cygni, 56.
+
+  Smyth, Admiral, on Capricorn, 67.
+    description of Aldebaran, 98.
+    description of 35 M, 18.
+
+  Solstice, summer, 16, 19.
+    winter, 38.
+
+  Sobieski's Shield, 39.
+
+  Solar system, voyaging of, in space, 43.
+
+  Southern Cross, 91, 116.
+
+  South Sea, 130.
+
+  Spectroscopic analysis, 3, 98.
+
+  Spica, 10, 24, 26, 51.
+
+  Spring, map of the stars of, 8.
+
+  Square of Pegasus, 69.
+
+  St. Paul, acquainted with the constellations, 19.
+
+  Star-Clusters (see Nebulae, etc.).
+
+  Star-Cluster, light in a, 45.
+
+  Summer, map of the stars of, 31.
+
+  Sun, opera-glass observations of the, 145.
+    the, a variable star, 72.
+
+  Sword of Orion, 107.
+
+
+  Taurus, map of, 93.
+    mythology of, 102.
+    the "Golden Horns" of, 96.
+    Poniatowskii, 42.
+
+  Tau Aquarii, 68.
+
+  Taygeta, 103.
+
+  Temporary stars:
+    134 B. C. the first on record, 35.
+    393 A. D., 35.
+    827, 35.
+    1203, 35.
+    1572, Tycho's star, 87.
+    1578, 36.
+    1604, 36, 42.
+    1860, 35, 81.
+    1885, 80.
+
+  Temple, discovers a nebula in the Pleiades, 104.
+
+  Tennyson, describes the Pleiades, 105.
+
+  Theophilus, 135.
+
+  Theta Orionis, 107.
+    Serpentis, 43.
+    Tauri, 99.
+
+  Tobias Mayer, sees the planet Neptune, 69.
+
+  Triangles, map of the, 71.
+    mythology of, 75.
+
+  Twenty-two Canis Majoris, 112.
+    Scorpii, 33.
+
+  Tycho Brahe, invents Antinous, 55.
+    places Hamal in Aries, 75.
+    studies the star of 1572, 87.
+
+  Tycho, 122, 131.
+
+
+  Upsilon Tauri, 100.
+
+  Uranus, discovery of, 19.
+    how to find, 142.
+
+  Ursa Major, map of, 27.
+    mythology of, 28.
+    stars in the feet of, 28.
+
+  Ursa Minor, map of, 27.
+    mythology of, 28.
+
+
+  Vega, 49.
+
+  Venus, mistaken for artificial light, 2.
+    opera-glass observation of, 139.
+
+  Virgil, description of Taurus, 96.
+
+  Virgo, map of, 50.
+    mythology of, 51.
+
+  Vision, seeing with averted, 13.
+
+  Voltaire, story of "Micromegas," 115.
+
+  Vulpecula, map of, 56.
+
+
+  Webb, Rev. T. W., on telescopes, 5.
+    on 35 M, 18.
+
+  Western Fish, 73.
+
+  Winter, brilliancy of the heavens in, 91.
+    map of the stars of, 92.
+
+  Woman in the Moon, 121.
+
+
+  Zeta Corvi, 25.
+    Cassiopeia, 86.
+    Leonis, 11.
+    Lyrae, 50.
+    Scorpionis, 36.
+    Tauri, a pointer to the Crab Nebula, 97.
+
+  Zi Argus, 116.
+
+  Zodiac, 16.
+
+  Zodiac, divided among the Twelve Apostles, 86.
+    of Dendera, 14.
+
+  Zoellner, estimate of Sirius's light, 46.
+
+
+THE END.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Astronomy with an Opera-glass, by
+Garrett Putman Serviss
+
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