1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
238
239
240
241
242
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267
268
269
270
271
272
273
274
275
276
277
278
279
280
281
282
283
284
285
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304
305
306
307
308
309
310
311
312
313
314
315
316
317
318
319
320
321
322
323
324
325
326
327
328
329
330
331
332
333
334
335
336
337
338
339
340
341
342
343
344
345
346
347
348
349
350
351
352
353
354
355
356
357
358
359
360
361
362
363
364
365
366
367
368
369
370
371
372
373
374
375
376
377
378
379
380
381
382
383
384
385
386
387
388
389
390
391
392
393
394
395
396
397
398
399
400
401
402
403
404
405
406
407
408
409
410
411
412
413
414
415
416
417
418
419
420
421
422
423
424
425
426
427
428
429
430
431
432
433
434
435
436
437
438
439
440
441
442
443
444
445
446
447
448
449
450
451
452
453
454
455
456
457
458
459
460
461
462
463
464
465
466
467
468
469
470
471
472
473
474
475
476
477
478
479
480
481
482
483
484
485
486
487
488
489
490
491
492
493
494
495
496
497
498
499
500
501
502
503
504
505
506
507
508
509
510
511
512
513
514
515
516
517
518
519
520
521
522
523
524
525
526
527
528
529
530
531
532
533
534
535
536
537
538
539
540
541
542
543
544
545
546
547
548
549
550
551
552
553
554
555
556
557
558
559
560
561
562
563
564
565
566
567
568
569
570
571
572
573
574
575
576
577
578
579
580
581
582
583
584
585
586
587
588
589
590
591
592
593
594
595
596
597
598
599
600
601
602
603
604
605
606
607
608
609
610
611
612
613
614
615
616
617
618
619
620
621
622
623
624
625
626
627
628
629
630
631
632
633
634
635
636
637
638
639
640
641
642
643
644
645
646
647
648
649
650
651
652
653
654
655
656
657
658
659
660
661
662
663
664
665
666
667
668
669
670
671
672
673
674
675
676
677
678
679
680
681
682
683
684
685
686
687
688
689
690
691
692
693
694
695
696
697
698
699
700
701
702
703
704
705
706
707
708
709
710
711
712
713
714
715
716
717
718
719
720
721
722
723
724
725
726
727
728
729
730
731
732
733
734
735
736
737
738
739
740
741
742
743
744
745
746
747
748
749
750
751
752
753
754
755
756
757
758
759
760
761
762
763
764
765
766
767
768
769
770
771
772
773
774
775
776
777
778
779
780
781
782
783
784
785
786
787
788
789
790
791
792
793
794
795
796
797
798
799
800
801
802
803
804
805
806
807
808
809
810
811
812
813
814
815
816
817
818
819
820
821
822
823
824
825
826
827
828
829
830
831
832
833
834
835
836
837
838
839
840
841
842
843
844
845
846
847
848
849
850
851
852
853
854
855
856
857
858
859
860
861
862
863
864
865
866
867
868
869
870
871
872
873
874
875
876
877
878
879
880
881
882
883
884
885
886
887
888
889
890
891
892
893
894
895
896
897
898
899
900
901
902
903
904
905
906
907
908
909
910
911
912
913
914
915
916
917
918
919
920
921
922
923
924
925
926
927
928
929
930
931
932
933
934
935
936
937
938
939
940
941
942
943
944
945
946
947
948
949
950
951
952
953
954
955
956
957
958
959
960
961
962
963
964
965
966
967
968
969
970
971
972
973
974
975
976
977
978
979
980
981
982
983
984
985
986
987
988
989
990
991
992
993
994
995
996
997
998
999
1000
1001
1002
1003
1004
1005
1006
1007
1008
1009
1010
1011
1012
1013
1014
1015
1016
1017
1018
1019
1020
1021
1022
1023
1024
1025
1026
1027
1028
1029
1030
1031
1032
1033
1034
1035
1036
1037
1038
1039
1040
1041
1042
1043
1044
1045
1046
1047
1048
1049
1050
1051
1052
1053
1054
1055
1056
1057
1058
1059
1060
1061
1062
1063
1064
1065
1066
1067
1068
1069
1070
1071
1072
1073
1074
1075
1076
1077
1078
1079
1080
1081
1082
1083
1084
1085
1086
1087
1088
1089
1090
1091
1092
1093
1094
1095
1096
1097
1098
1099
1100
1101
1102
1103
1104
1105
1106
1107
1108
1109
1110
1111
1112
1113
1114
1115
1116
1117
1118
1119
1120
1121
1122
1123
1124
1125
1126
1127
1128
1129
1130
1131
1132
1133
1134
1135
1136
1137
1138
1139
1140
1141
1142
1143
1144
1145
1146
1147
1148
1149
1150
1151
1152
1153
1154
1155
1156
1157
1158
1159
1160
1161
1162
1163
1164
1165
1166
1167
1168
1169
1170
1171
1172
1173
1174
1175
1176
1177
1178
1179
1180
1181
1182
1183
1184
1185
1186
1187
1188
1189
1190
1191
1192
1193
1194
1195
1196
1197
1198
1199
1200
1201
1202
1203
1204
1205
1206
1207
1208
1209
1210
1211
1212
1213
1214
1215
1216
1217
1218
1219
1220
1221
1222
1223
1224
1225
1226
1227
1228
1229
1230
1231
1232
1233
1234
1235
1236
1237
1238
1239
1240
1241
1242
1243
1244
1245
1246
1247
1248
1249
1250
1251
1252
1253
1254
1255
1256
1257
1258
1259
1260
1261
1262
1263
1264
1265
1266
1267
1268
1269
1270
1271
1272
1273
1274
1275
1276
1277
1278
1279
1280
1281
1282
1283
1284
1285
1286
1287
1288
1289
1290
1291
1292
1293
1294
1295
1296
1297
1298
1299
1300
1301
1302
1303
1304
1305
1306
1307
1308
1309
1310
1311
1312
1313
1314
1315
1316
1317
1318
1319
1320
1321
1322
1323
1324
1325
1326
1327
1328
1329
1330
1331
1332
1333
1334
1335
1336
1337
1338
1339
1340
1341
1342
1343
1344
1345
1346
1347
1348
1349
1350
1351
1352
1353
1354
1355
1356
1357
1358
1359
1360
1361
1362
1363
1364
1365
1366
1367
1368
1369
1370
1371
1372
1373
1374
1375
1376
1377
1378
1379
1380
1381
1382
1383
1384
1385
1386
1387
1388
1389
1390
1391
1392
1393
1394
1395
1396
1397
1398
1399
1400
1401
1402
1403
1404
1405
1406
1407
1408
1409
1410
1411
1412
1413
1414
1415
1416
1417
1418
1419
1420
1421
1422
1423
1424
1425
1426
1427
1428
1429
1430
1431
1432
1433
1434
1435
1436
1437
1438
1439
1440
1441
1442
1443
1444
1445
1446
1447
1448
1449
1450
1451
1452
1453
1454
1455
1456
1457
1458
1459
1460
1461
1462
1463
1464
1465
1466
1467
1468
1469
1470
1471
1472
1473
1474
1475
1476
1477
1478
1479
1480
1481
1482
1483
1484
1485
1486
1487
1488
1489
1490
1491
1492
1493
1494
1495
1496
1497
1498
1499
1500
1501
1502
1503
1504
1505
1506
1507
1508
1509
1510
1511
1512
1513
1514
1515
1516
1517
1518
1519
1520
1521
1522
1523
1524
1525
1526
1527
1528
1529
1530
1531
1532
1533
1534
1535
1536
1537
1538
1539
1540
1541
1542
1543
1544
1545
1546
1547
1548
1549
1550
1551
1552
1553
1554
1555
1556
1557
1558
1559
1560
1561
1562
1563
1564
1565
1566
1567
1568
1569
1570
1571
1572
1573
1574
1575
1576
1577
1578
1579
1580
1581
1582
1583
1584
1585
1586
1587
1588
1589
1590
1591
1592
1593
1594
1595
1596
1597
1598
1599
1600
1601
1602
1603
1604
1605
1606
1607
1608
1609
1610
1611
1612
1613
1614
1615
1616
1617
1618
1619
1620
1621
1622
1623
1624
1625
1626
1627
1628
1629
1630
1631
1632
1633
1634
1635
1636
1637
1638
1639
1640
1641
1642
1643
1644
1645
1646
1647
1648
1649
1650
1651
1652
1653
1654
1655
1656
1657
1658
1659
1660
1661
1662
1663
1664
1665
1666
1667
1668
1669
1670
1671
1672
1673
1674
1675
1676
1677
1678
1679
1680
1681
1682
1683
1684
1685
1686
1687
1688
1689
1690
1691
1692
1693
1694
1695
1696
1697
1698
1699
1700
1701
1702
1703
1704
1705
1706
1707
1708
1709
1710
1711
1712
1713
1714
1715
1716
1717
1718
1719
1720
1721
1722
1723
1724
1725
1726
1727
1728
1729
1730
1731
1732
1733
1734
1735
1736
1737
1738
1739
1740
1741
1742
1743
1744
1745
1746
1747
1748
1749
1750
1751
1752
1753
1754
1755
1756
1757
1758
1759
1760
1761
1762
1763
1764
1765
1766
1767
1768
1769
1770
1771
1772
1773
1774
1775
1776
1777
1778
1779
1780
1781
1782
1783
1784
1785
1786
1787
1788
1789
1790
1791
1792
1793
1794
1795
1796
1797
1798
1799
1800
1801
1802
1803
1804
1805
1806
1807
1808
1809
1810
1811
1812
1813
1814
1815
1816
1817
1818
1819
1820
1821
1822
1823
1824
1825
1826
1827
1828
1829
1830
1831
1832
1833
1834
1835
1836
1837
1838
1839
1840
1841
1842
1843
1844
1845
1846
1847
1848
1849
1850
1851
1852
1853
1854
1855
1856
1857
1858
1859
1860
1861
1862
1863
1864
1865
1866
1867
1868
1869
1870
1871
1872
1873
1874
1875
1876
1877
1878
1879
1880
1881
1882
1883
1884
1885
1886
1887
1888
1889
1890
1891
1892
1893
1894
1895
1896
1897
1898
1899
1900
1901
1902
1903
1904
1905
1906
1907
1908
1909
1910
1911
1912
1913
1914
1915
1916
1917
1918
1919
1920
1921
1922
1923
1924
1925
1926
1927
1928
1929
1930
1931
1932
1933
1934
1935
1936
1937
1938
1939
1940
1941
1942
1943
1944
1945
1946
1947
1948
1949
1950
1951
1952
1953
1954
1955
1956
1957
1958
1959
1960
1961
1962
1963
1964
1965
1966
1967
1968
1969
1970
1971
1972
1973
1974
1975
1976
1977
1978
1979
1980
1981
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025
2026
2027
2028
2029
2030
2031
2032
2033
2034
2035
2036
2037
2038
2039
2040
2041
2042
2043
2044
2045
2046
2047
2048
2049
2050
2051
2052
2053
2054
2055
2056
2057
2058
2059
2060
2061
2062
2063
2064
2065
2066
2067
2068
2069
2070
2071
2072
2073
2074
2075
2076
2077
2078
2079
2080
2081
2082
2083
2084
2085
2086
2087
2088
2089
2090
2091
2092
2093
2094
2095
2096
2097
2098
2099
2100
2101
2102
2103
2104
2105
2106
2107
2108
2109
2110
2111
2112
2113
2114
2115
2116
2117
2118
2119
2120
2121
2122
2123
2124
2125
2126
2127
2128
2129
2130
2131
2132
2133
2134
2135
2136
2137
2138
2139
2140
2141
2142
2143
2144
2145
2146
2147
2148
2149
2150
2151
2152
2153
2154
2155
2156
2157
2158
2159
2160
2161
2162
2163
2164
2165
2166
2167
2168
2169
2170
2171
2172
2173
2174
2175
2176
2177
2178
2179
2180
2181
2182
2183
2184
2185
2186
2187
2188
2189
2190
2191
2192
2193
2194
2195
2196
2197
2198
2199
2200
2201
2202
2203
2204
2205
2206
2207
2208
2209
2210
2211
2212
2213
2214
2215
2216
2217
2218
2219
2220
2221
2222
2223
2224
2225
2226
2227
2228
2229
2230
2231
2232
2233
2234
2235
2236
2237
2238
2239
2240
2241
2242
2243
2244
2245
2246
2247
2248
2249
2250
2251
2252
2253
2254
2255
2256
2257
2258
2259
2260
2261
2262
2263
2264
2265
2266
2267
2268
2269
2270
2271
2272
2273
2274
2275
2276
2277
2278
2279
2280
2281
2282
2283
2284
2285
2286
2287
2288
2289
2290
2291
2292
2293
2294
2295
2296
2297
2298
2299
2300
2301
2302
2303
2304
2305
2306
2307
2308
2309
2310
2311
2312
2313
2314
2315
2316
2317
2318
2319
2320
2321
2322
2323
2324
2325
2326
2327
2328
2329
2330
2331
2332
2333
2334
2335
2336
2337
2338
2339
2340
2341
2342
2343
2344
2345
2346
2347
2348
2349
2350
2351
2352
2353
2354
2355
2356
2357
2358
2359
2360
2361
2362
2363
2364
2365
2366
2367
2368
2369
2370
2371
2372
2373
2374
2375
2376
2377
2378
2379
2380
2381
2382
2383
2384
2385
2386
2387
2388
2389
2390
2391
2392
2393
2394
2395
2396
2397
2398
2399
2400
2401
2402
2403
2404
2405
2406
2407
2408
2409
2410
2411
2412
2413
2414
2415
2416
2417
2418
2419
2420
2421
2422
2423
2424
2425
2426
2427
2428
2429
2430
2431
2432
2433
2434
2435
2436
2437
2438
2439
2440
2441
2442
2443
2444
2445
2446
2447
2448
2449
2450
2451
2452
2453
2454
2455
2456
2457
2458
2459
2460
2461
2462
2463
2464
2465
2466
2467
2468
2469
2470
2471
2472
2473
2474
2475
2476
2477
2478
2479
2480
2481
2482
2483
2484
2485
2486
2487
2488
2489
2490
2491
2492
2493
2494
2495
2496
2497
2498
2499
2500
2501
2502
2503
2504
2505
2506
2507
2508
2509
2510
2511
2512
2513
2514
2515
2516
2517
2518
2519
2520
2521
2522
2523
2524
2525
2526
2527
2528
2529
2530
2531
2532
2533
2534
2535
2536
2537
2538
2539
2540
2541
2542
2543
2544
2545
2546
2547
2548
2549
2550
2551
2552
2553
2554
2555
2556
2557
2558
2559
2560
2561
2562
2563
2564
2565
2566
2567
2568
2569
2570
2571
2572
2573
2574
2575
2576
2577
2578
2579
2580
2581
2582
2583
2584
2585
2586
2587
2588
2589
2590
2591
2592
2593
2594
2595
2596
2597
2598
2599
2600
2601
2602
2603
2604
2605
2606
2607
2608
2609
2610
2611
2612
2613
2614
2615
2616
2617
2618
2619
2620
2621
2622
2623
2624
2625
2626
2627
2628
2629
2630
2631
2632
2633
2634
2635
2636
2637
2638
2639
2640
2641
2642
2643
2644
2645
2646
2647
2648
2649
2650
2651
2652
2653
2654
2655
2656
2657
2658
2659
2660
2661
2662
2663
2664
2665
2666
2667
2668
2669
2670
2671
2672
2673
2674
2675
2676
2677
2678
2679
2680
2681
2682
2683
2684
2685
2686
2687
2688
2689
2690
2691
2692
2693
2694
2695
2696
2697
2698
2699
2700
2701
2702
2703
2704
2705
2706
2707
2708
2709
2710
2711
2712
2713
2714
2715
2716
2717
2718
2719
2720
2721
2722
2723
2724
2725
2726
2727
2728
2729
2730
2731
2732
2733
2734
2735
2736
2737
2738
2739
2740
2741
2742
2743
2744
2745
2746
2747
2748
2749
2750
2751
2752
2753
2754
2755
2756
2757
2758
2759
2760
2761
2762
2763
2764
2765
2766
2767
2768
2769
2770
2771
2772
2773
2774
2775
2776
2777
2778
2779
2780
2781
2782
2783
2784
2785
2786
2787
2788
2789
2790
2791
2792
2793
2794
2795
2796
2797
2798
2799
2800
2801
2802
2803
2804
2805
2806
2807
2808
2809
2810
2811
2812
2813
2814
2815
2816
2817
2818
2819
2820
2821
2822
2823
2824
2825
2826
2827
2828
2829
2830
2831
2832
2833
2834
2835
2836
2837
2838
2839
2840
2841
2842
2843
2844
2845
2846
2847
2848
2849
2850
2851
2852
2853
2854
2855
2856
2857
2858
2859
2860
2861
2862
2863
2864
2865
2866
2867
2868
2869
2870
2871
2872
2873
2874
2875
2876
2877
2878
2879
2880
2881
2882
2883
2884
2885
2886
2887
2888
2889
2890
2891
2892
2893
2894
2895
2896
2897
2898
2899
2900
2901
2902
2903
2904
2905
2906
2907
2908
2909
2910
2911
2912
2913
2914
2915
2916
2917
2918
2919
2920
2921
2922
2923
2924
2925
2926
2927
2928
2929
2930
2931
2932
2933
2934
2935
2936
2937
2938
2939
2940
2941
2942
2943
2944
2945
2946
2947
2948
2949
2950
2951
2952
2953
2954
2955
2956
2957
2958
2959
2960
2961
2962
2963
2964
2965
2966
2967
2968
2969
2970
2971
2972
2973
2974
2975
2976
2977
2978
2979
2980
2981
2982
2983
2984
2985
2986
2987
2988
2989
2990
2991
2992
2993
2994
2995
2996
2997
2998
2999
3000
3001
3002
3003
3004
3005
3006
3007
3008
3009
3010
3011
3012
3013
3014
3015
3016
3017
3018
3019
3020
3021
3022
3023
3024
3025
3026
3027
3028
3029
3030
3031
3032
3033
3034
3035
3036
3037
3038
3039
3040
3041
3042
3043
3044
3045
3046
3047
3048
3049
3050
3051
3052
3053
3054
3055
3056
3057
3058
3059
3060
3061
3062
3063
3064
3065
3066
3067
3068
3069
3070
3071
3072
3073
3074
3075
3076
3077
3078
3079
3080
3081
3082
3083
3084
3085
3086
3087
3088
3089
3090
3091
3092
3093
3094
3095
3096
3097
3098
3099
3100
3101
3102
3103
3104
3105
3106
3107
3108
3109
3110
3111
3112
3113
3114
3115
3116
3117
3118
3119
3120
3121
3122
3123
3124
3125
3126
3127
3128
3129
3130
3131
3132
3133
3134
3135
3136
3137
3138
3139
3140
3141
3142
3143
3144
3145
3146
3147
3148
3149
3150
3151
3152
3153
3154
3155
3156
3157
3158
3159
3160
3161
3162
3163
3164
3165
3166
3167
3168
3169
3170
3171
3172
3173
3174
3175
3176
3177
3178
3179
3180
3181
3182
3183
3184
3185
3186
3187
3188
3189
3190
3191
3192
3193
3194
3195
3196
3197
3198
3199
3200
3201
3202
3203
3204
3205
3206
3207
3208
3209
3210
3211
3212
3213
3214
3215
3216
3217
3218
3219
3220
3221
3222
3223
3224
3225
3226
3227
3228
3229
3230
3231
3232
3233
3234
3235
3236
3237
3238
3239
3240
3241
3242
3243
3244
3245
3246
3247
3248
3249
3250
3251
3252
3253
3254
3255
3256
3257
3258
3259
3260
3261
3262
3263
3264
3265
3266
3267
3268
3269
3270
3271
3272
3273
3274
3275
3276
3277
3278
3279
3280
3281
3282
3283
3284
3285
3286
3287
3288
3289
3290
3291
3292
3293
3294
3295
3296
3297
3298
3299
3300
3301
3302
3303
3304
3305
3306
3307
3308
3309
3310
3311
3312
3313
3314
3315
3316
3317
3318
3319
3320
3321
3322
3323
3324
3325
3326
3327
3328
3329
3330
3331
3332
3333
3334
3335
3336
3337
3338
3339
3340
3341
3342
3343
3344
3345
3346
3347
3348
3349
3350
3351
3352
3353
3354
3355
3356
3357
3358
3359
3360
3361
3362
3363
3364
3365
3366
3367
3368
3369
3370
3371
3372
3373
3374
3375
3376
3377
3378
3379
3380
3381
3382
3383
3384
3385
3386
3387
3388
3389
3390
3391
3392
3393
3394
3395
3396
3397
3398
3399
3400
3401
3402
3403
3404
3405
3406
3407
3408
3409
3410
3411
3412
3413
3414
3415
3416
3417
3418
3419
3420
3421
3422
3423
3424
3425
3426
3427
3428
3429
3430
3431
3432
3433
3434
3435
3436
3437
3438
3439
3440
3441
3442
3443
3444
3445
3446
3447
3448
3449
3450
3451
3452
3453
3454
3455
3456
3457
3458
3459
3460
3461
3462
3463
3464
3465
3466
3467
3468
3469
3470
3471
3472
3473
3474
3475
3476
3477
3478
3479
3480
3481
3482
3483
3484
3485
3486
3487
3488
3489
3490
3491
3492
3493
3494
3495
3496
3497
3498
3499
3500
3501
3502
3503
3504
3505
3506
3507
3508
3509
3510
3511
3512
3513
3514
3515
3516
3517
3518
3519
3520
3521
3522
3523
3524
3525
3526
3527
3528
3529
3530
3531
3532
3533
3534
3535
3536
3537
3538
3539
3540
3541
3542
3543
3544
3545
3546
3547
3548
3549
3550
3551
3552
3553
3554
3555
3556
3557
3558
3559
3560
3561
3562
3563
3564
3565
3566
3567
3568
3569
3570
3571
3572
3573
3574
3575
3576
3577
3578
3579
3580
3581
3582
3583
3584
3585
3586
3587
3588
3589
3590
3591
3592
3593
3594
3595
3596
3597
3598
3599
3600
3601
3602
3603
3604
3605
3606
3607
3608
3609
3610
3611
3612
3613
3614
3615
3616
3617
3618
3619
3620
3621
3622
3623
3624
3625
3626
3627
3628
3629
3630
3631
3632
3633
3634
3635
3636
3637
3638
3639
3640
3641
3642
3643
3644
3645
3646
3647
3648
3649
3650
3651
3652
3653
3654
3655
3656
3657
3658
3659
3660
3661
3662
3663
3664
3665
3666
3667
3668
3669
3670
3671
3672
3673
3674
3675
3676
3677
3678
3679
3680
3681
3682
3683
3684
3685
3686
3687
3688
3689
3690
3691
3692
3693
3694
3695
3696
3697
3698
3699
3700
3701
3702
3703
3704
3705
3706
3707
3708
3709
3710
3711
3712
3713
3714
3715
3716
3717
3718
3719
3720
3721
3722
3723
3724
3725
3726
3727
3728
3729
3730
3731
3732
3733
3734
3735
3736
3737
3738
3739
3740
3741
3742
3743
3744
3745
3746
3747
3748
3749
3750
3751
3752
3753
3754
3755
3756
3757
3758
3759
3760
3761
3762
3763
3764
3765
3766
3767
3768
3769
3770
3771
3772
3773
3774
3775
3776
3777
3778
3779
3780
3781
3782
3783
3784
3785
3786
3787
3788
3789
3790
3791
3792
3793
3794
3795
3796
3797
3798
3799
3800
3801
3802
3803
3804
3805
3806
3807
3808
3809
3810
3811
3812
3813
3814
3815
3816
3817
3818
3819
3820
3821
3822
3823
3824
3825
3826
3827
3828
3829
3830
3831
3832
3833
3834
3835
3836
3837
3838
3839
3840
3841
3842
3843
3844
3845
3846
3847
3848
3849
3850
3851
3852
3853
3854
3855
3856
3857
3858
3859
3860
3861
3862
3863
3864
3865
3866
3867
3868
3869
3870
3871
3872
3873
3874
3875
3876
3877
3878
3879
3880
3881
3882
3883
3884
3885
3886
3887
3888
3889
3890
3891
3892
3893
3894
3895
3896
3897
3898
3899
3900
3901
3902
3903
3904
3905
3906
3907
3908
3909
3910
3911
3912
3913
3914
3915
3916
3917
3918
3919
3920
3921
3922
3923
3924
3925
3926
3927
3928
3929
3930
3931
3932
3933
3934
3935
3936
3937
3938
3939
3940
3941
3942
3943
3944
3945
3946
3947
3948
3949
3950
3951
3952
3953
3954
3955
3956
3957
3958
3959
3960
3961
3962
3963
3964
3965
3966
3967
3968
3969
3970
3971
3972
3973
3974
3975
3976
3977
3978
3979
3980
3981
3982
3983
3984
3985
3986
3987
3988
3989
3990
3991
3992
3993
3994
3995
3996
3997
3998
3999
4000
4001
4002
4003
4004
4005
4006
4007
4008
4009
4010
4011
4012
4013
4014
4015
4016
4017
4018
4019
4020
4021
4022
4023
4024
4025
4026
4027
4028
4029
4030
4031
4032
4033
4034
4035
4036
4037
4038
4039
4040
4041
4042
4043
4044
4045
4046
4047
4048
4049
4050
4051
4052
4053
4054
4055
4056
4057
4058
4059
4060
4061
4062
4063
4064
4065
4066
4067
4068
4069
4070
4071
4072
4073
4074
4075
4076
4077
4078
4079
4080
4081
4082
4083
4084
4085
4086
4087
4088
4089
4090
4091
4092
4093
4094
4095
4096
4097
4098
4099
4100
4101
4102
4103
4104
4105
4106
4107
4108
4109
4110
4111
4112
4113
4114
4115
4116
4117
4118
4119
4120
4121
4122
4123
4124
4125
4126
4127
4128
4129
4130
4131
4132
4133
4134
4135
4136
4137
4138
4139
4140
4141
4142
4143
4144
4145
4146
4147
4148
4149
4150
4151
4152
4153
4154
4155
4156
4157
4158
4159
4160
4161
4162
4163
4164
4165
4166
4167
4168
4169
4170
4171
4172
4173
4174
4175
4176
4177
4178
4179
4180
4181
4182
4183
4184
4185
4186
4187
4188
4189
4190
4191
4192
4193
4194
4195
4196
4197
4198
4199
4200
4201
4202
4203
4204
4205
4206
4207
4208
4209
4210
4211
4212
4213
4214
4215
4216
4217
4218
4219
4220
4221
4222
4223
4224
4225
4226
4227
4228
4229
4230
4231
4232
4233
4234
4235
4236
4237
4238
4239
4240
4241
4242
4243
4244
4245
4246
4247
4248
4249
4250
4251
4252
4253
4254
4255
4256
4257
4258
4259
4260
4261
4262
4263
4264
4265
4266
4267
4268
4269
4270
4271
4272
4273
4274
4275
4276
4277
4278
4279
4280
4281
4282
4283
4284
4285
4286
4287
4288
4289
4290
4291
4292
4293
4294
4295
4296
4297
4298
4299
4300
4301
4302
4303
4304
4305
4306
4307
4308
4309
4310
4311
4312
4313
4314
4315
4316
4317
4318
4319
4320
4321
4322
4323
4324
4325
4326
4327
4328
4329
4330
4331
4332
4333
4334
4335
4336
4337
4338
4339
4340
4341
4342
4343
4344
4345
4346
4347
4348
4349
4350
4351
4352
4353
4354
4355
4356
4357
4358
4359
4360
4361
4362
4363
4364
4365
4366
4367
4368
4369
4370
4371
4372
4373
4374
4375
4376
4377
4378
4379
4380
4381
4382
4383
4384
4385
4386
4387
4388
4389
4390
4391
4392
4393
4394
4395
4396
4397
4398
4399
4400
4401
4402
4403
4404
4405
4406
4407
4408
4409
4410
4411
4412
4413
4414
4415
4416
4417
4418
4419
4420
4421
4422
4423
4424
4425
4426
4427
4428
4429
4430
4431
4432
4433
4434
4435
4436
4437
4438
4439
4440
4441
4442
4443
4444
4445
4446
4447
4448
4449
4450
4451
4452
4453
4454
4455
4456
4457
4458
4459
4460
4461
4462
4463
4464
4465
4466
4467
4468
4469
4470
4471
4472
4473
4474
4475
4476
4477
4478
4479
4480
4481
4482
4483
4484
4485
4486
4487
4488
4489
4490
4491
4492
4493
4494
4495
4496
4497
4498
4499
4500
4501
4502
4503
4504
4505
4506
4507
4508
4509
4510
4511
4512
4513
4514
4515
4516
4517
4518
4519
4520
4521
4522
4523
4524
4525
4526
4527
4528
4529
4530
4531
4532
4533
4534
4535
4536
4537
4538
4539
4540
4541
4542
4543
4544
4545
4546
4547
4548
4549
4550
4551
4552
4553
4554
4555
4556
4557
4558
4559
4560
4561
4562
4563
4564
4565
4566
4567
4568
4569
4570
4571
4572
4573
4574
4575
4576
4577
4578
4579
4580
4581
4582
4583
4584
4585
4586
4587
4588
4589
4590
4591
4592
4593
4594
4595
4596
4597
4598
4599
4600
4601
4602
4603
4604
4605
4606
4607
4608
4609
4610
4611
4612
4613
4614
4615
4616
4617
4618
4619
4620
4621
4622
4623
4624
4625
4626
4627
4628
4629
4630
4631
4632
4633
4634
4635
4636
4637
4638
4639
4640
4641
4642
4643
4644
4645
4646
4647
4648
4649
4650
4651
4652
4653
4654
4655
4656
4657
4658
4659
4660
4661
4662
4663
4664
4665
4666
4667
4668
4669
4670
4671
4672
4673
4674
4675
4676
4677
4678
4679
4680
4681
4682
4683
4684
4685
4686
4687
4688
4689
4690
4691
4692
4693
4694
4695
4696
4697
4698
4699
4700
4701
4702
4703
4704
4705
4706
4707
4708
4709
4710
4711
4712
4713
4714
4715
4716
4717
4718
4719
4720
4721
4722
4723
4724
4725
4726
4727
4728
4729
4730
4731
4732
4733
4734
4735
4736
4737
4738
4739
4740
4741
4742
4743
4744
4745
4746
4747
4748
4749
4750
4751
4752
4753
4754
4755
4756
4757
4758
4759
4760
4761
4762
4763
4764
4765
4766
4767
4768
4769
4770
4771
4772
4773
4774
4775
4776
4777
4778
4779
4780
4781
4782
4783
4784
4785
4786
4787
4788
4789
4790
4791
4792
4793
4794
4795
4796
4797
4798
4799
4800
4801
4802
4803
4804
4805
4806
4807
4808
4809
4810
4811
4812
4813
4814
4815
4816
4817
4818
4819
4820
4821
4822
4823
4824
4825
4826
4827
4828
4829
4830
4831
4832
4833
4834
4835
4836
4837
4838
4839
4840
4841
4842
4843
4844
4845
4846
4847
4848
4849
4850
4851
4852
4853
4854
4855
4856
4857
4858
4859
4860
4861
4862
4863
4864
4865
4866
4867
4868
4869
4870
4871
4872
4873
4874
4875
4876
4877
4878
4879
4880
4881
4882
4883
4884
4885
4886
4887
4888
4889
4890
4891
4892
4893
4894
4895
4896
4897
4898
4899
4900
4901
4902
4903
4904
4905
4906
4907
4908
4909
4910
4911
4912
4913
4914
4915
4916
4917
4918
4919
4920
4921
4922
4923
4924
4925
4926
4927
4928
4929
4930
4931
4932
4933
4934
4935
4936
4937
4938
4939
4940
4941
4942
4943
4944
4945
4946
4947
4948
4949
4950
4951
4952
4953
4954
4955
4956
4957
4958
4959
4960
4961
4962
4963
4964
4965
4966
4967
4968
4969
4970
4971
4972
4973
4974
4975
4976
4977
4978
4979
4980
4981
4982
4983
4984
4985
4986
4987
4988
4989
4990
4991
4992
4993
4994
4995
4996
4997
4998
4999
5000
5001
5002
5003
5004
5005
5006
5007
5008
5009
5010
5011
5012
5013
5014
5015
5016
5017
5018
5019
5020
5021
5022
5023
5024
5025
5026
5027
5028
5029
5030
5031
5032
5033
5034
5035
5036
5037
5038
5039
5040
5041
5042
5043
5044
5045
5046
5047
5048
5049
5050
5051
5052
5053
5054
5055
5056
5057
5058
5059
5060
5061
5062
5063
5064
5065
5066
5067
5068
5069
5070
5071
5072
5073
5074
5075
5076
5077
5078
5079
5080
5081
5082
5083
5084
5085
5086
5087
5088
5089
5090
5091
5092
5093
5094
5095
5096
5097
5098
5099
5100
5101
5102
5103
5104
5105
5106
5107
5108
5109
5110
5111
5112
5113
5114
5115
5116
5117
5118
5119
5120
5121
5122
5123
5124
5125
5126
5127
5128
5129
5130
5131
5132
5133
5134
5135
5136
5137
5138
5139
5140
5141
5142
5143
5144
5145
5146
5147
5148
5149
5150
5151
5152
5153
5154
5155
5156
5157
5158
5159
5160
5161
5162
5163
5164
5165
5166
5167
5168
5169
5170
5171
5172
5173
5174
5175
5176
5177
5178
5179
5180
5181
5182
5183
5184
5185
5186
5187
5188
5189
5190
5191
5192
5193
5194
5195
5196
5197
5198
5199
5200
5201
5202
5203
5204
5205
5206
5207
5208
5209
5210
5211
5212
5213
5214
5215
5216
5217
5218
5219
5220
5221
5222
5223
5224
5225
5226
5227
5228
5229
5230
5231
5232
5233
5234
5235
5236
5237
5238
5239
5240
5241
5242
5243
5244
5245
5246
5247
5248
5249
5250
5251
5252
5253
5254
5255
5256
5257
5258
5259
5260
5261
5262
5263
5264
5265
5266
5267
5268
5269
5270
5271
5272
5273
5274
5275
5276
5277
5278
5279
5280
5281
5282
5283
5284
5285
5286
5287
5288
5289
5290
5291
5292
5293
5294
5295
5296
5297
5298
5299
5300
5301
5302
5303
5304
5305
5306
5307
5308
5309
5310
5311
5312
5313
5314
5315
5316
5317
5318
5319
5320
5321
5322
5323
5324
5325
5326
5327
5328
5329
5330
5331
5332
5333
5334
5335
5336
5337
5338
5339
5340
5341
5342
5343
5344
5345
5346
5347
5348
5349
5350
5351
5352
5353
5354
5355
5356
5357
5358
5359
5360
5361
5362
5363
5364
5365
5366
5367
5368
5369
5370
5371
5372
5373
5374
5375
5376
5377
5378
5379
5380
5381
5382
5383
5384
5385
5386
5387
5388
5389
5390
5391
5392
5393
5394
5395
5396
5397
5398
5399
5400
5401
5402
5403
5404
5405
5406
5407
5408
5409
5410
5411
5412
5413
5414
5415
5416
5417
5418
5419
5420
5421
5422
5423
5424
5425
5426
5427
5428
5429
5430
5431
5432
5433
5434
5435
5436
5437
5438
5439
5440
5441
5442
5443
5444
5445
5446
5447
5448
5449
5450
5451
5452
5453
5454
5455
5456
5457
5458
5459
5460
5461
5462
5463
5464
5465
5466
5467
5468
5469
5470
5471
5472
5473
5474
5475
5476
5477
5478
5479
5480
5481
5482
5483
5484
5485
5486
5487
5488
5489
5490
5491
5492
5493
5494
5495
5496
5497
5498
5499
5500
5501
5502
5503
5504
5505
5506
5507
5508
5509
5510
5511
5512
5513
5514
5515
5516
5517
5518
5519
5520
5521
5522
5523
5524
5525
5526
5527
5528
5529
5530
5531
5532
5533
5534
5535
5536
5537
5538
5539
5540
5541
5542
5543
5544
5545
5546
5547
5548
5549
5550
5551
5552
5553
5554
5555
5556
5557
5558
5559
5560
5561
5562
5563
5564
5565
5566
5567
5568
5569
5570
5571
5572
5573
5574
5575
5576
5577
5578
5579
5580
5581
5582
5583
5584
5585
5586
5587
5588
5589
5590
5591
5592
5593
5594
5595
5596
5597
5598
5599
5600
5601
5602
5603
5604
5605
5606
5607
5608
5609
5610
5611
5612
5613
5614
5615
5616
5617
5618
5619
5620
5621
5622
5623
5624
5625
5626
5627
5628
5629
5630
5631
5632
5633
5634
5635
5636
5637
5638
5639
5640
5641
5642
5643
5644
5645
5646
5647
5648
5649
5650
5651
5652
5653
5654
5655
5656
5657
5658
5659
5660
5661
5662
5663
5664
5665
5666
5667
5668
5669
5670
5671
5672
5673
5674
5675
5676
5677
5678
5679
5680
5681
5682
5683
5684
5685
5686
5687
5688
5689
5690
5691
5692
5693
5694
5695
5696
5697
5698
5699
5700
5701
5702
5703
5704
5705
5706
5707
5708
5709
5710
5711
5712
5713
5714
5715
5716
5717
5718
5719
5720
5721
5722
5723
5724
5725
5726
5727
5728
5729
5730
5731
5732
5733
5734
5735
5736
5737
5738
5739
5740
5741
5742
5743
5744
5745
5746
5747
5748
5749
5750
5751
5752
5753
5754
5755
5756
5757
5758
5759
5760
5761
5762
5763
5764
5765
5766
5767
5768
5769
5770
5771
5772
5773
5774
5775
5776
5777
5778
5779
5780
5781
5782
5783
5784
5785
5786
5787
5788
5789
5790
5791
5792
5793
5794
5795
5796
5797
5798
5799
5800
5801
5802
5803
5804
5805
5806
5807
5808
5809
5810
5811
5812
5813
5814
5815
5816
5817
5818
5819
5820
5821
5822
5823
5824
5825
5826
5827
5828
5829
5830
5831
5832
5833
5834
5835
5836
5837
5838
5839
5840
5841
5842
5843
5844
5845
5846
5847
5848
5849
5850
5851
5852
5853
5854
5855
5856
5857
5858
5859
5860
5861
5862
5863
5864
5865
5866
5867
5868
5869
5870
5871
5872
5873
5874
5875
5876
5877
5878
5879
5880
5881
5882
5883
5884
5885
5886
5887
5888
5889
5890
5891
5892
5893
5894
5895
5896
5897
5898
5899
5900
5901
5902
5903
5904
5905
5906
5907
5908
5909
5910
5911
5912
5913
5914
5915
5916
5917
5918
5919
5920
5921
5922
5923
5924
5925
5926
5927
5928
5929
5930
5931
5932
5933
5934
5935
5936
5937
5938
5939
5940
5941
5942
5943
5944
5945
5946
5947
5948
5949
5950
5951
5952
5953
5954
5955
5956
5957
5958
5959
5960
5961
5962
5963
5964
5965
5966
5967
5968
5969
5970
5971
5972
5973
5974
5975
5976
5977
5978
5979
5980
5981
5982
5983
5984
5985
5986
5987
5988
5989
5990
5991
5992
5993
5994
5995
5996
5997
5998
5999
6000
6001
6002
6003
6004
6005
6006
6007
6008
6009
6010
6011
6012
6013
6014
6015
6016
6017
6018
6019
6020
6021
6022
6023
6024
6025
6026
6027
6028
6029
6030
6031
6032
6033
6034
6035
6036
6037
6038
6039
6040
6041
6042
6043
6044
6045
6046
6047
6048
6049
6050
6051
6052
6053
6054
6055
6056
6057
6058
6059
6060
6061
6062
6063
6064
6065
6066
6067
6068
6069
6070
6071
6072
6073
6074
6075
6076
6077
6078
6079
6080
6081
6082
6083
6084
6085
6086
6087
6088
6089
6090
6091
6092
6093
6094
6095
6096
6097
6098
6099
6100
6101
6102
6103
6104
6105
6106
6107
6108
6109
6110
6111
6112
6113
6114
6115
6116
6117
6118
6119
6120
6121
6122
6123
6124
6125
6126
6127
6128
6129
6130
6131
6132
6133
6134
6135
6136
6137
6138
6139
6140
6141
6142
6143
6144
6145
6146
6147
6148
6149
6150
6151
6152
6153
6154
6155
6156
6157
6158
6159
6160
6161
6162
6163
6164
6165
6166
6167
6168
6169
6170
6171
6172
6173
6174
6175
6176
6177
6178
6179
6180
6181
6182
6183
6184
6185
6186
6187
6188
6189
6190
6191
6192
6193
6194
6195
6196
6197
6198
6199
6200
6201
6202
6203
6204
6205
6206
6207
6208
6209
6210
6211
6212
6213
6214
6215
6216
6217
6218
6219
6220
6221
6222
6223
6224
6225
6226
6227
6228
6229
6230
6231
6232
6233
6234
6235
6236
6237
6238
6239
6240
6241
6242
6243
6244
6245
6246
6247
6248
6249
6250
6251
6252
6253
6254
6255
6256
6257
6258
6259
6260
6261
6262
6263
6264
6265
6266
6267
6268
6269
6270
6271
6272
6273
6274
6275
6276
6277
6278
6279
6280
6281
6282
6283
6284
6285
6286
6287
6288
6289
6290
6291
6292
6293
6294
6295
6296
6297
6298
6299
6300
6301
6302
6303
6304
6305
6306
6307
6308
6309
6310
6311
6312
6313
6314
6315
6316
6317
6318
6319
6320
6321
6322
6323
6324
6325
6326
6327
6328
6329
6330
6331
6332
6333
6334
6335
6336
6337
6338
6339
6340
6341
6342
6343
6344
6345
6346
6347
6348
6349
6350
6351
6352
6353
6354
6355
6356
6357
6358
6359
6360
6361
6362
6363
6364
6365
6366
6367
6368
6369
6370
6371
6372
6373
6374
6375
6376
6377
6378
6379
6380
6381
6382
6383
6384
6385
6386
6387
6388
6389
6390
6391
6392
6393
6394
6395
6396
6397
6398
6399
6400
6401
6402
6403
6404
6405
6406
6407
6408
6409
6410
6411
6412
6413
6414
6415
6416
6417
6418
6419
6420
6421
6422
6423
6424
6425
6426
6427
6428
6429
6430
6431
6432
6433
6434
6435
6436
6437
6438
6439
6440
6441
6442
6443
6444
6445
6446
6447
6448
6449
6450
6451
6452
6453
6454
6455
6456
6457
6458
6459
6460
6461
6462
6463
6464
6465
6466
6467
6468
6469
6470
6471
6472
6473
6474
6475
6476
6477
6478
6479
6480
6481
6482
6483
6484
6485
6486
6487
6488
6489
6490
6491
6492
6493
6494
6495
6496
6497
6498
6499
6500
6501
6502
6503
6504
6505
6506
6507
6508
6509
6510
6511
6512
6513
6514
6515
6516
6517
6518
6519
6520
6521
6522
6523
6524
6525
6526
6527
6528
6529
6530
6531
6532
6533
6534
6535
6536
6537
6538
6539
6540
6541
6542
6543
6544
6545
6546
6547
6548
6549
6550
6551
6552
6553
6554
6555
6556
6557
6558
6559
6560
6561
6562
6563
6564
6565
6566
6567
6568
6569
6570
6571
6572
6573
6574
6575
6576
6577
6578
6579
6580
6581
6582
6583
6584
6585
6586
6587
6588
6589
6590
6591
6592
6593
6594
6595
6596
6597
6598
6599
6600
6601
6602
6603
6604
6605
6606
6607
6608
6609
6610
6611
6612
6613
6614
6615
6616
6617
6618
6619
6620
6621
6622
6623
6624
6625
6626
6627
6628
6629
6630
6631
6632
6633
6634
6635
6636
6637
6638
6639
6640
6641
6642
6643
6644
6645
6646
6647
6648
6649
6650
6651
6652
6653
6654
6655
6656
6657
6658
6659
6660
6661
6662
6663
6664
6665
6666
6667
6668
6669
6670
6671
6672
6673
6674
6675
6676
6677
6678
6679
6680
6681
6682
6683
6684
6685
6686
6687
6688
6689
6690
6691
6692
6693
6694
6695
6696
6697
6698
6699
6700
6701
6702
6703
6704
6705
6706
6707
6708
6709
6710
6711
6712
6713
6714
6715
6716
6717
6718
6719
6720
6721
6722
6723
6724
6725
6726
6727
6728
6729
6730
6731
6732
6733
6734
6735
6736
6737
6738
6739
6740
6741
6742
6743
6744
6745
6746
6747
6748
6749
6750
6751
6752
6753
6754
6755
6756
6757
6758
6759
6760
6761
6762
6763
6764
6765
6766
6767
6768
6769
6770
6771
6772
6773
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN"
"http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd">
<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>
<style type="text/css">
p { margin-top: .75em;
text-align: justify;
text-indent: 1em;
margin-bottom: .75em;
}
h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6 {
text-align: center; /* all headings centered */
clear: both;
}
hr { width: 33%;
margin-top: 2em;
margin-bottom: 2em;
margin-left: auto;
margin-right: auto;
clear: both;
}
table {margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;}
body{margin-left: 10%;
margin-right: 10%;
}
.pagenum { /* uncomment the next line for invisible page numbers */
/* visibility: hidden; */
position: absolute;
left: 92%;
font-size: smaller;
text-align: right;
} /* page numbers */
.noin { text-indent: 0em;}
.blockquot{margin-left: 5%; margin-right: 5%; font-size: 0.9em;}
.sblockquot{margin-left: 15%; margin-right: 15%; font-size: smaller;}
.bb {border-bottom: solid 2px;}
.bl {border-left: solid 2px;}
.bt {border-top: solid 2px;}
.br {border-right: solid 2px;}
.bbox {border: solid 2px;}
.center {text-align: center;}
.smcap {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u {text-decoration: underline;}
.caption {font-weight: bold; font-variant: small-caps; font-size: larger;}
.figcenter {margin: auto; text-align: center; margin-top: 2em; margin-bottom: 2em;}
.figleft {float: left; clear: left; margin-left: 0; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top:
1em; margin-right: 1em; padding: 0; text-align: center;}
.figright {float: right; clear: right; margin-left: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;
margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0; padding: 0; text-align: center;}
.footnotes {border: dashed 1px; margin-top: 2em;}
.footnote {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-size: 0.9em;}
.footnote .label {position: absolute; right: 84%; text-align: right;}
.fnanchor {vertical-align: super; font-size: .8em; text-decoration: none;}
.poem {margin-left:10%; margin-right:10%; text-align: left;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<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> </p>
<h4>A POPULAR INTRODUCTION TO THE<br />
STUDY OF THE STARRY HEAVENS WITH THE<br />
SIMPLEST OF OPTICAL INSTRUMENTS</h4>
<p> </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> </p>
<h5>BY</h5>
<h3>GARRETT P. SERVISS</h3>
<p> </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> </p>
<h5><i>THIRD EDITION</i></h5>
<p> </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> </p>
<h5><span class="smcap">Copyright, 1888,<br />
By D APPLETON AND COMPANY.</span></h5>
<p> </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'> </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'> Popular interest in the phenomena of the heavens.</td></tr>
<tr><td align='justify'> The opera-glass as an instrument of observation for beginners in star-study.</td></tr>
<tr><td align='justify'> Testing an opera-glass.</td></tr>
<tr><td align='left' colspan='2'> </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'> <i>Description of the Constellations</i>—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'> 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'> </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'> <i>Description of the Constellations</i>—Aquila, the Eagle; Boötes, 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 Nebulæ]; Vulpecula, the Little Fox.</td></tr>
<tr><td align='justify'> 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'> </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'> <i>Description of the Constellations</i>—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'> Perseus [Algol, the Demon-Star]; Pisces, the Fishes; Piscis Australis,
the Southern Fish; the Triangles.</td></tr>
<tr><td align='justify'> 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'> </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'> <i>Description of the Constellations</i>—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'> 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'> </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'> 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'> <i>Opera-glass observation of</i>—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—</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—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 formulæ, 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° 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<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° 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.</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 Boötes.</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
(γ). 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 (ζ). 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 (ε), 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 (β) 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 Nemæan 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
Præsepe, 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—</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 scarabæus. 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° 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°. 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 α in the
map is Castor, and the star marked β 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>cortége</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—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.</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 (ξ), Gamma (γ), Nu (ν), Mu (μ), and Eta (η), 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—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—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 Actæon 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 (θ), 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 (δ) 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 (ι) in his left foot.
The stars Epsilon (ε), Zeta (ζ), Eta (η), and Lambda (λ) 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 Boötes. 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 (δ) and Eta (η),
in the upper left-hand corner of the quadrilateral figure of
Corvus, make a striking appearance. The little star Zeta (ζ)
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 (β).
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—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
(β), which is also called Kochab (the star marked α 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—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<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 (α) 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 (β). 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 Phœnicians. 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—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 Boötes 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 Boötes,
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
(σ), 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 (β) in Scorpio,
with the glass. A very pretty pair of stars will be seen
hanging below β. Sweeping downward from this point to
the horizon you will find many beautiful star-fields. The
star marked Nu (ν) 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 nebulæ.
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
nebulæ 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 (μ), 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 μ, marked Zeta (ζ), 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—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 (ζ), Tau (τ), Sigma (σ),
Phi (φ), Lambda (λ), and Mu (μ) 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 μ<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
μ 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 μ—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<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—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—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 (ε) and Delta (δ), and with
the other near the tail. The stars Tau (τ) and Nu (ν) 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 (α), also called Ras Alhague, shines in
his forehead, while Beta (β) and Gamma (γ) mark his right
shoulder. Ophiuchus has been held to represent the famous
physician Æsculapius. 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.</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—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:</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 β
and γ. 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 (θ)
in the tail of Serpens, is a beautiful swarm of little stars,
upon which a field-glass may be used with advantage. The
star θ 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 θ 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—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 (η) 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 (η) and
Zeta (ζ). 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—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.</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 Zöllner'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—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—Vega, the leading brilliant of Lyra,
Arcturus in Boötes, 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 (ε) 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 (ζ), is
also double, the distance between its components being three
quarters of a minute, while the two stars in ε are a little less
than 3½´ apart. The star Beta (β) is remarkably variable in
brightness. You may watch these variations, which run
through a regular period of about 12 days, 21¾ hours, for
yourself. Between Beta and Gamma (γ) 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 Boötes (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 Boötes."<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 (γ) Virginis, although
he will not be able to separate its components without a telescope.
It is a curious fact that the star Epsilon (ε) 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 ε, δ, γ, η, and β,
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>
Nebulæ, 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 nebulæ 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 (ο), Pi (π), 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 η and β Virginis, a little below the line joining them,
and somewhat nearer to η. Both η and ζ 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, α and β, may be readily recognized west of and above
the head of Scorpio. The upper one of the two, β, has a
singular greenish tint, and the lower one, α, 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's Hair." title="" />
<span class="caption">Berenice'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>Boötes, 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 Boötes
was the son of the nymph Calisto, whom Juno, in one of her
customary fits of jealousy, turned into a bear. Boötes, 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>Boötes 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 Boötes. 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 Boötes 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 (η), 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 (α), Epsilon (ε), Gamma (γ), Delta (δ), and
Beta (β), together with some fainter stars lying along the
main beam of the cross between β and γ. The star β, 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 ζ and ε 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 (ο) is very interesting with an opera-glass.
The naked eye sees a little star near it. The glass
throws them wide apart, and divides ο 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.</p>
<p>Sweep around α and γ 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 α, γ, ε, 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 β, γ, ξ, ν, and μ 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 ν 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 γ and β, 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—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 <i>cortége</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 (α), called Giedi, and Beta
β), 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 ε Lyræ, 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 ε Lyræ are of nearly equal brightness,
and are very easily separated and distinguished, but in β
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 (ζ) 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 (α) marks his right shoulder, and Beta (β) his left,
and Gamma (γ), Zeta (ζ), Eta (η), and Pi (π) 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 (τ) 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!</p>
<p>Point a good glass upon the star marked Nu (ν), 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<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 (μ) and Epsilon (ε). 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 (δ) 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 (α) is called Markab; Beta (β) is Scheat,
and Gamma (γ) 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 (π) 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 (α), 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—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—a mere speck, but slowly brightening—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—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, 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
æons 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>rôle</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 (ζ). 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 (ι), Theta (θ),
Lambda (λ), and Kappa (κ). If you are using a powerful
glass, you will be surprised and delighted by what you see.
Below the star Omega (ω), 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 α in Andromeda and β 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 (α), is called Hamal;<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[75]</a></span>
Beta (β) 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 (γ), 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 α, 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 Δ.</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—</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—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 (α), or Alpheratz, in the head, which, as we
have seen, marks one corner of the great Square of Pegasus.
Beta (β), or Mirach, with the smaller stars Mu (μ) and Nu (ν),
form the girdle. The third of the chief stars is Gamma (γ),
or Almaach, situated in the left foot. The little group of
stars designated Lambda (λ), Kappa (κ), and Iota (ι), mark the
extended right hand chained to the rock, and Zeta (ζ) 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 (ν). 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 nebulæ, 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 (γ) 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—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—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 (ζ) 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 (κ)
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—the star Mu, which may be
found about two and a half degrees south of the star Nu (ν).
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 (δ) 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 Phœbus, 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 (γ), 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.</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 (ν). These are the two Omicrons, the upper one being<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[95]</a></span>
ο¹ and the lower one ο². 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 ο² 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 ο¹ and ν. Its companion ο¹, on the contrary, seems
to be almost stationary, so that ο² 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 ο², 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 "golden Horns" of Taurus." title="" />
<span class="caption">The "golden Horns" of Taurus.</span>
</div>
<p>Having admired the star-groups of Eridanus, one of the
prettiest of which is to be seen around Beta (β), 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—</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 (β) 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 (ζ), 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 nebulæ. 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, Celæno, 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 Phœnicia 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—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<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 Celæno.</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, Celæno 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 Celæno 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 Mädler 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.</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 nebulæ
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 nebulæ,
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 (α) or Betelgeuse, one of which is
marked Nu (ν), and another, in the knob of the club, Chi (χ).
I have also, in speaking of Aldebaran, described the contrast
in the colors of Betelgeuse and Beta (β) 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—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 (γ) 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 (θ) 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 π<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 (λ); the others are
Phi (φ) one and two. An opera-glass will show another star
above (λ), and a fifth star below φ<sup>2</sup> which is the farthest of
the two Phis from Lambda. It will also reveal a faint twinkling
between λ and φ<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—a truly marvelous hue for a sun—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 (ν) 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 (ε), which can be seen
in the same field of view with an opera-glass. Between the
stars Delta (δ) and ο¹ and ο² 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 ζ and π 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 η, in Canis Major, is another fine group. The
star π, which is deep yellow or orange, has three little stars
above it, two of which form a pretty pair. The star ξ 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 ξ. The stars μ and κ 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—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—</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—"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. Stöfler.<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 Mädler 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—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 Hæmus 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° 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,<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—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,<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—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.</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—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—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—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.</p>
<p><span class="smcap">The Planets.</span>—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>—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—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—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<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—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—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.</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">
"Queen and huntress chaste and fair,<br />
Seated in thy silver chair,<br />
Now the Sun is laid to sleep,<br />
State in wonted manner keep.<br />
Hesperus entreats thy light,<br />
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 striæ 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 (β 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;">Mädler'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 (α 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 (γ Andromedæ), <a href="#Page_79">79</a>, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>.<br />
<br />
Alphard, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>.<br />
<br />
Alpha Andromedæ, <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;">Libræ, <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;">Ursæ Majoris, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>.</span><br />
<br />
Alpheratz (α Andromedæ), <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 />
Andromedæ, 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 Andromedæ (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;">Libræ, <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;">Lyræ, <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;">Ursæ Minoris (Kochab), <a href="#Page_27">27</a>.</span><br />
<br />
Betelgeuse (α 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 />
Boötes, 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 />
Celæno, <a href="#Page_103">103</a>.<br />
<br />
Central Gulf, <a href="#Page_129">129</a>.<br />
<br />
"Central Sun," Mädler'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 (β 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 (β 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;">Lyræ, <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 Aquilæ, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>.<br />
<br />
<br />
Field-glass, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>.<br />
<br />
Field of the Nebulæ, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>.<br />
<br />
Flammarion, on α 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 Præsepe, <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 Andromedæ, <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 (α 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" (ε 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 (α Arietis), <a href="#Page_74">74</a>.<br />
<br />
Hæmus 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 α 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 Ursæ 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 />
Mädler, 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 (Præsepe), <a href="#Page_15">15</a>.<br />
<br />
Marine glass, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>.<br />
<br />
Markab (α 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 (α 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 (ο 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 (β Andromedæ), <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 />
Nebulæ (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 Nebulæ, <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, nebulæ 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 Andromedæ, <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 />
Præsepe (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 (α 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 (α 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 (β 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 Nebulæ, 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;">Lyræ, <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 />
Zöllner, 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 ***
***** This file should be named 36741-h.htm or 36741-h.zip *****
This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
http://www.gutenberg.org/3/6/7/4/36741/
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)
Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions
will be renamed.
Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no
one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation
(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without
permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules,
set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to
copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to
protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project
Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you
charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you
do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the
rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose
such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and
research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do
practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is
subject to the trademark license, especially commercial
redistribution.
*** START: FULL LICENSE ***
THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK
To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free
distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project
Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project
Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at
http://gutenberg.org/license).
Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm
electronic works
1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm
electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all
the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy
all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession.
If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project
Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the
terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or
entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.
1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be
used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few
things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See
paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project
Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement
and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
works. See paragraph 1.E below.
1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation"
or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project
Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the
collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an
individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are
located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from
copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative
works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg
are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project
Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by
freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of
this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with
the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by
keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project
Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others.
1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in
a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check
the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement
before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or
creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project
Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning
the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United
States.
1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate
access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently
whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the
phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project
Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed,
copied or distributed:
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
1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived
from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is
posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied
and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees
or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work
with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the
work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1
through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the
Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or
1.E.9.
1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted
with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional
terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked
to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the
permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.
1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm
License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.
1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
Gutenberg-tm License.
1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any
word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or
distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than
"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version
posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org),
you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a
copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon
request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other
form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm
License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works
unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided
that
- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method
you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is
owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he
has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the
Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments
must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you
prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax
returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and
sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the
address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to
the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation."
- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm
License. You must require such a user to return or
destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium
and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of
Project Gutenberg-tm works.
- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any
money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days
of receipt of the work.
- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works.
1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm
electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set
forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from
both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael
Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the
Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.
1.F.
1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm
collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain
"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or
corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual
property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a
computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by
your equipment.
1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right
of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
DAMAGE.
1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you
received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with
your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with
the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a
refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity
providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to
receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy
is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further
opportunities to fix the problem.
1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER
WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages.
If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the
law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be
interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by
the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any
provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.
1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance
with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production,
promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works,
harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees,
that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do
or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm
work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any
Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause.
Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm
Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of
electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers
including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists
because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from
people in all walks of life.
Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
assistance they need, are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's
goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will
remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project
Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations.
To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4
and the Foundation web page at http://www.pglaf.org.
Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive
Foundation
The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit
501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification
number is 64-6221541. Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at
http://pglaf.org/fundraising. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg
Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent
permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws.
The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S.
Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered
throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at
809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email
business@pglaf.org. Email contact links and up to date contact
information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official
page at http://pglaf.org
For additional contact information:
Dr. Gregory B. Newby
Chief Executive and Director
gbnewby@pglaf.org
Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
Literary Archive Foundation
Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide
spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of
increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest
array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations
($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
status with the IRS.
The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations
where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To
SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any
particular state visit http://pglaf.org
While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
approach us with offers to donate.
International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation
methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other
ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations.
To donate, please visit: http://pglaf.org/donate
Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
works.
Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm
concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared
with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project
Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.
Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed
editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S.
unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily
keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.
Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility:
http://www.gutenberg.org
This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm,
including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.
</pre>
</body>
</html>
|
