diff options
| author | nfenwick <nfenwick@pglaf.org> | 2025-01-21 19:08:00 -0800 |
|---|---|---|
| committer | nfenwick <nfenwick@pglaf.org> | 2025-01-21 19:08:00 -0800 |
| commit | 9c8dd6ffd69cd340c1d1c88f4051fdb67624ebaf (patch) | |
| tree | ecf73f27fd941874f18f18246ee8b084369fd119 | |
| parent | 9c1cbce828bc9134aae6679a30ad45f9996a70af (diff) | |
| -rw-r--r-- | .gitattributes | 4 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | LICENSE.txt | 11 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | README.md | 2 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/68391-0.txt | 4239 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/68391-0.zip | bin | 80100 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/68391-h.zip | bin | 1792642 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/68391-h/68391-h.htm | 4814 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/68391-h/images/001.jpg | bin | 66575 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/68391-h/images/002.jpg | bin | 171820 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/68391-h/images/003.jpg | bin | 128066 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/68391-h/images/004.jpg | bin | 131816 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/68391-h/images/005.jpg | bin | 154198 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/68391-h/images/006.jpg | bin | 99800 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/68391-h/images/007.jpg | bin | 84372 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/68391-h/images/008.jpg | bin | 91473 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/68391-h/images/009.jpg | bin | 99711 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/68391-h/images/010.jpg | bin | 72144 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/68391-h/images/011.jpg | bin | 73410 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/68391-h/images/cover.jpg | bin | 607654 -> 0 bytes |
19 files changed, 17 insertions, 9053 deletions
diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..1ea8ee1 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #68391 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/68391) diff --git a/old/68391-0.txt b/old/68391-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 1ac9874..0000000 --- a/old/68391-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,4239 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of Round the year with the stars, by -Garrett P. Serviss - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world 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. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: Round the year with the stars - The chief beauties of the starry heavens as seen with the naked - eye - -Author: Garrett P. Serviss - -Release Date: June 24, 2022 [eBook #68391] - -Language: English - -Produced by: Steve Mattern and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team - at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images - generously made available by The Internet Archive) - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ROUND THE YEAR WITH THE -STARS *** - - - - - - ROUND THE YEAR - WITH THE STARS - - THE CHIEF BEAUTIES OF - THE STARRY HEAVENS AS - SEEN WITH THE NAKED EYE - - BY - - GARRETT P. SERVISS - - AUTHOR OF - “ASTRONOMY WITH THE NAKED EYE” - “CURIOSITIES OF THE SKY” ETC. - - WITH MAPS SHOWING THE ASPECT OF - THE SKY IN EACH OF THE FOUR SEASONS - AND CHARTS REVEALING THE OUTLINES - OF THE CONSTELLATIONS AND THE - DESIGNATIONS OF THE PRINCIPAL STARS - - [Illustration] - - NEW YORK AND LONDON - - HARPER _&_ BROTHERS PUBLISHERS - MCMX - - - - - Copyright, 1910, by HARPER & BROTHERS - - Published September, 1910. - - _Printed in the United States of America_ - - - - - CONTENTS - - - CHAP. PAGE - - PREFACE 7 - - INTRODUCTION 9 - - I. THE EVENING SKY AT THE VERNAL EQUINOX 21 - - II. THE EVENING SKY AT THE SUMMER SOLSTICE 50 - - III. THE EVENING SKY AT THE AUTUMNAL EQUINOX 71 - - IV. THE EVENING SKY AT THE WINTER SOLSTICE 93 - - V. THE PLANETS 118 - - APPENDIX 129 - - PRONUNCIATION OF STAR AND CONSTELLATION NAMES 141 - - INDEX 143 - - - - - LIST OF CHARTS - - - PAGE - - CHART I. THE VERNAL EVENING SKY 23 - - CHART II. THE SUMMER EVENING SKY 51 - - CHART III. THE AUTUMN EVENING SKY 73 - - CHART IV. THE WINTER EVENING SKY 95 - - CHART V. THE FIRST SIX HOURS FROM THE VERNAL - EQUINOX 134 - - CHART VI. FROM VI H. TO XII H. FROM THE VERNAL - EQUINOX 135 - - CHART VII. FROM XII H. TO XVIII H. FROM THE VERNAL - EQUINOX 136 - - CHART VIII. FROM XVIII H. TO XXIV H. FROM THE - VERNAL EQUINOX 137 - - CHART IX. POLAR CONSTELLATIONS FROM VI H. TO - XVIII H. 138 - - CHART X. POLAR CONSTELLATIONS FROM XVIII H. TO - VI H. 139 - - - - -PREFACE - - -This book represents an attempt to cultivate the love of the stars, and -to offer a guiding hand to all those who are willing to believe that -some of the most exquisite joys of life are to be found, like scattered -and unregarded gems, waiting to be picked up by any chance wayfarer -who, without special knowledge, or optical aids, or mathematical -attainments, or any of the paraphernalia or advantages of the -professional astronomer, will simply turn his eyes to the sky and open -his mind to its plain teachings and its supernal inspirations. - -The writer’s only real excuse for appearing again in this particular -field is that he has never yet finished a book, and seen it go forth, -without feeling that he had overlooked, or cast aside, or of necessity -omitted a multitude of things quite as interesting and important as -any he had touched upon. Accordingly, he yields once more to the lure -of this inexhaustible and illimitable subject, and strives again to -find expression for the thoughts which it continually awakens, and -to exhibit, however imperfectly, the endless procession of marvels -which stream before him who knows and loves the stars like a dazzling -_rivière_ of brilliants. - -This book in no way duplicates another work of the same hand, -_Astronomy with the Naked Eye_. In _that_ the effort was to revive -the romance of the constellations by retelling their fascinating -history, their mythology, their immemorial legends and traditions, and -indicating their poetic background in the presence of the imaginary -figures which, “from times of which the memory of man runneth not to -the contrary,” have been associated with them; in _this_ the writer -tries to draw the reader into more intimate relations with the stars -by dwelling upon their individual peculiarities and beauties, and the -impressions which either singly or in constellated groups they make -upon the mind of the beholder. Surely there is not another field of -human contemplation so wondrously rich as astronomy! It is so easy -to reach, so responsive to every mood, so stimulating, uplifting, -abstracting, and infinitely consoling. Everybody may not be a chemist, -a geologist, a mathematician, but everybody may be and ought to be, -in a modest, personal way, an astronomer, for star-gazing is a great -medicine of the soul. There is the writer’s text. - - - - -INTRODUCTION - - -The charts illustrating this book have been drawn by the writer -especially to meet the needs of beginners--of those who, feeling what -a void in their intellectual life ignorance of the stars has created, -would now fill that void, and thus round out their spiritual being with -some knowledge of Nature on her most majestic and yet most beautiful -and winning side. - -On account of the necessarily diminutive scale of the charts, -everything has been omitted from them which did not seem essential. -But for the purpose in view they gain by this process of exclusion, -for with more details they would have been confusing. It is the -broad, general aspect of the sky with which the beginner must first -familiarize himself. At the start the heavens appear to him to be -filled with an innumerable multitude of scintillating sparks, scattered -everywhere in disorder. But with a little attention he perceives -that there is discipline in this host, and immediately the discovery -gives him pleasure and awakens his admiration, as the perception of -order always does. The great leaders of the firmament come forth, -unmistakable, plainly recognizable, and thereupon the rank and -file fall into their places. Then the ineffable beauty of the whole -assemblage bursts like a revelation upon the mind. This revelation -is not for the dull in spirit, but he who has once had it becomes -henceforth, and even in spite of previous prejudice or indifference, a -devotee of the stars, with a zeal flaming brighter with every swing of -the pendulum of his years. - -In the four circular charts representing the aspect of the heavens -respectively at the Vernal Equinox, the Summer Solstice, the Autumnal -Equinox, and the Winter Solstice, few stars fainter than the fourth -magnitude are included, and not all even of that magnitude, because the -sole purpose is to enable the beginner to recognize the constellations -by their characteristic groupings of stars and their relative -situations in the sky. The insuperable difficulty is to picture the -_hemispherical_ sky on a _flat_ page. A certain amount of distortion -cannot be avoided, and the reader’s imagination must supply the effect -of perspective. He must always remember that the centre of the chart -stands for the middle of the sky _overhead_, and that the circular -boundary represents the full round of the horizon, from east through -south, west, and north, to east again. If he is comparing the chart -with the sky while facing south, he should hold the chart upright as -it is printed in the book; if he makes the comparison while facing -north, he should turn the chart upside down. If he lies on his back -with his head to the north (and in no other way can one get so vast an -impression of the starry dome), and holds the chart over his head, it -will represent the entire vault of the firmament. - -The names of the constellations will be found on the charts, and -also the individual names of the most celebrated stars, but the -constellation boundaries are not shown, because, in nine cases out -of ten, the precise limits of a constellation are not important for -the beginner to know, and to search for them would simply lead to -confusion. As he progresses in his knowledge of the sky any uncertainty -about the constellation to which particular stars belong can be settled -by consulting the six charts, drawn to a larger scale, at the end of -the book. On _these_ charts more of the small stars are shown, and in -addition there will be found the Greek letters which astronomers attach -to the principal stars of each constellation for the sake of ready -identification. On these charts, too, the constellation boundaries -will be seen, indicated by dotted lines. The tracing of these lines is -more or less a matter of arbitrary choice. There are no international -boundary disputes among the heavenly powers, and the frontier lines -may run anywhere, provided only that they do not include in one -constellation any stars which by common usage, or prescription, belong -to another. The constellations have been reshaped many times in the -past. The “geography of the heavens” has known as many changes as that -of the earth, the ambition of the old astronomers being sometimes as -insatiable as that of founders of terrestrial kingdoms and empires. -About three centuries ago the starry sky was “Christianized,” St. -Matthew, St. Peter, St. John, St. Joseph, St. Michael, St. Stephen, -St. Gabriel, St. Mary Magdalen, St. Katharine, together with Noah, -Aaron, Job, and Eve, taking the places of the heathen gods, goddesses, -and heroes in the sky, while Saturn became Adam, Jupiter Moses, Mars -Joshua, Mercury Elias, Venus St. John Baptist (!), the Moon the Virgin -Mary, and the Sun Christ (see Appendix). It is not an unheard-of -thing in uranography (“description of the heavens”; analogue to -geography) for a star, or a group of stars, to change allegiance, or -even to belong to two constellations at the same time. The bright star -Alpheratz is still an example of this double nationality, for, although -it shines on the head of Andromeda and is her jewel _par excellence_, -yet her neighbor Pegasus also lays claim to the star, and uranographers -so far admit the justice of his claim that they call Alpheratz, -according to circumstances, either Alpha (α) Andromedæ or Delta (δ) -Pegasi. - -For many of their purposes astronomers find no use for the -constellations, preferring to identify the stars by their position in -right ascension and declination (equivalent to longitude and latitude), -and in the great modern _Durchmusterungs_, or star catalogues, this -plan is universally followed. Still, the constellations afford a very -convenient classification of the stars, and probably they will never -be abandoned even by professional astronomers; while from another -standpoint they never can be abandoned, because they are among the -most ancient and precious of human documents, valuable for history and -for the understanding of mythology, and resistlessly charming in their -poetic associations. - -But, to return to the description of the charts, the reader should be -informed as to the meaning of the lines shown upon them, and of the -indications found round their borders. In the four circular charts -the closed curve crossing the sky from right to left represents the -equator of the heavens, which is directly over the equator of the -earth; the vertical line through the centre shows the meridian, or -north and south line, which, so to speak, follows the observer wherever -he may go, occupying the same place in the sky, _at the same hour of -local time_, in all longitudes; and the dotted curve is the ecliptic, -or the apparent annual path of the sun through the sky. The crossing -points of the equator and the ecliptic are respectively the Vernal and -the Autumnal Equinox, where the sun is at the two dates in the year -when day and night are of equal length; and the farthest northern and -southern points of the ecliptic are respectively the Summer and the -Winter Solstice, where the sun is at the times of the longest and the -shortest days in our hemisphere. These four fundamental points are all -shown on the charts. Around the border the hours of right ascension are -indicated by Roman numerals. Each hour corresponds to 15° of space, or -one twenty-fourth of a circle of the sphere. The hours begin at the -Vernal Equinox, which is graphically described as the “Greenwich of the -Sky.” - -In the larger-scale charts at the end of the book the hours of right -ascension are indicated at the bottom, and the degrees of north and -south declination (the sign + standing for north and - for south) are -shown at the side. In both cases the declination is reckoned from -the equator. The four oblong charts of this series, taken together, -represent the entire circuit of sky between 40° north and 40° south -declination, and the two semicircular charts, taken together, show the -stars within 50° of the north pole. Thus the entire set of six charts -exhibits the complete dome of the heavens from the north pole to 40° -south declination. In passing from the oblong to the semicircular -charts it is only necessary to bring the hours of right ascension into -accord. In the semicircular charts the hours will be found round the -curved borders. - -Each of the four circular charts in the body of the book represents the -aspect of the _evening_ sky at one of the equinoctial or solstitial -epochs. To be more precise, these charts show the sky as it appears, -at about the latitude of New York, at 10 P.M., on, respectively, March -20th (the Vernal Equinox), June 21st (the Summer Solstice), September -23d (the Autumnal Equinox), and December 22d (the Winter Solstice). - -But the reader must not think that it is necessary to confine himself -to the exact latitude, date, or hour just mentioned. Undoubtedly it -would be better for the beginner to do that approximately, but it is -not essential. The effect of a change of latitude is, perhaps, the -least important. If the observer is farther south than about 40° north -latitude, the southern stars will appear higher in the sky than they -are shown in the charts, and some of the stars close to the northern -horizon will sink from view. If, on the other hand, he is farther north -(as in Canada or Northern Europe), the northern stars will appear -higher, and some of those near the southern horizon will be invisible. -But if he confines his attention to the stars and constellations -represented in the central parts of the charts (which he should, in any -case, do for other reasons), the effect of the shift due to difference -of latitude will not be found very serious. - -As to the effects of a departure from the hours and dates for which the -charts are drawn, they, too, can readily be allowed for. Suppose that, -without changing the date, the reader makes his observations an hour -earlier than that given, say at 9 P.M., March 20th. Then he will find -that some of the eastern stars, seen along the left-hand edge of the -chart when it is held upright, have not yet come into view above the -horizon, while other stars, not seen on the chart drawn for that date, -are visible above the horizon in the west. To the stars thus carried -out of, or brought into, view he should pay no attention; he will find -them again on other charts when they are better placed for observation. - -Next, suppose that without changing the hour of observation he changes -the date, and instead of observing on the 20th of March he observes -on the 5th. Then he will notice precisely the same difference that -was manifest when his observation was made an hour too early on March -20th--_i. e._, some of the eastern stars on the chart will not yet have -risen, and other stars, not on that particular chart, will be visible -in the west. Although at first all this may be a little confusing to -the beginner, he will soon find that he can make due allowance for the -changes of aspect. The whole matter becomes very simple when it is -remembered that the heavens have a double revolution toward the west; -one of these revolutions, due to the earth’s rotation on its axis, -being effected in twenty-four hours, and the other, due to the earth’s -revolution round the sun, requiring an entire year. One hour of the -daily revolution (represented by an hour of right ascension) produces -the same effect on the position of the stars as two weeks of the annual -revolution; or two hours of the first correspond to one month of the -second. - -If the observations are made at a later date or a later hour than -those indicated on the chart, the changes will occur in the reverse -order--_i. e._, western stars will have disappeared and eastern stars -will have come up into view. - -I particularly wish to impress upon the beginner the needlessness of -being troubled about these discrepancies. He can avoid all possibility -of perplexity by fitting his observations to the exact times of -the charts. As I have already said, a difference of a few degrees -in his latitude on the earth may be disregarded. The charts, with a -slight allowance for the shift of position of the extreme northern -and southern stars, are available for any of the middle latitudes of -the northern hemisphere. And if the effects of a change of hour or -date prove in the least confusing, the beginner has only to await the -given date and the given hour, and all will be clear. Then, as soon as -he has become familiar with a few of the leading constellations, the -others, which in themselves are not so easily recognizable, will fall -into their proper places, after which there can be no possibility of -confusion. In fact, much less effort is required to become familiar -with the aspect of the starry sky than is demanded for a similar -acquaintance with the fundamental data of botany, mineralogy, geology, -or any other of the observational branches of natural science. - -It was at first the intention to indicate the course of the Milky Way -on the circular charts by dotted outlines, but this was abandoned in -view of the restricted space. Any one can easily trace the meanderings -and branchings of this starry scarf, the contemplation of which carries -the mind to greater heights of intellectual perspective than any other -phenomenon of the world of matter. If the reader has the good-fortune -to be situated where artificial lights do not interfere with the -splendor of the heavens, he can observe the course of the Milky -Way on any clear night; and, if he possesses skill in delineation, -he may make charts of it and its offshoots which will be of real -value. Better still if he has the means of photographing it. Here is -a non-mathematical field of astronomy which is ripe for the harvest, -and in which the laborers are few. The Milky Way is so full of wonders -that centuries of observation and study cannot exhaust them. There is -nothing more impressive than to see how it often follows curves of -lucid stars as if some mysterious attraction were drawing it toward -them; and yet it itself consists of stars. - -A few more words of practical advice to the beginner. Let him, at -first, confine himself to the bright and conspicuous stars and the -striking groups shown in the charts, assigning each to its proper -constellation. When he has become familiar with these in their -broadest aspects, he can turn to the charts at the end of the book and -familiarize himself with the constellation boundaries. After that, if -he wishes to go further, as he almost certainly will, he can obtain a -large star atlas, furnish himself with a telescope, and open up a new -side of his life which will make him rejoice to be, for a few short -years, a dweller on a planet inhabited by beings intelligent enough -to lift their eyes above the horizon and to feed their minds with the -inspirations of the universe. - -Yet another thing, which may be a novelty to many, and which is -sure to afford unexpected pleasure--when you have fairly learned -the constellations, take a mirror and study them by reflection. -This is a counsel of intimacy. Orion will seem less remote and more -comprehensible when his living image is enclosed in a frame, which -you can hold on your lap like an album. There is something startling -in the sight of the starry heavens under your feet. I once enjoyed -the sensation in perfection while stalking deer in a boat at midnight -on the placid bosom of a forest pond. The water was as motionless as -so many acres of black glass, and I forgot to look for the deer, in -the shaft of light from the hooded “flare” at the bow, when we seemed -to be drifting out into an ocean of ether, in the middle of the sky, -with stars below as well as stars above. When we silently crossed the -pond, and got far from the shores, the sensation was overpowering; -it took one’s breath away. We drifted right over the Milky Way, and -Vega, Altair, and the “Northern Cross” gleamed beneath the keel. Be -sure that your mirror is freshly silvered and clean, and remember the -reversals of position which all reflections produce. If you hold the -mirror before you inclined downward, the position of objects in the sky -will be reversed top for bottom; if you hold it inclined upward, so as -to see objects behind your head, they will be reversed right for left. -With these precautions you will find the mirror a great convenience -for studying constellations which are nearly overhead. It is the -principle of the “diagonal prism” employed with telescopes, and of the -hand-mirrors used by many visitors at the Vatican Palace to view with -comfort the ceiling pictures of Michael Angelo in the Sistine Chapel. -Thus the sky becomes an atlas, and you can study its living charts at -leisure. - - - - -ROUND THE YEAR WITH THE STARS - - - - -I - -THE EVENING SKY AT THE VERNAL EQUINOX - - -The year has its morning no less unmistakable in its characteristic -features than the dawn of the day. The earth and all of its inhabitants -feel the subtle influences of the dawning year, and Nature awakes -at their touch. This annual morning comes when the sun transits the -equator, moving north, at the beginning of his long summer tour, about -the 20th of March. This is the epoch of the Vernal Equinox, when the -springs of life begin, once more, to flow. Then the sun truly rises -on the northern hemisphere. Then the mighty world of the north, which -Providence has made the chief abode of vital organisms on this planet, -rouses itself and shakes off the apathy of winter, and men, animals, -and plants, each after their manner, renew their activities, and in -many cases their very existence. This annual reawakening is one of -the profoundest phenomena of nature, and there are secrets in it which -science has not yet penetrated. - -Bliss Carman has beautifully pictured the terrestrial charms of the -vernal season in his “Spring’s Saraband”: - - “Over the hills of April, - With soft winds hand in hand, - Impassionate and dreamy-eyed - Spring leads her saraband. - Her garments float and gather - And swirl along the plain, - Her headgear is the golden sun, - Her cloak the silver rain.” - -But why do not the poets see and express the hyperphysical charm of -the spring evenings? When the light of the vernal day has faded the -stars come forth, and in the quality of their shining reduplicate and -heighten the impressions left by the quickening landscapes. More than -half is lost if this be missed. But perhaps this side of nature is too -transcendent even for poetry. One can behold but not tell it. Emerson -has come nearest to its expression, and he puts it in prose: - - “The grass grows, the buds burst, the meadow is spotted with fire and - gold in the tint of the flowers. The air is full of birds, and sweet - with the breath of the pine, the balm-of-Gilead, and the new hay. - _Night brings no gloom to the heart with its welcome shade._ Through - the transparent darkness the stars pour their almost spiritual rays. - Man under them seems a young child, and his huge globe a toy. The cool - night bathes the world as with a river, and prepares his eyes again - for the crimson dawn.” - -[Illustration: CHART I--THE VERNAL EVENING SKY] - -There was not only poetic but logical fitness in the old English -custom, abandoned since 1751, of dating the opening of the year from -the last week of March. How can the real birth of the year be imagined -to occur when all nature is still deep in slumber under the January -snows? The seasons are manifestly the children of the sun, waxing and -waning with his strength, and surely that one should be reckoned the -eldest which is the first birth of his vivific springtime rays. It -seems remarkable that the beginning of the year in ancient times, when -men felt more keenly than we do now the symbolism of natural phenomena, -was not more frequently fixed at, or near, the Vernal Equinox, and I -suspect some defect in our information on this subject. In Attica, -George Cornewell Lewis tells us, the year began at the Summer Solstice. -But this was to make the second of the sun’s seasonal offspring the -senior, thus ignoring the just claim of the true heir, the season -of buds. In Sparta and Macedonia, according to the same authority, -the year began with the Autumnal Equinox, which was still worse, for -in summer the year is at the zenith of its life, while in autumn it -is already stumbling toward the tomb. In Bœotia, at Delphi, and in -Bithynia they contradicted nature more decidedly, as we do to-day, by -making the year begin at the Winter Solstice, when the chilled world -is yet asleep. The Romans adopted this plan eventually, but it is -interesting to observe that they had an older custom of beginning the -year in March, which many cherished in their domestic life as well -as for some legal purposes, after the lawful opening of the year had -been fixed on the 1st of January. And finally _we_ have perpetuated -the illogical system of absolutely reversing nature’s rule in the -succession of the seasons by making the year begin about nine days -after the Winter Solstice. But in spite of calendars and laws nature -prevails, and everybody instinctively feels that the true beginning -of the year is in the season when the currents of life resume their -youthful flow. At any rate, however it may be with strictly terrestrial -affairs, that is the time when the call of the stars becomes the most -insistent and irresistible. Accordingly the epoch of the Vernal Equinox -is chosen for our opening chapter. But the reader at the commencement -of his star-gazing is not confined to this season; he can begin at any -time convenient to him. - -To avoid misapprehension it is important to point out that our concern -is not with that half of the heavens which the sun illumines when he -crosses the equator, coming north, at the Vernal Equinox, but with -the diametrically opposite half, where in countless multitudes shine -his fellow suns--his peers, his inferiors, and his superiors--turning -physical night into intellectual day. Accordingly, in Chart I we see -not that part of the sky which contains the point called the Vernal -Equinox, but the opposite part, where the sun pursues his course when -he is declining from the Summer Solstice toward the Autumnal Equinox. -The chart represents the appearance of the sky at 10 P.M. on the 20th -of March (see Introduction). It also represents the sky as it appears -about 11.30 P.M. at the beginning of March, about 9 P.M. the first week -of April, and 8 P.M. about April 20th. - -Let us, then, near one of these dates and hours, go out-of-doors and -transport ourselves to the universe. Why does not everybody feel the -thrill that comes to the astronomer when, with eager expectation, -he watches the fading sunset light, the slow withdrawal of the vast -curtain of illuminated air which for twelve hours has hidden the -prodigious marvel of the spangled heavens, and the first peering -forth of the great stars? I believe that everybody _does_ feel it -when he gives himself the opportunity and abandons his mind to its -own reflections--but so few embrace the opportunity or encourage the -reflections! - -Select, if possible, a high place, where the eyes can range round the -whole horizon unobstructed. Then try to seize the entire view at once, -as one glances for the first time at the map of a new country. Get -the _ensemble_ by sweeping all around the sky, not pausing to note -details, but catching at a glance the location of the brighter stars -and those that form striking groups. Note where the Milky Way runs, a -faint, silvery zone at this season, arched across the western half of -the firmament, hanging like starry gossamers in places, brilliant in -the northwest, but becoming fainter as it dips toward the southwestern -horizon--a mere anticipation of its summer splendor, hiding its light -and fading away as it approaches the imperial presence of Sirius. -Notice the great hexagon of first magnitude stars that surrounds Orion -in the west--Sirius, Rigel, Aldebaran, Capella, Castor and Pollux, and -Procyon marking the angles, and Betelgeuse glittering not far from the -centre of the figure. Observe Regulus with the “Sickle” of Leo on the -meridian. Look for the glimmer of the “Beehive” in Cancer, between -Gemini and Leo, and for the pentangular head of Hydra beneath it. Still -lower you will see the reddish gleam of the starry serpent’s heart, -Cor Hydræ, or Alphard, and then, running eastward, and dipping ever -nearer the horizon, the long, winding line of his stars passing under -the overset cup of Crater and the quadrilateral of Corvus, the “Crow,” -until they disappear, unended, in the southeast, for from mid-heaven to -the horizon there is not space enough to display all of these beautiful -coils, which take a kind of life as you watch them. - -Away over in the east, close to the ecliptic, you will see Virgo with -her diamond, Spica, flashing in her hand. You are now facing east; -to your left, then, north of Spica, glows great Arcturus, with his -attendants shaping the figure of Boötes. Of Arcturus, a star that among -a million finds no rival, we shall speak more particularly elsewhere. -Farther to the left, beyond Boötes, shines the exquisite “Northern -Crown,” Corona Borealis. That too will claim attention in a later -chapter. The square of Hercules is just above the horizon below the -Crown in the northeast, and to its left, as you face north, is seen -the diamond-shaped head of Draco, the “Great Dragon” that Athena -was fabled to have entangled with the axis of the world. His stars -wind upward between the “Dippers”--the “Little Dipper,” which has the -Polestar at the end of its handle, and the “Great Dipper,” which, brim -downward, shines east of the meridian, almost as high as the zenith, if -you are as far north as 40° or more. The handle of the “Great Dipper” -is the tail of Ursa Major, who treads lumberingly about the pole, with -his back downward, his head out-thrust west of the meridian, and his -feet, marked by three striking pairs of stars, up in the middle of the -sky. On the meridian south of Ursa Major stands the “Sickle” of Leo -already mentioned. Away round in the northwest, beyond Capella, are -Perseus and Cassiopeia, immersed in the Milky Way. - -Having fixed the location and general appearance of all these -constellations in the mind, you are prepared to study them, and their -stars, in more detail. Let us begin in the east. For some occult reason -the rising stars always seem more attractive than those that are near -setting. In the east, then, the eye is at once drawn to the beautiful -Spica, which the impassive, immemorial Virgo wears as her only -ornament. It is a fascinating star with its pure white rays, dashed -with swift gleams of exquisite color as the atmospheric waves roll over -it. There is not another equal to it in the impression of purity which -it gives. We may imagine that some dim sense of this immaculate quality -in the light of Spica led to the naming of the constellation the -“Virgin,” thus called by nearly all peoples, each in its own language: -Παρθέυος, Kóρη, _Puella_, _Kauni_, _She-Sang-Neu_, _Pucella_, _Vièrge_, -_Mæden_, _Jungfrau_, _Virgine_--all, ancient and modern, Greek, Roman, -Indian, Chinese, Norman, French, Anglo-Saxon, German, Italian, and -English worshipping together at this shrine of ideal purity. If the -Assyrians made her the wife of Bel that was hardly a disparagement, for -Bel was the sun. So, too, the identification of Virgo with the Greek -Persephone, the Roman Ceres, and the Jewish Bethula, all goddesses -concerned with the harvest and the fertility of the land, in no way -detracted from her virginal character, nor did her association with -Astræa, the goddess of justice. - -Beside Spica, Virgo has no very bright stars, and it is hardly doubtful -that the imaginary purity ascribed to the constellation was derived -entirely from the unsullied whiteness of Spica. While gazing at that -beautiful star all of these associations, coming from times so remote -and peoples so distant, crowd into the mind, increasing the interest -with which one regards it. The nations who named it the vernal star, -before all others, have gone the way of terrestrial things, but the -star remains, as pearly fair as when Aratus sang to it: - - “Lo, the Virgin!... - Her favor be upon us!” - -Then science comes to carry the thoughts to grander, if less romantic, -heights. Spica, it tells us, is a sun which might well claim to be -included in Newcomb’s wonderful “XM” class--_i. e._, stars excelling -our sun at least _ten thousand times_ in splendor, for, notwithstanding -the brilliance with which it delights us, it is so remote that no -certain estimate of its distance can be made, its parallax escaping -measurement--what, then, must be the intolerable blaze with which it -illumines its immediate neighborhood! But when Science begins her -revelations no man can foretell the wonders that she will discover. -The spectroscope avers that Spica is speeding hitherward at a pace -of more than 32,000 miles per hour! Each night that star is almost -700,000 miles nearer than it was the night before, and yet it is not -perceptibly brighter than it was in the days of Homer. Such are the -star depths! Such is the measureless playground of the spinning suns! -Then Science, inspired by its spectroscopic sibyl, whispers another -startling word in our ears: That core of white fire glowing so softly -in the vernal midnight has an invisible companion star, with which it -circles in an orbit 6,000,000 miles in diameter, and every four days -they complete a swing in their mighty waltz! - -The star Epsilon (ε) in Virgo (see Chart VII, at the end of the book) -is _Vindemiatrix_, the “Grape-gatherer,” thus named from some imagined -association with the vintage. _Mukdim-al-Kitaf_, “The Forerunner of the -Vintage,” the Arabs called it, taking their hint from the Greeks before -them. Admiral Smyth, in his _Cycle of Celestial Objects_, has these -curious lines on this star: - - “Would you the Star of Bacchus find on noble Virgo’s wing, - A lengthy ray from Hydra’s heart unto Arcturus bring; - Two-thirds along that fancied line direct th’ inquiring eye, - And there the jewel will be seen, south of Cor Caroli.” - -The reader may be interested in trying the star-loving admiral’s plan -for finding _Vindemiatrix_. - -Gamma (γ) is _Porrima_, a prophetic goddess of ancient Latium, -consulted especially by the women. But for us this star is most -interesting as being one of the first binaries discovered in the -heavens. It is a charming object for a small telescope. The two -components revolve round their common centre of gravity in a period of -about one hundred and eighty years. - -As the reader progresses in his studies he will find Virgo full of -interesting objects, including the celebrated “Field of the Nebulæ,” -marked out by the stars Beta (β), Gamma (γ), Delta (δ), Epsilon (ε), -and Eta (η); but to see the nebulæ, which are thickly scattered there, -he must have a powerful telescope. - -Southwest of Virgo, but near the southeastern horizon, the -quadrilateral figure of the constellation Corvus, the “Crow,” catches -the eye. Its brightest star is of less than the second magnitude, -yet by their apparent association the four stars immediately attract -attention. One sees no special reason why the figures marked out by -these stars should be likened to the form of a bird; but it was a raven -to both the Greeks and the Romans, and similarly symbolical to other -early peoples. The Arabs, however, at first called it the “Tent,” a -designation which at least had a real resemblance for its basis. But -these stars possess a charm independent of any fancied likeness to -terrestrial things. In looking at them we do not think of the billions -of miles which actually separate them from each other, but only of -their seeming companionship. If, on the other hand, we force ourselves -to consider the immense distances between them the mind is overwhelmed -with the reflection that here, plainly staked out before us, is a field -of space of absolutely unthinkable magnitude with its angles as clearly -marked as if a celestial surveyor had placed corner-stones there. -Note that the star Alpha (α), once the leader of the constellation -in brightness as well as in alphabetical rank, is now so faint that -you have to look for it where it shrinks, in half concealment, below -one of its now brighter neighbors. These abasements are not very -uncommon among the stars. Their glory, too, is mutable; they also have -their ups and downs. The Arabic name for Alpha (α) was _Al Chiba_, or -_Al Hiba_, meaning the “Tent.” Gamma (γ), now the brightest star of -the constellation, was called _Gienah_, the “Wing,” and Delta (δ), -_Algorab_, or _Al Ghurab_, the Arabic name for “Raven,” but Beta (β), -which is perhaps as bright as Gamma (γ), has no special designation. - -From Corvus the eye wanders naturally to its neighbor on the west, -Crater, the “Cup.” Both of these constellations rest on the back of -the long serpentine Hydra. Crater is far less conspicuous than Corvus; -but its resemblance to a cup is rather striking, although the imaginary -vessel lies tipped up on its side with the open part toward the east. -Among the many ascriptions of this starry cup in ancient mythology to -various gods and goddesses, none is more interesting than that which -made it the cup of Medea, thus including Crater among the numerous -constellations which were associated in the imagination of the Greeks -with their great romance of the Argonautic Expedition. Its brightest -stars are only of the fourth and fifth magnitudes, and individually not -worth much attention. - -Hydra, which stretches its immense coils across about seven hours of -right ascension, passing under Cancer, Leo, Crater, Corvus, Virgo, and -a part of Libra, also carries the mind back through the golden mists of -the morning of Greek mythology to the adventures of Jason and his crew -of Argonauts, for it was once identified with the Aonian Dragon. It -would be interesting to inquire how much of the perennial fascination -of this ancient romance may be due to its traditional association -with the stars. Look first at the head of Hydra, now well west of the -meridian, below the glimmering “Beehive” in Cancer. It is marked by -five stars of various magnitudes making an irregular pentagon. Then -let the eye follow the line down southeastward until it encounters Cor -Hydræ, or _Alphard_, the latter its Arabic name, meaning the “Solitary -One.” It is of the second magnitude and of a reddish color, and the -space about it is vacant of conspicuous stars. There is an attraction -about these solitary bright stars that is almost mystical, their very -loneliness lending interest to the view, as when one watches some -distant snow-clad peak gleaming in the rays of sunset after all the -lower mountains have sunk into the blue shadows of coming night. Cor -Hydræ is the Alpha (α) of its constellation. - -Above Hydra, northeast of Cor Hydræ, at the crossing of the ecliptic -and the meridian, is the great star Regulus in Leo, the “Lion.” It -stands at the lower end of the handle of a very distinctly marked -sickle-shaped figure, which includes the breast, head, and mane of the -imaginary lion. Regulus is not only a beautiful star, but it possesses -much practical importance as one of the principal “nautical stars,” -having been employed by sailors ever since the beginning of navigation -to determine their place at sea. The sun almost runs over this star -about the 20th of August, and every month the moon passes close beside -it, and sometimes occults it. Thus it serves as a golden mile-stone -in the sky. It has strangely affected the imagination of mankind in -all ages. From the remotest times it has everywhere been known as the -“royal star” _par excellence_. In Greek it was =βασιλίσκος=, in Latin -_Rex_, from which Copernicus constructed our name, Regulus. There are -three other “royal stars,” Aldebaran, Antares, and Fomalhaut, but -Regulus has always been, in a certain way, their chief. For five -thousand years it has been believed, traditionally, to control the -affairs of heaven, and the astrologers have seized upon this idea -by making it the natal star of kings, and those destined to kingly -achievements and rule. In our age of science we may safely indulge -these fancies; they can now do no harm, and they add immensely to the -interest with which we regard the star that gave birth to them. When -the “Royal Star” crosses high on the meridian in the vernal evenings, -the imagination is thrown back over almost the whole course of the -history of the Aryan race, and the rays of Regulus bring again the -dreams of Babylon and Nineveh, of Greece and Rome, of India, and of -the star-watching deserts of Arabia. Cyrus, in his conquering marches, -may have looked to that star for help and inspiration, for it was the -heavenly guardian of the Persian monarchs. - -The spectroscope tells us that Regulus, like Spica, is approaching -us, but less rapidly, drawing nearer about 475,000 miles per day. But -its distance is 950,000,000,000,000 miles (parallax 0″.02), and it -outshines the sun one thousand times. - -The second star above Regulus, in the curve of the sickle’s blade, -is Gamma (γ), or _Algieba_ (Arabic the “Forehead”), a beautiful -double, probably binary, with a period of revolution which Doberck has -estimated at about four hundred years. The larger star of the pair is -golden-orange and the smaller bronze-green, a marvellous contrast, and -an ordinary telescope shows well the spectacle, the distance between -the components being 3″.78. And this wonderful pair is rushing toward -the solar system at the rate of _two million miles per day_. Yet so -great is its distance that we have no record that in a thousand years -men have noticed a brightening of the headlight of this terrible -locomotive of space! But probably the more refined methods of the -present time, if applied for a similar period, would reveal an ominous -expansion of that oncoming light. Gamma is interesting as marking, -roughly, the spot in the sky which was the apparent centre of radiation -for the November meteors, which were last seen in their splendor in -1866-67, their return in 1899-1900, for which the world had long been -waiting, having been prevented by the disturbing attraction of Jupiter -and Saturn, which shifted their orbit. - -The “Sickle” in its entirety is an attractive asterism, and hanging so -conspicuously in the sky on a spring evening it may be imaginatively -regarded as a harbinger of the opening of the season when the thoughts -of men are turning to preparations for future harvests. In the height -of the harvest season the “Sickle” sets near sundown, then no longer -standing upright, but lying along upon the horizon--a symbol of the -wearied husbandman’s approaching hours of rest: - - “Nor shall a starry night his hopes betray.” - -Away off at the eastern end of the constellation, in the lion’s tail, -shines its second star in rank, Denebola (Arabic _Al Dhanab_, the -“Tail”). It too is speeding hitherward, but only half as fast as Gamma. -Like Aldebaran, the name Denebola has an indefinite charm, from its -full round vowel sounds, and a certain nobility in the look of it as -it lies on the printed page. As with many sonorous Indian names in -American geography, these old star names lose something of their effect -when they are translated. It is better to take them as they stand, -transcending terrestrial analogy and definition, like the sublime -objects that they designate. - -Northeast of Denebola lies the small constellation of Coma Berenices, -“Berenice’s Hair,” remarkable for the confused glitter of the small -scattered stars of which it consists. It is a constellation with a -romantic history which I shall not retell here. It forms an attraction -for an opera-glass. - -We now return to the region of sky above the head of Hydra, west of -the meridian. There the attention is arrested by a glimmering spot, -a kind of starry cobweb, which represents the “Beehive” cluster in -Cancer. Its classical name is _Præsepe_, the “Manger.” In _Astronomy -with the Naked Eye_ will be found a copy of Galileo’s drawing of the -stars of Præsepe as they appeared to him with his newly invented -telescope. It is delightful to look at them on a clear night with a -large opera-glass or a small telescope. They are an example of that -clustering tendency so often seen among the stars, and which reaches -its most wonderful manifestations in such assemblages as the famous -globular clusters in Hercules and Centaurus, where countless thousands -of small stars appear to be so crowded together that in the centre they -run up into a perfect blaze. But in Præsepe there is no such apparent -crowding, though the stars are so numerous that they resemble a swarm -of bees. The probability is that none of the stars in this company is -as large as our sun--although we cannot be perfectly sure because we -do not know their distance--but they are, nevertheless, true stellar -bodies, solar children, which seem playing together, overwatched by -larger stars, waiting not far away. Plato, or his disciples, taking the -suggestion from older dreamers, regarded Præsepe as a gateway of souls -through which descended the spirits that were to animate the bodies -of men during their earthly life. There are moods in which one can -hardly consider our coldly scientific way of treating such celestial -wonders as being essentially superior to the more spiritual ideas -and suggestions of the visionaries of antiquity, before man became -possessed with the notion that all science is summed up in measurement. -Unquestionably we have more “facts,” but have we more inspiration? Are -we as near to the stars as were those who knew less about them? Have we -yet got the key to unlock the universe? Do many of us comprehend the -_dictum_ of one of our own modern sages--“Hitch your wagon to a star”? - -Cancer has no conspicuous stars, and it covers but a small space on the -sky, yet as a constellation it is as old as any, and it has given us -our “Tropic of Cancer,” because in ancient times, before the Precession -of the Equinoxes had drifted the zodiacal signs and constellations -apart, the place of the Summer Solstice, where the sun is at its -northern extreme of declination, was situated in Cancer, though now we -find it in Gemini, close to the borders of Taurus. - -Westward from Cancer we see the great group of mighty stars and -constellations of which Orion is the chief and centre, but Sirius the -brightest jewel. They are now declining rapidly toward the horizon, and -will be better studied at another season. They include, besides Orion, -Gemini, Auriga, Taurus, Canis Major, and Canis Minor, and will be found -more favorably situated in the chart devoted to the sky at the Winter -Solstice. For the present, then, we turn our eyes to the northern -central part of the vernal heavens. There, almost overhead, shines -the “Great Bear,” Ursa Major, always recognizable by the remarkable -figure of the “Great Dipper,” or, as they prefer to call it in Old -England--where brimming dippers of sparkling water lifted dripping -from the “old oaken bucket” are not so familiar as in New England--the -“Wain,” or the “Plough.” We have already remarked that at this season -the Bear has his feet uppermost in the middle of the sky and his back -downward toward the pole. The Dipper, too, is now upside down, drained -of its last imaginary drop, though its stars may be the more brilliant -for that. The figure of the bowl is situated on the flank of the -Bear, and its handle represents his impossible tail. Six of its stars -are of the second magnitude, and one, at the junction of the bowl -and the handle, of the third. Their Greek letters, beginning at the -northwestern corner of the bowl, are, _Alpha_ (α), _Beta_ (β), _Gamma_ -(γ), _Delta_ (δ), _Epsilon_ (ε), _Zeta_ (ζ), and _Eta_ (η), and their -names, in the same order, _Dubhe_, _Merak_, _Phæd_, _Megrez_, _Alioth_, -_Mizar_, and _Benetnasch_. - -I once knew a country school-teacher who thought that he had acquired -a pretty good knowledge of astronomy when he had learned these names -by heart. He certainly knew more of uranography than most people. The -names seem to be all of Arabic origin, and at the risk of destroying -their charm I will give, from Allen’s _Star Names_, their probable -significations. _Dubhe_ means simply “Bear”; _Merak_ (sometimes -_Mirak_), “Loin”; _Phæd_ (sometimes _Phecda_ or _Phad_), “Thigh”; -_Megrez_, “Root of the Tail”; _Alioth_, meaning uncertain, probably -something to do with the tail; _Mizar_ (originally _Mirak_), “Girdle”; -and _Benetnasch_ (sometimes _Alcaid_), “Chief of the Mourners,” from an -Arabic phrase having that signification. - -The star Megrez, now so much fainter than the others, was once as -bright as any of them. It has faded within three hundred years. - -Close by Mizar a fairly good eye has no difficulty in seeing a small -star which is named Alcor (signification uncertain). The Arabs are -said to have called these two stars the “Horse and his Rider,” and -to have regarded it as a test of good vision to be able to see them -both. It is certainly not a severe test at present. Mizar itself -is telescopically double, presenting a beautiful sight in a small -telescope, the distance asunder being about 14″. The smaller star is -like an emerald in hue, and the color is usually remarked at once by -the beginner in telescopic observation. The larger star is one of -those strange objects called “spectroscopic binaries”--two suns locked -in the embrace of gravitation and spinning round a centre so near to -each other that to anything less penetrating than the magic eye of the -spectroscope they appear as a single body. - -Merak and Dubhe are the celebrated “Pointers,” so called because a line -drawn from the former to the latter, and continued toward the pole, -passes close to Polaris, the Pole-star, of which we shall presently -speak. The distance between these stars is about five degrees, so that -they serve as a rough measuring-stick for estimating distances in the -sky. Immediately west of the meridian will be seen a curving row of -stars which indicate the head of the Bear. Three of his feet, or claws, -are represented by as many pairs of stars between the Great Dipper and -the Sickle of Leo, one of the pairs being east of the meridian, one -west of it, and one nearly upon it. Below the outer end of the handle -of the Dipper, in the direction of Denebola, a fairly bright star, Cor -Caroli, which English loyalty named for the heart of the unfortunate -King Charles I., shines on the collar of one of the “Hunting Dogs,” -Canes Venatici, which Boötes is represented as holding in a leash as -he chases Ursa Major round the pole. This, too, is a beautiful double, -the contrasted colors of whose widely separated stars are finely shown -by a small telescope. - -Now let the eye run along the curve of the Dipper’s handle, beginning -at the bowl, and then, springing on, continue the same curve eastward; -it will encounter, at a distance about equal to the whole length of the -Dipper, a very great and brilliant star--Arcturus, brighter than Spica -and Regulus, and usually, when not very far risen from the horizon, of -a distinctly reddish hue. It is the chief star of Boötes, the “Driver,” -the “Vociferator,” the “Herdsman,” or the “Bear-watcher,” as it has -been variously rendered. We shall have more to say about Boötes in -another chapter, but Arcturus is a star so splendid and famous that -it cannot be passed in silence the first time the beginner catches -sight of it. There is a standing dispute concerning the relative rank -in brightness of Arcturus among the leading stars of the northern -hemisphere. Its principal rivals are Vega in the Lyre, and Capella in -Auriga. But all three differ in color, and that makes it more difficult -to decide upon their relative brilliance, since different eyes vary in -their sensitiveness to color. The Harvard Photometric _Durchmusterung_ -gives Vega the first and Arcturus the third rank among these three; -but many eyes recognize rather a pre-eminence of Arcturus. My own -impression has usually been that Arcturus looms larger than either Vega -or Capella, but that Vega is the most penetratingly brilliant. It is -very curious to notice the effect of the colors of these stars. The -sharp blue ray in the light of Vega gives it a diamond-like quality -which is lacking in Capella, whose light is white with just a suspicion -of amber. Arcturus is a very pale topaz when high in the sky, and a -ruddy yellow, sometimes flaming red, when near the horizon. It is a -thrilling recollection of the writer’s early boyhood that he felt an -undefined fear of Arcturus when seen rising ominously red and flashing -through the leafless boughs of an apple orchard in the late evenings of -February. All the ancients feared Arcturus for its supposed influence -in producing storms and bad harvests. - -Arcturus is a sun of enormous magnitude, estimated all the way from one -to six thousand times as great in luminosity as our sun. It is also -travelling with great rapidity, its speed, according to some estimates, -amounting to two or three hundred miles per second; but most of this -is cross-motion with reference to us, its general direction being -toward the south-southwest. If it is travelling three hundred miles per -second, it would traverse the space between the sun and the nearest -star, Alpha Centauri, in about three thousand years. We shall touch on -Arcturus again when dealing with Boötes in the next chapter. - -Disregarding for the present the exquisite circlet of Corona Borealis, -the “Northern Crown,” and the quadrilateral figure in Hercules, seen -northeast of Arcturus, we turn to the great dragon, Draco, whose -diamond-shaped head may be seen far over in the northeast above -sparkling Vega, which is just on the horizon. As a reference to the -charts of the circumpolar stars at the end of the book will show, -Draco is a remarkably crooked constellation, its line of stars winding -round between the “Little Dipper” in Ursa Minor, which has Polaris at -the end of its handle, and the “Great Dipper” of Ursa Major. Its most -interesting, though not now its brightest, star is Alpha, or _Thuban_, -Arabic for “dragon.” It lies between the end of the handle of the Great -Dipper and the bowl of the small one. About forty-six hundred years -ago Alpha Draconis was the Pole-star, and is believed to have shone -down the long tube-like passage in the great pyramid of Cheops into -the watching eyes of the priestly astronomers, assembled to view it -in the mysterious chamber hollowed out of the solid rock deep under -the foundations of the mighty pile. They thus had a telescope more -than three hundred feet long as immovable as the solid earth, but, -alas for their calculations, the star itself shifted its position, -and their gigantic observing tube became useless until modern science -inferred from its position the date of their building. How imposing -to the imagination this association between a particular star and the -mightiest structure made by human hands on the earth! Two centuries -ago Thuban was more than twice as bright as it is now, and when the -Egyptian priests sedulously observed it from their gloomy cavern, more -than a thousand years before the magic-working days of Moses, it may -have been brighter still. - -Gamma (γ), or Eltanin (the “Dragon”), in the triangular head, is now -the brightest star in the constellation, and it, too, has a history. -Lockyer and others have identified it as the orientation star of -Rameses’ great temple at Karnak, and of the temples of Hathor and Mut -at Dendera and Thebes. There is something magnificent in this thought -of the ancient temple-builders--to square their work by the stars, and -to construct long rows of sphinxes and majestic columns to conduct a -ray from the sky to the eye of the god in his dark and hidden chamber, -where no impious foot dared follow. - -When you are tired of tracing the windings of the Dragon, turn to Ursa -Minor and Polaris. The “Little Bear,” it has been remarked, has an even -more preposterous tail than his greater brother. Polaris is at the end -of the tail, or the end of the handle of the Little Dipper, and the -bowl of the latter is on the bear’s flank. - -If one knows nothing else of uranography, one should at least know -Polaris, the “North Star.” To recognize that star is to be able to -orient yourself wherever you may be in the northern hemisphere. A whole -volume could be written on its connection with human affairs. For at -least two thousand years it has been the cynosure of sailors, and of -wanderers by land as well. You cannot be lost if you have Polaris to -guide you. The magnetic compass varies and misleads, the sun and -the moon change their places, all the other stars circle through the -heavens, but Polaris is always there, shining over the pole of the -earth, the image of steadfastness. Only the slow Precession of the -Equinoxes affects it. At the present time it is within one degree and -a quarter of the true pole of the heavens, and it is drawing nearer -that point, so that in two hundred years it will be less than half a -degree from it--less than the apparent diameter of the moon. The little -circle that it daily describes in the sky may be disregarded, for it -is hardly noticeable except with instruments; but it is easy to fix -the star’s position with considerable accuracy by simple observation. -Note that the Great Dipper and the “W”-shaped figure in Cassiopeia are -on opposite sides of the pole. When one is above, the other is below; -when one is on the east, the other is on the west. Draw an imaginary -line from the star Mizar in the Great Dipper to the star Delta (δ) in -Cassiopeia and it will pass almost directly through the pole. Polaris -is on that line, a degree and a quarter from the pole in the direction -of Delta Cassiopeiæ. If the observation is made when Delta is above -the pole and Mizar below it, Polaris will be on the meridian, or north -and south line, a degree and a quarter above the pole; when Delta is -west of the pole and Mizar east of it, Polaris will be a degree and a -quarter west of the meridian; when Delta is below the pole and Mizar -above it, Polaris will be on the meridian a degree and a quarter below -the pole; and, finally, when Delta is east of the pole and Mizar west -of it, Polaris will be a degree and a quarter east of the meridian. The -intermediate positions you can easily deduce for yourself. - -But Polaris will not continue to be the unerring guide to the north -that it now is. The Precession of the Equinoxes is carrying the -pole progressively westward in right ascension, so that Polaris -will eventually be left far behind. But the motion of the pole is -in a circle about twenty-three and a half degrees in radius, and it -requires about 25,800 years to complete a revolution round this circle. -Consequently, at the end of that period, Polaris will have come back -to reign again as the North Star for many centuries. In the interim -other stars will have occupied its place. About 11,500 years from now -the brilliant Vega, or Alpha Lyræ, will be the North Star, and in -about 21,000 years Alpha Draconis (Thuban) will once more shine down -the great northward-pointing passage in the pyramid of Cheops, if that -pyramid shall still exist. - -Polaris, unlike some of the others stars that we have been looking -at, is running away into space instead of approaching us, at a speed -which has been estimated at about 1,380,000 miles per day. Its present -distance is not less than 200,000,000,000,000 miles. It has an -invisible companion with which it circles in an orbit of a few million -miles diameter in a period of about four days. - -Polaris is also a celebrated visual double. With a telescope of two -or three inches aperture you can see close by its flaming rays a -minute blue star, a delicately beautiful sight. In the older days of -telescopes, before they had attained the perfection which improvements -in glass-making and lens-shaping have rendered possible, this little -companion star of Polaris was a universal test of excellence. Its -prestige was historical. The amateur owner of a telescope who could -see that star clearly felt a joy that he could hardly express. The old -makers of object-glasses, by rule of thumb, always tried them on the -companion of the Polestar as a standard test for small apertures. The -small star is of the ninth magnitude, and situated about 18″.6 from its -primary. - -The stars Beta (β), or Kochab (the “Star”), and Gamma (γ), in Ursa -Minor, are called the Wardens, or Guards, of the Pole. In low northern -latitudes, where these stars sweep the horizon at their lower -culmination, Shakespeare’s description in _Othello_ would be literally -true during a great storm at sea: - - “The wind-shak’d surge, with high and monstrous mane, - Seems to cast water on the burning Bear - And quench the guards of th’ ever-fixed pole.” - -The constellations Cepheus, Cassiopeia, and Perseus, now low in the -northwest and north, we leave for description to another chapter. - - - - -II - -THE EVENING SKY AT THE SUMMER SOLSTICE - - -At 10 o’clock P.M. on the 21st of June, the longest day of the -northern hemisphere, the aspect of the sky is that shown in Chart II, -accompanying this chapter. The same chart will answer for 11 P.M. on -the 5th or 6th of June; 9 P.M. on the 7th of July, and 8 P.M. on the -22d or 23d of July. In fact, for any of the hours mentioned the date -may be shifted several days forward or backward without seriously -affecting the comparison of the chart with the sky, and the same may be -said of each of the other circular charts. The stars simply rise about -four minutes earlier each evening, and four minutes of time correspond -to one degree of space measured on the face of the sky. So the whole -sky shifts about one degree westward every twenty-four hours. - -For the observation of the heavens at the epoch of the Summer Solstice, -observers who are situated at least as far south as 40° north latitude -have an advantage over those whose place on the earth is much farther -north, because in the more northern regions sunset occurs later, and -in England and Northern Europe the day, at this time, may exceed -sixteen hours in length, while twilight is perceptible throughout -the night. This interferes with the brilliancy of the stars. - -[Illustration: CHART II--THE SUMMER EVENING SKY] - -At no other season do the heavenly bodies seem so intimately associated -with the earth as in summer. All nature is now attuned, and the stars -glow softly in the tepid atmosphere, stirred by faint breezes, like -veritable flowers of the sky. The firmament becomes a vast garden lit -with beautiful lamps, which seem to have been placed there to dimly -illuminate nocturnal wanderers in the transparent gloom beneath. Their -beauty is as refreshing as the cooling breath of night itself. A mystic -influence steals from them over the earth. - -“If a man would be alone,” says Emerson, “let him look at the stars.” - -Yet he cannot be alone with them; they are too friendly; they speak too -plainly a universal language, which, though he cannot translate it, -he _feels_ in every fibre. There is nothing more absolutely common to -all men than the influence of the stars. No one ever gazed up at them -without feeling a change come over his spirit. Truly, “they separate -between him and what he touches.” They free him from the bondage of -time and space. There is no trouble that they cannot assuage. And there -is no time like the summer for becoming intimate with them. One who has -been touched by the magic of their love could lie all the night long on -a bed of pine-needles and fill his soul with their beauty. The march of -red Antares and his glittering retinue across the meridian while the -earth sleeps in solstitial calm--who can describe that pageant? - -Antares is _the_ summer star, and with it and the Scorpion we will -begin. Not so bright as Arcturus or Vega, which are now high aloft, it -has a charm peculiar to itself, arising partly from its fervid color, -partly from its surroundings, and partly from its position, not too -high above the southern horizon, which renders observation of the star -comparatively easy. The color is so distinctive that one might think -that he could recognize Antares chromatically if it were suddenly -transported to some other region of the sky and placed amid a strange -environment. Sometimes a flash of its fiery rays, striking sidewise -into the eye as one is looking elsewhere, startles the observer like a -red meteor. It is well named Antares--“Anti-Mars.” With the telescope -the wonder of color is increased, for close by the great star the -glass reveals a smaller one of a _vivid green_, an all but incredible -combination of complementarily tinted suns. And these suns are -undoubtedly actually linked together into a system, so that, if there -are planets revolving around both or either, the inhabitants of those -planets may behold the spectacle of two suns, one crimson and the other -emerald! The large star is of the first magnitude, and the small one of -the seventh; angular distance 3″.7. - -The companion of Antares is historically associated with the most -interesting of American astronomers, a man whose life was a romance, -Gen. O. M. Mitchel. When his long-cherished design of setting up a -great telescope in America was at last fulfilled, at Cincinnati, in -1845, one of his first achievements was the discovery, to the surprise -of the astronomers of Europe, of the green star hiding in the rays of -Antares. At times it has been seen emerging from behind the moon, after -an occultation, ahead of its red comrade. - -With a parallax of 0″.02, Newcomb estimated the luminosity of Antares -at nine hundred times that of our sun, and yet the spectroscope -indicates that it is a dying sun, fast approaching extinction. In its -younger days it may have been an orb of prodigious splendor. - -The constellation Scorpio, of which Antares is the leader, is one of -the best marked in the sky. The two small stars Sigma (σ) and Tau (τ), -standing like attendants on either side of Antares, lend a singular -aspect to the central part of the constellation. Antares is usually -represented as the heart of the imaginary scorpion. Below Tau a curving -row of stars dips to the southern horizon, and then rises, farther -eastward, terminating with a conspicuous pair in the uplifted sting. -West of Antares a nearly vertical row represents the head. Of the -stars in this row, Beta (β) is interesting as a fine and easily seen -double, the distance being about 13″. A higher magnifying power shows -that the larger star has another faint companion, distant only 0″.7. Nu -(ν) is also telescopically interesting, for it consists of two pairs -of stars. Observe in Chart VII the strange way in which the outlines -of the constellation have been swung into loops in order to include -certain stars in Scorpio, recalling the crooked boundary between -Switzerland and Italy, by which each reserves particular peaks of the -Alps for itself. - -East of Scorpio, where the Milky Way, falling in flakes and sheets of -silvery splendor upon the southeastern horizon, spreads abroad like an -overflowing river, lies Sagittarius, the “Archer,” often represented -in the old pictorial charts as a centaur. The stars Lambda (λ), Delta -(δ), and Epsilon (ε) form the bent bow. But modern eyes recognize more -easily a dipper, formed by the stars Zeta (ζ), Tau (τ), Sigma (σ), -Phi (φ), Lambda (λ), and Mu (μ). But the star-clusters in Sagittarius -are more interesting than the separate stars. A little southwest of -Mu is the famous cluster 8 M., of which Barnard has made a photograph -that is amazing beyond all description. Other clusters are all about -in this part of the sky. A good opera-glass or field-glass is almost -indispensable for one who would enjoy the glory of this wondrous -region. Its riches are almost oppressive in their lavish abundance. -Here one can have handfuls of stars for the picking up, like sands of -gold from the bed of Pactolus. As the glittering incrustations that -cover the roofs and walls of the Mammoth Cave are often compared to -the starry heavens, so, reversing the image, Sagittarius is like a -stupendous cavern of space all ablaze and aglitter with millions of -sparkling gems. - -Above Scorpio and Sagittarius are the intertwined constellations -of Ophiuchus and Serpens. He who may wish to disentangle them is -referred to _Astronomy with the Naked Eye_. But the outlines can be -traced in Chart VII. The head of Serpens, like those of Hydra and -Draco, is plainly marked by a striking group of stars, in this case -resembling the figure called a “quincunx.” From this point just under -the “Northern Crown,” the serpent’s stars wind downward in beautiful -pairs and groups, crossing the meridian above Scorpio, and rising again -in the eastern part of the sky, above the little constellation of -Sobieski’s Shield, until they meet the borders of Aquila. Ophiuchus, -with his head high up toward Hercules, where it is marked by the -brightest star in that part of the sky, Alpha Ophiuchi, or Ras Alhague, -the “Head of the Serpent Charmer,” stands with legs braced wide apart, -grasping the serpent at the points marked by the stars Delta (δ) and -Epsilon (ε), and Tau (τ) and Nu (ν). It is Esculapius with his Serpent, -said the Greeks; it is St. Paul and the Viper of Melita, or Moses and -the Brazen Serpent, we don’t know which, said the churchmen. I am -not aware that in England they have ever been tempted to call it St. -George and the Dragon. Politics and national pride have not meddled -much with the stars, although there was once an attempt to fix the name -of Napoleon upon Orion. Ras Alhague is described by R. H. Allen as -sapphire in hue, while Alpha Serpentis is yellowish. The star Lambda -(λ) in Ophiuchus, also called Marfik, the “Elbow,” is a beautiful -binary, period 235 years, distance apart 1″.2. The smaller star is -smalt blue, a splendid telescopic object. - -But, as in the case of Sagittarius, the greater wonders here are in the -form of star-clusters, and particularly nebulæ. Just above Antares, -in one of the feet of Ophiuchus, is a small star, Rho (to find which -the reader must consult a large star atlas, like Klein’s), around -which Barnard has discovered, by photography, a truly marvellous -nebula, a nebula which appears _to obscure the stars_ like a cloud of -cosmic dust. Great black lanes extend from and around it, and even the -luminous parts of the nebula seem to absorb the light of the stars -behind, diminishing their brightness a whole magnitude or more where -they are veiled by it. This entire region of sky is most strange to the -photographic eye. An outlier of the nebula just mentioned surrounds the -star Nu (ν) in Scorpio, and its veiling effect upon the stars is even -more evident. There is a similar appearance around the star Theta (θ) -Ophiuchi, not far away. The sense of some appalling mystery in this -part of the firmament is heightened by what Barnard says of a thing -which has reappeared again and again on his photographs during the past -fifteen years, at a point which he describes as lying very closely to -R. A. xviii hours, 25 m., 31 s.; Decl. S. 26°, 9′ (near the star Lambda -(λ) in Sagittarius). - -“It is a small, black hole in the sky. It is round and sharply defined. -Its measured diameter on the negative is 2′.6. On account of its -sharpness and smallness and its isolation, this is perhaps the most -remarkable of all the black holes with which I am acquainted. It lies -in an ordinary part of the Milky Way, and is not due to the presence or -absence of stars, but seems really to be a marking on the sky itself” -(_Astrophysical Journal_, January, 1910). - -These things really transcend explanation (see _Curiosities of the -Sky_). - -Above Ophiuchus and his Serpent, almost exactly overhead in the -latitude of 40° N., we see the quadrilateral figure marked out by four -of the principal stars of the constellation Hercules. The head of -Draco, described in Chapter I, is beyond it toward the north-northeast. -Hercules stands feet upward in the sky, his head, indicated by the -star Alpha, or Ras Algethi, the “Kneeler’s Head,” being situated a few -degrees west-northwest of Ras Alhague. Thus the two giants have their -heads together. But while the occupation of Ophiuchus is plain, nobody, -not even in ancient times, when the constellation received its name, -has ever been able to say what Hercules is laboring at. When he was on -the earth everybody followed his deeds and understood, if they could -not emulate, them. He was as comprehensible as a modern pugilist. Now, -however, that he has been translated to the stars, his labors are of -a more mysterious nature, and, judging from his attitude, he finds -them harder than any he undertook for the benefit of mankind here -below. One is tempted to think that the powers he offended, when he -boldly entered the land of shades and snatched the wife of his friend, -King Admetus, from the hand of Death himself, are now taking an ample -vengeance. - -Ras Algethi is a very beautiful double star, one red, the other green -or blue, and both, strangely enough, are variable in brightness. Their -distance apart is 4″.7. Their spectrum indicates that they are advanced -toward extinction many stages beyond our sun. - -The star Zeta (ζ), one of those in the quadrilateral, is a closer -double, distance about 1″, and is binary, the period of revolution -being about thirty-five years. - -And now for a great marvel. Let the eye range slowly from Eta (η) -directly toward Zeta (ζ). When one-third of the distance between -the two stars has been passed, a faint, glimmering speck will be -perceived. Perhaps you will need an opera-glass to make sure that you -see it. This is the “Great Cluster in Hercules.” You must go to the -southern hemisphere to find its match anywhere in the sky. It is a -ball of suns! Now you need a telescope. You _must have one_. You must -either buy or borrow it, or you must pay a visit to an observatory, -for this is a thing that no intelligent human being in these days -can afford not to see. Can it be possible that any man can know that -fifteen thousand suns are to be seen, burning in a compact globular -cluster, and not long to regard them with his own eyes? Of what use is -description in such a case? The language has not yet been invented to -depict such things. Human speech comes down to us from the times when -men did not need the tongue of the gods to tell what they saw. When -Galileo invented the telescope, and Herschel multiplied its powers a -thousandfold, they should have found a language fitted to describe -their discoveries. But if you cannot get a look at the Hercules cluster -through a powerful telescope, photography comes to your aid. Look at -one of the wonderful Lick or Yerkes photographs of it, and pause long -on what you see. Note the crowding of those suns toward the centre, -note the glittering spiral lines formed by those which seem streaming -and hurrying from all sides to join the marvellous congregation--and -then turn again to that faint speck in the sky, which is all that the -naked eye reveals of the wonder, and reflect upon the meaning of space -and the universe. - -We now turn farther east, still keeping the eyes directed high in the -sky, and just at the edge of the Milky Way, with two minute stars -making a little triangle with it, we see Vega or Alpha Lyræ, the -astonishing brilliant that flashes on the strings of the heavenly Lyre. -At the Vernal Equinox it was just rising far over in the northeast; -now it is the unquestioned queen of that quarter of the sky. I like to -think of Emerson when looking at that star. There is a sentence of his -which reflects it like a mirror. When he strove to rouse the “sluggard -intellect of this continent,” to “look from under its iron lids,” he -could find no stronger image than that of poetry reviving here and -leading in a new age, “as the star in the constellation Harp, which -now flames in our zenith, astronomers announce, shall one day be the -Pole-star for a thousand years.” - -Of the effect of the Precession of the Equinoxes, to which Emerson -refers, we have already spoken. But it is a long time in the future -that Vega will begin, or rather resume, its reign as the Star of -the North. And, curiously enough, when that time comes the northern -hemisphere will have its Summer Solstice when the sun is just opposite -to the place which it now occupies at that season, and when Antares -will be no more a summer star, but will flash its ruddy light upon the -snows of a winter longer and colder than the winters that we know, -while Orion will blaze above the summer landscapes. This immense -revolution, some have thought, may be the measure of the “Great Year” -of Plato, and if the chronology adopted for dating the early remains of -civilization recently uncovered in Crete is correct, we have evidence -that mankind has persisted through one of these vast periods, and that -nations flourished round the Mediterranean when Vega was formerly the -Pole-star. - -The beauty of Vega, which has been admired and commented on from the -earliest times, is much enhanced when it is viewed with a telescope. -Then the blueness of its light becomes evident, and one is the more -astonished at the unquestionable fact that it outshines the sun a -hundred times. A _sapphire_ sun, a hundred times more brilliant than -ours! The proper motion of the solar system, which carries us through -space about twelve miles per second, is bearing us almost directly -toward Vega, so that as future ages unroll the star should become -brighter and brighter with decrease of distance, until eventually it -may outshine every other orb in the firmament, and put Sirius himself -to shame by its overpowering splendor. - -The little star Epsilon (ε), the northernmost one of the pair near -Vega, is a celebrated quadruple, easily seen as such with a telescope -of moderate power. - -A little less than half way from Beta (β) to Gamma (γ) the telescope -discovers the wonderful “Ring Nebula,” a delicate circle of nebulous -light with a star in the centre. This star is more conspicuous in -photographs than in telescopic views. This object has been regarded as -a visual proof of the correctness of Laplace’s theory of the origin of -the solar system from nebulous rings surrounding a central sun, but -the Lick photographs show that the ring in this case is of a strangely -complex constitution. Beta is both a binary and a variable star. - -Buried in the Milky Way, east of Lyra, lies the great “Northern Cross” -in the constellation Cygnus. It is more perfect than the famous -“Southern Cross,” and much larger. The star Alpha (α), at the head -of the main beam of the cross, is also called _Denib_, the “Tail,” -as it is situated in the tail of the “Swan,” Cygnus. Its parallax is -undetermined, and Newcomb placed it in his “XM” class, described under -Spica in Chapter I. The Milky Way is exceedingly beautiful in Cygnus. -Note particularly the broad gaps and rifts in it. Around and above the -head of the cross there are dark spaces, which are specially impressive -when the eyes are partly averted from them. Downward from Cygnus the -stream of the galaxy is seen to be partially split longitudinally. It -resembles a broad river meandering, in the droughts of the “dog days,” -over flats and shallows, and interrupted with long sand-bars. How can -stars have been thrown together into such forms? What whirls and eddies -of the ether can have made these _pools of shining suns_? - -The star in the foot of the cross, Beta (β), or _Albireo_--a beautiful -name without signification, since Allen shows that it originated in a -blunder (see his _Star Names and Their Meanings_)--is one of the most -attractive objects in the heavens for those who are fortunate enough to -possess a telescope. The smallest glass easily shows it to be double, -and the combination is unrivalled for beauty, the larger star being a -pale topaz and the smaller a deep sapphire. Their magnitudes are three -and seven, and their distance apart about 34″. I have separated them -with a field-glass. - -Cygnus contains one of the nearest stars in the sky, a twinkler not -too easily seen with the naked eye--a striking proof of the fact that -the mere faintness of a star is in itself no indication of excessive -distance. This is known as 61 Cygni, and will be found on Chart -X. It is a double, possible binary, easily separated with a small -telescope, the distance being about 21″. The distance of 61 Cygni -is about 40,000,000,000,000 miles. It was long known as the second -nearest star in the sky, the nearest being Alpha Centauri in the -southern hemisphere; but at least one nearer one has more lately been -discovered, and it, too, is a very small star. The combined luminosity -of the two stars in 61 Cygni is only one-tenth that of the sun. Amid -so many giants it is reassuring to find a sun smaller than ours; it -restores our self-esteem to find that our solar hamlet is not the very -least in the empire of space. - -Southeast of Cygnus, near the eastern shore of the starry river, is -Aquila, the “Eagle.” Its chief star, Altair, “Eagle,” recalls Antares, -not by its color, for it is not red but white, but by the singular -arrangement of two small stars standing one on either side of it. Here, -too, the Milky Way is very splendid, attaining astonishing brightness -lower down, in Scutum Sobieskii, “Sobieski’s Shield.” The naming of -this constellation was a posthumous reward to the heroic king, John -Sobieski, for saving Europe by the defeat of the Turks under the -walls of Vienna, after their victorious advance from Constantinople, -emphasized in the public mind by the appearance of Halley’s Comet, had -seemed to threaten a Moslem conquest. Twice Halley’s Comet had alarmed -Europe in connection with the Turks, first in 1456, after they had -taken Constantinople, and again in 1682 when they swept upon Vienna, -so that it was a natural thought to associate Sobieski’s victory with -some “sign in the sky,” and a more appropriate one could hardly have -been found than the “shield,” bossed with star-clusters, which Hevelius -selected for the purpose. The southern part of the constellation Aquila -is sometimes called Antinous. For the beautiful Oriental legend of the -Spinning Damsel and the Magpie Bridge connected with Aquila and Lyra, -see _Astronomy with the Naked Eye_. Newcomb gives Altair ten times the -luminosity of the sun. - -The constellations Delphinus and Anser et Vulpecula will be dealt with -in the next chapter. In the mean time let us turn to the western half -of the sky. - -Just west of the meridian, near the zenith, gleams the glorious -Northern Crown, Corona Borealis. The head of Serpens is right -underneath it. It is, perhaps, the most charming of all asterisms. It -could hardly be called anything else than a crown or a wreath. The -perfection of the figure is surprising. If its stars were larger it -would be the cynosure of the sky, but small as they are they produce -an effect of ensemble that could not have been exceeded if human hands -had arranged them there. The superior brightness of one of them, -Alpha “Gemma,” or “The Pearl,” adds greatly to the effectiveness -of the combination. It is the work of a master jeweller! Yet, as -I have elsewhere shown, this curious assemblage of stars is but a -passing phenomenon, for they are travelling in various directions, -with various speeds, and in the course of time the Northern Crown -will dissolve like a figure in the clouds. In Greek mythology it was -generally called the Crown of Ariadne. Just under the star Epsilon (ε) -is a wonderful variable, which in 1866 suddenly blazed up to the second -magnitude, and was for a time regarded as a new star. Nothing is known -of its periods of change. It is not now visible to the naked eye. - -West of Corona the most conspicuous object is Arcturus in Boötes. This -entire constellation is now well placed for observation. But first -a few words about Arcturus, a star of which one can never tire, so -steeped is it in the poetry and history of the most interesting nations -of the past. Like Alpha Centauri, Arcturus was used as a “temple -star” in both Egypt and Greece, and it was of much importance as a -prognosticator of the seasons. When a conspicuous star was seen rising -just ahead of the sun, it was said to rise heliacally, and it served -as a sentinel to announce the oncoming day. To the priests this was -important, because it warned them of the moment when it was necessary -to begin their preparations for the sunrise ceremonies in the temples. -To the husbandman such a herald seemed specially connected with the -particular season in which it appeared. In this way Arcturus came to -give its name to the ancient Greek autumn. In Sophocles’ _Œdipus the -King_ there is a passage which affords striking evidence of the popular -knowledge of Arcturus in this connection. When the herdsman from Mount -Cithæron is brought to prove that he had nurtured Œdipus as a child, -one of his former comrades, to recall the old man’s recollections, -reminds him that they had kept their flocks together “three whole -half-years from Spring to Arcturus” (meaning from Spring to Autumn, -since Arcturus then rose heliacally at the beginning of September). -Whatever might be the local names for Autumn, over all the Greek world -it was popularly known as the “time of Arcturus.” - -Although the Revised Version has struck out Arcturus and substituted -“the Bear” in that famous passage in which the Almighty answers Job -“out of the whirlwind,” yet for lovers of the Bible this will always be -“Job’s Star,” always surrounded to the imagination with the momentous -circumstances suggested by that tremendous and unanswerable demand: - - “Canst _thou_ call forth _Arcturus_ and his sons?” - -No scientific fact known about it--not its gigantic size, not -its inexplicable flight through space--can be so imposing as the -impressions conveyed in its choice by Jehovah to illustrate His -illimitable power. One likes to think that the Hebrew poet really did -mean to write “Arcturus,” for there is something sublime in the idea of -representing the Great Maker of All as calling one of His stars by name. - -Arcturus is sometimes referred to under the name of _Arctophilax_, the -“Bear-driver,” a name properly belonging to the constellation Boötes. -In modern astronomical history it will always be memorable for the -passage over it of the celebrated Comet of 1858, Donati’s Comet. At one -time the star was almost involved in the head of the great comet, and -yet it shone through the obstructing vapors with virtually undiminished -lustre. It was a spectacle, said Professor Nichol, the like of which -no one might see again though he should spend on earth fifty lives. -At the beginning the comet was a little plume of fire, “shaped like a -bird of paradise,” but it soon brightened into a stupendous scimetar, -brandished in the sunset, and when it swept over Arcturus the whole -astronomical world was watching to see what would happen to the star. - -Among the other stars of Boötes, Epsilon (ε) is specially worthy of -notice, being a remarkable binary of finely contrasted colors, orange -and sea-green. The distance is 2″.25, and the period of revolution long -but undetermined. Struve called this star “Pulcherrima,” on account of -its exceeding beauty. - -Although Arcturus by its splendor belittles the rest of the -constellation, yet it requires no difficult exercise of the imagination -to see a giant form there, towering behind the Bear, and urging on his -dogs in the chase. The dogs are represented by Canes Venatici, of the -beauty of whose chief star, Cor Caroli, I have spoken in the preceding -chapter. In the upper part of Canes Venatici, about 3° southwest -of Benetnasch, is the celebrated “Whirlpool Nebula” of Lord Rosse, -which modern photographs show in a form so suggestive of tremendous -disruptive forces that cosmogonists are at a loss to explain it. - -We now drop down to Libra, the “Balance,” which lies just west of -Scorpio and east of Virgo. There is evidence that this constellation -originally represented the outstretched claws of the Scorpion. Yet as -an independent constellation it is very ancient. It has only two stars -of any considerable magnitude, Alpha (α) and Beta (β). The former must -have faded, for it is now the fainter. It lies almost on the ecliptic. -These stars are interesting on account of their curious names, which -themselves tend to prove that Libra once formed a part of Scorpio. -Alpha is Zubenelgenubi, the “Southern Claw,” and Beta Zubeneschemali, -the “Northern Claw.” These titles, as Allen shows, have been derived -through the Arabic from the Greek names current in the time of Ptolemy. -The first is yellowish-white, and the second pale green. Any good eye -detects the difference of color at a glance, although the stars are -about ten degrees apart. Zubenelgenubi is widely double, separable with -an opera-glass. - -Along the western horizon we recognize our old friends Virgo, Corvus, -and Leo, while high in the northwest is Ursa Major, head downward, and -directly in the north Ursa Minor, standing on the end of his tail, -poised like an acrobat on Polaris. The head of Draco shows finely east -of the meridian, and low down in the northeast is the “Laconian Key” of -Cassiopeia. But that is for another evening. - - - - -III - -THE EVENING SKY AT THE AUTUMNAL EQUINOX - - “When descends on the Atlantic - The gigantic - Storm-wind of the Equinox, - Landward in his wrath he scourges - The toiling surges, - Laden with sea-weed from the rocks.” - - -Longfellow’s vivid lines reproduce the popular impression of the -character of the season when the descending sun again touches the -equator, giving the whole world once more days and nights of equal -length, before he dips to the south and leaves the northern hemisphere -to face the oncoming blasts of winter. There is no superstition more -deeply planted than that of the “equinoctial storms.” There _are_ -such storms, it is true, but they by no means always burst at the -epoch of the Equinox. The readjustment of atmospheric conditions goes -on gradually, and there is often, just at the equinoctial moment, a -spell of serene weather that can hardly be matched at any other season -of the year. The atmosphere, recovered from the excessive heats of -summer, possesses a quality of softness and “misty fruitfulness” that -tranquillizes the spirit and makes nature doubly charming. It is the -late afternoon of the year, when life, refreshed by the siestas of -summer, resumes its activity, and the heavens no less than the face of -the earth greet the eye with a smile of divine beauty. - -To every season its flowers--and to every season its stars. The gardens -of the sky are not the same in autumn as in summer, either in their -arrangement or in the peculiarities of their bloom. There is less -parade of flaming beauty, but the richness of the _coup d’œil_ is not -inferior. And just as in our September parterres some of the summer -beauties remain, though a little faded, to support with their charms -their stately successors, so in the skies of autumn a few of the summer -stars are yet seen, though somewhat robbed of their pristine splendor -as they sink toward the sunset. The garland of the Milky Way has now -been flung all across the firmament, from northeast to southwest, and -while Vega and Altair hang half-way down the curtain of the west, -recalling the glories of the solstice, Capella appears rising in the -northeast, and Cassiopeia, not less beautiful in the sky than when she -awoke the jealousy of the sea-nymphs, is seen seated in her “shiny -chair” east of the meridian in the north. Between Cassiopeia and -Capella flashes Perseus, with his uplifted sword marked by a curve of -stars embedded in the Milky Way, and above Perseus stands Andromeda, -upright, with her feet toward her rescuer and her head touching -the “Great Square of Pegasus,” near the middle of the sky, east of -the meridian. Cepheus, the King, is on the meridian above the pole. -Cassiopeia, Cepheus, Andromeda, and Perseus constitute the “Royal -Family” of the sky, more enduring than the proud dynasties that by -turns have ruled terrestrial affairs. - -[Illustration: CHART III--THE AUTUMN EVENING SKY] - -Low down in the south, east of the meridian, glows Fomalhaut, the -“Fish’s Mouth,” the leading and the only bright star of Piscis -Austrinus, the “Southern Fish.” With this singular star we may begin -our description of the beauties of the autumn sky. Fomalhaut well -deserves the epithet singular, if for nothing else than on account -of its loneliness. In this respect it is more remarkable than Cor -Hydræ, which it resembles in its ruddy color. Fomalhaut is the -characteristic star of autumn in our latitudes, for the same reasons -that cause Antares to represent the summer. Like Antares, it startles -the wandering eye and fixes the attention, although, unlike the great -star of Scorpio, it has no brilliant _entourage_ to emphasize its -supremacy over the quarter of the sky where it shines. It is one of -the sailors’ stars. To me Fomalhaut is full of boyhood memories and -impressions gained when I learned the stars in the country, among the -hills that shut in the Schoharie before it pours out into the valley of -the Mohawk. Fortunately, Thomas Dick’s works and Burritt’s _Geography -of the Heavens_ had a place in our house, and neither _The Arabian -Nights_ nor _The Swiss Family Robinson_ was able to dull my appetite -for them. In the course of time I knew all the great stars by name, and -found a wonderful pleasure in their acquaintance, although at times -they daunted me with their imposing associations with Egypt, the Nile, -Babylonia, and everything that is most ancient. I shall never forget -Fomalhaut flashing along in the south, just skipping the hilltops on an -autumn night. A great star is never so imposing nor so mysterious as -when it thus appears to be watching the earth. - -How immensely would the interest of many travellers’ tales be -heightened if only they had known the names of the stars whose -appearance they have recorded. When you have the name of the star that -was seen, the season and the hour of the night are fixed at once, -and the whole scene is filled with new life. When an Alpine climber, -waiting in his lonely camp high on the mountain-side for the coming of -day, tells me, “I saw Sirius glancing at us over a lofty peak far in -the east,” I know immediately the approximate time of night and the -aspect of the heavens, and the narrative gains in vividness; but if -he says merely that he saw “a star” his stroke of description misses. -And, then, the names of many of the stars, by their oddity and beauty, -enrich the page and awake the imagination. They are, in themselves, an -incantation. - -The lover of the stars is grateful for any reference to them by a -great writer, and yet he is often disappointed by the inadequacy -of descriptions that might easily have been made memorable if only -their authors had known the starry heavens a little better. How -disappointing, for instance, is this passage in R. H. Dana’s _Two Years -before the Mast_: - - “Wednesday, November 5th--The weather was fine during the previous - night, and we had a clear view of the Magellan Clouds and of the - Southern Cross. The Magellan Clouds consist of three small nebulæ in - the southern part of the heavens--two bright, like the Milky Way, and - one dark. They are first seen just above the horizon after crossing - the southern tropic. When off Cape Horn they are nearly overhead. The - Cross is composed of four stars in that form, and it is said to be the - brightest constellation in the heavens.” - -That is all, and the reader’s dissatisfaction is not confined to the -evidence of the writer’s lack of familiarity with the stars, but -becomes yet keener when he reflects upon the brilliant picture which -Mr. Dana’s powers of description should have enabled him to make of -those strange sights of the southern sky, which, in his day, were so -rarely seen by northern eyes. - -On the equator above Fomalhaut, and close to the meridian, appears a -curious group of stars in the form of a letter Y. They mark the hand -and urn of Aquarius, the “Waterman.” A few degrees westward from this -figure shines the Alpha (α) of the constellation, bearing the strange -name Sadalmelik, the “King’s Luck,” or “Lucky One.” It is situated -in the Waterman’s right shoulder, while Beta (β), some twelve degrees -farther west, marks the left shoulder. Beta’s distinctive name is -Sadalsuud, the “Luckiest of the Lucky.” Several other stars in this -constellation have names implying good-fortune. The Arabs saw the -Y-shaped figure, already referred to, as a tent, and the star Gamma -(γ) in this group is called Sadachbiah, from an Arabic phrase which -Professor Whitney translates “Felicity of Tents.” Upon this R. H. Allen -remarks that the star probably got its name from the fact that it rose -with its companions in the morning twilight of spring, “when, after -the winter’s want and suffering, the nomads’ tents were raised on the -freshening pastures, and the pleasant weather set in.” The star Zeta -(ζ), in this same figure, is a long-period binary, probably 750 years, -and a beautiful telescopic object, the distance being a little more -than 3″, while the two stars are nearly equal, and very white, although -one of them seems whiter than the other. - -It will be observed that the outline of the constellation Aquarius is -very curious, somewhat resembling that of the State of Louisiana tipped -on its side. The broader part of it runs down toward Fomalhaut, and the -northern part extends westward, like an L added to a house, between -Equuleus and Capricornus. The latter, the constellation of the “Goat,” -is relatively small and compact. Its two most interesting stars are -Alpha (α), or Algedi, the “Goat,” and Beta (β), or Dabih (signification -uncertain), both in one of the horns of the imaginary animal. Each of -these stars is a wide double. The distance between the Alphas is 373″, -and that between the Betas 205″, the latter being more than a tenth -of the apparent diameter of the moon. A good eye sees at once that -Alpha is double; but the two stars in Beta cannot be seen without a -glass, because one of them is below the sixth magnitude, the _minimum -visible_ for the naked eye. Each of the stars in Beta is a telescopic -double. The Goat heads westward, and the stars Delta (δ) and Gamma -(γ) are in his tail. This constellation has given us our Tropic of -Capricorn, because the place of the winter solstice was once within its -boundaries, although now we find it far west, in Sagittarius. - -Above the head of Capricornus we recognize our old acquaintance Altair, -in the Eagle, and east of this the singular little constellation of -Delphinus, the “Dolphin,” often called “Job’s Coffin,” a name for -which I have never been able to find any explanation. Like all small -constellations whose stars are comparatively close together, it -immediately attracts the eye. None of its stars exceeds the fourth -magnitude; but three of them, Alpha, Beta, and Gamma, are telescopic -doubles, the last named being particularly beautiful on account of the -contrast of colors, gold and green; distance 11″. - -Directly north of Altair is the very small constellation of Sagitta, -the “Arrow,” interesting when viewed with an opera-glass for its row of -little stars from which, as from a maypole lying horizontally, depend -loops of still smaller stars looking like garlands. In ancient times -this was sometimes called “Cupid’s Arrow,” but they did not venture to -represent the little god himself. Above Sagitta are the small stars -constituting the double constellation of Vulpecula et Anser, the -“Little Fox and the Goose.” - -Simply pausing to recognize the presence of the Northern Cross, we -turn to the eastern side of the meridian, where we find Pegasus, with -his Great Square. This is one of the most conspicuous figures in the -sky. The star at the northeastern corner of the square is Alpheratz, -of which I have spoken in the Introduction, as belonging in common to -Andromeda and Pegasus. When we come to Cassiopeia I shall point out -a remarkable fact relating to Alpheratz and its twin, Gamma Pegasi, -about 15 degrees directly south. Every lover of the “classics” of -course feels a thrill of pleasure in seeing Pegasus in the sky, “in -wild flight and free.” One can spare many of the heroes for the sake -of giving him room. Shakespeare’s references to the constellations are -much less frequent and definite than one could wish, but he has clearly -mentioned one or two, and it may be that he had the starry eidolon of -the Winged Horse in his eye when he wrote, in _Troilus and Cressida_: - - “But let the ruffian Boreas once enrage - The gentle Thetis, and anon behold - The strong-ribbed bark through liquid mountains cut, - Bounding between the two moist elements - Like Perseus’ horse.” - -The constellation extends far westward from the Square, and in the -imaginative sky pictures that illustrate old charts of the heavens the -star Epsilon (ε) is in the nose of Pegasus, as he stretches out his -neck to reach his foal, Equuleus. But the horse, with his feet toward -the north, is shown upside down, unless you turn your back to the south -when looking at him. The star Beta (β) is attractive on account of its -neighbors forming a striking triangle with it; but the space within the -Square is relatively vacant. Alpha (α) and Beta (β) are respectively -Markab, the “Saddle,” and Scheat (signification uncertain). - -South of the Square of Pegasus we see the western part of the -constellation of Pisces, whose small stars run in streams toward the -eastern horizon. Pisces furnishes one of the most remarkable examples -of this phenomenon, in which the stars are seen arrayed in long, -winding lines, like buttercups following a brook. Cetus is also seen -rising south of Pisces; but we shall deal with these constellations -later. Meanwhile we return to Alpheratz, at the northeast corner of -the Square of Pegasus. The name is derived from an Arabic phrase -meaning the “Horse’s Navel”; but the star is now generally associated -with Andromeda, and is, indeed, the Alpha of that constellation, and -shines on the maiden’s head. The star Delta (δ), in Andromeda, marks -her breast, and her extended arms and chained hands are shown by -rows and groups of small stars on the north and south. Beta (β), or -Mirach, is in her girdle, and the two small stars northwest of it lead -the eye to one of the most wonderful objects in the sky--the Great -Andromeda Nebula. You may detect it as a misty speck with the naked -eye; an opera-glass will show you plainly that it is a little luminous -cloud. In Chart X its position is indicated by a little circle near -the star Nu (ν). In a telescope it appears of a spindle shape, with -a bright axis, but the best views of it are afforded by photography. -On the photographic plate, exposed continuously for hours to its -rays, it gradually builds up its marvellous form--the great central -condensation, with the encircling spirals, emerging in all their -strange splendor. It resembles a whirlwind of snow, and the appearance -of swift motion and terrific force is startling. Its spectrum, instead -of being that characteristic of gases, indicates that it consists -principally of matter in a star-like state of condensation, and some -have imagined that it is an outside universe, composed of stars too -distant to be separately distinguished, and arrayed in mighty spirals, -which recall the form of the Milky Way. The latest investigations show -evidence, however, that it is partly nebular in constitution. These -things once known, the contemplative eye is drawn to that misty speck -as to a magnet. - -The star Gamma (γ), or Almaack, the “Badger,” is in Andromeda’s foot. -It is a wonderful triple star, whose largest member is orange in color, -the second emerald-green, and the third blue. The two larger stars are -easily seen with an ordinary telescope, the distance between them -being about 10″, but the third is difficult, the distance from the -second being, in 1908, only 0″.45. The last two form a binary, with a -period of about fifty-four years. When they are nearest to each other -no telescope can separate them. The colors of the two largest stars -are very striking, and yet some eyes seem incapable of appreciating -them. This is also true of many separate stars in the sky which possess -distinctive tints. It is a fine test of the chromatic capacity of the -eye to be able to enjoy the differences among the hues of the stars. -Color-blindness is far more common than is usually suspected, and is -apt to manifest itself in this way when not otherwise noticed. From -theoretical considerations Holmgren has shown that three varieties of -color-blindness may exist: first, where the sense is defective for only -one color, either red, green, or violet; second, where two colors, -either red and green or red and violet, are not perceived; and third, -where the defect extends to three colors, including red, green, and -violet. A person suffering from either of these forms of blindness -would lose much of the peculiar beauty exhibited by certain stars and -combinations of stars. - -To the right of Almaack, as one faces north, is the little -constellation of Triangulum, and beyond that, in the same direction, -Aries, the “Ram,” clearly marked by three stars, the two smaller -of which are quite close together. The largest star, Alpha (α), is -called Hamal, the “Ram,” or “Sheep”; and the next largest, Beta (β), -Sheratan, the “Sign,” this name being due to the fact that in the days -of Hipparchus Sheratan marked the place of the Vernal Equinox, and -consequently the point of beginning of the year, of which it was the -sign. Gamma (γ), the companion of Sheratan, sometimes called Mesarthim -(signification uncertain), is a beautiful telescopic double whose -components are 8″.8 apart. The smaller one has a curious tint which -Webb and others have described as “gray.” - -Aries was originally the leader of the zodiac, but the Precession -of the Equinoxes has now thrown it into second place, and brought -Pisces to the front, the twelve signs of the zodiac being like a fixed -circular framework through which the constellations drift toward -the east. The _sign_ Aries remains the first of the zodiac, but is -occupied by the constellation Pisces. Is there in any language a word -more mysteriously impressive than “zodiac”? Astrological superstition, -perhaps, partly accounts for this. The word comes from the Greek -for “animal,” because nearly all the constellations of the zodiacal -circle are representations of animals. It surrounds the sky with a -great menagerie of starry phantasms, through the midst of which the -sun pursues his annual round. When he enters the sign of Aries spring -commences; when he enters Cancer summer reigns; when he reaches Libra -it is the beginning of autumn, and when he is in Capricorn winter -is at hand. We have nothing quite equal to the old Greek story of -Phaeton begging from his father, Phœbus Apollo, the privilege of -driving the Chariot of the Sun, and losing his way through terror -of the threatening forms amid which lay his course--the “Scorpion,” -with his fiery sting uplifted to strike; the huge “Crab,” sprawling -across the way; the fierce “Ram,” with lowered head; the great “Bull,” -charging headlong upon him; the terrible “Lion,” with bristling mane; -the “Archer,” with bow bent and arrow aimed; the “Goat,” with crooked, -threatening horns; the sturdy “Waterman,” emptying his vast urn in -a raging flood; the balance of “Libra” extended as if to weigh his -fate--even the benign aspect of the “Twins” and the gentle look of the -sedate “Virgin” could not restore his equanimity. It was the wildest of -all wild rides, and Phaeton was the precursor of the modern chauffeur -gone mad with the speed of his flight, and crazed by the pursuit of -phantoms which rise remorselessly in his path. It was probably in Aries -that the inventors of the story imagined the beginning of the adventure. - -Below the feet of Andromeda, in the northeast, appears Perseus, -her rescuer, hurrying to the combat with the oncoming Sea Monster, -and carrying the blood-freezing head of Medusa in one hand and his -diamond-hilted sword in the other. He wraps the glory of the Milky Way -around him like a flying mantle, and brandished in the direction of -Cassiopeia, the maiden’s mother, and of King Cepheus, her father, is -seen his magic blade, made splendid in the sky by one of the finest -assemblages of small stars that can anywhere be seen. This beautiful -star-swarm, visible to the naked eye as a glowing patch in the Milky -Way, is indicated in Chart X by a double cluster of dots above the -star Eta (η). Seen with a powerful opera-glass, or better with a small -telescope, it is an object that one can never cease to admire and -wonder at. It is so bright that the unassisted eye sees it as soon as -it is directed toward that part of the sky. It seems to throw a halo -over the surrounding sky, as if at that point the galaxy had been -tied into a gleaming knot. It is popularly called the “Sword Hand of -Perseus.” But how inadequate seems such terrestrial imagery when we -reflect that here a vast chaotic nebula has been, through æons of -evolution, transformed into a kingdom of starry beauty. - -The star Alpha (α) Persei, also known as Algenib (Arabic _Al Janib_, -the “Side”), is the centre of a bending row following the curve -of the Milky Way. The appearance of this curve of stars is very -attractive to the eye. Algenib is a beautiful star, allied to our sun -in spectroscopic character, and approaching us at the rate of about -560,000 miles per day. - -But the greatest marvel of Perseus is the “Demon Star,” Algol, in -the head of Medusa, which is represented depending from the hero’s -right hand. Algol bears the Greek letter Beta (β). It is the most -wonderful of variables, and its variations can be watched without any -instrumental assistance. For the greater part of the time it is of -nearly the second magnitude; but once every two days, twenty hours, -and forty-nine seconds it begins suddenly to lose light, and in about -four hours or less it fades to nearly the fourth magnitude, being then -no brighter than some of the faint stars around it. Almost immediately -it begins to brighten again, and in the course of about three hours is -seen shining with its pristine splendor. The cause of these singular -variations is believed to be the existence of a dark star, or a mass of -meteors, revolving round Algol at such close quarters that a distance -of only 3,000,000 miles separates the centres of the two. Algol itself -is demonstrably considerably larger than our sun, but of less density. -The Arabic name for this star was _Al Ghul_, the “Demon,” or “Fiend of -the Woods,” and our word ghoul comes from it. The imagination of a Poe -could not have represented a more startling thing--a sun that winks -like a gloating demon! One may easily cultivate an uncanny feeling -while watching it. No one need be surprised that the astrologers make -much of the malign influence of Algol. If one had faith in them, one -might as well be born with the millstone of fate tied to his neck as to -have Algol in his nativity. - -Below Perseus, and not very high above the horizon, sparkles the -brilliant Capella, but that is for the next chapter. We turn to -Cassiopeia. Her “W,” or “Laconian Key,” is a familiar asterism to -all who know anything at all of the starry heavens. The five stars -forming this figure are also represented as marking the Chair in which -the unfortunate though beautiful queen sits. There is a delightful -reference to this “Chair” in Xavier de Maistre’s _Expédition Nocturne -autour de ma Chambre_. When the hero discovers the slipper of his fair -neighbor of the upper flat visible on the balcony above, he wishes “to -compare the pleasure that a modest man may feel in contemplating a -lady’s slipper with that imparted by the contemplation of the stars.” -Accordingly, he chooses the first constellation that he can see. “It -was, if I mistake not, Cassiopeia’s Chair which I saw over my head, and -I looked by turns at the constellation and the slipper, the slipper -and the constellation. I perceived then that these two sensations were -of a totally different nature; the one was in my head, while the other -seemed to me to have its seat in the region of the heart.” - -The names of three of the five stars forming the “Chair” are: Alpha (α) -Schedar (from _Al Sadr_, the “Breast”); Beta (β) Caph (Arabic _Kaff_, -“Hand”); and Delta (δ) Ruchbah or Rucbar, the “Knee.” Caph and Ruchbar -are of particular interest, the first because, together with Alpheratz -and Gamma Pegasi (often called Algenib, although that name belongs -to Alpha Persei), it lies almost exactly on the Equinoctial Colure, -or First Meridian of the Heavens; and Ruchbah, because, as explained -in Chapter I, it lies in a line with Polaris and the true pole, thus -serving to indicate the position of Polaris with regard to the pole at -any time. Caph, Alpheratz, and Gamma Pegasi are often called the “Three -Guides,” because, as just explained, they graphically show the line of -the Equinoctial Colure, which is a great circle passing through the -pole and cutting the equator at the Vernal and Autumnal Equinoxes. On -the opposite side of the pole this line passes between the stars Gamma -(γ) and Delta (δ) in Ursa Major. - -The star Eta (η) is an extremely beautiful binary, period about two -hundred years, distance at present more than 6″. The combination of -colors is especially remarkable, the larger component being orange, and -the smaller purple. Piazzi Smyth saw the color of the smaller star as -“Indian red,” and others have variously called it “garnet,” “violet,” -and, curiously enough, considering the general opinion to the contrary, -“green.” There is no doubt, whatever the exact hue may be, that this -star wears a livery distinguishing it from any other in the sky. It is -hardly an exaggeration to say that there is as great a variety of color -tones among stars as among flowers. Although the great majority of -stars approximate to white, there are, nevertheless, red stars, green -stars, blue stars, lilac stars, yellow stars, orange stars, indigo -stars, and violet stars, and stars of other tints and shades. All of -those which are deeply colored are linked together in close pairs, but -the colors they exhibit are not an effect of contrast. It is wonderful -to think of _suns_ of such hues, but _there they are_! And, after all, -it would be no more difficult to account for the colors of stars than -for those of flowers. But to live under a purple or an emerald sun -might not be as agreeable as life in the rays of our white orb, whose -light splits into rainbows, as light of a single primary color could -not do. A flower-garden under a green sun would not be the marvel of -prismatic hues that it is in our world.[1] - -Cassiopeia is memorable for being the scene of one of the greatest -astronomical occurrences on record. Near the star Kappa (κ), in 1572, -appeared the most splendid new star that has ever been seen. It is -known as “Tycho’s Star,” the Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe having been -an assiduous student of the wonderful phenomenon during the sixteen -months that it remained visible. There is a red variable star of less -than the tenth magnitude quite close to the spot where Tycho recorded -the appearance of his _nova_, and it has been thought that this may -be the mysterious object itself. In 1901 a new star, almost equal in -brilliance to Tycho’s, suddenly burst out in Perseus, between Algol -and Algenib, and these two so similar phenomena occurring in the same -quarter of the heavens are usually linked together in the discussion -of new stars. The reader who wishes more particulars about these stars -may consult _Curiosities of the Sky_. - -The background of the sky around Cassiopeia is a magnificent field for -the opera-glass and the telescope. In sweeping over it one is reminded -of Jean Paul Richter’s _Dream of the Universe_: - - “Thus we flew on through the starry wildernesses; one heaven after - another unfurled its immeasurable banners before us and then rolled - up behind us; galaxy behind galaxy towered up into solemn altitudes - before which the spirit shuddered; and they stood in long array, - through which the Infinite Beings might pass in progress. Sometimes - the Form that lightened would outfly my weary thoughts, and then it - would be seen far off before me like a coruscation among the stars, - till suddenly I thought to myself the thought of ‘There,’ and then - I was at its side. But as we were thus swallowed up by one abyss of - stars after another, and the heavens above our eyes were not emptier, - neither were the heavens below them fuller; and as suns without - intermission fell into the solar ocean like waterspouts of a storm - which fall into the ocean of waters, then at length the human heart - within me was overburdened and weary, and yearned after some narrow - cell or quiet oratory in this metropolitan cathedral of the universe. - And I said to the Form at my side: ‘O Spirit! has then this universe - no end?’ And the Form answered and said, ‘Lo! it has no beginning!’” - -Westward from Cassiopeia, directly over the pole, and lying athwart the -meridian, is the constellation of Cepheus, the King, less conspicuous -than that of his queen, Cassiopeia, but equally ancient. Its leading -star, Alpha (α), also called Alderamin, the “Right Arm,” is a -candidate for the great office of Pole-star, which it will occupy in -about 5500 years. Beta (β), the second in rank, is named Alfirk, the -“Flock” or “Herd.” If you are sweeping here with an opera-glass you -will perceive, about half-way between Alpha (α) and Zeta (ζ), a small -star which will at once arrest your attention by its color. It is the -celebrated “Garnet Star” of Sir William Herschel, who was greatly -impressed by its brilliant hue, declaring it to be the most deeply -colored star that the naked eye can find in the sky. But its color is -not so striking unless a glass be used. - -Low down in the north-northwest we see the Great Dipper, above it the -coiling form and diamond head of Draco, and then, still higher, the -Northern Cross and Vega, bright as a jewel. Hercules and the Northern -Crown are near setting in the northwest. - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[1] The reader who is curious concerning such matters is advised -to consult a paper by Dr. Louis Bell on “Star Colors,” in the -_Astrophysical Journal_ (vol. xxi, No. 3, April, 1910). Dr. Bell’s -experiments with artificial stars seem to show that physiological -effects play a great part in producing the pronounced colors of the -small stars in many telescopic doubles. The paper is very interesting, -especially in its description of a startling imitation of the singular -cluster, Kappa (κ) Crucis, which Sir John Herschel described as -resembling a gorgeous piece of colored jewelry. But, whatever part -physiological optics may play in the phenomena of colored doubles, it -is certain that many single stars, including some of great magnitude, -possess distinctive tints. Compare, for instance, Castor and Pollux or -Rigel and Betelgeuse. Aldebaran and Betelgeuse are both reddish, yet -the color tones that they exhibit are clearly different. - - - - -IV - -THE EVENING SKY AT THE WINTER SOLSTICE - - -The magic of the starry heavens does not fail with the decline of -the sun in winter, but, on the contrary, increases in power when the -curtains of the night begin to close so early that by six o’clock the -twilight is gone and the firmament has become a dome of jet ablaze with -clusters of living gems. And when the snows arrive, mantling the hills -with glistening ermine, the coruscating splendor of the sky seems to be -redoubled. If I were to choose a time most suitable for interesting a -novice in the beauties and wonders of uranography, I would select the -winter, and I would lead my acolyte, on a clear, frosty night, when the -landscape was glittering with crusted snow, upon some eminence where -the curve of the horizon was broken only by the leafless tops of a few -trees, through which the rising stars would flash like electric lamps. -The accord between the stars and the seasons is never more evident than -at such a time and in such a place, and the psychology of the stars is -then most strongly felt. When the earth is locked fast in the bonds -of winter the sparkling heavens seem most alive. I would have, if it -were possible, a clump of dark pines or hemlocks near the place of -observation, throwing their shadows on the snow, while Sirius in all -its wild beauty blazed above them, and Aldebaran, Rigel, and Betelgeuse -filled the vibrant air about them with jewelled lances of prismatic -light. Then the sound of sleigh-bells in the resonant atmosphere would -seem an aerial music shaken from the scintillant sky, and a lurking -fox, stealing from his den in the edge of the shadows, would appear -timorously conscious of the splendor over his head. The nocturnal -animals know a day more glorious than ours, but it is never so glorious -as when its multi-colored rays splinter upon crystalled hills at the -winter solstice. - -Now the greatest of the constellations reign in the sky. Orion is -high up in the southeast, and around him are arrayed his brilliant -attendants and companions--toward the west Taurus, with Aldebaran and -the glittering Pleiades; above, Auriga and Gemini dipping their feet in -the Milky Way; in the east, Canis Minor, with great, steady Procyon, -and Canis Major proclaiming his precedence with flaming Sirius, the -King of the Stars. We cannot do better than begin with this starry -monarch and his constellation. - -[Illustration: CHART IV--THE WINTER EVENING SKY] - -To me Sirius will always remain associated with the memory of Christmas -sleigh-bells and the thrilling creak of runners on crisp, hard snow, -for it was during a drive home from a “Christmas-tree” in a country -church that I first made the acquaintance of that imperial star. It -seemed to me more brilliantly beautiful than any of the dazzling -gifts that had hung so magically on the illuminated tree. Its splendor -is unearthly, putting diamonds and sapphires to shame. How people can -live and be happy without ever gazing at such an object surpasses the -understanding of any one who has once beheld and yielded to its charm. -The splendors of Aladdin’s Cave are for children, and fade in the light -of advancing life, but these glories of the universe are for men and -women, and grow brighter with the years. - -The renown of Sirius is as ancient as the human race. There has never -been a time or a people in which or by whom it was not worshipped, -reverenced, and admired. To the builders of the Egyptian temples and -pyramids it was an object as familiar as the sun itself. Its name is -usually regarded as being derived from the Greek Σείριος, the “Bright -or Shining One,” but it is also thought that it may be connected with -Osiris. The familiar title of the “Dog Star” comes from its association -with the _dies caniculariæ_ of the Romans. - -“As the movable Egyptian year,” says George Cornewell Lewis, “was held -to have originally begun at the heliacal rising of the Dog Star, which -was contemporary with the ordinary commencement of the inundation of -the Nile, this period was, by late writers, entitled the Canicular, or -Sothiac, period, Sothis being the Egyptian name for the Dog Star.” - -Norman Lockyer identifies Sirius with the goddess Isis, or Hathor, who -was personified by that star, and the temple of Isis at Dendera was, -he avers, built to watch it. “It has been pointed out, times without -number,” he adds, “that the inscriptions indicate that by far the most -important astronomical event in Egyptian history was the rising of the -star Sirius at this precise time.” - -Sirius has sometimes been identified with the “Mazzaroth” of the Book -of Job. - -The great star is worthy of all its fame, not only by its magnificent -beauty, but by the revelations which modern science has afforded us -concerning it. While not comparable in actual luminosity with Rigel, -Canopus, or even Arcturus, it immensely outshines the best of them to -our eyes because of its relative nearness. Its distance is only about -50,000,000,000,000 miles (parallax 0″.37), so that it is really one of -the nearest stars in the sky. Light requires about nine years to come -to us from Sirius. Outshining the sun at least thirty times, it is so -bright, even at that distance, that a special rank has been given to -it in stellar photometry. Formerly all very bright stars were ranked -as of the first magnitude, but greater exactness is now employed, the -naked-eye stars being divided among eight magnitudes, running from -6 up to -1. Thus the faintest star visible to the naked eye is of -magnitude 6; a star 2.51 times brighter is of magnitude 5; a star 2.51 -times brighter than that is of magnitude 4, and so on up to magnitude -1. A star 2.51 times brighter than magnitude 1 is of magnitude 0; and -one 2.51 times brighter than the 0 magnitude is of magnitude -1, a -degree of brilliance which is attained by Sirius alone. In fact, Sirius -exceeds magnitude -1, its real rank being -1.6. On the same scale the -magnitude of the sun would be -26.3. The standard first magnitude s -usually taken as being represented by the star Altair, although that -star is not _exactly_ of that magnitude. As a ready rule it may be -said that each magnitude is two and a half times brighter than the -next below it, and a difference of six magnitudes corresponds to an -increase of one hundred times in brilliance. Sirius is about ten times -as bright as Altair. While, if _seen from the same distance_, Sirius -would appear at least thirty times as bright as the sun, at our actual -distance from both the light received from the sun is to that received -from Sirius in the ratio of about 7,000,000,000 to 1. While by no means -the largest sun in the universe, Sirius is the largest sun in our part -of space, and some indications have been detected that it may, to a -certain extent, control the motion of the solar system. In other words, -our sun and some of the nearer stars appear to form a group, or family, -of which Sirius is probably the chief. - -Sirius is an intensely white star, but its whiteness is shot with a -tint of blue or green. It has not the purity of light of Spica. Owing -also to its great brilliance, it twinkles incessantly, darting, in -an unsteady atmosphere, rays of all the colors of the rainbow. The -spectroscope shows that it is a sun at an earlier stage of development -than ours. It is also a binary. A very massive companion, singularly -faint for its size, revolves round it in a period of about fifty-three -years. At present the distance between these stars is more than 6″. The -small star is more than half as massive as Sirius, but ten thousand -times less brilliant--one would say a dying sun linked by gravitation -with another in the heyday of its life and splendor. - -The constellation Canis Major, of which Sirius is the leader, is very -striking in outline when well above the horizon. Some six degrees west -of Sirius is seen the second star of the constellation, Beta (β), or -Murzim (Arabic _Al Murzim_, the “Announcer”), a name which Ideler says -originated in the fact that this star rises ahead of Sirius, and thus -appears to announce its coming. The remainder of the constellation -should be viewed an hour or two later than that for which Chart IV is -drawn, or a month later in the season, when it is farther from the -horizon. It represents the hind-quarters of the imaginary dog. The -star Epsilon (ε), or Adhara, perhaps the brightest in the group, is a -double; colors orange and violet; distance 7″.5. The smaller star is -of only the ninth magnitude. Delta (δ) is called Wezen, the “Weight,” -because “the star seems to rise with difficulty from the horizon,” an -excellent instance of the fanciful titles which the Arabs and others -often gave to stars. Zeta (ζ) is Furud, and Eta (η) Aludra. The meaning -of these names is uncertain. Allen says that the Arabs called Epsilon, -Delta, Eta, and Omicron (ο) “The Virgins.” But they had other names for -them suggested by fancied resemblances as they rose sparkling from the -desert. - -From Canis Major the eye rises to Orion, the most glorious of all -constellations: - - “Whoso kens not him in cloudless night - Gleaming aloft, shall cast his eyes in vain - To find a brighter sign in all the heaven.” - -Brown, in his _Primitive Constellations_, undertakes to derive the -name from the Akkadian Uru-anna, the “Light of Heaven.” Whatever its -origin, it is certainly very ancient. For some thousands of years -it has been associated with a traditional giant who looms in the -background of Greek mythology. In the classical atlases of the heavens -Orion is represented as standing in an attitude of defiance, facing -westward, brandishing a huge club above his head, and lifting his -left arm, covered with a lion’s hide, to meet the charge of Taurus, -the “Bull.” And under some such guise all mankind has seen him for -untold ages--always a gigantic figure, always heroic in character, -always defying or pursuing--the symbol of strength, courage, conquest, -and victory. The same idea underlies every representation of this -constellation; whether it be the mythical “Giant” of the East, or -“Nimrod” or “Joshua” or the “Armed King” or the “Warrior” or the -“Hunter,” it is invariably the figure of a doer of great deeds which is -presented to the imagination. And it must be said that the aspect of -the constellation is in accord with such thoughts. No one can look at -it without a stirring of the blood. It has something of the effect of a -great battle-piece, and it is not surprising that they once endeavored -in France to connect it with the name of Napoleon. Although its two -chief stars are separated some eighteen degrees, and the central “Belt” -forms a striking figure by itself, yet there is an unmistakable unity -about the constellation, and one would hardly think of dividing it into -separate groups. Singularly enough, this sense of oneness is borne out -by the photographic discovery that a vast swirl of nebulous matter -surrounds the entire constellation, and by the spectroscopic proof that -nearly all of its stars belong to one type, which has become known as -the “Orion type.” - -Perhaps the first feature of Orion that strikes the eye is the -arrangement of the three nearly equal bright stars which form the Belt. -Their Greek-letter names are Delta, Epsilon, and Zeta, and by these -they are usually designated, but there is a great charm in their Arabic -titles, which, in the same order, are _Mintaka_, “Belt”; _Alnilam_ -(from “String of Pearls”); and _Alnitah_, “Girdle.” It will be observed -that all of these names have a similar signification, and probably each -of them was originally employed to designate the whole row.[2] - -The Belt is remarkable in another way--it points very nearly toward -Sirius; it is like a glittering signboard indicating the position of -the brightest star in the sky. To hasty observation the row seems to be -perfectly straight, although there is in reality a slight bend, and the -distances separating the three stars appear to be exactly equal. The -effect is as beautiful as it is surprising. - -Below the Belt hangs a fainter row of stars constituting the “Sword.” -The central star of this row, Theta (θ), arrests the attention at once -by a curious appearance of nebulosity, especially if it is examined -with an opera-glass. A telescope shows it to be enveloped in one of the -grandest nebulæ in the sky, the celebrated “Great Nebula of Orion.” -With a large glass its appearance is astonishing in the highest degree. -Instead of being elongated like the great nebula in Andromeda, it is -about as broad as long, with no single centre of condensation, but many -curdled accumulations, interspersed with partial gaps, and a great -variety of curved lines of brighter nebulosity, suggesting the misty -skeleton of some nondescript monster impact of phosphorescent clouds. -A large number of stars are scattered over or through it, and some of -them seem clearly to be connected with it, as if created out of its -substance. Unlike the Andromeda nebula, this shows only the spectrum of -glowing gas, so that no such supposition as has been made in the other -case--_viz._, that it may be an outside universe--is admissible here. -It is rather a chaos, rich with the elements from whose combinations -spring suns and planets, and where the effects of organizing forces are -just beginning to become manifest. It resembles a vast everglade filled -with tangled vegetation and uncouth growths, but where the fertile -soil, once cleared and drained, is capable of producing an enormous -harvest. - -On either side of the Belt, but far removed from it, shine the two -great stars of Orion, Alpha (α), or Betelgeuse (from an Arabic phrase -meaning the “Armpit of the Central One”), and Beta (β), or Rigel (from -an Arabic phrase meaning the “Leg of the Giant”). These stars differ -remarkably in color, Betelgeuse being orange-hued, and Rigel white. -Although Betelgeuse takes precedence in the Greek-letter ranking, it is -variable in brightness, sometimes exceeding Rigel in brilliance, and -sometimes falling below it. The changes are uncertain in a long and as -yet unascertained period. There is here an opportunity for an amateur -to make valuable observations. But such observations must be continued -over a considerable period of years. - -Both stars are of immense actual magnitude. Their distance is so great -that no trustworthy estimate of their parallax has yet been made. -Rigel was put by Newcomb in his “XM” class, to which we have several -times referred. It is without doubt one of the mightiest suns in the -universe. It is also a double, and one of the finest in the sky. -Close to its flaming rays the telescope reveals a small, intensely -blue star. The distance is about 9″.5. In its general aspect Rigel -resembles Vega, but the latter has a more decided blue tint. Scientific -photometry gives the precedence in brightness to Vega, which is ranked -as of magnitude 0.1, while Rigel is 0.3, which means that the first is -one-tenth, and the second three-tenths of a magnitude below the 0 rank. -It is very interesting to bring Rigel and Betelgeuse close together -with a good sextant and then note the difference in their color. - -The star Gamma (γ), or Bellatrix, the “Amazon” or “Female Warrior,” -marks the left shoulder of the imaginary giant. Astrological -superstition connects this star with the fortunes of women. Kappa (κ), -or Saiph, “Sword” (although it is far from the Sword), is in the right -knee of the figure. The head is marked by a little triangular group -of stars, the chief of which is Lambda (λ), a fine double, yellow and -purplish; distance 4″.5. The “lion’s hide” which Orion is represented -as carrying on his left arm like a shield is shown by a bending row -of small stars, beginning with Pi (π) and running upward between -Bellatrix and Aldebaran in Taurus. The reader who is not provided -with a telescope is advised, at least, to employ an opera-glass in -sweeping over the whole space included in Orion. It is a region -superb in its beauty and grandeur. Around the Belt, particularly, the -sky is filled with sparkling multitudes infinitely varied in size, -color, and grouping. As already said, this part of the firmament -contains an enormous spiral nebula, which, although it can only be -seen in photographs, seems to manifest its presence to the eye by -the significant arrangement of small stars in curving lines. A word -should be added about the star Zeta, or Alnitah, at the southeastern -end of the Belt. It is a triple, very remarkable for the indescribable -color of its second largest component. The Russian astronomer Struve -could find nothing exactly resembling it in tone in the whole gamut -of spectral colors, and he invented a special name to describe -it--_olivacea-sub-rubicunda_, which may be translated “ruddy-olive.” It -is 2″.5 from its larger companion. The third star is very faint, and -distant 56″. When the telescope is directed to the star Sigma (σ) there -comes into view an astonishing double group of stars, among which such -colors as pale blue, “grape-red,” ruddy, and “gray” have been detected. -The effect upon the mind of seeing such combinations of tinted suns -transcends all power of description. With the feeling of pleasure that -they give goes a sense of staggering wonder. - -West of Orion, beginning near Rigel, is seen the constellation -Eridanus, the River Po. Its stars are interesting for their plainly -streaming tendency rather than for their individual peculiarities. -Rising slightly from the neighborhood of Rigel, the stream runs in a -graceful curve under Taurus, and continues westward until it meets -Cetus, where it turns downward toward the horizon, and then sweeps back -eastward again, disappearing behind the southern horizon below Orion -and Lepus. It has no large star visible in northern latitudes, but in -the southern hemisphere it contains one of the brightest stars in the -sky, Achernar, the “End of the River.” All of the ancients saw a river -in this part of the sky, a fact which does not surprise the observer -when he has once noted the arrangement of the stars of Eridanus. Its -stars are so numerous that the old uranographers seem to have grown -weary of attaching letters to them; or rather, perhaps, the alphabet -was too short to answer the demand, for no less than nine of them, -beginning from the one thus lettered in Chart V, are called Tau (τ), as -τ¹, τ², τ³, etc. (For the origin of the association of Eridanus with -the River Po, and with the story of Phaeton, see _Astronomy with the -Naked Eye_). - -The constellation Lepus, the Hare, below Orion, and marking the place -where Eridanus turns finally to flow into the far south, is noteworthy -only for its groupings of stars. It contains one star too faint to be -seen with the naked eye near the western border of the constellation, -below and to the right of the little group under Rigel, in Chart V, -which is so intensely crimson that Hind likened its appearance to a -_blood drop_. - -We turn next to Taurus. On account of the beauty of Aldebaran and -the Pleiades, this constellation hardly falls behind Orion in -attractiveness. Aldebaran (Arabic _Al Dabaran_, the “Follower”) is the -chief star of the constellation and the leader of the group called -the Hyades, a name which Lewis derives from the Greek word ὕειυ, to -rain, because their rising was connected with the beginning of the -rainy season. Popularly the group is known as the “Letter A,” whose -form it imitates, although it is usually seen nearly upside down. -The letter V would perhaps better represent our view of it. It is a -glorious sight with an opera-glass. Aldebaran is distinctly red, but -of a peculiar tone, which has frequently been called rose-red. Its -redness is certainly unlike the orange tone of Betelgeuse. When gazing -at it in a fanciful mood, I have often likened it imaginatively to -an apple-blossom in color. Flammarion has translated the Hebrew name -of this star, _Aleph_, as “God’s Eye.” Taurus, he says, is the most -ancient of the signs of the zodiac, the first that the Precession -of the Equinoxes placed at the head of the signs, and he adds that -observational astronomy appears to have been founded at the epoch -when the Vernal Equinox lay close to Aldebaran--_i. e._, about three -thousand years before the commencement of our era. - -The beauty of Aldebaran, the singularity of the figure shaped by its -attendants, the charming effect produced by the flocks of little -stars, the Deltas and the Thetas, in the middle of the arms of the -letter, and the richness of the stellar groundwork of the cluster, all -combine to make the Hyades one of the most memorable objects in the -sky; but no one can describe it, because the starry heavens cannot be -put into words. Terrestrial analogies, and phrases applied to things -seen on the earth, utterly fail to convey the impressions made by such -spectacles. I can only again urge the reader to examine the Hyades -with a good opera-glass on a clear night when there is no moonlight to -interfere. Some one once said, “If you would test your appreciation of -poetry, read Milton’s _Lycidas_”; so I would say, If you would know -how you are affected by nature’s masterpieces in the sky, look at the -Hyades. - -The stars Theta (θ) and Sigma (σ) are both naked-eye doubles for sharp -eyes. Try if you can see both of the pairs. - -The Hyades represent the head of the imaginary bull, Aldebaran -standing for the eye, while rows of stars running up toward Zeta (ζ) -and Beta (β) figure the “golden horns.” The Pleiades, the “Atlantid -Nymphs,” hang on the shoulder. They form a much more compact group -than the Hyades, and possess no large star, their chief brilliant, -Alcyone--Eta(η)--being only of the third magnitude. But the effect of -their combination is very striking and beautiful. In looking at them -one can never refrain from quoting Tennyson’s famous lines in which -they are described as glittering “like a swarm of fireflies tangled -in a silver braid.” The adjective silvery exactly describes them. If -you happen to glance at the sky at a point many degrees away from the -place where they shine, your eye will inevitably be drawn to them. -They have greater attractive power than a single large star, and the -effect of their intermingled rays is truly fascinating. With an -opera-glass they look like the glimmering candles on a Christmas-tree. -Their mythological history and the many strange traditions pertaining -to them I have described elsewhere, and shall not repeat here; but it -should be said that there is not in all the sky any object comparable -with the Pleiades in influence over the human imagination. The fancy -of Maedler that Alcyone was the central sun of the universe, and the -inference, so popular at one time, that it might be the very seat of -the Almighty, have vanished in the limbo of baseless traditions; but -the mystic charm of the Pleiades has been increased by the photographic -discovery that they are involved in a wonderful mass of tangled nebulæ. -Their distance is unknown, but evidently very great, some having put it -at 250 light-years, corresponding to about 1,450,000,000,000,000 miles! -If this is correct, Alcyone may be really one of the most gigantic suns -in the universe. They appear to be travelling together like a flock of -birds. - -It is always an interesting question how many stars in the cluster -can be seen with the naked eye. Many persons can detect only six, but -better, or more trained, eyes see seven, or even nine. The telescope -and photography reveal thousands thickly sprinkled over the space of -sky that they occupy, or immediately around them. How many of these -are actually connected with the group is unknown. One of the most -persistent legends of antiquity is that of the “Lost Pleiad.” Says Miss -Clerke, in her _System of the Stars_: - - “That they ‘were seven who now are six’ is asserted by almost all - the nations of the earth from Japan to Nigritia, and variants of the - classical story of the ‘Lost Pleiad’ are still repeated by sable - legend-mongers in Victoria, by headhunters in Borneo, by fetish - worshippers amid the mangrove swamps of the Gold Coast. An impression - thus widely diffused must either have spread from a common source or - originated in an obvious fact; and it is at least possible that the - veiled face of the seventh Atlantid may typify a real loss of light in - a prehistorically conspicuous star.” - -The name Pleiades is derived from the Greek πλεἵν, to sail, because -their heliacal rising occurred at the time when navigation opened in -the seas of Greece, and their heliacal setting at the time of its close. - - “... Rude winter comes - Just when the Pleiades begin to set.” - -But their religious significance seems always to have exceeded their -practical importance as a sign of the seasons, and from the temples -on the Acropolis of Athens to the sanctuaries of Mexico, Yucatan, and -Peru they were regarded with reverence and awe. Modern popular fancies -have been less reverential, and Alcyone and her attendants have been -degraded to the figure of a “hen and her chickens.” Our red-skinned -predecessors on this continent were more poetical, for they saw in the -Pleiades a group of lost children, and in old China they were starry -sisters busy with their needlework. - -High overhead, above Orion and Taurus, gleams Capella, the chief star -of the constellation Auriga, the “Charioteer.” This is also a white -star, but no correct eye would confuse it with Rigel or Vega. It has -none of the sapphire tint that is mingled in their rays, but is rather -of the whiteness of cream. It is a very great star, not only in its -apparent brilliance, but in actual luminosity. With a parallax of -0″.09, Newcomb calculated its luminosity at one hundred and twenty -times that of the sun. It is a spectroscopic binary, the invisible -companion revolving round it in a period of one hundred and four days. -In spectroscopic character it closely resembles the sun, being in the -same stage of development. Vogel’s observations indicate that it is -flying away from us at a speed of more than a million and a quarter -miles per day; but, in contradiction to this, some have thought that it -is increasing in brightness. A little elongated triangle of stars below -and somewhat to the west of Capella serves to render its recognition -certain to the beginner in star-gazing. In the evenings of early -November, when one is in the northeast and the other in the northwest, -it is interesting to compare Capella with Vega, both in brightness and -in color. In late January evenings Capella is near the zenith for the -middle latitudes of the United States, and at such times is a superb -object. The Milky Way pouring through Auriga increases the beauty of -the spectacle. - -The second star of Auriga, Beta (β), or _Menkalina_, the “Shoulder,” is -also a spectroscopic binary with a period of only four days. It was the -first binary of this class to be discovered. In 1889 Pickering found -that its spectral lines were doubled every two days, from which he -inferred the duplicate character of the star and calculated the period -of revolution of its components. - -Farther east we see Gemini, the “Twins.” It is a very beautiful -constellation, independently of the brightness of its leaders, Castor -and Pollux, or Alpha (α) and Beta (β). The feet of the imaginary twins -are dipped in the Milky Way nearly above the uplifted club of the giant -Orion, and close to the summer solstice. The successive belts of stars -crossing the figures of the Twins present an attractive appearance. -Castor, although the literal leader of the constellation, is not now -as bright as its neighbor, Pollux. A change of brightness must have -taken place. Castor is a celebrated binary with a period of about one -thousand years. The distance between the two stars composing it is -about 5″.5, and, both being bright, they can be separated with small -telescopes. - -Pollux is very near the standard first magnitude in brightness. It has -a slightly orange tint in contrast with the whiteness of Castor. Like -Orion, Taurus, and Auriga, Gemini offers splendid fields of stars for -the opera-glass. A cluster, M35, not far above the place of the summer -solstice, is an object of rare beauty when seen with a low telescopic -power. - -South of Gemini shines the bright star Procyon in Canis Minor, the -Lesser Dog. This star, whose name implies the “Preceder, or Announcer, -of the Dog,” because it rises a little ahead of Sirius, is the only -bright star of its constellation. It is interesting for having a dusky -companion whose existence was detected by the effects of its attraction -before any telescope had revealed it. With this companion Procyon forms -a binary system with a period of revolution of about forty years. The -star Beta (β) is named Gomeisa, from an Arabic word meaning the “Dim -One.” Procyon, Sirius, and Betelgeuse form a magnificent triangle, -through which flows the Milky Way. - -We now return to the western part of the sky, where we see, beyond -Eridanus, the vast expanse covered by the constellation Cetus, the -“Whale.” The head lies on and over the equator above the western bend -of Eridanus. It is marked by a striking group of stars, of which Alpha -(α), or Menkar, the “Nose,” is the chief. The star Gamma (γ) is a fine -double; colors yellow and blue; distance 2″.5. Below and toward the -west will be found Omicron (ο), better known by its popular title of -Mira, the “Wonderful.” In some respects this is the most extraordinary -of all variable stars. It excited great astonishment when its -variations were first recorded in the seventeenth century. Most of the -time it is entirely invisible to the naked eye; but once in about ten -months it begins to brighten, and in a few weeks becomes conspicuous, -sometimes equalling the second magnitude in brightness. Then it -fades again, and in about three months disappears from naked-eye -vision, although it is never lost to the telescope, which follows it -down to the ninth magnitude, at which it remains, glowing redly, for -several successive months. Its variations are more or less irregular -both in period and in brightness. The causes are only conjectural. -About all that we can say is that here is a sun which once every ten -months blazes up to a thousand or fifteen hundred times its ordinary -brilliancy. The imagination can work its will with such a star as that. - -The western part of Cetus is marked by a striking group of stars shaped -something like the bowl of an upturned dipper and by a lone, bright -star still farther west, Beta (β), or Deneb Kaitos, the “Tail of the -Whale.” - -Above Cetus runs the long line of stars composing the constellation -Pisces, now the leader of the zodiac, since it contains the Vernal -Equinox. Alpha (α), or Al Rischa, the “Cord,” because it marks the -ribbon imagined to bind two fishes together by their tails, is directly -under the stars marking the head of Aries, to which we have already -referred. It is a double of very singular colors--green and blue. The -distance is about 3″.6. From Al Rischa the stars of the constellation -stream northward to the figure of the Northern Fish, whose nose touches -Andromeda, and westward to the Western Fish, which is situated under -the Great Square of Pegasus. The extraordinary tendency of the stars of -Pisces to run in streaming lines has been spoken of in Chapter III. - -The other stars and constellations now visible are already familiar to -us. But we turn again for a moment to Polaris, which, being practically -fixed in the sky, can be seen at any season. I have referred to the -fact that this star for a long series of centuries has been a universal -guide to all the inhabitants of the northern hemisphere. In that -character its history is no less romantic than practically important. -One of the deepest impressions of my childhood was produced by an -acquaintance with a remarkable man who at that time seemed to me to be -a most wonderful traveller, since he had seen the Gulf of Mexico, the -Everglades of Florida, the Dismal Swamp of Virginia, and, according to -his story (which no boy would doubt), had battled with alligators and -tasted the delights of vagabond life on the great cotton plantations -of the South. I think he was the first who ever pointed out the North -Star to me, and he fired my imagination by tales of its connection -with the escape of negro slaves--escapes in which he professed to have -played a part. Many long winter evenings he sat by my father’s fireside -and fascinated his hearers with narratives of his adventures. But -nothing interested me more than what he said of the slaves following -the lead of the North Star, through the darkness of tangled swamps, -among deadly moccasins and lurking alligators, always fixing their eyes -upon “the star,” falling on their knees to it as their only friend and -guide. Trembling at the bay of pursuing bloodhounds, they would lie in -concealment during the daylight hours, and as soon as night came on -would look for their celestial sentinel, and follow unquestioningly its -indication of the way to freedom. However apocryphal these stories may -have been, they certainly had a basis of truth, and the impressions -then produced upon my mind concerning the character of Polaris as the -sure friend of those who are lost and in trouble have remained undimmed -in my memory. What a triumph will be that of the man who first visits -the north pole by night, and sees that star gleaming directly over his -head, while all the constellations solemnly circle about it, unresting -and unsetting! - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[2] It should be said that throughout this book I am indebted for -many of the translations of star names to Richard Hinckley Allen’s -_Star Names and Their Meanings_, the most complete work of its kind in -existence. - - - - -V - -THE PLANETS - - -The beginner will often be troubled in his observations by the presence -in some constellation of a brilliant object which outshines all of the -stars shown in his charts, and is plainly an interloper among them. He -may at once set the stranger down for one of the planets--it may be -Jupiter, Saturn, Mars, or Venus, or possibly, if close to the horizon, -Mercury. Uranus and Neptune will not disturb his equanimity, for the -latter is never, and the former seldom, visible to the naked eye. - -Practice will quickly enable him to distinguish a planet from the true -stars, both by its greater apparent size and by the quality of its -light. The planets do not twinkle as do the stars. This arises from the -fact that they present measurable disks which reflect the sunlight, -but do not shine with a light of their own. No star shows a real disk, -even when viewed with a powerful telescope. The stars are mere points, -and the larger and better the telescope the smaller they appear. This -is not to say that they do not look brighter in a telescope, for the -larger stars are dazzling when viewed with a glass of large aperture; -but they are so distant that the mightiest of telescopes cannot reveal -their real surfaces in the form of disks. The apparent disks which they -present are due entirely to irradiation, and the higher the power the -smaller these spurious disks appear. - -Another way in which the beginner may identify a planet is by observing -its motion. No planet remains long in the same position with regard -to neighboring stars. They all travel, at varying rates, from west to -east through the sky. But this motion is not constant, and at times it -is reversed. In the cases of Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn the reversal is -due to the fact that when they are in opposition to the sun the earth, -being nearer the sun than they are, outfoots them in eastward motion, -so that they appear for a time to move backward on their orbits. It -is like a fast train passing a slow one on a parallel track; to an -observer on the fast train the slow one seems to be either standing -still or moving backward. But Mercury and Venus, being nearer the sun -than the earth is, have at times a backward motion which is real. -Let us consider them only when they appear as “evening stars.” From -“superior conjunction” (_i. e._, the point occupied by the planet when -it is on the opposite side of the sun from the earth) to “greatest -eastern elongation” (greatest apparent distance from the sun in the -evening sky) both Mercury and Venus move eastward among the stars; from -“greatest eastern elongation” to “inferior conjunction” (_i. e._, the -point occupied by the planet when it is between the earth and the sun) -they move westward among the stars, or, in other words, approach the -sun. - -The motions of Mercury and Venus are comparatively swift, particularly -that of the former. Few persons have ever seen Mercury, because of -its nearness to the sun. When well seen it is brighter than any -first-magnitude star. As an “evening star” it appears in the west -immediately after sunset about once every four months (more precisely -once every 116 days). It remains within view about twenty days, but -can be easily distinguished only for a week or so when it is nearest -eastern elongation. Every almanac gives the dates of its appearances. - -Venus, being farther from the sun, travels less rapidly. It reappears -in the evening sky once in every 584 days, gradually withdrawing -from the sun, and growing brighter until it reaches greatest eastern -elongation, which may be as much as forty-seven degrees from the -sun, after which it approaches the sun, still becoming brighter for -several weeks, until at last it is lost in the glare of the sunlight. -During its excursions in the evening sky (and the same is true of its -morning apparitions), Venus becomes the most brilliant object in the -starry heavens, so brilliant, in fact, that many persons can hardly be -persuaded that it is not an artificial light, or some extraordinary -phenomenon in space. In the telescope it shows (as does Mercury, -also) phases like those of the moon, and when it is seen in the form -of a narrow crescent it becomes one of the most charming objects -imaginable. For more details about Mercury, Venus, and the other -planets, the reader may consult _Astronomy with the Naked Eye_. - -Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn are more likely to cause confusion to the -beginner by getting “mixed up” with the stars of the constellations -he is studying, because they travel all round the sky, and may appear -in turn in each of the zodiacal constellations at any hour of the -night. The zodiacal constellations are twelve in number--Aries, Taurus, -Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricornus, -Aquarius, and Pisces--and they lie in succession along the course of -the ecliptic. - -Mars is not remarkably brilliant except when it is in opposition to the -sun, which happens once every 780 days; but some of the oppositions -are much more important than the average, because they occur when Mars -is relatively near the earth. This planet is always distinguishable by -its ruddy color. In case it is mistaken for a star, the error can be -corrected by watching it for a few successive nights, when its motion -will become clearly apparent. On the average it moves eastward about -half a degree per day. - -Jupiter, always very conspicuous when in view, outshines even Sirius, -though lacking the scintillation characteristic of that great star. -Its light has a slightly yellowish tint, and is remarkably steady. -Since it requires nearly twelve years to make a revolution round the -sky, Jupiter’s motion is not immediately apparent. It remains for a -long time in any constellation in which it may be found, travelling -eastward, on the average, about 5′ of arc, or one-sixth of the apparent -diameter of the moon, per day. In a month it moves about two and a half -degrees. - -Saturn is yet more deliberate in its movements. Requiring almost thirty -years for a revolution, it may remain more than two years in the same -constellation, and its real motion will only become evident upon -careful observation continued for several weeks. - -The best way to recognize the planets with certainty is to look up -their positions with the aid of the _American Ephemeris and Nautical -Almanac_, published annually by the Government at Washington. There -the right ascensions and declinations of all the planets are given for -any time of the year. Having these, you may find on the large-scale -charts the approximate place of the planet sought, and, if you choose, -indicate its position with a pencil-mark. - -The study of the planets, even without telescopic aid, has a charm -hardly less potent than that of the stars. Mercury is fascinating -because of the difficulty of seeing him in the light of twilight or -dawn. The ancients were greatly puzzled by his dodges, and some of them -thought that he was a double personality, and gave him two names, one -for his morning and the other for his evening apparitions. With the -Egyptians he was respectively Set and Horus, and with the Greeks Apollo -and Hermes. The same was true of Venus, who was Phosphorus in the -morning and Hesperus in the evening. - -Venus, after she passes the half-moon phase, becomes so bright that she -simply overpowers all stars in her neighborhood. Her splendor seems -almost supernatural, and she has frequently been seen at high noon, a -point of intense light burning in the blue sky. - -Jupiter’s entrance into any constellation immediately alters its -familiar aspect, and he becomes its unquestioned leader, and remains -such until his slow eastward motion carries him on to reign in another -quarter of the firmament. He is never more impressive than when, in -consequence of the annual revolution of the heavens, he rises late some -night and takes the lingering star-gazer by surprise. Then all the -stellar hosts that for hours have held the watcher spellbound cease -their incantation in the presence of this great counter-charmer, to -whose power they, too, seem to bow. Although Venus at her brightest -outshines Jupiter, she lacks a certain majesty which he alone -possesses. His light is calm, steady, insistent, commanding. He does -not look like a star, but rather a _superstar_. If he beams at all, it -is not the hurried scintillation of the twinkling multitude around him. -Rising through a moisture-laden and wind-swept sky, where the stars are -like pulsating atoms, shaken apart and scattered in tinsel showers of -rainbow sparks, he glows unflickering, recognizing the aerial tumult -only by a deepening of color which makes him the more imposing. As -he mounts the heights of the sky he gleams ever brighter and ever -steadier, and, casting off the tarnish of the horizon, his supereminent -light glows with a splendor that is amazing. If you have an eye that -can detect one or two of Jupiter’s moons hiding close in his rays, you -may boast of your powers of vision, for that feat has been accomplished -by very few human beings. Humboldt heard of a German “master tailor” -who could do it. There are a few other cases on record. Most persons -cannot see them even with the aid of a strong opera-glass. There is a -superstition that they can be seen with a looking-glass, but it is only -ghostly reflections that are thus perceived--perhaps as real as any -other ghosts. - -Saturn, although as bright as a first-magnitude star, is somewhat -disappointing as a naked-eye object, owing to the relative dulness -of its light. Like Jupiter, it shines with great steadiness, and a -practised eye could not mistake it for a fixed star. But its appearance -without a telescope gives no hint of the unearthly beauty with which -it astonishes the beholder when its rings are rendered visible. Not to -have seen those rings at least once in a lifetime, as they appear in a -powerful telescope, is to have missed one of the supreme spectacles of -creation. - -Mars is never very brilliant except during favorable oppositions, when, -approaching within less than 40,000,000 miles of the earth, it hangs in -the midnight sky, gleaming red like a portent of disaster. The aspect -of Mars at such times is truly alarming. It is surprising to see what a -quantity of stained sunlight a world only about four thousand miles in -diameter is able to reflect across so vast a gap of space. The reason -why the ancients connected Mars with the god of war is plain enough -when he puts on his color. - -Close conjunctions of the bright planets are exceedingly interesting -phenomena. Mars and Jupiter seen together when the former is near one -of its favorable oppositions make a scene of strange beauty. After long -intervals of time several of these great planets sometimes assemble -in the same quarter, and such conjunctions are always memorable -occurrences. The stars are forgotten in the presence of this new -constellation, and yet the tiniest of the sparks that seems to hide its -light in the depths beyond would master these great planets and make -gravitational slaves of them, as the sun does. - -The planets are so conspicuous to our eyes, because of their relative -nearness, that it is not easy for the beginner in such studies to -realize how insignificant they actually are. But suppose that one -could fly like a spirit away from the earth and the neighborhood of -the sun, out into the deeps of interstellar space. As he moved away -the planets would seem to be swallowed up, one after the other, in the -solar rays. First Mercury would disappear, as if it had fallen into the -sun. It would be just like two neighboring lights which appear to draw -together and blend into one as the observer travels away from them, the -greater swallowing the less. Then brilliant Venus would go, plunging -into the great solar furnace, to be seen no more. Next the earth would -follow in the perspective holocaust. Mars would seem to draw nearer -until he, too, disappeared; Jupiter would follow; then Saturn; then -Uranus, and finally Neptune. When the last planet was gone the sun -would be seen shining alone, unattended, as if he had never had any -planets. Thus it may be with the stars; most of them may have systems -of planets circling round them, but at our distance these planets are -concealed in the rays of their primaries. - -One would not need to go so far away as the stars in order to see -the sun apparently swallow his planets, as Saturn was fabled to have -swallowed his children. But as one approached the stellar region, the -sun itself would become a mere star. Fainter and fainter it appears, -glimmering and twinkling, deprived of its dominance, stripped of its -splendor, a pitiful spark now instead of an all-ruling and blinding -maker of daylight, until at last the far voyager from the earth, -gazing with his soul in his eyes, straining his vision to the utmost -to hold that glinting point clear of its fellows, _for it is his sun_, -suddenly, as a momentary film blurs his sight, loses it, and henceforth -seek as he may among the countless hosts that spangle the firmament, -he will never again find the day-star under whose cheery beams he -was born! Hidden in the Milky Way, one would have no more chance of -recognizing the sun than of finding a particular grain of sand on the -sea-shore. Man physical is as insignificant as the rock he dwells on -and as the eye-searing orb that lights him at his daily work; but man -spiritual is as great as the universe--and greater! - - - - -APPENDIX - -URANOGRAPHY OR HEAVENLY DESCRIPTION OF THE CHURCHMEN - - -Many readers may be interested in seeing a list of the names given to -the constellations when, as mentioned in the Introduction, the starry -sky was “Christianized.” In the seventeenth century Julius Schillerius -put forth his _Cœlum Stellatum Christianum_, and Jacobus Bartschius a -celestial globe, in which all of the well-known constellations received -new and strictly orthodox names. Unfortunately the sponsors for these -names did not always agree in their choice, and a certain Harsdorfius -(who may have been the poet Philip Harsdoerfer, born at Nuremberg in -1607) added to the confusion by further varying the selection. Wilhelm -Schickard also introduced variations. In the following list the first -of the “Christian” names given is that chosen by Schillerius, while -their variants are due to either Harsdorfius, Schickard, or Bartschius: - - ARIES--St. Peter--Abraham’s Ram. - TAURUS--St. Andrew--The Burnt Sacrifice. - GEMINI--St. James the Elder--Jacob and Esau. - CANCER--St. John the Evangelist. - LEO--St. Thomas--The Lion of Judah. (Observe that the variants are - generally more imaginative.) - VIRGO--St. James the Younger--The Virgin Mary. - LIBRA--St. Philip--Belshazzar’s Balances. - SCORPIO--St. Bartholomew. - SAGITTARIUS--St. Matthew--Ishmael. - CAPRICORNUS--St. Simon. - AQUARIUS--St. Jude--Naaman. - PISCES--St. Mathias--The Gospel Fishes. - URSA MINOR--St. Michael--One of Elisha’s Bears--The Wagon of Joseph. - URSA MAJOR--St. Peter’s Fishing-boat--Elisha’s other Bear--The Chariot - of Elias. - DRACO--The Innocents--The Dragon Infernal. (Quite a difference of - opinion.) - BOÖTES--St. Sylvester--Nimrod. - COMA BERENICES--The Scourge of Christ--Absalom’s Hair--Samson’s Hair. - CORONA BOREALIS--The Crown of Thorns--Queen Esther’s Crown. - HERCULES--The Three Wise Men of the East--Samson. - LYRA--The Saviour’s Manger--David’s Harp. - CYGNUS--The Cross of Calvary. - CASSIOPEIA--St. Mary Magdalen--Bathsheba. - CEPHEUS--St. Stephen--Solomon. (Solomon seems a better choice.) - PERSEUS WITH MEDUSA’S HEAD--David with the Head of Goliath--St. Paul. - ANDROMEDA--The Holy Sepulchre--Abigail. (The last reverses Andromeda’s - romance with a vengeance.) - AURIGA--Jacob--St. Jerome. - OPHIUCHUS ET SERPENS--St. Benedict--St. Paul and the Viper. (The - latter very pat.) - SAGITTA--The Lance of Calvary--Jonathan’s Arrow. - AQUILA--St. Katharine--The Standard of Rome. - DELPHINUS--The Canaanitish Woman’s Pitcher--Leviathan. - EQUULEUS--The Mystic Rose. - PEGASUS--St. Gabriel--Jeremiah’s King of Babylon. - TRIANGULUM--St. Peter’s Mitre--Emblem of the Trinity. - CETUS--Sts. Joachim and Anna--Jonah’s Whale. - ERIDANUS--The Red Sea with Moses Crossing It--The Brook of Cedron. - ORION--St. Joseph--Joshua. (The last a good choice.) - LEPUS--Gideon’s Fleece. - CANIS MAJOR--Tobias’s Dog--St. David. - CANIS MINOR--The Paschal Lamb. - ARGO NAVIS--Noah’s Ark. (Inevitable!) - HYDRA--The River Jordan. - CRATER (together with Corvus)--The Ark of the Covenant. - CORVUS (according to Schickard)--Elias’s Crow. - CENTAURUS--Abraham and Isaac. - LUPUS--Jacob. - ARA--The Altar of Incense. - CORONA AUSTRALIS--David’s Crown--Solomon’s Crown. - PISCIS AUSTRINUS--The Widow’s Meal Barrel--St. Peter’s Fish with Money - in Its Mouth. - GRUS }--Aaron. - PHŒNIX } - INDUS }--Job. - PAVO } - APUS } - CHAMELEON }--Eve. - PISCIS VOLANS } - TRIANGULUM AUSTRALE--The Cross of Christ. (At that time the Southern - Cross seems not to have been known.) - DORADO } - TOUCAN }--St. Raphael. - HYDRUS } - -The southern constellations, Grus, Phœnix, Indus, Pavo, Apus, -Chameleon, Piscis Volans, Triangulum Australe, Dorado, Toucan, and -Hydrus, were all named by Bayer at the beginning of the seventeenth -century, so that the revisers were not upsetting any antique legends in -giving them more sacred names. - - -LETTERS OF THE GREEK ALPHABET EMPLOYED IN URANOGRAPHY - - α--Alpha - β--Beta - γ--Gamma - δ--Delta - ε--Epsilon - ζ--Zeta - η--Eta - θ--Theta - ι--Iota - κ--Kappa - λ--Lambda - μ--Mu - ν--Nu - ξ--Xi - ο--Omicron - π--Pi - ρ--Rho - σ--Sigma - τ--Tau - υ--Upsilon - φ--Phi - χ--Chi - ψ--Psi - ω--Omega - -[Illustration: CHART V--THE FIRST SIX HOURS FROM THE VERNAL EQUINOX] - -[Illustration: CHART VI--FROM VI H. TO XII H. FROM THE VERNAL EQUINOX] - -[Illustration: CHART VII--FROM XII H. TO XVIII H. FROM THE VERNAL -EQUINOX] - -[Illustration: CHART VIII--FROM XVIII H. TO XXIV H. FROM THE VERNAL -EQUINOX] - -[Illustration: CHART IX--POLAR CONSTELLATIONS FROM VI H. TO XVIII H.] - -[Illustration: CHART X--POLAR CONSTELLATIONS FROM XVIII H. TO VI H.] - - - - -PRONUNCIATION OF STAR AND CONSTELLATION NAMES - - Achernar (ä-ké̃r-när) - Albireo (ăl-bí̄-rē-ō) - Alcyone (ăl-sí̄-ŏ-nē) - Aldebaran (ăl-dé̆b-ȧr-ăn) - Algenib (ăl-ḡén-ib) - Algenubi (ắl-ḡen-ú̄-bǐ) - Algieba (ăl-jé̄-bȧ) - Algol (ăl-gol) - Algorab (ắl-go-rá̈b) - Alioth (ắl-ĭ-ŏth) - Alkalurops (ắl-kā-lú̄-rŏps) - Alnilam (ắl-nĭ-lá̈m) - Alnitah (ăl-nĭ-tá̈h) - Almaack (ắl-mā-ắck) - Alphacca (ăl-fắk-kȧ) - Alphard (ăl-fá̈rd) - Alpheratz (ăl-fé̄-rătz) - Alrischa (ăl-rĭ-sh́ȧ) - Alrucaba (ăl-rũ-cá̈-bȧ) - Altair (ăl-tá̄r or ăl-ẗá̈-ǐr) - Aludra (á̈-lũ-dr̈á̈) - Andromeda (ăn-dŕŏm-ē-dȧ) - Antares (ǎn-tá̄-rēz) - Antinous (ăn-tí̆n-ŏ̄-ŭs) - Aquarius (ȧ-kẃā-rĭ-ŭs) - Aquila (ắk-wĭ-lȧ) - Arcturus (ärk-t́ũ-rŭs) - Argo Navis (ār-gō ńā-vǐs) - Aries (á̄-rēz or á̄-rǐ-ēs) - Auriga (äw-rí̄-ḡȧ) - - Baten Kaitos (bá̈-tĕn kí̄tŏs) - Bellatrix (bĕl-lá̄-trĭx) - Benetnasch (bē-né̆t-născh) - Betelgeuse (bé̆t-ĕl-ḡooz or bé̆t-ĕl-gēz) - Boötes (bb̄-ó̄-tēz) - - Camelopardalis (căm-ĕĺ-ō-pă´r-dā-lĭs) - Canes Venatici (cá̄-nēz vĕn-á̆t-ĭ̆-sī) - Canis Major (cá̄-nĭs má̄jor) - Canis Minor (cá̄-nĭs míṅor) - Canopus (cȧn-ó̄-pus) - Capella (cā-pé̆l-lȧ) - Caph (kāff) - Capricornus (cá̆p-rī-kór-nus) - Cassiopeia (cá̆s-sĭ-ō-pé̄-yȧ) - Centaurus (cĕn-táw-rus) - Cepheus (śē-fē-us or śē-fũs) - Cetus (śē-tŭs) - Coma Berenices (có̄mā bēr-ĕ-ní̄-sēs) - Corona Borealis (có̄-ró̄-nȧ bō-rē-á̄-lis) - Corvus (côŕ-vus) - Crater (crá̄-ter) - Cygnus (sĭǵ̄-nus) - - Delphinus (del-fí̄-nus) - Deneb (dĕń-eb) - Denebola (dē-né̆b-ō-lȧ) - Draco (dŕā-co) - Dubhe (dũb́-hĕ) - - Eltanin (ĕĺ-tȧ-nĭn) - Equuleus (ē-kwóo-lē-ŭs) - Eridanus (ē-rĭd́-ā-nus) - - Fomalhaut (fó̄-măl-hôt) - Fornax (fôŕ-naks) - - Gemini (jé̆m-ĭ-nī) - Giedi (jé̄-dĭ) - Gienah (jé̄-nah) - Gomelza (gō-mé̆l-zȧ) - - Hamal (há̆m-al) - Hercules (hé̑r-kũ-lēz) - Hyades (hí̄-ȧ-dēz) - Hydra (hí̄-drȧ) - - Lacerta (lȧ-sė̄r-ta) - Leo (lé̄-ō) - Lepus (lé̄-pus) - Libra (lí̄-brȧ) - Lyra (lí̄-rȧ) - - Maia (má̄-yȧ) - Marfak (má̇r-făk) - Markab (má̇r-kăb) - Megrez (mé̄-grĕz) - Menkab (mĕn-ká̄b) - Menkalina (mé̆n-kȧ-lĭ-ná̄h) - Merope (mé̃r-ō-pē) - Mesarthim (mē-sār-th́ĭm) - Mintaka (mĭń-tȧ-kȧ) - Mira (mí̄-rȧ) - Mirach (mí̄-rak) - Mizar (mí̄-zȧr) - Monoceros (mō-nŏś-ĕr-ŏs) - Murzim (mú̆r-zĭm) - - Ophiuchus (ó̄-fĭ-ú̄-kus) - Orion (ō-rí̄-ŏn) - - Pegasus (pĕǵ-ā-sŭs) - Perseus (pé̃r-sē-ŭs or pé̃r-sũs) - Pisces (pĭś-sēz) - Piscis Austrinus (pi̇̆s-sĭs aus-tŕī-nus) - Pleiades (pĺē-ǎd-ēz or plí̄-ǎd-ēz) - Polaris (pō-lȧŕ-ĭs) - Pollux (pó̌l-lux) - Porrima (pó̆r-rĭ-mȧ) - Præsepe (prē-sé̄-pē) - Procyon (prō-sí̄-ǒn) - - Ras Algethi (rȧs ǎĺ-gĕ-th́ǐ) - Rastaban (rȧs-tà-bāń) - Regulus (ré̆ḡ-ũ-lǔs) - Rigel (rí̄-ḡĕl or rí̄-jĕl) - - Sagitta (sȧ-jí̌t-tȧ) - Sagittarius (sȧ-jǐt-tá̄-rǐ-ǔs) - Scheat (she-ǎt́) - Schedar (shěd́-där) - Scorpio (skór-pǐ-ō) - Scutum Sobieskii (sḱũ-tǔm sō-bǐ-ěś-kǐ-ī) - Serpens (sé̃r-pens) - Sirius (sǐŕ-ǐ-ǔs) - Spica (spí̄-kȧ) - - Taurus (tāú-rǔs) - Thuban (thu-bäń) - Triangulum (trī-ǎń-ġũ-lǔm) - - Ursa Major (ûŕ-sȧ má̄-jor) - Ursa Minor (ûŕ-sȧ mí̄-nor) - - Vega (vé̄-ḡȧ) - Vindemiatrix (vǐn-dé̄-mǐ-á̄-trǐx) - Virgo (vėŕ-go) - Vulpecula (vǔl-pěḱ-ũ-lȧ) - - Wesen (wá̄-zĕn) - - Zavijava (zȧ-vǐ-já̈-vāh) - Zubenelgenubi (zũ-bé̆n-ěl-jen-ú̄-bǐ) - Zubeneschemali (zũ-bé̌n-ěs-she-ḿȧ-lǐ) - - - - -INDEX - - - “A,” the letter, 108. - - Achernar, 107. - - Adhara, 100. - - Afternoon of the year, 72. - - Albireo, 64. - - Al Chiba, 33. - - Alcor, 41. - - Alcyone, 110. - - Aldebaran, 107 _et seq._ - - Alderamin, 91. - - Aleph, 108. - - Alfirk, 92. - - Algedi, 78. - - Algenib, 86. - - Algieba, 36. - - Algol, 86. - - Algorab, 33. - - Al Hiba, 33. - - Alioth, 41. - - Allen, R. H., quoted, 41, 57, 64, 70, 78, 101, 102. - - Almaack, 82. - - Alnilam, 102. - - Alnitah, 102. - - Alpha Andromedæ, 12, 81. - Aquarii, 77. - Aquilæ, 65. - Arietis, 83. - Aurigæ, 111. - Boötes, 67. - Canis Majoris, 94. - Canis Minoris, 113. - Capricorni, 78. - Cassiopeiæ, 88. - Centauri, 65. - Cephei, 91. - Ceti, 114. - Corvi, 33. - Cygni, 63. - Draconis, 45, 48. - Geminorum, 113. - Herculis, 59. - Hydræ, 35. - Leonis, 35. - Libræ, 70. - Lyræ, 48, 61. - Orionis, 104. - Pegasi, 81. - Piscis Austrinus, 75. - Piscium, 115. - Scorpii, 54. - Serpentis, 57. - Tauri, 107. - Ursæ Majoris, 40. - Ursæ Minoris, 46. - Virginis, 29. - - Alphard, 34. - - Alpheratz, 12, 81. - - Al Rischa, 115. - - Altair, 65. - - Aludra, 100. - - American Ephemeris, 122. - - Andromedæ, 12, 81. - - Antares, 54. - - Antinous, 66. - - Aonian Dragon, 34. - - Aquarius, 77 _et seq._ - - Aquila, 65. - - Aratus, quoted, 30. - - Arctophilax, 68. - - Arcturus, 43, 67 _et seq._ - - Argonautic Expedition, 34. - - Aries, 83, 84. - - Auriga, 111. - - Autumnal Equinox, 71. - - - Barnard, E. E., quoted, 59. - - Beehive, the, 38. - - Bell, Dr. Louis, quoted, 90. - - Bellatrix, 105. - - Belt of Orion, 102, 105. - - Beta Andromedæ, 81. - Aquarii, 78. - Arietis, 84. - Aurigæ, 112. - Canis Majoris, 100. - Canis Minoris, 113. - Capricorni, 78. - Cassiopeiæ, 88. - Cephei, 92. - Ceti, 115. - Corvi, 33. - Cygni, 64. - Geminorum, 113. - Leonis, 37. - Libræ, 70. - Lyræ, 63. - Orionis, 104. - Pegasi, 81. - Scorpii, 55. - Tauri, 109. - Ursæ Majoris, 40. - Ursæ Minoris, 46. - Virginis, 32. - - Betelgeuse, 104. - - Boötes, 43, 69. - - - Cancer, 38. - - Canes Venatici, 42, 69. - - Canis Major, 100. - - Canis Minor, 113. - - Capella, 43, 111. - - Caph, 88. - - Capricornus, 78. - - Carman, Bliss, quoted, 22. - - Cassiopeia, 47, 88. - - Castor, 113. - - Cepheus, 91. - - Cetus, 114. - - Chair, Cassiopeia’s, 87. - - Cheops, pyramid of, 45. - - Christianization of sky, 12. - - Clerke, Agnes M., quoted, 111. - - Coma Berenices, 38. - - Constellations, their uses, 12, 13. - - Cor Caroli, 42. - - Cor Hydræ, 34. - - Corona Borealis, 66. - - Corvus, 32. - - Crater, 33. - - Crete, discoveries in, 62. - - Cupid’s Arrow, 80. - - Cygnus, 63. - - 61 Cygni, 64. - - - Dabih, 78. - - Dana, R. H., quoted, 77. - - Delphinus, 79. - - Delta Andromedæ, 81. - Canis Majoris, 100. - Cassiopeiæ, 47, 88. - Corvi, 33. - Orionis, 102. - Sagittarii, 56. - Serpentis, 57. - Ursæ Majoris, 40. - Virginis, 32. - - Demon star, 86. - - Deneb, 63. - - Deneb Kaitos, 115. - - Denebola, 37 _et seq._ - - Dipper in Sagittarius, 56. - - Dippers, the, 29. - - Discipline in the sky, 9. - - Donati’s comet, 69. - - Draco, 44 _et seq._ - - Dream of the universe, 91. - - Dubhe, 41. - - Durchmusterungs, 12. - - - Eltanin, 46. - - Emerson, R. W., quoted, 22, 53, 61. - - Epsilon Canis Majoris, 100. - Boötes, 69. - Lyræ, 63. - Orionis, 102. - Pegasi, 81. - Serpentis, 57. - Ursæ Majoris, 40. - Virginis, 32. - - Equator, 13. - - Equinoctial colure, 88. - - Equinoctial storms, 71. - - Equinoxes, 13. - - Eridanus, 106. - - Esculapius, 57. - - Eta Cassiopeiæ, 89. - Canis Majoris, 100. - - Eta Tauri, 107. - - Expectancy of astronomers, 27. - - - Feet of Ursa Major, 42. - - Field of the nebulæ, 32. - - Flammarion, quoted, 108. - - Fomalhaut, 75. - - Furud, 100. - - - Galileo, 38. - - Gamma Andromedæ, 82. - Aquarii, 78. - Arietis, 84. - Capricorni, 79. - Ceti, 114. - Corvi, 33. - Draconis, 46. - Leonis, 36. - Lyræ, 63. - Orionis, 105. - Pegasi, 80. - Virginis, 32. - - Gardens of the sky, 72. - - Garnet star, 92. - - Gateway of souls, 39. - - Gemini, 113. - - Gemma, 66. - - Gienah, 33. - - “God’s Eye,” 108. - - Gomeisa, 114. - - Great Bear, 40. - - Great Dipper, 40. - - Great Square of Pegasus, 80. - - Great Year, Plato’s, 62. - - Greenwich of the sky, 14. - - - Halley’s comet, 65. - - Hamal, 83. - - Hathor, temple of, 46. - - Hercules, 59. - - Hesperus, 123. - - Hexagon of Orion, 28. - - Hole in the sky, 59. - - Horus, 122. - - Hyades, 108. - - Hydra, 34. - - - Influence of the stars, 10, 18, 22, 27, 29, 35, 39, 44, 53, 68, 75, - 93, 102, 110, 116. - - Isis, 97. - - - Jason, 34. - - Job’s Coffin, 79. - - Job’s Star, 68. - - Jupiter, 121, 123. - - - Kappa Cassiopeiæ, 90. - Orionis, 105. - - Karnak, 46. - - Kochab, 49. - - - Laconian Key, 87. - - Lambda Ophiuchi, 57. - Orionis, 105. - - Language for celestial marvels, 61. - - Learning the stars, ease of, 17; - best season for, 93. - - Leo, 35. - - Lepus, 107. - - Lewis, G. C., quoted, 25, 97. - - Libra, 70. - - Lockyer, Norman, quoted, 97. - - Longfellow, H. W., quoted, 71. - - Lucky stars, 77, 78. - - Lyra, 61. - - - Magellan Clouds, R. H. Dana on, 77. - - Marfik, 58. - - Markab, 81. - - Mars, 121, 124. - - Mazzaroth, 98. - - Medusa, head of, 86. - - Megrez, 41. - - Menkalina, 112. - - Menkar, 114. - - Merak, 41. - - Mercury, 122. - - Meridian, 13. - - Mesarthim, 84. - - Milky Way, 17, 18, 27, 56, 64, 72. - - Mintaka, 102. - - Mira, 114. - - Mirach, 81. - - Mirrors, sky views by, 19. - - Mitchel, Gen. O. M., 55. - - Mizar, 41, 47. - - Morning of the year, 21. - - Moses and the Brazen Serpent, 57. - - Mukdim-al Kitaf, 31. - - Murzim, 100. - - Mut, temple of, 46. - - Mystery in the sky, 58. - - 8 M., 56. - - - Names of stars and travellers, 76. - - Nautical Almanac, 122. - - Nebulæ, in Andromeda, 82. - in Canes Venatici, 69. - in Lyra, 63. - in Ophiuchus, 58. - in Orion, 103. - in Sagittarius, 56. - in Virgo, 32. - - New star of 1901, 90. - - Northern Cross, 63. - - Northern Crown, 66. - - North star, 46, 116. - - November meteors, 37. - - Nu Scorpii, 55. - - - Omicron Ceti, 114. - - Ophiuchus, 57. - - Orion, 101 _et seq._ - - Orion group of constellations, 40. - - - Pearl, the, 66. - - Pegasus, 80. - - Perseus, 85. - - Phæd, 41. - - Phæton, 84. - - Phosphorus, 123. - - Pi Orionis, 105. - - Pisces, 85, 115. - - Piscis Austrinus, 75. - - Planets, the, 118; - apparent swallowing by sun, 125. - - Plato, quoted, 39. - - Pleiades, 109 _et seq._ - - Pointers, the, 42. - - Polaris, 46, 116. - - Pole-stars, succession of, 48. - - Pollux, 113. - - Porrima, 32. - - Præsepe, 38. - - Precession of equinoxes, 47, 84. - - Procyon, 113 _et seq._ - - Pulcherrima, 69. - - - Ras Algethi, 59 _et seq._ - - Ras Alhague, 57. - - Reflection, sky seen by, 19; - supposed visibility of Jupiter’s moons by, 124. - - Regulus, 35 _et seq._ - - Revelation of the stars, 10. - - Revolution of the pole, 48. - - Revolutions of the heavens, 16. - - Rho Ophiuchi, 58. - - Richter, Jean Paul, quoted, 91. - - Rigel, 104. - - Right Ascension, 13. - - Rising stars, attraction of, 29. - - Royal family of sky, 75. - - Royal stars, 35. - - Ruchbah, 88. - - - Sadachbia, 78. - - Sadalmelik, 77. - - Sadalsuud, 78. - - Sagitta, 79. - - Sagittarius, 56. - - St. Paul and the viper, 57. - - Saiph, 105. - - Saturn, 122, 124. - - Scheat, 81. - - Schedar, 88. - - Scorpio, 55. - - Serpens, 57. - - Set, 122. - - Shakespeare, quoted, 49, 80. - - Sheratan, 84. - - Shield of Orion, 105. - - Sickle, the, 37. - - Sigma Tauri, 109. - - Sirius, 94 _et seq._ - - Smyth, Admiral, quoted, 32. - - Sobieski’s Shield, 57, 65. - - Solstices, 13. - - Sophocles, quoted, 67. - - Southern Cross, R. H. Dana on, 77. - - Southern Fish, 75. - - Spica, 29 _et seq._ - - Star colors, 44, 83, 89, 90. - - Star magnitudes, 98. - - Streaming of stars, 81, 106. - - Struve invents star color, 106. - - Summer Solstice, 50. - - Sword-hand of Perseus, 86. - - Sword of Orion, 103. - - - Tent, the, 33. - - Theta Orionis, 103. - - Theta Tauri, 109. - - Three Guides, the, 88. - - Thuban, 45, 48. - - Toorus, 107. - - Tropic of Capricorn, 79; - of Cancer, 40. - - Tycho’s star, 90. - - - Ursa Major, 40. - - Ursa Minor, 46. - - Uru-anna, 101. - - - Vega, 43, 61 _et seq._ - - Venus, 120, 123. - - Vernal Equinox, 21. - - Vindemiatrix, 31. - - Virgin, origin of name, 30. - - Virgo, 29 _et seq._ - - Vulpecula et Anser, 80. - - - “W,” the letter, 87. - - Wesen, 100. - - Whirlpool nebula, 69. - - Whitney, Prof., quoted, 78. - - Winter heavens, glories of, 93. - - Winter Solstice, 93. - - - “XM” class of stars, 31, 64, 104. - - Xavier de Maistre, quoted, 89. - - - Year, various beginnings of, 25 _et seq._ - - - Zeta Ursæ Majoris, 40. - Aquarii, 78. - Canis Majoris, 100. - Herculis, 60. - Orionis, 102, 106. - - Zodiac, 84. - - Zubeneschemali, 70. - - Zubenelgenubi, 70. - - -THE END - - - - -Transcriber’s Notes - -A few minor errors in punctuation have been fixed. - -In the section on pronunciation of star and constellation names, -combining diacritics may display following the letter they modify in -certain fonts. - -Page 79: “minimum visibile” changed to “minimum visible” - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ROUND THE YEAR WITH THE -STARS *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law 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 an eBook, except by following -the terms of the trademark license, including paying royalties for use -of the Project Gutenberg trademark. If you do not charge anything for -copies of this eBook, complying with the trademark license is very -easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose such as creation -of derivative works, reports, performances and research. Project -Gutenberg eBooks may be modified and printed and given away--you may -do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks not protected -by U.S. copyright law. 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 -www.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 unprotected by copyright law 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 other than 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 in the United States and - most other parts of the world 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. If you are not located in the - United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where - you are located before using this eBook. - -1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is -derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (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 website -(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 the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the manager 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 -works not protected by U.S. copyright law 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 MERCHANTABILITY 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 information page at -www.gutenberg.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. 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 business office is located at 809 North 1500 West, -Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact links and up -to date contact information can be found at the Foundation's website -and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact - -Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg -Literary Archive Foundation - -Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without -widespread 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 www.gutenberg.org/donate - -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: www.gutenberg.org/donate - -Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works - -Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project -Gutenberg-tm concept of a library of electronic works that could be -freely shared with anyone. For forty 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 not protected by copyright 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 website which has the main PG search -facility: www.gutenberg.org - -This website 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. diff --git a/old/68391-0.zip b/old/68391-0.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index d9a0f53..0000000 --- a/old/68391-0.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/68391-h.zip b/old/68391-h.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index e9e4390..0000000 --- a/old/68391-h.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/68391-h/68391-h.htm b/old/68391-h/68391-h.htm deleted file mode 100644 index 7cfdb4e..0000000 --- a/old/68391-h/68391-h.htm +++ /dev/null @@ -1,4814 +0,0 @@ -<!DOCTYPE html> -<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> -<head> - <meta charset="UTF-8" /> - <title> - Round the Year With the Stars, by Garrett P. Serviss—A Project Gutenberg eBook - </title> - <link rel="icon" href="images/cover.jpg" type="image/x-cover" /> - <style> /* <![CDATA[ */ - -body { - margin-left: 10%; - margin-right: 10%; -} - - h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6 { - text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ - clear: both; -} - -p { - margin-top: .51em; - text-align: justify; - margin-bottom: .49em; - text-indent: 1em; -} - -.p2 {margin-top: 2em;} -.p4 {margin-top: 4em;} - -hr { - width: 33%; - margin-top: 2em; - margin-bottom: 2em; - margin-left: 33.5%; - margin-right: 33.5%; - clear: both; -} - -hr.chap {width: 65%; margin-left: 17.5%; margin-right: 17.5%;} -@media print { hr.chap {display: none; visibility: hidden;} } - -hr.r5 {width: 5%; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 47.5%; margin-right: 47.5%;} - -div.chapter {page-break-before: always;} -h2.nobreak {page-break-before: avoid;} - -ul.index { list-style-type: none; margin-top: 2em;} -li.ifrst { - margin-top: 1em; - text-indent: -2em; - padding-left: 1em; -} -li.isuba { - text-indent: -2em; - padding-left: 2em; -} - -table { - margin-left: auto; - margin-right: auto; -} -table.autotable { border-collapse: collapse; width: 60%;} -table.autotable td, -table.autotable th { padding: 4px; } -.x-ebookmaker table {width: 95%;} - -.tdl {text-align: left;} -.tdr {text-align: right;} -.page {width: 3em;} - -.pagenum { /* uncomment the next line for invisible page numbers */ - /* visibility: hidden; */ - position: absolute; - left: 92%; - font-size: smaller; - text-align: right; - font-style: normal; - font-weight: normal; - font-variant: normal; -} /* page numbers */ - -.blockquot { - margin-left: 5%; - margin-right: 5%; -} - -.bbox {border: 4px double; width: 70%; margin-left: 12.5%; padding: 1em;} - -.center {text-align: center; text-indent: 0em;} - -.smcap {font-variant: small-caps;} - -.allsmcap {font-variant: small-caps; text-transform: lowercase;} - -.sup {position: relative; top: -10px;} -.sup2 {position: relative; top: -7px;} -.sub {position: relative; bottom: -10px;} -.sub2 {position: relative; bottom: -25px;} - -.caption {font-weight: bold;} - -/* Images */ - -img { - max-width: 100%; - height: auto; -} -img.w75 {width: 75%;} -.x-ebookmaker .w75 {width: 95%;} -img.w10 {width: 10%;} -.x-ebookmaker .w10 {width: 13%;} - -.figcenter { - margin: auto; - text-align: center; - page-break-inside: avoid; - max-width: 100%; -} - -/* Footnotes */ -.footnotes {border: 1px dashed; 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; -} - -/* Poetry */ -.poetry {text-align: left; margin-left: 5%; margin-right: 5%; text-indent: 0em;} -/* uncomment the next line for centered poetry in browsers */ -/* .poetry {display: inline-block;} */ -/* large inline blocks don't split well on paged devices */ -@media print { .poetry {display: block;} } -.x-ebookmaker .poetry {display: block;} - -/* Transcriber's notes */ -.transnote {background-color: #E6E6FA; - color: black; - font-size:smaller; - padding:0.5em; - margin-bottom:5em; - font-family:sans-serif, serif; } - -.xbig {font-size: 3em;} -.vbig {font-size: 2em;} -.big {font-size: 1.2em;} -.small {font-size: 0.8em;} - /* ]]> */ </style> -</head> -<body> -<p style='text-align:center; font-size:1.2em; font-weight:bold'>The Project Gutenberg eBook of Round the year with the stars, by Garrett P. Serviss</p> -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world 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 <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> - -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: Round the year with the stars</p> -<p style='display:block; margin-left:2em; text-indent:0; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:1em;'>The chief beauties of the starry heavens as seen with the naked eye</p> -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Garrett P. Serviss</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: June 24, 2022 [eBook #68391]</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</p> - <p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em; text-align:left'>Produced by: Steve Mattern and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive)</p> -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ROUND THE YEAR WITH THE STARS ***</div> - - - -<div class="bbox"> - -<h1>ROUND THE YEAR<br /> -WITH THE STARS</h1> - -<p class="center big">THE CHIEF BEAUTIES OF -THE STARRY HEAVENS AS -SEEN WITH THE NAKED EYE</p> - -<p class="center p2">BY</p> - -<p class="center big">GARRETT P. SERVISS</p> - -<p class="center small">AUTHOR OF<br /> -“ASTRONOMY WITH THE NAKED EYE”<br /> -“CURIOSITIES OF THE SKY” ETC.</p> - -<p class="center small p2">WITH MAPS SHOWING THE ASPECT OF -THE SKY IN EACH OF THE FOUR SEASONS -AND CHARTS REVEALING THE OUTLINES -OF THE CONSTELLATIONS AND THE -DESIGNATIONS OF THE PRINCIPAL STARS</p> - -<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img001"> - <img src="images/001.jpg" class="w10" alt="Publisher mark" /> -</span></p> - -<p class="center p2"> NEW YORK AND LONDON<br /> -<span class="big">HARPER <i>&</i> BROTHERS PUBLISHERS</span><br /> -MCMX<br /> -</p> -</div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - - - -<p class="center small"> -Copyright, 1910, by <span class="smcap">Harper & Brothers</span> -</p> -<hr class="r5" /> -<p class="center small"> -Published September, 1910.<br /> - -<i>Printed in the United States of America</i><br /> -</p> -</div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CONTENTS">CONTENTS</h2> -</div> - -<table class="autotable"> -<tr> -<th class="tdr">CHAP.</th> -<th></th> -<th class="tdr page"> -<span class="smcap">Page</span> -</th> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr"> -</td> -<td class="tdl"> -<a href="#PREFACE"><span class="smcap">Preface</span></a> -</td> -<td class="tdr page"> -<a href="#Page_7">7</a> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr"> -</td> -<td class="tdl"> -<a href="#INTRODUCTION"><span class="smcap">Introduction</span></a> -</td> -<td class="tdr page"> -<a href="#Page_9">9</a> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr"> -<a href="#I">I.</a> -</td> -<td class="tdl"><a href="#I"><span class="smcap">The Evening Sky at the Vernal Equinox</span></a> -</td> -<td class="tdr page"> -<a href="#Page_21">21</a> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr"> -<a href="#II">II.</a> -</td> -<td class="tdl"><a href="#II"><span class="smcap">The Evening Sky at the Summer Solstice</span></a> -</td> -<td class="tdr page"> -<a href="#Page_50">50</a> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr"> -<a href="#III">III.</a> -</td> -<td class="tdl"><a href="#III"><span class="smcap">The Evening Sky at the Autumnal Equinox</span></a> -</td> -<td class="tdr page"> -<a href="#Page_71">71</a> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr"> -<a href="#IV">IV.</a> -</td> -<td class="tdl"><a href="#IV"><span class="smcap">The Evening Sky at the Winter Solstice</span></a> -</td> -<td class="tdr page"> -<a href="#Page_93">93</a> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr"> -<a href="#I">V.</a> -</td> -<td class="tdl"><a href="#V"><span class="smcap">The Planets</span></a> -</td> -<td class="tdr page"> -<a href="#Page_118">118</a> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr"> -</td> -<td class="tdl"> -<a href="#APPENDIX"><span class="smcap">Appendix</span></a> -</td> -<td class="tdr page"> -<a href="#Page_129">129</a> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr"> -</td> -<td class="tdl"> -<a href="#PRONUNCIATION_OF_STAR_AND_CONSTELLATION_NAMES"><span class="smcap">Pronunciation of Star and Constellation Names</span></a> -</td> -<td class="tdr page"> -<a href="#Page_141">141</a> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr"> -</td> -<td class="tdl"> -<a href="#INDEX"><span class="smcap">Index</span></a> -</td> -<td class="tdr page"> -<a href="#Page_143">143</a> -</td> -</tr> -</table> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="LIST_OF_CHARTS">LIST OF CHARTS</h2> -</div> - - -<table class="autotable"> -<tr> -<th class="tdr"></th> -<th></th> -<th class="tdr page"> -<span class="smcap">Page</span> -</th> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr"> -<a href="#img002"><span class="smcap">Chart</span> I.</a> -</td> -<td class="tdl"> -<a href="#img002"><span class="smcap">The Vernal Evening Sky</span></a> -</td> -<td class="tdr page"> -<a href="#img002">23</a> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr"> -<a href="#img003"> -<span class="smcap">Chart</span> II.</a> -</td> -<td class="tdl"> -<a href="#img003"><span class="smcap">The Summer Evening Sky</span></a> -</td> -<td class="tdr page"> -<a href="#img003">51</a> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr"> -<a href="#img004"><span class="smcap">Chart</span> III.</a> -</td> -<td class="tdl"> -<a href="#img004"><span class="smcap">The Autumn Evening Sky</span></a> -</td> -<td class="tdr page"> -<a href="#img004">73</a> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr"> -<a href="#img005"><span class="smcap">Chart</span> IV.</a> -</td> -<td class="tdl"> -<a href="#img005"><span class="smcap">The Winter Evening Sky</span></a> -</td> -<td class="tdr page"> -<a href="#img005">95</a> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr"> -<a href="#img006"><span class="smcap">Chart</span> V.</a> -</td> -<td class="tdl"> -<a href="#img006"><span class="smcap">The First Six Hours from the Vernal Equinox</span></a> -</td> -<td class="tdr page"> -<a href="#Page_134">134</a> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr"> -<a href="#img007"><span class="smcap">Chart</span> VI.</a> -</td> -<td class="tdl"> -<a href="#img007"><span class="smcap">From VI H. to XII H. from the Vernal Equinox</span></a> -</td> -<td class="tdr page"> -<a href="#Page_135">135</a> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr"> -<a href="#img008"><span class="smcap">Chart</span> VII.</a> -</td> -<td class="tdl"> -<a href="#img008"><span class="smcap">From XII H. to XVIII H. from the Vernal Equinox</span></a> -</td> -<td class="tdr page"> -<a href="#Page_136">136</a> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr"> -<a href="#img009"><span class="smcap">Chart</span> VIII.</a> -</td> -<td class="tdl"> -<a href="#img009"><span class="smcap">From XVIII H. to XXIV H. from the Vernal Equinox</span></a> -</td> -<td class="tdr page"> -<a href="#Page_137">137</a> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr"> -<a href="#img010"><span class="smcap">Chart</span> IX.</a> -</td> -<td class="tdl"> -<a href="#img010"><span class="smcap">Polar Constellations from VI H. to XVIII H.</span></a> -</td> -<td class="tdr page"> -<a href="#Page_138">138</a> -</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr"> -<a href="#img011"><span class="smcap">Chart</span> X.</a> -</td> -<td class="tdl"> -<a href="#img011"><span class="smcap">Polar Constellations from XVIII H. to VI H.</span></a> -</td> -<td class="tdr page"> -<a href="#Page_139">139</a> -</td> -</tr> -</table> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="PREFACE">PREFACE</h2> -</div> - - -<p>This book represents an attempt to cultivate the love of the stars, and -to offer a guiding hand to all those who are willing to believe that -some of the most exquisite joys of life are to be found, like scattered -and unregarded gems, waiting to be picked up by any chance wayfarer -who, without special knowledge, or optical aids, or mathematical -attainments, or any of the paraphernalia or advantages of the -professional astronomer, will simply turn his eyes to the sky and open -his mind to its plain teachings and its supernal inspirations.</p> - -<p>The writer’s only real excuse for appearing again in this particular -field is that he has never yet finished a book, and seen it go forth, -without feeling that he had overlooked, or cast aside, or of necessity -omitted a multitude of things quite as interesting and important as -any he had touched upon. Accordingly, he yields once more to the lure -of this inexhaustible and illimitable subject, and strives again to -find expression for the thoughts which it continually awakens, and -to exhibit, however imperfectly, the endless procession of marvels -which stream before him who knows and loves the stars like a dazzling -<i>rivière</i> of brilliants.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</span></p> - -<p>This book in no way duplicates another work of the same hand, -<i>Astronomy with the Naked Eye</i>. In <i>that</i> the effort was to -revive the romance of the constellations by retelling their fascinating -history, their mythology, their immemorial legends and traditions, and -indicating their poetic background in the presence of the imaginary -figures which, “from times of which the memory of man runneth not to -the contrary,” have been associated with them; in <i>this</i> the -writer tries to draw the reader into more intimate relations with the -stars by dwelling upon their individual peculiarities and beauties, -and the impressions which either singly or in constellated groups they -make upon the mind of the beholder. Surely there is not another field -of human contemplation so wondrously rich as astronomy! It is so easy -to reach, so responsive to every mood, so stimulating, uplifting, -abstracting, and infinitely consoling. Everybody may not be a chemist, -a geologist, a mathematician, but everybody may be and ought to be, -in a modest, personal way, an astronomer, for star-gazing is a great -medicine of the soul. There is the writer’s text.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="INTRODUCTION">INTRODUCTION</h2> -</div> - - -<p>The charts illustrating this book have been drawn by the writer -especially to meet the needs of beginners—of those who, feeling what -a void in their intellectual life ignorance of the stars has created, -would now fill that void, and thus round out their spiritual being with -some knowledge of Nature on her most majestic and yet most beautiful -and winning side.</p> - -<p>On account of the necessarily diminutive scale of the charts, -everything has been omitted from them which did not seem essential. -But for the purpose in view they gain by this process of exclusion, -for with more details they would have been confusing. It is the -broad, general aspect of the sky with which the beginner must first -familiarize himself. At the start the heavens appear to him to be -filled with an innumerable multitude of scintillating sparks, scattered -everywhere in disorder. But with a little attention he perceives -that there is discipline in this host, and immediately the discovery -gives him pleasure and awakens his admiration, as the perception of -order always does. The great leaders of the firmament come forth, -unmistakable, plainly recognizable,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</span> and thereupon the rank and -file fall into their places. Then the ineffable beauty of the whole -assemblage bursts like a revelation upon the mind. This revelation -is not for the dull in spirit, but he who has once had it becomes -henceforth, and even in spite of previous prejudice or indifference, a -devotee of the stars, with a zeal flaming brighter with every swing of -the pendulum of his years.</p> - -<p>In the four circular charts representing the aspect of the heavens -respectively at the Vernal Equinox, the Summer Solstice, the Autumnal -Equinox, and the Winter Solstice, few stars fainter than the fourth -magnitude are included, and not all even of that magnitude, because the -sole purpose is to enable the beginner to recognize the constellations -by their characteristic groupings of stars and their relative -situations in the sky. The insuperable difficulty is to picture the -<i>hemispherical</i> sky on a <i>flat</i> page. A certain amount of -distortion cannot be avoided, and the reader’s imagination must supply -the effect of perspective. He must always remember that the centre of -the chart stands for the middle of the sky <i>overhead</i>, and that -the circular boundary represents the full round of the horizon, from -east through south, west, and north, to east again. If he is comparing -the chart with the sky while facing south, he should hold the chart -upright as it is printed in the book; if he makes the comparison while -facing north, he should turn the chart upside down. If he lies on his -back with his head to the north (and in no other<span class="pagenum" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</span> way can one get so -vast an impression of the starry dome), and holds the chart over his -head, it will represent the entire vault of the firmament.</p> - -<p>The names of the constellations will be found on the charts, and -also the individual names of the most celebrated stars, but the -constellation boundaries are not shown, because, in nine cases out -of ten, the precise limits of a constellation are not important for -the beginner to know, and to search for them would simply lead to -confusion. As he progresses in his knowledge of the sky any uncertainty -about the constellation to which particular stars belong can be -settled by consulting the six charts, drawn to a larger scale, at the -end of the book. On <i>these</i> charts more of the small stars are -shown, and in addition there will be found the Greek letters which -astronomers attach to the principal stars of each constellation for the -sake of ready identification. On these charts, too, the constellation -boundaries will be seen, indicated by dotted lines. The tracing of -these lines is more or less a matter of arbitrary choice. There are -no international boundary disputes among the heavenly powers, and the -frontier lines may run anywhere, provided only that they do not include -in one constellation any stars which by common usage, or prescription, -belong to another. The constellations have been reshaped many times in -the past. The “geography of the heavens” has known as many changes as -that of the earth, the ambition of the old astronomers being sometimes -as insatiable as that of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</span> founders of terrestrial kingdoms and empires. -About three centuries ago the starry sky was “Christianized,” St. -Matthew, St. Peter, St. John, St. Joseph, St. Michael, St. Stephen, -St. Gabriel, St. Mary Magdalen, St. Katharine, together with Noah, -Aaron, Job, and Eve, taking the places of the heathen gods, goddesses, -and heroes in the sky, while Saturn became Adam, Jupiter Moses, Mars -Joshua, Mercury Elias, Venus St. John Baptist (!), the Moon the Virgin -Mary, and the Sun Christ (see <a href="#APPENDIX">Appendix</a>). It is not an unheard-of -thing in uranography (“description of the heavens”; analogue to -geography) for a star, or a group of stars, to change allegiance, or -even to belong to two constellations at the same time. The bright -star Alpheratz is still an example of this double nationality, for, -although it shines on the head of Andromeda and is her jewel <i>par -excellence</i>, yet her neighbor Pegasus also lays claim to the star, -and uranographers so far admit the justice of his claim that they call -Alpheratz, according to circumstances, either Alpha (α) Andromedæ or -Delta (δ) Pegasi.</p> - -<p>For many of their purposes astronomers find no use for the -constellations, preferring to identify the stars by their position in -right ascension and declination (equivalent to longitude and latitude), -and in the great modern <i>Durchmusterungs</i>, or star catalogues, -this plan is universally followed. Still, the constellations afford a -very convenient classification of the stars, and probably they will -never be abandoned even by professional astronomers; while from another -standpoint<span class="pagenum" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</span> they never can be abandoned, because they are among the -most ancient and precious of human documents, valuable for history and -for the understanding of mythology, and resistlessly charming in their -poetic associations.</p> - -<p>But, to return to the description of the charts, the reader should be -informed as to the meaning of the lines shown upon them, and of the -indications found round their borders. In the four circular charts the -closed curve crossing the sky from right to left represents the equator -of the heavens, which is directly over the equator of the earth; the -vertical line through the centre shows the meridian, or north and -south line, which, so to speak, follows the observer wherever he may -go, occupying the same place in the sky, <i>at the same hour of local -time</i>, in all longitudes; and the dotted curve is the ecliptic, -or the apparent annual path of the sun through the sky. The crossing -points of the equator and the ecliptic are respectively the Vernal and -the Autumnal Equinox, where the sun is at the two dates in the year -when day and night are of equal length; and the farthest northern and -southern points of the ecliptic are respectively the Summer and the -Winter Solstice, where the sun is at the times of the longest and the -shortest days in our hemisphere. These four fundamental points are all -shown on the charts. Around the border the hours of right ascension are -indicated by Roman numerals. Each hour corresponds to 15° of space, or -one twenty-fourth of a circle of the sphere. The<span class="pagenum" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</span> hours begin at the -Vernal Equinox, which is graphically described as the “Greenwich of the -Sky.”</p> - -<p>In the larger-scale charts at the end of the book the hours of right -ascension are indicated at the bottom, and the degrees of north and -south declination (the sign + standing for north and - for south) are -shown at the side. In both cases the declination is reckoned from -the equator. The four oblong charts of this series, taken together, -represent the entire circuit of sky between 40° north and 40° south -declination, and the two semicircular charts, taken together, show the -stars within 50° of the north pole. Thus the entire set of six charts -exhibits the complete dome of the heavens from the north pole to 40° -south declination. In passing from the oblong to the semicircular -charts it is only necessary to bring the hours of right ascension into -accord. In the semicircular charts the hours will be found round the -curved borders.</p> - -<p>Each of the four circular charts in the body of the book represents -the aspect of the <i>evening</i> sky at one of the equinoctial or -solstitial epochs. To be more precise, these charts show the sky as it -appears, at about the latitude of New York, at 10 <span class="allsmcap">P.M.</span>, on, -respectively, March 20th (the Vernal Equinox), June 21st (the Summer -Solstice), September 23d (the Autumnal Equinox), and December 22d (the -Winter Solstice).</p> - -<p>But the reader must not think that it is necessary to confine himself -to the exact latitude, date, or hour<span class="pagenum" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</span> just mentioned. Undoubtedly it -would be better for the beginner to do that approximately, but it is -not essential. The effect of a change of latitude is, perhaps, the -least important. If the observer is farther south than about 40° north -latitude, the southern stars will appear higher in the sky than they -are shown in the charts, and some of the stars close to the northern -horizon will sink from view. If, on the other hand, he is farther north -(as in Canada or Northern Europe), the northern stars will appear -higher, and some of those near the southern horizon will be invisible. -But if he confines his attention to the stars and constellations -represented in the central parts of the charts (which he should, in any -case, do for other reasons), the effect of the shift due to difference -of latitude will not be found very serious.</p> - -<p>As to the effects of a departure from the hours and dates for which -the charts are drawn, they, too, can readily be allowed for. Suppose -that, without changing the date, the reader makes his observations an -hour earlier than that given, say at 9 <span class="allsmcap">P.M.</span>, March 20th. Then -he will find that some of the eastern stars, seen along the left-hand -edge of the chart when it is held upright, have not yet come into view -above the horizon, while other stars, not seen on the chart drawn for -that date, are visible above the horizon in the west. To the stars thus -carried out of, or brought into, view he should pay no attention; he -will find them again on other charts when they are better placed for -observation.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</span></p> - -<p>Next, suppose that without changing the hour of observation he changes -the date, and instead of observing on the 20th of March he observes -on the 5th. Then he will notice precisely the same difference that -was manifest when his observation was made an hour too early on March -20th—<i>i. e.</i>, some of the eastern stars on the chart will not -yet have risen, and other stars, not on that particular chart, will -be visible in the west. Although at first all this may be a little -confusing to the beginner, he will soon find that he can make due -allowance for the changes of aspect. The whole matter becomes very -simple when it is remembered that the heavens have a double revolution -toward the west; one of these revolutions, due to the earth’s rotation -on its axis, being effected in twenty-four hours, and the other, due -to the earth’s revolution round the sun, requiring an entire year. -One hour of the daily revolution (represented by an hour of right -ascension) produces the same effect on the position of the stars as two -weeks of the annual revolution; or two hours of the first correspond to -one month of the second.</p> - -<p>If the observations are made at a later date or a later hour than -those indicated on the chart, the changes will occur in the reverse -order—<i>i. e.</i>, western stars will have disappeared and eastern -stars will have come up into view.</p> - -<p>I particularly wish to impress upon the beginner the needlessness of -being troubled about these discrepancies. He can avoid all possibility -of perplexity by<span class="pagenum" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</span> fitting his observations to the exact times of -the charts. As I have already said, a difference of a few degrees -in his latitude on the earth may be disregarded. The charts, with a -slight allowance for the shift of position of the extreme northern -and southern stars, are available for any of the middle latitudes of -the northern hemisphere. And if the effects of a change of hour or -date prove in the least confusing, the beginner has only to await the -given date and the given hour, and all will be clear. Then, as soon as -he has become familiar with a few of the leading constellations, the -others, which in themselves are not so easily recognizable, will fall -into their proper places, after which there can be no possibility of -confusion. In fact, much less effort is required to become familiar -with the aspect of the starry sky than is demanded for a similar -acquaintance with the fundamental data of botany, mineralogy, geology, -or any other of the observational branches of natural science.</p> - -<p>It was at first the intention to indicate the course of the Milky Way -on the circular charts by dotted outlines, but this was abandoned in -view of the restricted space. Any one can easily trace the meanderings -and branchings of this starry scarf, the contemplation of which carries -the mind to greater heights of intellectual perspective than any other -phenomenon of the world of matter. If the reader has the good-fortune -to be situated where artificial lights do not interfere with the -splendor of the heavens, he can observe the course of the Milky<span class="pagenum" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</span> -Way on any clear night; and, if he possesses skill in delineation, -he may make charts of it and its offshoots which will be of real -value. Better still if he has the means of photographing it. Here is -a non-mathematical field of astronomy which is ripe for the harvest, -and in which the laborers are few. The Milky Way is so full of wonders -that centuries of observation and study cannot exhaust them. There is -nothing more impressive than to see how it often follows curves of -lucid stars as if some mysterious attraction were drawing it toward -them; and yet it itself consists of stars.</p> - -<p>A few more words of practical advice to the beginner. Let him, at -first, confine himself to the bright and conspicuous stars and the -striking groups shown in the charts, assigning each to its proper -constellation. When he has become familiar with these in their -broadest aspects, he can turn to the charts at the end of the book and -familiarize himself with the constellation boundaries. After that, if -he wishes to go further, as he almost certainly will, he can obtain a -large star atlas, furnish himself with a telescope, and open up a new -side of his life which will make him rejoice to be, for a few short -years, a dweller on a planet inhabited by beings intelligent enough -to lift their eyes above the horizon and to feed their minds with the -inspirations of the universe.</p> - -<p>Yet another thing, which may be a novelty to many, and which is -sure to afford unexpected pleasure—when<span class="pagenum" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</span> you have fairly learned -the constellations, take a mirror and study them by reflection. -This is a counsel of intimacy. Orion will seem less remote and more -comprehensible when his living image is enclosed in a frame, which -you can hold on your lap like an album. There is something startling -in the sight of the starry heavens under your feet. I once enjoyed -the sensation in perfection while stalking deer in a boat at midnight -on the placid bosom of a forest pond. The water was as motionless as -so many acres of black glass, and I forgot to look for the deer, in -the shaft of light from the hooded “flare” at the bow, when we seemed -to be drifting out into an ocean of ether, in the middle of the sky, -with stars below as well as stars above. When we silently crossed the -pond, and got far from the shores, the sensation was overpowering; -it took one’s breath away. We drifted right over the Milky Way, and -Vega, Altair, and the “Northern Cross” gleamed beneath the keel. Be -sure that your mirror is freshly silvered and clean, and remember the -reversals of position which all reflections produce. If you hold the -mirror before you inclined downward, the position of objects in the sky -will be reversed top for bottom; if you hold it inclined upward, so as -to see objects behind your head, they will be reversed right for left. -With these precautions you will find the mirror a great convenience -for studying constellations which are nearly overhead. It is the -principle of the “diagonal prism” employed with telescopes,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</span> and of the -hand-mirrors used by many visitors at the Vatican Palace to view with -comfort the ceiling pictures of Michael Angelo in the Sistine Chapel. -Thus the sky becomes an atlas, and you can study its living charts at -leisure.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</span></p> - -<p class="center vbig">ROUND THE YEAR WITH THE STARS</p> -</div> - - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="I">I<br /><span class="small">THE EVENING SKY AT THE VERNAL EQUINOX</span></h2> - - - - -<p>The year has its morning no less unmistakable in its characteristic -features than the dawn of the day. The earth and all of its inhabitants -feel the subtle influences of the dawning year, and Nature awakes -at their touch. This annual morning comes when the sun transits the -equator, moving north, at the beginning of his long summer tour, about -the 20th of March. This is the epoch of the Vernal Equinox, when the -springs of life begin, once more, to flow. Then the sun truly rises -on the northern hemisphere. Then the mighty world of the north, which -Providence has made the chief abode of vital organisms on this planet, -rouses itself and shakes off the apathy of winter, and men, animals, -and plants, each after their manner, renew their activities, and in -many cases their very existence. This annual reawakening<span class="pagenum" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</span> is one of -the profoundest phenomena of nature, and there are secrets in it which -science has not yet penetrated.</p> - -<p>Bliss Carman has beautifully pictured the terrestrial charms of the -vernal season in his “Spring’s Saraband”:</p> - -<p class="poetry"> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">“Over the hills of April,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 2em;">With soft winds hand in hand,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Impassionate and dreamy-eyed</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Spring leads her saraband.</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Her garments float and gather</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And swirl along the plain,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Her headgear is the golden sun,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Her cloak the silver rain.”</span><br /> -</p> - -<p>But why do not the poets see and express the hyperphysical charm of -the spring evenings? When the light of the vernal day has faded the -stars come forth, and in the quality of their shining reduplicate and -heighten the impressions left by the quickening landscapes. More than -half is lost if this be missed. But perhaps this side of nature is too -transcendent even for poetry. One can behold but not tell it. Emerson -has come nearest to its expression, and he puts it in prose:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>“The grass grows, the buds burst, the meadow is spotted with fire and -gold in the tint of the flowers. The air is full of birds, and sweet -with the breath of the pine, the balm-of-Gilead, and the new hay. -<i>Night brings no gloom to the heart with its welcome shade.</i> -Through the transparent darkness the stars pour their almost spiritual -rays. Man under them seems a young child, and his huge globe a toy. -The cool night bathes the world as with a river, and prepares his eyes -again for the crimson dawn.”</p> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</span></p> - -<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img002"> - <img src="images/002.jpg" class="w75" alt="CHART I—THE VERNAL EVENING SKY" /> -</span></p> -<p class="center caption">CHART I—THE VERNAL EVENING SKY<br /></p> - -<p>There was not only poetic but logical fitness in the old English -custom, abandoned since 1751, of dating the opening of the year from -the last week of March. How can the real birth of the year be imagined -to occur when all nature is still deep in slumber under the January -snows? The seasons are manifestly the children of the sun, waxing and -waning with his strength, and surely that one should be reckoned the -eldest which is the first birth of his vivific springtime rays. It -seems remarkable that the beginning of the year in ancient times, when -men felt more keenly than we do now the symbolism of natural phenomena, -was not more frequently fixed at, or near, the Vernal Equinox, and I -suspect some defect in our information on this subject. In Attica, -George Cornewell Lewis tells us, the year began at the Summer Solstice. -But this was to make the second of the sun’s seasonal offspring the -senior, thus ignoring the just claim of the true heir, the season -of buds. In Sparta and Macedonia, according to the same authority, -the year began with the Autumnal Equinox, which was still worse, for -in summer the year is at the zenith of its life, while in autumn it -is already stumbling toward the tomb. In Bœotia, at Delphi, and in -Bithynia they contradicted nature more decidedly, as we do to-day, by -making the year begin at the Winter Solstice, when the chilled world -is yet asleep. The Romans adopted this plan eventually, but it is -interesting to observe that they had an older custom of beginning the -year in March, which many cherished<span class="pagenum" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</span> in their domestic life as well as -for some legal purposes, after the lawful opening of the year had been -fixed on the 1st of January. And finally <i>we</i> have perpetuated -the illogical system of absolutely reversing nature’s rule in the -succession of the seasons by making the year begin about nine days -after the Winter Solstice. But in spite of calendars and laws nature -prevails, and everybody instinctively feels that the true beginning -of the year is in the season when the currents of life resume their -youthful flow. At any rate, however it may be with strictly terrestrial -affairs, that is the time when the call of the stars becomes the most -insistent and irresistible. Accordingly the epoch of the Vernal Equinox -is chosen for our opening chapter. But the reader at the commencement -of his star-gazing is not confined to this season; he can begin at any -time convenient to him.</p> - -<p>To avoid misapprehension it is important to point out that our concern -is not with that half of the heavens which the sun illumines when he -crosses the equator, coming north, at the Vernal Equinox, but with -the diametrically opposite half, where in countless multitudes shine -his fellow suns—his peers, his inferiors, and his superiors—turning -physical night into intellectual day. Accordingly, in <a href="#img002">Chart I</a> we see -not that part of the sky which contains the point called the Vernal -Equinox, but the opposite part, where the sun pursues his course when -he is declining from the Summer Solstice toward the Autumnal Equinox. -The chart represents the appearance of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</span> sky at 10 <span class="allsmcap">P.M.</span> on -the 20th of March (see Introduction). It also represents the sky as it -appears about 11.30 <span class="allsmcap">P.M.</span> at the beginning of March, about 9 -<span class="allsmcap">P.M.</span> the first week of April, and 8 <span class="allsmcap">P.M.</span> about April -20th.</p> - -<p>Let us, then, near one of these dates and hours, go out-of-doors and -transport ourselves to the universe. Why does not everybody feel the -thrill that comes to the astronomer when, with eager expectation, -he watches the fading sunset light, the slow withdrawal of the vast -curtain of illuminated air which for twelve hours has hidden the -prodigious marvel of the spangled heavens, and the first peering -forth of the great stars? I believe that everybody <i>does</i> feel -it when he gives himself the opportunity and abandons his mind to its -own reflections—but so few embrace the opportunity or encourage the -reflections!</p> - -<p>Select, if possible, a high place, where the eyes can range round the -whole horizon unobstructed. Then try to seize the entire view at once, -as one glances for the first time at the map of a new country. Get the -<i>ensemble</i> by sweeping all around the sky, not pausing to note -details, but catching at a glance the location of the brighter stars -and those that form striking groups. Note where the Milky Way runs, a -faint, silvery zone at this season, arched across the western half of -the firmament, hanging like starry gossamers in places, brilliant in -the northwest, but becoming fainter as it dips toward the southwestern -horizon—a mere anticipation of its summer splendor, hiding its light -and fading away as it approaches the imperial<span class="pagenum" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</span> presence of Sirius. -Notice the great hexagon of first magnitude stars that surrounds Orion -in the west—Sirius, Rigel, Aldebaran, Capella, Castor and Pollux, and -Procyon marking the angles, and Betelgeuse glittering not far from the -centre of the figure. Observe Regulus with the “Sickle” of Leo on the -meridian. Look for the glimmer of the “Beehive” in Cancer, between -Gemini and Leo, and for the pentangular head of Hydra beneath it. Still -lower you will see the reddish gleam of the starry serpent’s heart, -Cor Hydræ, or Alphard, and then, running eastward, and dipping ever -nearer the horizon, the long, winding line of his stars passing under -the overset cup of Crater and the quadrilateral of Corvus, the “Crow,” -until they disappear, unended, in the southeast, for from mid-heaven to -the horizon there is not space enough to display all of these beautiful -coils, which take a kind of life as you watch them.</p> - -<p>Away over in the east, close to the ecliptic, you will see Virgo with -her diamond, Spica, flashing in her hand. You are now facing east; -to your left, then, north of Spica, glows great Arcturus, with his -attendants shaping the figure of Boötes. Of Arcturus, a star that among -a million finds no rival, we shall speak more particularly elsewhere. -Farther to the left, beyond Boötes, shines the exquisite “Northern -Crown,” Corona Borealis. That too will claim attention in a later -chapter. The square of Hercules is just above the horizon below the -Crown in the northeast, and to its left, as you face north, is seen -the diamond-shaped<span class="pagenum" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</span> head of Draco, the “Great Dragon” that Athena -was fabled to have entangled with the axis of the world. His stars -wind upward between the “Dippers”—the “Little Dipper,” which has the -Polestar at the end of its handle, and the “Great Dipper,” which, brim -downward, shines east of the meridian, almost as high as the zenith, if -you are as far north as 40° or more. The handle of the “Great Dipper” -is the tail of Ursa Major, who treads lumberingly about the pole, with -his back downward, his head out-thrust west of the meridian, and his -feet, marked by three striking pairs of stars, up in the middle of the -sky. On the meridian south of Ursa Major stands the “Sickle” of Leo -already mentioned. Away round in the northwest, beyond Capella, are -Perseus and Cassiopeia, immersed in the Milky Way.</p> - -<p>Having fixed the location and general appearance of all these -constellations in the mind, you are prepared to study them, and their -stars, in more detail. Let us begin in the east. For some occult reason -the rising stars always seem more attractive than those that are near -setting. In the east, then, the eye is at once drawn to the beautiful -Spica, which the impassive, immemorial Virgo wears as her only -ornament. It is a fascinating star with its pure white rays, dashed -with swift gleams of exquisite color as the atmospheric waves roll over -it. There is not another equal to it in the impression of purity which -it gives. We may imagine that some dim sense of this immaculate quality -in the light of Spica led to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</span> the naming of the constellation the -“Virgin,” thus called by nearly all peoples, each in its own language: -Παρθέυος, Kóρη, <i>Puella</i>, <i>Kauni</i>, <i>She-Sang-Neu</i>, -<i>Pucella</i>, <i>Vièrge</i>, <i>Mæden</i>, <i>Jungfrau</i>, -<i>Virgine</i>—all, ancient and modern, Greek, Roman, Indian, Chinese, -Norman, French, Anglo-Saxon, German, Italian, and English worshipping -together at this shrine of ideal purity. If the Assyrians made her the -wife of Bel that was hardly a disparagement, for Bel was the sun. So, -too, the identification of Virgo with the Greek Persephone, the Roman -Ceres, and the Jewish Bethula, all goddesses concerned with the harvest -and the fertility of the land, in no way detracted from her virginal -character, nor did her association with Astræa, the goddess of justice.</p> - -<p>Beside Spica, Virgo has no very bright stars, and it is hardly doubtful -that the imaginary purity ascribed to the constellation was derived -entirely from the unsullied whiteness of Spica. While gazing at that -beautiful star all of these associations, coming from times so remote -and peoples so distant, crowd into the mind, increasing the interest -with which one regards it. The nations who named it the vernal star, -before all others, have gone the way of terrestrial things, but the -star remains, as pearly fair as when Aratus sang to it:</p> - -<p class="poetry"> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">“Lo, the Virgin!...</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Her favor be upon us!”</span><br /> -</p> - -<p>Then science comes to carry the thoughts to grander, if less romantic, -heights. Spica, it tells us, is a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</span> sun which might well claim to -be included in Newcomb’s wonderful “XM” class—<i>i. e.</i>, stars -excelling our sun at least <i>ten thousand times</i> in splendor, -for, notwithstanding the brilliance with which it delights us, it is -so remote that no certain estimate of its distance can be made, its -parallax escaping measurement—what, then, must be the intolerable -blaze with which it illumines its immediate neighborhood! But when -Science begins her revelations no man can foretell the wonders that she -will discover. The spectroscope avers that Spica is speeding hitherward -at a pace of more than 32,000 miles per hour! Each night that star is -almost 700,000 miles nearer than it was the night before, and yet it is -not perceptibly brighter than it was in the days of Homer. Such are the -star depths! Such is the measureless playground of the spinning suns! -Then Science, inspired by its spectroscopic sibyl, whispers another -startling word in our ears: That core of white fire glowing so softly -in the vernal midnight has an invisible companion star, with which it -circles in an orbit 6,000,000 miles in diameter, and every four days -they complete a swing in their mighty waltz!</p> - -<p>The star Epsilon (ε) in Virgo (see <a href="#img008">Chart VII</a>, at the end of the book) -is <i>Vindemiatrix</i>, the “Grape-gatherer,” thus named from some -imagined association with the vintage. <i>Mukdim-al-Kitaf</i>, “The -Forerunner of the Vintage,” the Arabs called it, taking their hint from -the Greeks before them. Admiral<span class="pagenum" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</span> Smyth, in his <i>Cycle of Celestial -Objects</i>, has these curious lines on this star:</p> - -<p class="poetry"> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">“Would you the Star of Bacchus find on noble Virgo’s wing,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">A lengthy ray from Hydra’s heart unto Arcturus bring;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Two-thirds along that fancied line direct th’ inquiring eye,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And there the jewel will be seen, south of Cor Caroli.”</span><br /> -</p> - -<p>The reader may be interested in trying the star-loving admiral’s plan -for finding <i>Vindemiatrix</i>.</p> - -<p>Gamma (γ) is <i>Porrima</i>, a prophetic goddess of ancient Latium, -consulted especially by the women. But for us this star is most -interesting as being one of the first binaries discovered in the -heavens. It is a charming object for a small telescope. The two -components revolve round their common centre of gravity in a period of -about one hundred and eighty years.</p> - -<p>As the reader progresses in his studies he will find Virgo full of -interesting objects, including the celebrated “Field of the Nebulæ,” -marked out by the stars Beta (β), Gamma (γ), Delta (δ), Epsilon (ε), -and Eta (η); but to see the nebulæ, which are thickly scattered there, -he must have a powerful telescope.</p> - -<p>Southwest of Virgo, but near the southeastern horizon, the -quadrilateral figure of the constellation Corvus, the “Crow,” catches -the eye. Its brightest star is of less than the second magnitude, -yet by their apparent association the four stars immediately attract -attention. One sees no special reason why the figures marked out by -these stars should be likened to the form of a bird; but it was a raven -to both the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</span> Greeks and the Romans, and similarly symbolical to other -early peoples. The Arabs, however, at first called it the “Tent,” a -designation which at least had a real resemblance for its basis. But -these stars possess a charm independent of any fancied likeness to -terrestrial things. In looking at them we do not think of the billions -of miles which actually separate them from each other, but only of -their seeming companionship. If, on the other hand, we force ourselves -to consider the immense distances between them the mind is overwhelmed -with the reflection that here, plainly staked out before us, is a field -of space of absolutely unthinkable magnitude with its angles as clearly -marked as if a celestial surveyor had placed corner-stones there. -Note that the star Alpha (α), once the leader of the constellation in -brightness as well as in alphabetical rank, is now so faint that you -have to look for it where it shrinks, in half concealment, below one -of its now brighter neighbors. These abasements are not very uncommon -among the stars. Their glory, too, is mutable; they also have their -ups and downs. The Arabic name for Alpha (α) was <i>Al Chiba</i>, or -<i>Al Hiba</i>, meaning the “Tent.” Gamma (γ), now the brightest star -of the constellation, was called <i>Gienah</i>, the “Wing,” and Delta -(δ), <i>Algorab</i>, or <i>Al Ghurab</i>, the Arabic name for “Raven,” -but Beta (β), which is perhaps as bright as Gamma (γ), has no special -designation.</p> - -<p>From Corvus the eye wanders naturally to its neighbor on the west, -Crater, the “Cup.” Both of these<span class="pagenum" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</span> constellations rest on the back of -the long serpentine Hydra. Crater is far less conspicuous than Corvus; -but its resemblance to a cup is rather striking, although the imaginary -vessel lies tipped up on its side with the open part toward the east. -Among the many ascriptions of this starry cup in ancient mythology to -various gods and goddesses, none is more interesting than that which -made it the cup of Medea, thus including Crater among the numerous -constellations which were associated in the imagination of the Greeks -with their great romance of the Argonautic Expedition. Its brightest -stars are only of the fourth and fifth magnitudes, and individually not -worth much attention.</p> - -<p>Hydra, which stretches its immense coils across about seven hours of -right ascension, passing under Cancer, Leo, Crater, Corvus, Virgo, and -a part of Libra, also carries the mind back through the golden mists of -the morning of Greek mythology to the adventures of Jason and his crew -of Argonauts, for it was once identified with the Aonian Dragon. It -would be interesting to inquire how much of the perennial fascination -of this ancient romance may be due to its traditional association -with the stars. Look first at the head of Hydra, now well west of the -meridian, below the glimmering “Beehive” in Cancer. It is marked by -five stars of various magnitudes making an irregular pentagon. Then -let the eye follow the line down southeastward until it encounters Cor -Hydræ, or <i>Alphard</i>, the latter its Arabic name, meaning<span class="pagenum" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</span> the -“Solitary One.” It is of the second magnitude and of a reddish color, -and the space about it is vacant of conspicuous stars. There is an -attraction about these solitary bright stars that is almost mystical, -their very loneliness lending interest to the view, as when one watches -some distant snow-clad peak gleaming in the rays of sunset after all -the lower mountains have sunk into the blue shadows of coming night. -Cor Hydræ is the Alpha (α) of its constellation.</p> - -<p>Above Hydra, northeast of Cor Hydræ, at the crossing of the ecliptic -and the meridian, is the great star Regulus in Leo, the “Lion.” It -stands at the lower end of the handle of a very distinctly marked -sickle-shaped figure, which includes the breast, head, and mane of the -imaginary lion. Regulus is not only a beautiful star, but it possesses -much practical importance as one of the principal “nautical stars,” -having been employed by sailors ever since the beginning of navigation -to determine their place at sea. The sun almost runs over this star -about the 20th of August, and every month the moon passes close beside -it, and sometimes occults it. Thus it serves as a golden mile-stone -in the sky. It has strangely affected the imagination of mankind in -all ages. From the remotest times it has everywhere been known as the -“royal star” <i>par excellence</i>. In Greek it was <b>βασιλίσκος</b>, -in Latin <i>Rex</i>, from which Copernicus constructed our name, -Regulus. There are three other “royal stars,” Aldebaran, Antares, and -Fomalhaut, but Regulus has always been, in a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</span> certain way, their chief. -For five thousand years it has been believed, traditionally, to control -the affairs of heaven, and the astrologers have seized upon this idea -by making it the natal star of kings, and those destined to kingly -achievements and rule. In our age of science we may safely indulge -these fancies; they can now do no harm, and they add immensely to the -interest with which we regard the star that gave birth to them. When -the “Royal Star” crosses high on the meridian in the vernal evenings, -the imagination is thrown back over almost the whole course of the -history of the Aryan race, and the rays of Regulus bring again the -dreams of Babylon and Nineveh, of Greece and Rome, of India, and of -the star-watching deserts of Arabia. Cyrus, in his conquering marches, -may have looked to that star for help and inspiration, for it was the -heavenly guardian of the Persian monarchs.</p> - -<p>The spectroscope tells us that Regulus, like Spica, is approaching -us, but less rapidly, drawing nearer about 475,000 miles per day. But -its distance is 950,000,000,000,000 miles (parallax 0″.02), and it -outshines the sun one thousand times.</p> - -<p>The second star above Regulus, in the curve of the sickle’s blade, -is Gamma (γ), or <i>Algieba</i> (Arabic the “Forehead”), a beautiful -double, probably binary, with a period of revolution which Doberck has -estimated at about four hundred years. The larger star of the pair is -golden-orange and the smaller bronze-green, a marvellous contrast, and -an ordinary telescope<span class="pagenum" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</span> shows well the spectacle, the distance between -the components being 3″.78. And this wonderful pair is rushing toward -the solar system at the rate of <i>two million miles per day</i>. Yet -so great is its distance that we have no record that in a thousand -years men have noticed a brightening of the headlight of this terrible -locomotive of space! But probably the more refined methods of the -present time, if applied for a similar period, would reveal an ominous -expansion of that oncoming light. Gamma is interesting as marking, -roughly, the spot in the sky which was the apparent centre of radiation -for the November meteors, which were last seen in their splendor in -1866-67, their return in 1899-1900, for which the world had long been -waiting, having been prevented by the disturbing attraction of Jupiter -and Saturn, which shifted their orbit.</p> - -<p>The “Sickle” in its entirety is an attractive asterism, and hanging so -conspicuously in the sky on a spring evening it may be imaginatively -regarded as a harbinger of the opening of the season when the thoughts -of men are turning to preparations for future harvests. In the height -of the harvest season the “Sickle” sets near sundown, then no longer -standing upright, but lying along upon the horizon—a symbol of the -wearied husbandman’s approaching hours of rest:</p> - -<p class="poetry"> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">“Nor shall a starry night his hopes betray.”</span><br /> -</p> - -<p>Away off at the eastern end of the constellation, in the lion’s tail, -shines its second star in rank, Denebola<span class="pagenum" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</span> (Arabic <i>Al Dhanab</i>, -the “Tail”). It too is speeding hitherward, but only half as fast as -Gamma. Like Aldebaran, the name Denebola has an indefinite charm, from -its full round vowel sounds, and a certain nobility in the look of it -as it lies on the printed page. As with many sonorous Indian names in -American geography, these old star names lose something of their effect -when they are translated. It is better to take them as they stand, -transcending terrestrial analogy and definition, like the sublime -objects that they designate.</p> - -<p>Northeast of Denebola lies the small constellation of Coma Berenices, -“Berenice’s Hair,” remarkable for the confused glitter of the small -scattered stars of which it consists. It is a constellation with a -romantic history which I shall not retell here. It forms an attraction -for an opera-glass.</p> - -<p>We now return to the region of sky above the head of Hydra, west of the -meridian. There the attention is arrested by a glimmering spot, a kind -of starry cobweb, which represents the “Beehive” cluster in Cancer. -Its classical name is <i>Præsepe</i>, the “Manger.” In <i>Astronomy -with the Naked Eye</i> will be found a copy of Galileo’s drawing of -the stars of Præsepe as they appeared to him with his newly invented -telescope. It is delightful to look at them on a clear night with a -large opera-glass or a small telescope. They are an example of that -clustering tendency so often seen among the stars, and which reaches -its most wonderful manifestations in such assemblages as the famous<span class="pagenum" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</span> -globular clusters in Hercules and Centaurus, where countless thousands -of small stars appear to be so crowded together that in the centre they -run up into a perfect blaze. But in Præsepe there is no such apparent -crowding, though the stars are so numerous that they resemble a swarm -of bees. The probability is that none of the stars in this company is -as large as our sun—although we cannot be perfectly sure because we -do not know their distance—but they are, nevertheless, true stellar -bodies, solar children, which seem playing together, overwatched by -larger stars, waiting not far away. Plato, or his disciples, taking the -suggestion from older dreamers, regarded Præsepe as a gateway of souls -through which descended the spirits that were to animate the bodies -of men during their earthly life. There are moods in which one can -hardly consider our coldly scientific way of treating such celestial -wonders as being essentially superior to the more spiritual ideas -and suggestions of the visionaries of antiquity, before man became -possessed with the notion that all science is summed up in measurement. -Unquestionably we have more “facts,” but have we more inspiration? Are -we as near to the stars as were those who knew less about them? Have we -yet got the key to unlock the universe? Do many of us comprehend the -<i>dictum</i> of one of our own modern sages—“Hitch your wagon to a -star”?</p> - -<p>Cancer has no conspicuous stars, and it covers but a small space on the -sky, yet as a constellation it is<span class="pagenum" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</span> as old as any, and it has given us -our “Tropic of Cancer,” because in ancient times, before the Precession -of the Equinoxes had drifted the zodiacal signs and constellations -apart, the place of the Summer Solstice, where the sun is at its -northern extreme of declination, was situated in Cancer, though now we -find it in Gemini, close to the borders of Taurus.</p> - -<p>Westward from Cancer we see the great group of mighty stars and -constellations of which Orion is the chief and centre, but Sirius the -brightest jewel. They are now declining rapidly toward the horizon, -and will be better studied at another season. They include, besides -Orion, Gemini, Auriga, Taurus, Canis Major, and Canis Minor, and will -be found more favorably situated in the chart devoted to the sky at -the Winter Solstice. For the present, then, we turn our eyes to the -northern central part of the vernal heavens. There, almost overhead, -shines the “Great Bear,” Ursa Major, always recognizable by the -remarkable figure of the “Great Dipper,” or, as they prefer to call -it in Old England—where brimming dippers of sparkling water lifted -dripping from the “old oaken bucket” are not so familiar as in New -England—the “Wain,” or the “Plough.” We have already remarked that at -this season the Bear has his feet uppermost in the middle of the sky -and his back downward toward the pole. The Dipper, too, is now upside -down, drained of its last imaginary drop, though its stars may be the -more brilliant for that. The figure of the bowl is situated on the -flank of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</span> Bear, and its handle represents his impossible tail. Six -of its stars are of the second magnitude, and one, at the junction of -the bowl and the handle, of the third. Their Greek letters, beginning -at the northwestern corner of the bowl, are, <i>Alpha</i> (α), -<i>Beta</i> (β), <i>Gamma</i> (γ), <i>Delta</i> (δ), <i>Epsilon</i> -(ε), <i>Zeta</i> (ζ), and <i>Eta</i> (η), and their names, in the -same order, <i>Dubhe</i>, <i>Merak</i>, <i>Phæd</i>, <i>Megrez</i>, -<i>Alioth</i>, <i>Mizar</i>, and <i>Benetnasch</i>.</p> - -<p>I once knew a country school-teacher who thought that he had acquired -a pretty good knowledge of astronomy when he had learned these names -by heart. He certainly knew more of uranography than most people. -The names seem to be all of Arabic origin, and at the risk of -destroying their charm I will give, from Allen’s <i>Star Names</i>, -their probable significations. <i>Dubhe</i> means simply “Bear”; -<i>Merak</i> (sometimes <i>Mirak</i>), “Loin”; <i>Phæd</i> (sometimes -<i>Phecda</i> or <i>Phad</i>), “Thigh”; <i>Megrez</i>, “Root of the -Tail”; <i>Alioth</i>, meaning uncertain, probably something to do -with the tail; <i>Mizar</i> (originally <i>Mirak</i>), “Girdle”; and -<i>Benetnasch</i> (sometimes <i>Alcaid</i>), “Chief of the Mourners,” -from an Arabic phrase having that signification.</p> - -<p>The star Megrez, now so much fainter than the others, was once as -bright as any of them. It has faded within three hundred years.</p> - -<p>Close by Mizar a fairly good eye has no difficulty in seeing a small -star which is named Alcor (signification uncertain). The Arabs are -said to have called these two stars the “Horse and his Rider,” and -to have regarded it as a test of good vision to be able<span class="pagenum" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</span> to see them -both. It is certainly not a severe test at present. Mizar itself -is telescopically double, presenting a beautiful sight in a small -telescope, the distance asunder being about 14″. The smaller star is -like an emerald in hue, and the color is usually remarked at once by -the beginner in telescopic observation. The larger star is one of -those strange objects called “spectroscopic binaries”—two suns locked -in the embrace of gravitation and spinning round a centre so near to -each other that to anything less penetrating than the magic eye of the -spectroscope they appear as a single body.</p> - -<p>Merak and Dubhe are the celebrated “Pointers,” so called because a line -drawn from the former to the latter, and continued toward the pole, -passes close to Polaris, the Pole-star, of which we shall presently -speak. The distance between these stars is about five degrees, so that -they serve as a rough measuring-stick for estimating distances in the -sky. Immediately west of the meridian will be seen a curving row of -stars which indicate the head of the Bear. Three of his feet, or claws, -are represented by as many pairs of stars between the Great Dipper and -the Sickle of Leo, one of the pairs being east of the meridian, one -west of it, and one nearly upon it. Below the outer end of the handle -of the Dipper, in the direction of Denebola, a fairly bright star, Cor -Caroli, which English loyalty named for the heart of the unfortunate -King Charles I., shines on the collar of one of the “Hunting Dogs,” -Canes Venatici, which Boötes is<span class="pagenum" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</span> represented as holding in a leash as -he chases Ursa Major round the pole. This, too, is a beautiful double, -the contrasted colors of whose widely separated stars are finely shown -by a small telescope.</p> - -<p>Now let the eye run along the curve of the Dipper’s handle, beginning -at the bowl, and then, springing on, continue the same curve eastward; -it will encounter, at a distance about equal to the whole length of the -Dipper, a very great and brilliant star—Arcturus, brighter than Spica -and Regulus, and usually, when not very far risen from the horizon, of -a distinctly reddish hue. It is the chief star of Boötes, the “Driver,” -the “Vociferator,” the “Herdsman,” or the “Bear-watcher,” as it has -been variously rendered. We shall have more to say about Boötes in -another chapter, but Arcturus is a star so splendid and famous that -it cannot be passed in silence the first time the beginner catches -sight of it. There is a standing dispute concerning the relative rank -in brightness of Arcturus among the leading stars of the northern -hemisphere. Its principal rivals are Vega in the Lyre, and Capella -in Auriga. But all three differ in color, and that makes it more -difficult to decide upon their relative brilliance, since different -eyes vary in their sensitiveness to color. The Harvard Photometric -<i>Durchmusterung</i> gives Vega the first and Arcturus the third rank -among these three; but many eyes recognize rather a pre-eminence of -Arcturus. My own impression has usually been that Arcturus looms larger -than either Vega or Capella,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</span> but that Vega is the most penetratingly -brilliant. It is very curious to notice the effect of the colors -of these stars. The sharp blue ray in the light of Vega gives it a -diamond-like quality which is lacking in Capella, whose light is white -with just a suspicion of amber. Arcturus is a very pale topaz when high -in the sky, and a ruddy yellow, sometimes flaming red, when near the -horizon. It is a thrilling recollection of the writer’s early boyhood -that he felt an undefined fear of Arcturus when seen rising ominously -red and flashing through the leafless boughs of an apple orchard in the -late evenings of February. All the ancients feared Arcturus for its -supposed influence in producing storms and bad harvests.</p> - -<p>Arcturus is a sun of enormous magnitude, estimated all the way from one -to six thousand times as great in luminosity as our sun. It is also -travelling with great rapidity, its speed, according to some estimates, -amounting to two or three hundred miles per second; but most of this -is cross-motion with reference to us, its general direction being -toward the south-southwest. If it is travelling three hundred miles per -second, it would traverse the space between the sun and the nearest -star, Alpha Centauri, in about three thousand years. We shall touch on -Arcturus again when dealing with Boötes in the next chapter.</p> - -<p>Disregarding for the present the exquisite circlet of Corona Borealis, -the “Northern Crown,” and the quadrilateral figure in Hercules, seen -northeast of Arcturus, we turn to the great dragon, Draco, whose<span class="pagenum" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</span> -diamond-shaped head may be seen far over in the northeast above -sparkling Vega, which is just on the horizon. As a reference to the -charts of the circumpolar stars at the end of the book will show, -Draco is a remarkably crooked constellation, its line of stars winding -round between the “Little Dipper” in Ursa Minor, which has Polaris -at the end of its handle, and the “Great Dipper” of Ursa Major. Its -most interesting, though not now its brightest, star is Alpha, or -<i>Thuban</i>, Arabic for “dragon.” It lies between the end of the -handle of the Great Dipper and the bowl of the small one. About -forty-six hundred years ago Alpha Draconis was the Pole-star, and is -believed to have shone down the long tube-like passage in the great -pyramid of Cheops into the watching eyes of the priestly astronomers, -assembled to view it in the mysterious chamber hollowed out of the -solid rock deep under the foundations of the mighty pile. They thus -had a telescope more than three hundred feet long as immovable as the -solid earth, but, alas for their calculations, the star itself shifted -its position, and their gigantic observing tube became useless until -modern science inferred from its position the date of their building. -How imposing to the imagination this association between a particular -star and the mightiest structure made by human hands on the earth! Two -centuries ago Thuban was more than twice as bright as it is now, and -when the Egyptian priests sedulously observed it from their gloomy -cavern, more than a thousand years before the magic-working<span class="pagenum" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</span> days of -Moses, it may have been brighter still.</p> - -<p>Gamma (γ), or Eltanin (the “Dragon”), in the triangular head, is now -the brightest star in the constellation, and it, too, has a history. -Lockyer and others have identified it as the orientation star of -Rameses’ great temple at Karnak, and of the temples of Hathor and Mut -at Dendera and Thebes. There is something magnificent in this thought -of the ancient temple-builders—to square their work by the stars, and -to construct long rows of sphinxes and majestic columns to conduct a -ray from the sky to the eye of the god in his dark and hidden chamber, -where no impious foot dared follow.</p> - -<p>When you are tired of tracing the windings of the Dragon, turn to Ursa -Minor and Polaris. The “Little Bear,” it has been remarked, has an even -more preposterous tail than his greater brother. Polaris is at the end -of the tail, or the end of the handle of the Little Dipper, and the -bowl of the latter is on the bear’s flank.</p> - -<p>If one knows nothing else of uranography, one should at least know -Polaris, the “North Star.” To recognize that star is to be able to -orient yourself wherever you may be in the northern hemisphere. A whole -volume could be written on its connection with human affairs. For at -least two thousand years it has been the cynosure of sailors, and of -wanderers by land as well. You cannot be lost if you have Polaris to -guide you. The magnetic compass varies and misleads,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</span> the sun and -the moon change their places, all the other stars circle through the -heavens, but Polaris is always there, shining over the pole of the -earth, the image of steadfastness. Only the slow Precession of the -Equinoxes affects it. At the present time it is within one degree and -a quarter of the true pole of the heavens, and it is drawing nearer -that point, so that in two hundred years it will be less than half a -degree from it—less than the apparent diameter of the moon. The little -circle that it daily describes in the sky may be disregarded, for it -is hardly noticeable except with instruments; but it is easy to fix -the star’s position with considerable accuracy by simple observation. -Note that the Great Dipper and the “W”-shaped figure in Cassiopeia are -on opposite sides of the pole. When one is above, the other is below; -when one is on the east, the other is on the west. Draw an imaginary -line from the star Mizar in the Great Dipper to the star Delta (δ) in -Cassiopeia and it will pass almost directly through the pole. Polaris -is on that line, a degree and a quarter from the pole in the direction -of Delta Cassiopeiæ. If the observation is made when Delta is above -the pole and Mizar below it, Polaris will be on the meridian, or north -and south line, a degree and a quarter above the pole; when Delta is -west of the pole and Mizar east of it, Polaris will be a degree and a -quarter west of the meridian; when Delta is below the pole and Mizar -above it, Polaris will be on the meridian a degree and a quarter below -the pole; and, finally,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</span> when Delta is east of the pole and Mizar west -of it, Polaris will be a degree and a quarter east of the meridian. The -intermediate positions you can easily deduce for yourself.</p> - -<p>But Polaris will not continue to be the unerring guide to the north -that it now is. The Precession of the Equinoxes is carrying the -pole progressively westward in right ascension, so that Polaris -will eventually be left far behind. But the motion of the pole is -in a circle about twenty-three and a half degrees in radius, and it -requires about 25,800 years to complete a revolution round this circle. -Consequently, at the end of that period, Polaris will have come back -to reign again as the North Star for many centuries. In the interim -other stars will have occupied its place. About 11,500 years from now -the brilliant Vega, or Alpha Lyræ, will be the North Star, and in -about 21,000 years Alpha Draconis (Thuban) will once more shine down -the great northward-pointing passage in the pyramid of Cheops, if that -pyramid shall still exist.</p> - -<p>Polaris, unlike some of the others stars that we have been looking -at, is running away into space instead of approaching us, at a speed -which has been estimated at about 1,380,000 miles per day. Its present -distance is not less than 200,000,000,000,000 miles. It has an -invisible companion with which it circles in an orbit of a few million -miles diameter in a period of about four days.</p> - -<p>Polaris is also a celebrated visual double. With a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</span> telescope of two -or three inches aperture you can see close by its flaming rays a -minute blue star, a delicately beautiful sight. In the older days of -telescopes, before they had attained the perfection which improvements -in glass-making and lens-shaping have rendered possible, this little -companion star of Polaris was a universal test of excellence. Its -prestige was historical. The amateur owner of a telescope who could -see that star clearly felt a joy that he could hardly express. The old -makers of object-glasses, by rule of thumb, always tried them on the -companion of the Polestar as a standard test for small apertures. The -small star is of the ninth magnitude, and situated about 18″.6 from its -primary.</p> - -<p>The stars Beta (β), or Kochab (the “Star”), and Gamma (γ), in Ursa -Minor, are called the Wardens, or Guards, of the Pole. In low northern -latitudes, where these stars sweep the horizon at their lower -culmination, Shakespeare’s description in <i>Othello</i> would be -literally true during a great storm at sea:</p> - -<p class="poetry"> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">“The wind-shak’d surge, with high and monstrous mane,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Seems to cast water on the burning Bear</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And quench the guards of th’ ever-fixed pole.”</span><br /> -</p> - -<p>The constellations Cepheus, Cassiopeia, and Perseus, now low in the -northwest and north, we leave for description to another chapter.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="II">II<br /><span class="small">THE EVENING SKY AT THE SUMMER SOLSTICE</span></h2> -</div> - - - -<p>At 10 o’clock <span class="allsmcap">P.M.</span> on the 21st of June, the longest day of -the northern hemisphere, the aspect of the sky is that shown in <a href="#img003">Chart -II</a>, accompanying this chapter. The same chart will answer for 11 -<span class="allsmcap">P.M.</span> on the 5th or 6th of June; 9 <span class="allsmcap">P.M.</span> on the 7th of -July, and 8 <span class="allsmcap">P.M.</span> on the 22d or 23d of July. In fact, for any -of the hours mentioned the date may be shifted several days forward or -backward without seriously affecting the comparison of the chart with -the sky, and the same may be said of each of the other circular charts. -The stars simply rise about four minutes earlier each evening, and four -minutes of time correspond to one degree of space measured on the face -of the sky. So the whole sky shifts about one degree westward every -twenty-four hours.</p> - -<p>For the observation of the heavens at the epoch of the Summer Solstice, -observers who are situated at least as far south as 40° north latitude -have an advantage over those whose place on the earth is much farther -north, because in the more northern regions sunset occurs later, and -in England and Northern Europe the day, at this time, may exceed -sixteen<span class="pagenum" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</span> hours in length, while twilight is perceptible throughout -the night. This interferes with the brilliancy of the stars.</p> - -<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img003"> - <img src="images/003.jpg" class="w75" alt="CHART II—THE SUMMER EVENING SKY" /> -</span></p> -<p class="center caption">CHART II—THE SUMMER EVENING SKY<br /></p> - -<p>At no other season do the heavenly bodies seem so intimately associated -with the earth as in summer. All nature is now attuned, and the stars -glow softly in the tepid atmosphere, stirred by faint breezes, like -veritable flowers of the sky. The firmament becomes a vast garden lit -with beautiful lamps, which seem to have been placed there to dimly -illuminate nocturnal wanderers in the transparent gloom beneath. Their -beauty is as refreshing as the cooling breath of night itself. A mystic -influence steals from them over the earth.</p> - -<p>“If a man would be alone,” says Emerson, “let him look at the stars.”</p> - -<p>Yet he cannot be alone with them; they are too friendly; they speak too -plainly a universal language, which, though he cannot translate it, he -<i>feels</i> in every fibre. There is nothing more absolutely common to -all men than the influence of the stars. No one ever gazed up at them -without feeling a change come over his spirit. Truly, “they separate -between him and what he touches.” They free him from the bondage of -time and space. There is no trouble that they cannot assuage. And there -is no time like the summer for becoming intimate with them. One who has -been touched by the magic of their love could lie all the night long on -a bed of pine-needles and fill his soul with their beauty. The march of -red Antares<span class="pagenum" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</span> and his glittering retinue across the meridian while the -earth sleeps in solstitial calm—who can describe that pageant?</p> - -<p>Antares is <i>the</i> summer star, and with it and the Scorpion we will -begin. Not so bright as Arcturus or Vega, which are now high aloft, it -has a charm peculiar to itself, arising partly from its fervid color, -partly from its surroundings, and partly from its position, not too -high above the southern horizon, which renders observation of the star -comparatively easy. The color is so distinctive that one might think -that he could recognize Antares chromatically if it were suddenly -transported to some other region of the sky and placed amid a strange -environment. Sometimes a flash of its fiery rays, striking sidewise -into the eye as one is looking elsewhere, startles the observer like a -red meteor. It is well named Antares—“Anti-Mars.” With the telescope -the wonder of color is increased, for close by the great star the glass -reveals a smaller one of a <i>vivid green</i>, an all but incredible -combination of complementarily tinted suns. And these suns are -undoubtedly actually linked together into a system, so that, if there -are planets revolving around both or either, the inhabitants of those -planets may behold the spectacle of two suns, one crimson and the other -emerald! The large star is of the first magnitude, and the small one of -the seventh; angular distance 3″.7.</p> - -<p>The companion of Antares is historically associated with the most -interesting of American astronomers,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</span> a man whose life was a romance, -Gen. O. M. Mitchel. When his long-cherished design of setting up a -great telescope in America was at last fulfilled, at Cincinnati, in -1845, one of his first achievements was the discovery, to the surprise -of the astronomers of Europe, of the green star hiding in the rays of -Antares. At times it has been seen emerging from behind the moon, after -an occultation, ahead of its red comrade.</p> - -<p>With a parallax of 0″.02, Newcomb estimated the luminosity of Antares -at nine hundred times that of our sun, and yet the spectroscope -indicates that it is a dying sun, fast approaching extinction. In its -younger days it may have been an orb of prodigious splendor.</p> - -<p>The constellation Scorpio, of which Antares is the leader, is one of -the best marked in the sky. The two small stars Sigma (σ) and Tau (τ), -standing like attendants on either side of Antares, lend a singular -aspect to the central part of the constellation. Antares is usually -represented as the heart of the imaginary scorpion. Below Tau a curving -row of stars dips to the southern horizon, and then rises, farther -eastward, terminating with a conspicuous pair in the uplifted sting. -West of Antares a nearly vertical row represents the head. Of the -stars in this row, Beta (β) is interesting as a fine and easily seen -double, the distance being about 13″. A higher magnifying power shows -that the larger star has another faint companion, distant only 0″.7. Nu -(ν) is also telescopically interesting, for it consists of two pairs -of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</span> stars. Observe in <a href="#img008">Chart VII</a> the strange way in which the outlines -of the constellation have been swung into loops in order to include -certain stars in Scorpio, recalling the crooked boundary between -Switzerland and Italy, by which each reserves particular peaks of the -Alps for itself.</p> - -<p>East of Scorpio, where the Milky Way, falling in flakes and sheets of -silvery splendor upon the southeastern horizon, spreads abroad like an -overflowing river, lies Sagittarius, the “Archer,” often represented -in the old pictorial charts as a centaur. The stars Lambda (λ), Delta -(δ), and Epsilon (ε) form the bent bow. But modern eyes recognize more -easily a dipper, formed by the stars Zeta (ζ), Tau (τ), Sigma (σ), -Phi (φ), Lambda (λ), and Mu (μ). But the star-clusters in Sagittarius -are more interesting than the separate stars. A little southwest of -Mu is the famous cluster 8 M., of which Barnard has made a photograph -that is amazing beyond all description. Other clusters are all about -in this part of the sky. A good opera-glass or field-glass is almost -indispensable for one who would enjoy the glory of this wondrous -region. Its riches are almost oppressive in their lavish abundance. -Here one can have handfuls of stars for the picking up, like sands of -gold from the bed of Pactolus. As the glittering incrustations that -cover the roofs and walls of the Mammoth Cave are often compared to -the starry heavens, so, reversing the image, Sagittarius is like a -stupendous cavern of space all ablaze and aglitter with millions of -sparkling gems.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</span></p> - -<p>Above Scorpio and Sagittarius are the intertwined constellations -of Ophiuchus and Serpens. He who may wish to disentangle them is -referred to <i>Astronomy with the Naked Eye</i>. But the outlines can -be traced in <a href="#img008">Chart VII</a>. The head of Serpens, like those of Hydra and -Draco, is plainly marked by a striking group of stars, in this case -resembling the figure called a “quincunx.” From this point just under -the “Northern Crown,” the serpent’s stars wind downward in beautiful -pairs and groups, crossing the meridian above Scorpio, and rising again -in the eastern part of the sky, above the little constellation of -Sobieski’s Shield, until they meet the borders of Aquila. Ophiuchus, -with his head high up toward Hercules, where it is marked by the -brightest star in that part of the sky, Alpha Ophiuchi, or Ras Alhague, -the “Head of the Serpent Charmer,” stands with legs braced wide apart, -grasping the serpent at the points marked by the stars Delta (δ) and -Epsilon (ε), and Tau (τ) and Nu (ν). It is Esculapius with his Serpent, -said the Greeks; it is St. Paul and the Viper of Melita, or Moses and -the Brazen Serpent, we don’t know which, said the churchmen. I am -not aware that in England they have ever been tempted to call it St. -George and the Dragon. Politics and national pride have not meddled -much with the stars, although there was once an attempt to fix the name -of Napoleon upon Orion. Ras Alhague is described by R. H. Allen as -sapphire in hue, while Alpha Serpentis is yellowish. The star Lambda -(λ) in Ophiuchus,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</span> also called Marfik, the “Elbow,” is a beautiful -binary, period 235 years, distance apart 1″.2. The smaller star is -smalt blue, a splendid telescopic object.</p> - -<p>But, as in the case of Sagittarius, the greater wonders here are in the -form of star-clusters, and particularly nebulæ. Just above Antares, in -one of the feet of Ophiuchus, is a small star, Rho (to find which the -reader must consult a large star atlas, like Klein’s), around which -Barnard has discovered, by photography, a truly marvellous nebula, -a nebula which appears <i>to obscure the stars</i> like a cloud of -cosmic dust. Great black lanes extend from and around it, and even the -luminous parts of the nebula seem to absorb the light of the stars -behind, diminishing their brightness a whole magnitude or more where -they are veiled by it. This entire region of sky is most strange to the -photographic eye. An outlier of the nebula just mentioned surrounds the -star Nu (ν) in Scorpio, and its veiling effect upon the stars is even -more evident. There is a similar appearance around the star Theta (θ) -Ophiuchi, not far away. The sense of some appalling mystery in this -part of the firmament is heightened by what Barnard says of a thing -which has reappeared again and again on his photographs during the past -fifteen years, at a point which he describes as lying very closely to -R. A. xviii hours, 25 m., 31 s.; Decl. S. 26°, 9′ (near the star Lambda -(λ) in Sagittarius).</p> - -<p>“It is a small, black hole in the sky. It is round and sharply defined. -Its measured diameter on the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</span> negative is 2′.6. On account of its -sharpness and smallness and its isolation, this is perhaps the most -remarkable of all the black holes with which I am acquainted. It lies -in an ordinary part of the Milky Way, and is not due to the presence or -absence of stars, but seems really to be a marking on the sky itself” -(<i>Astrophysical Journal</i>, January, 1910).</p> - -<p>These things really transcend explanation (see <i>Curiosities of the -Sky</i>).</p> - -<p>Above Ophiuchus and his Serpent, almost exactly overhead in the -latitude of 40° N., we see the quadrilateral figure marked out by four -of the principal stars of the constellation Hercules. The head of -Draco, described in Chapter I, is beyond it toward the north-northeast. -Hercules stands feet upward in the sky, his head, indicated by the -star Alpha, or Ras Algethi, the “Kneeler’s Head,” being situated a few -degrees west-northwest of Ras Alhague. Thus the two giants have their -heads together. But while the occupation of Ophiuchus is plain, nobody, -not even in ancient times, when the constellation received its name, -has ever been able to say what Hercules is laboring at. When he was on -the earth everybody followed his deeds and understood, if they could -not emulate, them. He was as comprehensible as a modern pugilist. Now, -however, that he has been translated to the stars, his labors are of -a more mysterious nature, and, judging from his attitude, he finds -them harder than any he undertook for the benefit of mankind here -below. One is tempted to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</span> think that the powers he offended, when he -boldly entered the land of shades and snatched the wife of his friend, -King Admetus, from the hand of Death himself, are now taking an ample -vengeance.</p> - -<p>Ras Algethi is a very beautiful double star, one red, the other green -or blue, and both, strangely enough, are variable in brightness. Their -distance apart is 4″.7. Their spectrum indicates that they are advanced -toward extinction many stages beyond our sun.</p> - -<p>The star Zeta (ζ), one of those in the quadrilateral, is a closer -double, distance about 1″, and is binary, the period of revolution -being about thirty-five years.</p> - -<p>And now for a great marvel. Let the eye range slowly from Eta (η) -directly toward Zeta (ζ). When one-third of the distance between the -two stars has been passed, a faint, glimmering speck will be perceived. -Perhaps you will need an opera-glass to make sure that you see it. -This is the “Great Cluster in Hercules.” You must go to the southern -hemisphere to find its match anywhere in the sky. It is a ball of -suns! Now you need a telescope. You <i>must have one</i>. You must -either buy or borrow it, or you must pay a visit to an observatory, -for this is a thing that no intelligent human being in these days -can afford not to see. Can it be possible that any man can know that -fifteen thousand suns are to be seen, burning in a compact globular -cluster, and not long to regard them with his own eyes? Of what use is -description in such a case? The language has<span class="pagenum" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</span> not yet been invented to -depict such things. Human speech comes down to us from the times when -men did not need the tongue of the gods to tell what they saw. When -Galileo invented the telescope, and Herschel multiplied its powers a -thousandfold, they should have found a language fitted to describe -their discoveries. But if you cannot get a look at the Hercules cluster -through a powerful telescope, photography comes to your aid. Look at -one of the wonderful Lick or Yerkes photographs of it, and pause long -on what you see. Note the crowding of those suns toward the centre, -note the glittering spiral lines formed by those which seem streaming -and hurrying from all sides to join the marvellous congregation—and -then turn again to that faint speck in the sky, which is all that the -naked eye reveals of the wonder, and reflect upon the meaning of space -and the universe.</p> - -<p>We now turn farther east, still keeping the eyes directed high in the -sky, and just at the edge of the Milky Way, with two minute stars -making a little triangle with it, we see Vega or Alpha Lyræ, the -astonishing brilliant that flashes on the strings of the heavenly Lyre. -At the Vernal Equinox it was just rising far over in the northeast; -now it is the unquestioned queen of that quarter of the sky. I like to -think of Emerson when looking at that star. There is a sentence of his -which reflects it like a mirror. When he strove to rouse the “sluggard -intellect of this continent,” to “look from under its iron lids,”<span class="pagenum" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</span> he -could find no stronger image than that of poetry reviving here and -leading in a new age, “as the star in the constellation Harp, which -now flames in our zenith, astronomers announce, shall one day be the -Pole-star for a thousand years.”</p> - -<p>Of the effect of the Precession of the Equinoxes, to which Emerson -refers, we have already spoken. But it is a long time in the future -that Vega will begin, or rather resume, its reign as the Star of -the North. And, curiously enough, when that time comes the northern -hemisphere will have its Summer Solstice when the sun is just opposite -to the place which it now occupies at that season, and when Antares -will be no more a summer star, but will flash its ruddy light upon the -snows of a winter longer and colder than the winters that we know, -while Orion will blaze above the summer landscapes. This immense -revolution, some have thought, may be the measure of the “Great Year” -of Plato, and if the chronology adopted for dating the early remains of -civilization recently uncovered in Crete is correct, we have evidence -that mankind has persisted through one of these vast periods, and that -nations flourished round the Mediterranean when Vega was formerly the -Pole-star.</p> - -<p>The beauty of Vega, which has been admired and commented on from the -earliest times, is much enhanced when it is viewed with a telescope. -Then the blueness of its light becomes evident, and one is the -more astonished at the unquestionable fact that it outshines the -sun a hundred times. A <i>sapphire</i> sun,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</span> a hundred times more -brilliant than ours! The proper motion of the solar system, which -carries us through space about twelve miles per second, is bearing us -almost directly toward Vega, so that as future ages unroll the star -should become brighter and brighter with decrease of distance, until -eventually it may outshine every other orb in the firmament, and put -Sirius himself to shame by its overpowering splendor.</p> - -<p>The little star Epsilon (ε), the northernmost one of the pair near -Vega, is a celebrated quadruple, easily seen as such with a telescope -of moderate power.</p> - -<p>A little less than half way from Beta (β) to Gamma (γ) the telescope -discovers the wonderful “Ring Nebula,” a delicate circle of nebulous -light with a star in the centre. This star is more conspicuous in -photographs than in telescopic views. This object has been regarded as -a visual proof of the correctness of Laplace’s theory of the origin of -the solar system from nebulous rings surrounding a central sun, but -the Lick photographs show that the ring in this case is of a strangely -complex constitution. Beta is both a binary and a variable star.</p> - -<p>Buried in the Milky Way, east of Lyra, lies the great “Northern Cross” -in the constellation Cygnus. It is more perfect than the famous -“Southern Cross,” and much larger. The star Alpha (α), at the head of -the main beam of the cross, is also called <i>Denib</i>, the “Tail,” -as it is situated in the tail of the “Swan,” Cygnus. Its parallax is -undetermined, and Newcomb<span class="pagenum" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</span> placed it in his “XM” class, described under -Spica in Chapter I. The Milky Way is exceedingly beautiful in Cygnus. -Note particularly the broad gaps and rifts in it. Around and above the -head of the cross there are dark spaces, which are specially impressive -when the eyes are partly averted from them. Downward from Cygnus the -stream of the galaxy is seen to be partially split longitudinally. It -resembles a broad river meandering, in the droughts of the “dog days,” -over flats and shallows, and interrupted with long sand-bars. How can -stars have been thrown together into such forms? What whirls and eddies -of the ether can have made these <i>pools of shining suns</i>?</p> - -<p>The star in the foot of the cross, Beta (β), or <i>Albireo</i>—a -beautiful name without signification, since Allen shows that -it originated in a blunder (see his <i>Star Names and Their -Meanings</i>)—is one of the most attractive objects in the heavens for -those who are fortunate enough to possess a telescope. The smallest -glass easily shows it to be double, and the combination is unrivalled -for beauty, the larger star being a pale topaz and the smaller a deep -sapphire. Their magnitudes are three and seven, and their distance -apart about 34″. I have separated them with a field-glass.</p> - -<p>Cygnus contains one of the nearest stars in the sky, a twinkler not -too easily seen with the naked eye—a striking proof of the fact that -the mere faintness of a star is in itself no indication of excessive<span class="pagenum" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</span> -distance. This is known as 61 Cygni, and will be found on <a href="#img011">Chart -X</a>. It is a double, possible binary, easily separated with a small -telescope, the distance being about 21″. The distance of 61 Cygni -is about 40,000,000,000,000 miles. It was long known as the second -nearest star in the sky, the nearest being Alpha Centauri in the -southern hemisphere; but at least one nearer one has more lately been -discovered, and it, too, is a very small star. The combined luminosity -of the two stars in 61 Cygni is only one-tenth that of the sun. Amid -so many giants it is reassuring to find a sun smaller than ours; it -restores our self-esteem to find that our solar hamlet is not the very -least in the empire of space.</p> - -<p>Southeast of Cygnus, near the eastern shore of the starry river, is -Aquila, the “Eagle.” Its chief star, Altair, “Eagle,” recalls Antares, -not by its color, for it is not red but white, but by the singular -arrangement of two small stars standing one on either side of it. Here, -too, the Milky Way is very splendid, attaining astonishing brightness -lower down, in Scutum Sobieskii, “Sobieski’s Shield.” The naming of -this constellation was a posthumous reward to the heroic king, John -Sobieski, for saving Europe by the defeat of the Turks under the -walls of Vienna, after their victorious advance from Constantinople, -emphasized in the public mind by the appearance of Halley’s Comet, had -seemed to threaten a Moslem conquest. Twice Halley’s Comet had alarmed -Europe in connection with the Turks, first in 1456, after they had -taken<span class="pagenum" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</span> Constantinople, and again in 1682 when they swept upon Vienna, -so that it was a natural thought to associate Sobieski’s victory with -some “sign in the sky,” and a more appropriate one could hardly have -been found than the “shield,” bossed with star-clusters, which Hevelius -selected for the purpose. The southern part of the constellation Aquila -is sometimes called Antinous. For the beautiful Oriental legend of the -Spinning Damsel and the Magpie Bridge connected with Aquila and Lyra, -see <i>Astronomy with the Naked Eye</i>. Newcomb gives Altair ten times -the luminosity of the sun.</p> - -<p>The constellations Delphinus and Anser et Vulpecula will be dealt with -in the next chapter. In the mean time let us turn to the western half -of the sky.</p> - -<p>Just west of the meridian, near the zenith, gleams the glorious -Northern Crown, Corona Borealis. The head of Serpens is right -underneath it. It is, perhaps, the most charming of all asterisms. It -could hardly be called anything else than a crown or a wreath. The -perfection of the figure is surprising. If its stars were larger it -would be the cynosure of the sky, but small as they are they produce -an effect of ensemble that could not have been exceeded if human hands -had arranged them there. The superior brightness of one of them, -Alpha “Gemma,” or “The Pearl,” adds greatly to the effectiveness -of the combination. It is the work of a master jeweller! Yet, as -I have elsewhere shown, this curious assemblage of stars is but a -passing phenomenon, for they are travelling in various<span class="pagenum" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</span> directions, -with various speeds, and in the course of time the Northern Crown -will dissolve like a figure in the clouds. In Greek mythology it was -generally called the Crown of Ariadne. Just under the star Epsilon (ε) -is a wonderful variable, which in 1866 suddenly blazed up to the second -magnitude, and was for a time regarded as a new star. Nothing is known -of its periods of change. It is not now visible to the naked eye.</p> - -<p>West of Corona the most conspicuous object is Arcturus in Boötes. This -entire constellation is now well placed for observation. But first -a few words about Arcturus, a star of which one can never tire, so -steeped is it in the poetry and history of the most interesting nations -of the past. Like Alpha Centauri, Arcturus was used as a “temple -star” in both Egypt and Greece, and it was of much importance as a -prognosticator of the seasons. When a conspicuous star was seen rising -just ahead of the sun, it was said to rise heliacally, and it served -as a sentinel to announce the oncoming day. To the priests this was -important, because it warned them of the moment when it was necessary -to begin their preparations for the sunrise ceremonies in the temples. -To the husbandman such a herald seemed specially connected with the -particular season in which it appeared. In this way Arcturus came to -give its name to the ancient Greek autumn. In Sophocles’ <i>Œdipus the -King</i> there is a passage which affords striking evidence of the -popular knowledge of Arcturus in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</span> this connection. When the herdsman -from Mount Cithæron is brought to prove that he had nurtured Œdipus -as a child, one of his former comrades, to recall the old man’s -recollections, reminds him that they had kept their flocks together -“three whole half-years from Spring to Arcturus” (meaning from Spring -to Autumn, since Arcturus then rose heliacally at the beginning of -September). Whatever might be the local names for Autumn, over all the -Greek world it was popularly known as the “time of Arcturus.”</p> - -<p>Although the Revised Version has struck out Arcturus and substituted -“the Bear” in that famous passage in which the Almighty answers Job -“out of the whirlwind,” yet for lovers of the Bible this will always be -“Job’s Star,” always surrounded to the imagination with the momentous -circumstances suggested by that tremendous and unanswerable demand:</p> - -<p class="poetry"> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">“Canst <i>thou</i> call forth <i>Arcturus</i> and his sons?”</span><br /> -</p> - -<p>No scientific fact known about it—not its gigantic size, not -its inexplicable flight through space—can be so imposing as the -impressions conveyed in its choice by Jehovah to illustrate His -illimitable power. One likes to think that the Hebrew poet really did -mean to write “Arcturus,” for there is something sublime in the idea of -representing the Great Maker of All as calling one of His stars by name.</p> - -<p>Arcturus is sometimes referred to under the name of <i>Arctophilax</i>, -the “Bear-driver,” a name properly belonging to the constellation -Boötes. In modern<span class="pagenum" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</span> astronomical history it will always be memorable for -the passage over it of the celebrated Comet of 1858, Donati’s Comet. -At one time the star was almost involved in the head of the great -comet, and yet it shone through the obstructing vapors with virtually -undiminished lustre. It was a spectacle, said Professor Nichol, the -like of which no one might see again though he should spend on earth -fifty lives. At the beginning the comet was a little plume of fire, -“shaped like a bird of paradise,” but it soon brightened into a -stupendous scimetar, brandished in the sunset, and when it swept over -Arcturus the whole astronomical world was watching to see what would -happen to the star.</p> - -<p>Among the other stars of Boötes, Epsilon (ε) is specially worthy of -notice, being a remarkable binary of finely contrasted colors, orange -and sea-green. The distance is 2″.25, and the period of revolution long -but undetermined. Struve called this star “Pulcherrima,” on account of -its exceeding beauty.</p> - -<p>Although Arcturus by its splendor belittles the rest of the -constellation, yet it requires no difficult exercise of the imagination -to see a giant form there, towering behind the Bear, and urging on his -dogs in the chase. The dogs are represented by Canes Venatici, of the -beauty of whose chief star, Cor Caroli, I have spoken in the preceding -chapter. In the upper part of Canes Venatici, about 3° southwest -of Benetnasch, is the celebrated “Whirlpool Nebula” of Lord Rosse, -which modern photographs show in a form so<span class="pagenum" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</span> suggestive of tremendous -disruptive forces that cosmogonists are at a loss to explain it.</p> - -<p>We now drop down to Libra, the “Balance,” which lies just west of -Scorpio and east of Virgo. There is evidence that this constellation -originally represented the outstretched claws of the Scorpion. Yet as -an independent constellation it is very ancient. It has only two stars -of any considerable magnitude, Alpha (α) and Beta (β). The former must -have faded, for it is now the fainter. It lies almost on the ecliptic. -These stars are interesting on account of their curious names, which -themselves tend to prove that Libra once formed a part of Scorpio. -Alpha is Zubenelgenubi, the “Southern Claw,” and Beta Zubeneschemali, -the “Northern Claw.” These titles, as Allen shows, have been derived -through the Arabic from the Greek names current in the time of Ptolemy. -The first is yellowish-white, and the second pale green. Any good eye -detects the difference of color at a glance, although the stars are -about ten degrees apart. Zubenelgenubi is widely double, separable with -an opera-glass.</p> - -<p>Along the western horizon we recognize our old friends Virgo, Corvus, -and Leo, while high in the northwest is Ursa Major, head downward, and -directly in the north Ursa Minor, standing on the end of his tail, -poised like an acrobat on Polaris. The head of Draco shows finely east -of the meridian, and low down in the northeast is the “Laconian Key” of -Cassiopeia. But that is for another evening.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="III">III<br /><span class="small">THE EVENING SKY AT THE AUTUMNAL EQUINOX</span></h2> -</div> - - -<p class="poetry"> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">“When descends on the Atlantic</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The gigantic</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Storm-wind of the Equinox,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Landward in his wrath he scourges</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The toiling surges,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Laden with sea-weed from the rocks.”</span><br /> -</p> - - -<p>Longfellow’s vivid lines reproduce the popular impression of the -character of the season when the descending sun again touches the -equator, giving the whole world once more days and nights of equal -length, before he dips to the south and leaves the northern hemisphere -to face the oncoming blasts of winter. There is no superstition more -deeply planted than that of the “equinoctial storms.” There <i>are</i> -such storms, it is true, but they by no means always burst at the -epoch of the Equinox. The readjustment of atmospheric conditions goes -on gradually, and there is often, just at the equinoctial moment, a -spell of serene weather that can hardly be matched at any other season -of the year. The atmosphere, recovered from the excessive heats of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</span> -summer, possesses a quality of softness and “misty fruitfulness” that -tranquillizes the spirit and makes nature doubly charming. It is the -late afternoon of the year, when life, refreshed by the siestas of -summer, resumes its activity, and the heavens no less than the face of -the earth greet the eye with a smile of divine beauty.</p> - -<p>To every season its flowers—and to every season its stars. The gardens -of the sky are not the same in autumn as in summer, either in their -arrangement or in the peculiarities of their bloom. There is less -parade of flaming beauty, but the richness of the <i>coup d’œil</i> -is not inferior. And just as in our September parterres some of the -summer beauties remain, though a little faded, to support with their -charms their stately successors, so in the skies of autumn a few of the -summer stars are yet seen, though somewhat robbed of their pristine -splendor as they sink toward the sunset. The garland of the Milky -Way has now been flung all across the firmament, from northeast to -southwest, and while Vega and Altair hang half-way down the curtain of -the west, recalling the glories of the solstice, Capella appears rising -in the northeast, and Cassiopeia, not less beautiful in the sky than -when she awoke the jealousy of the sea-nymphs, is seen seated in her -“shiny chair” east of the meridian in the north. Between Cassiopeia and -Capella flashes Perseus, with his uplifted sword marked by a curve of -stars embedded in the Milky Way, and above Perseus stands Andromeda, -upright,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</span> with her feet toward her rescuer and her head touching -the “Great Square of Pegasus,” near the middle of the sky, east of -the meridian. Cepheus, the King, is on the meridian above the pole. -Cassiopeia, Cepheus, Andromeda, and Perseus constitute the “Royal -Family” of the sky, more enduring than the proud dynasties that by -turns have ruled terrestrial affairs.</p> - - -<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img004"> - <img src="images/004.jpg" class="w75" alt="CHART III—THE AUTUMN EVENING SKY" /> -</span></p> -<p class="center caption">CHART III—THE AUTUMN EVENING SKY<br /></p> - - -<p>Low down in the south, east of the meridian, glows Fomalhaut, the -“Fish’s Mouth,” the leading and the only bright star of Piscis -Austrinus, the “Southern Fish.” With this singular star we may begin -our description of the beauties of the autumn sky. Fomalhaut well -deserves the epithet singular, if for nothing else than on account -of its loneliness. In this respect it is more remarkable than Cor -Hydræ, which it resembles in its ruddy color. Fomalhaut is the -characteristic star of autumn in our latitudes, for the same reasons -that cause Antares to represent the summer. Like Antares, it startles -the wandering eye and fixes the attention, although, unlike the great -star of Scorpio, it has no brilliant <i>entourage</i> to emphasize its -supremacy over the quarter of the sky where it shines. It is one of -the sailors’ stars. To me Fomalhaut is full of boyhood memories and -impressions gained when I learned the stars in the country, among the -hills that shut in the Schoharie before it pours out into the valley of -the Mohawk. Fortunately, Thomas Dick’s works and Burritt’s <i>Geography -of the Heavens</i> had a place in our house,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</span> and neither <i>The -Arabian Nights</i> nor <i>The Swiss Family Robinson</i> was able to -dull my appetite for them. In the course of time I knew all the great -stars by name, and found a wonderful pleasure in their acquaintance, -although at times they daunted me with their imposing associations with -Egypt, the Nile, Babylonia, and everything that is most ancient. I -shall never forget Fomalhaut flashing along in the south, just skipping -the hilltops on an autumn night. A great star is never so imposing nor -so mysterious as when it thus appears to be watching the earth.</p> - -<p>How immensely would the interest of many travellers’ tales be -heightened if only they had known the names of the stars whose -appearance they have recorded. When you have the name of the star that -was seen, the season and the hour of the night are fixed at once, -and the whole scene is filled with new life. When an Alpine climber, -waiting in his lonely camp high on the mountain-side for the coming of -day, tells me, “I saw Sirius glancing at us over a lofty peak far in -the east,” I know immediately the approximate time of night and the -aspect of the heavens, and the narrative gains in vividness; but if -he says merely that he saw “a star” his stroke of description misses. -And, then, the names of many of the stars, by their oddity and beauty, -enrich the page and awake the imagination. They are, in themselves, an -incantation.</p> - -<p>The lover of the stars is grateful for any reference to them by a -great writer, and yet he is often disappointed<span class="pagenum" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</span> by the inadequacy -of descriptions that might easily have been made memorable if only -their authors had known the starry heavens a little better. How -disappointing, for instance, is this passage in R. H. Dana’s <i>Two -Years before the Mast</i>:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>“Wednesday, November 5th—The weather was fine during the previous -night, and we had a clear view of the Magellan Clouds and of the -Southern Cross. The Magellan Clouds consist of three small nebulæ in -the southern part of the heavens—two bright, like the Milky Way, and -one dark. They are first seen just above the horizon after crossing -the southern tropic. When off Cape Horn they are nearly overhead. The -Cross is composed of four stars in that form, and it is said to be the -brightest constellation in the heavens.”</p> -</div> - -<p>That is all, and the reader’s dissatisfaction is not confined to the -evidence of the writer’s lack of familiarity with the stars, but -becomes yet keener when he reflects upon the brilliant picture which -Mr. Dana’s powers of description should have enabled him to make of -those strange sights of the southern sky, which, in his day, were so -rarely seen by northern eyes.</p> - -<p>On the equator above Fomalhaut, and close to the meridian, appears a -curious group of stars in the form of a letter Y. They mark the hand -and urn of Aquarius, the “Waterman.” A few degrees westward from this -figure shines the Alpha (α) of the constellation, bearing the strange -name Sadalmelik, the “King’s Luck,” or “Lucky One.” It is situated<span class="pagenum" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</span> -in the Waterman’s right shoulder, while Beta (β), some twelve degrees -farther west, marks the left shoulder. Beta’s distinctive name is -Sadalsuud, the “Luckiest of the Lucky.” Several other stars in this -constellation have names implying good-fortune. The Arabs saw the -Y-shaped figure, already referred to, as a tent, and the star Gamma -(γ) in this group is called Sadachbiah, from an Arabic phrase which -Professor Whitney translates “Felicity of Tents.” Upon this R. H. Allen -remarks that the star probably got its name from the fact that it rose -with its companions in the morning twilight of spring, “when, after -the winter’s want and suffering, the nomads’ tents were raised on the -freshening pastures, and the pleasant weather set in.” The star Zeta -(ζ), in this same figure, is a long-period binary, probably 750 years, -and a beautiful telescopic object, the distance being a little more -than 3″, while the two stars are nearly equal, and very white, although -one of them seems whiter than the other.</p> - -<p>It will be observed that the outline of the constellation Aquarius -is very curious, somewhat resembling that of the State of Louisiana -tipped on its side. The broader part of it runs down toward Fomalhaut, -and the northern part extends westward, like an L added to a house, -between Equuleus and Capricornus. The latter, the constellation of -the “Goat,” is relatively small and compact. Its two most interesting -stars are Alpha (α), or Algedi, the “Goat,” and Beta (β), or Dabih -(signification uncertain), both in one of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</span> horns of the imaginary -animal. Each of these stars is a wide double. The distance between the -Alphas is 373″, and that between the Betas 205″, the latter being more -than a tenth of the apparent diameter of the moon. A good eye sees at -once that Alpha is double; but the two stars in Beta cannot be seen -without a glass, because one of them is below the sixth magnitude, the -<i>minimum visible</i> for the naked eye. Each of the stars in Beta -is a telescopic double. The Goat heads westward, and the stars Delta -(δ) and Gamma (γ) are in his tail. This constellation has given us our -Tropic of Capricorn, because the place of the winter solstice was once -within its boundaries, although now we find it far west, in Sagittarius.</p> - -<p>Above the head of Capricornus we recognize our old acquaintance Altair, -in the Eagle, and east of this the singular little constellation of -Delphinus, the “Dolphin,” often called “Job’s Coffin,” a name for -which I have never been able to find any explanation. Like all small -constellations whose stars are comparatively close together, it -immediately attracts the eye. None of its stars exceeds the fourth -magnitude; but three of them, Alpha, Beta, and Gamma, are telescopic -doubles, the last named being particularly beautiful on account of the -contrast of colors, gold and green; distance 11″.</p> - -<p>Directly north of Altair is the very small constellation of Sagitta, -the “Arrow,” interesting when viewed with an opera-glass for its row of -little stars from which, as from a maypole lying horizontally, depend<span class="pagenum" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</span> -loops of still smaller stars looking like garlands. In ancient times -this was sometimes called “Cupid’s Arrow,” but they did not venture to -represent the little god himself. Above Sagitta are the small stars -constituting the double constellation of Vulpecula et Anser, the -“Little Fox and the Goose.”</p> - -<p>Simply pausing to recognize the presence of the Northern Cross, we -turn to the eastern side of the meridian, where we find Pegasus, with -his Great Square. This is one of the most conspicuous figures in the -sky. The star at the northeastern corner of the square is Alpheratz, -of which I have spoken in the Introduction, as belonging in common to -Andromeda and Pegasus. When we come to Cassiopeia I shall point out -a remarkable fact relating to Alpheratz and its twin, Gamma Pegasi, -about 15 degrees directly south. Every lover of the “classics” of -course feels a thrill of pleasure in seeing Pegasus in the sky, “in -wild flight and free.” One can spare many of the heroes for the sake -of giving him room. Shakespeare’s references to the constellations -are much less frequent and definite than one could wish, but he has -clearly mentioned one or two, and it may be that he had the starry -eidolon of the Winged Horse in his eye when he wrote, in <i>Troilus and -Cressida</i>:</p> - -<p class="poetry"> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">“But let the ruffian Boreas once enrage</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The gentle Thetis, and anon behold</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The strong-ribbed bark through liquid mountains cut,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Bounding between the two moist elements</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Like Perseus’ horse.”</span><br /> -</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</span></p> - -<p>The constellation extends far westward from the Square, and in the -imaginative sky pictures that illustrate old charts of the heavens the -star Epsilon (ε) is in the nose of Pegasus, as he stretches out his -neck to reach his foal, Equuleus. But the horse, with his feet toward -the north, is shown upside down, unless you turn your back to the south -when looking at him. The star Beta (β) is attractive on account of its -neighbors forming a striking triangle with it; but the space within the -Square is relatively vacant. Alpha (α) and Beta (β) are respectively -Markab, the “Saddle,” and Scheat (signification uncertain).</p> - -<p>South of the Square of Pegasus we see the western part of the -constellation of Pisces, whose small stars run in streams toward the -eastern horizon. Pisces furnishes one of the most remarkable examples -of this phenomenon, in which the stars are seen arrayed in long, -winding lines, like buttercups following a brook. Cetus is also seen -rising south of Pisces; but we shall deal with these constellations -later. Meanwhile we return to Alpheratz, at the northeast corner of -the Square of Pegasus. The name is derived from an Arabic phrase -meaning the “Horse’s Navel”; but the star is now generally associated -with Andromeda, and is, indeed, the Alpha of that constellation, and -shines on the maiden’s head. The star Delta (δ), in Andromeda, marks -her breast, and her extended arms and chained hands are shown by -rows and groups of small stars on the north and south. Beta (β), or -Mirach, is in her girdle, and the two small<span class="pagenum" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</span> stars northwest of it lead -the eye to one of the most wonderful objects in the sky—the Great -Andromeda Nebula. You may detect it as a misty speck with the naked -eye; an opera-glass will show you plainly that it is a little luminous -cloud. In <a href="#img011">Chart X</a> its position is indicated by a little circle near -the star Nu (ν). In a telescope it appears of a spindle shape, with -a bright axis, but the best views of it are afforded by photography. -On the photographic plate, exposed continuously for hours to its -rays, it gradually builds up its marvellous form—the great central -condensation, with the encircling spirals, emerging in all their -strange splendor. It resembles a whirlwind of snow, and the appearance -of swift motion and terrific force is startling. Its spectrum, instead -of being that characteristic of gases, indicates that it consists -principally of matter in a star-like state of condensation, and some -have imagined that it is an outside universe, composed of stars too -distant to be separately distinguished, and arrayed in mighty spirals, -which recall the form of the Milky Way. The latest investigations show -evidence, however, that it is partly nebular in constitution. These -things once known, the contemplative eye is drawn to that misty speck -as to a magnet.</p> - -<p>The star Gamma (γ), or Almaack, the “Badger,” is in Andromeda’s foot. -It is a wonderful triple star, whose largest member is orange in color, -the second emerald-green, and the third blue. The two larger stars are -easily seen with an ordinary telescope, the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</span> distance between them -being about 10″, but the third is difficult, the distance from the -second being, in 1908, only 0″.45. The last two form a binary, with a -period of about fifty-four years. When they are nearest to each other -no telescope can separate them. The colors of the two largest stars -are very striking, and yet some eyes seem incapable of appreciating -them. This is also true of many separate stars in the sky which possess -distinctive tints. It is a fine test of the chromatic capacity of the -eye to be able to enjoy the differences among the hues of the stars. -Color-blindness is far more common than is usually suspected, and is -apt to manifest itself in this way when not otherwise noticed. From -theoretical considerations Holmgren has shown that three varieties of -color-blindness may exist: first, where the sense is defective for only -one color, either red, green, or violet; second, where two colors, -either red and green or red and violet, are not perceived; and third, -where the defect extends to three colors, including red, green, and -violet. A person suffering from either of these forms of blindness -would lose much of the peculiar beauty exhibited by certain stars and -combinations of stars.</p> - -<p>To the right of Almaack, as one faces north, is the little -constellation of Triangulum, and beyond that, in the same direction, -Aries, the “Ram,” clearly marked by three stars, the two smaller -of which are quite close together. The largest star, Alpha (α), is -called Hamal, the “Ram,” or “Sheep”; and the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</span> next largest, Beta (β), -Sheratan, the “Sign,” this name being due to the fact that in the days -of Hipparchus Sheratan marked the place of the Vernal Equinox, and -consequently the point of beginning of the year, of which it was the -sign. Gamma (γ), the companion of Sheratan, sometimes called Mesarthim -(signification uncertain), is a beautiful telescopic double whose -components are 8″.8 apart. The smaller one has a curious tint which -Webb and others have described as “gray.”</p> - -<p>Aries was originally the leader of the zodiac, but the Precession -of the Equinoxes has now thrown it into second place, and brought -Pisces to the front, the twelve signs of the zodiac being like a fixed -circular framework through which the constellations drift toward the -east. The <i>sign</i> Aries remains the first of the zodiac, but is -occupied by the constellation Pisces. Is there in any language a word -more mysteriously impressive than “zodiac”? Astrological superstition, -perhaps, partly accounts for this. The word comes from the Greek -for “animal,” because nearly all the constellations of the zodiacal -circle are representations of animals. It surrounds the sky with a -great menagerie of starry phantasms, through the midst of which the -sun pursues his annual round. When he enters the sign of Aries spring -commences; when he enters Cancer summer reigns; when he reaches Libra -it is the beginning of autumn, and when he is in Capricorn winter -is at hand. We have nothing quite equal to the old Greek story of -Phaeton<span class="pagenum" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</span> begging from his father, Phœbus Apollo, the privilege of -driving the Chariot of the Sun, and losing his way through terror -of the threatening forms amid which lay his course—the “Scorpion,” -with his fiery sting uplifted to strike; the huge “Crab,” sprawling -across the way; the fierce “Ram,” with lowered head; the great “Bull,” -charging headlong upon him; the terrible “Lion,” with bristling mane; -the “Archer,” with bow bent and arrow aimed; the “Goat,” with crooked, -threatening horns; the sturdy “Waterman,” emptying his vast urn in -a raging flood; the balance of “Libra” extended as if to weigh his -fate—even the benign aspect of the “Twins” and the gentle look of the -sedate “Virgin” could not restore his equanimity. It was the wildest of -all wild rides, and Phaeton was the precursor of the modern chauffeur -gone mad with the speed of his flight, and crazed by the pursuit of -phantoms which rise remorselessly in his path. It was probably in Aries -that the inventors of the story imagined the beginning of the adventure.</p> - -<p>Below the feet of Andromeda, in the northeast, appears Perseus, -her rescuer, hurrying to the combat with the oncoming Sea Monster, -and carrying the blood-freezing head of Medusa in one hand and his -diamond-hilted sword in the other. He wraps the glory of the Milky Way -around him like a flying mantle, and brandished in the direction of -Cassiopeia, the maiden’s mother, and of King Cepheus, her father, is -seen his magic blade, made splendid in the sky by one of the finest -assemblages of small stars that can<span class="pagenum" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</span> anywhere be seen. This beautiful -star-swarm, visible to the naked eye as a glowing patch in the Milky -Way, is indicated in <a href="#img011">Chart X</a> by a double cluster of dots above the -star Eta (η). Seen with a powerful opera-glass, or better with a small -telescope, it is an object that one can never cease to admire and -wonder at. It is so bright that the unassisted eye sees it as soon as -it is directed toward that part of the sky. It seems to throw a halo -over the surrounding sky, as if at that point the galaxy had been -tied into a gleaming knot. It is popularly called the “Sword Hand of -Perseus.” But how inadequate seems such terrestrial imagery when we -reflect that here a vast chaotic nebula has been, through æons of -evolution, transformed into a kingdom of starry beauty.</p> - -<p>The star Alpha (α) Persei, also known as Algenib (Arabic <i>Al -Janib</i>, the “Side”), is the centre of a bending row following the -curve of the Milky Way. The appearance of this curve of stars is very -attractive to the eye. Algenib is a beautiful star, allied to our sun -in spectroscopic character, and approaching us at the rate of about -560,000 miles per day.</p> - -<p>But the greatest marvel of Perseus is the “Demon Star,” Algol, in -the head of Medusa, which is represented depending from the hero’s -right hand. Algol bears the Greek letter Beta (β). It is the most -wonderful of variables, and its variations can be watched without any -instrumental assistance. For the greater part of the time it is of -nearly the second magnitude; but once every two days, twenty hours, -and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</span> forty-nine seconds it begins suddenly to lose light, and in about -four hours or less it fades to nearly the fourth magnitude, being then -no brighter than some of the faint stars around it. Almost immediately -it begins to brighten again, and in the course of about three hours is -seen shining with its pristine splendor. The cause of these singular -variations is believed to be the existence of a dark star, or a mass -of meteors, revolving round Algol at such close quarters that a -distance of only 3,000,000 miles separates the centres of the two. -Algol itself is demonstrably considerably larger than our sun, but of -less density. The Arabic name for this star was <i>Al Ghul</i>, the -“Demon,” or “Fiend of the Woods,” and our word ghoul comes from it. -The imagination of a Poe could not have represented a more startling -thing—a sun that winks like a gloating demon! One may easily cultivate -an uncanny feeling while watching it. No one need be surprised that -the astrologers make much of the malign influence of Algol. If one had -faith in them, one might as well be born with the millstone of fate -tied to his neck as to have Algol in his nativity.</p> - -<p>Below Perseus, and not very high above the horizon, sparkles the -brilliant Capella, but that is for the next chapter. We turn to -Cassiopeia. Her “W,” or “Laconian Key,” is a familiar asterism to -all who know anything at all of the starry heavens. The five stars -forming this figure are also represented as marking the Chair in which -the unfortunate though beautiful queen sits. There is a delightful -reference to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</span> this “Chair” in Xavier de Maistre’s <i>Expédition -Nocturne autour de ma Chambre</i>. When the hero discovers the slipper -of his fair neighbor of the upper flat visible on the balcony above, -he wishes “to compare the pleasure that a modest man may feel in -contemplating a lady’s slipper with that imparted by the contemplation -of the stars.” Accordingly, he chooses the first constellation that he -can see. “It was, if I mistake not, Cassiopeia’s Chair which I saw over -my head, and I looked by turns at the constellation and the slipper, -the slipper and the constellation. I perceived then that these two -sensations were of a totally different nature; the one was in my head, -while the other seemed to me to have its seat in the region of the -heart.”</p> - -<p>The names of three of the five stars forming the “Chair” are: Alpha -(α) Schedar (from <i>Al Sadr</i>, the “Breast”); Beta (β) Caph (Arabic -<i>Kaff</i>, “Hand”); and Delta (δ) Ruchbah or Rucbar, the “Knee.” Caph -and Ruchbar are of particular interest, the first because, together -with Alpheratz and Gamma Pegasi (often called Algenib, although -that name belongs to Alpha Persei), it lies almost exactly on the -Equinoctial Colure, or First Meridian of the Heavens; and Ruchbah, -because, as explained in Chapter I, it lies in a line with Polaris -and the true pole, thus serving to indicate the position of Polaris -with regard to the pole at any time. Caph, Alpheratz, and Gamma Pegasi -are often called the “Three Guides,” because, as just explained, they -graphically show the line of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</span> the Equinoctial Colure, which is a great -circle passing through the pole and cutting the equator at the Vernal -and Autumnal Equinoxes. On the opposite side of the pole this line -passes between the stars Gamma (γ) and Delta (δ) in Ursa Major.</p> - -<p>The star Eta (η) is an extremely beautiful binary, period about two -hundred years, distance at present more than 6″. The combination of -colors is especially remarkable, the larger component being orange, and -the smaller purple. Piazzi Smyth saw the color of the smaller star as -“Indian red,” and others have variously called it “garnet,” “violet,” -and, curiously enough, considering the general opinion to the contrary, -“green.” There is no doubt, whatever the exact hue may be, that this -star wears a livery distinguishing it from any other in the sky. It is -hardly an exaggeration to say that there is as great a variety of color -tones among stars as among flowers. Although the great majority of -stars approximate to white, there are, nevertheless, red stars, green -stars, blue stars, lilac stars, yellow stars, orange stars, indigo -stars, and violet stars, and stars of other tints and shades. All of -those which are deeply colored are linked together in close pairs, but -the colors they exhibit are not an effect of contrast. It is wonderful -to think of <i>suns</i> of such hues, but <i>there they are</i>! And, -after all, it would be no more difficult to account for the colors -of stars than for those of flowers. But to live under a purple or an -emerald sun might not be as agreeable as life in the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</span> rays of our white -orb, whose light splits into rainbows, as light of a single primary -color could not do. A flower-garden under a green sun would not be the -marvel of prismatic hues that it is in our world.<a id="FNanchor_1" href="#Footnote_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a></p> - -<p>Cassiopeia is memorable for being the scene of one of the greatest -astronomical occurrences on record. Near the star Kappa (κ), in 1572, -appeared the most splendid new star that has ever been seen. It is -known as “Tycho’s Star,” the Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe having been -an assiduous student of the wonderful phenomenon during the sixteen -months that it remained visible. There is a red variable star of less -than the tenth magnitude quite close to the spot where Tycho recorded -the appearance of his <i>nova</i>, and it has been thought that this -may be the mysterious object itself. In 1901 a new star, almost equal -in brilliance to Tycho’s, suddenly burst out in Perseus, between Algol -and Algenib, and these two so similar phenomena occurring in the same -quarter<span class="pagenum" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</span> of the heavens are usually linked together in the discussion -of new stars. The reader who wishes more particulars about these stars -may consult <i>Curiosities of the Sky</i>.</p> - -<p>The background of the sky around Cassiopeia is a magnificent field for -the opera-glass and the telescope. In sweeping over it one is reminded -of Jean Paul Richter’s <i>Dream of the Universe</i>:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>“Thus we flew on through the starry wildernesses; one heaven after -another unfurled its immeasurable banners before us and then rolled -up behind us; galaxy behind galaxy towered up into solemn altitudes -before which the spirit shuddered; and they stood in long array, -through which the Infinite Beings might pass in progress. Sometimes -the Form that lightened would outfly my weary thoughts, and then it -would be seen far off before me like a coruscation among the stars, -till suddenly I thought to myself the thought of 'There,’ and then -I was at its side. But as we were thus swallowed up by one abyss of -stars after another, and the heavens above our eyes were not emptier, -neither were the heavens below them fuller; and as suns without -intermission fell into the solar ocean like waterspouts of a storm -which fall into the ocean of waters, then at length the human heart -within me was overburdened and weary, and yearned after some narrow -cell or quiet oratory in this metropolitan cathedral of the universe. -And I said to the Form at my side: 'O Spirit! has then this universe -no end?’ And the Form answered and said, 'Lo! it has no beginning!’”</p> -</div> - -<p>Westward from Cassiopeia, directly over the pole, and lying athwart the -meridian, is the constellation of Cepheus, the King, less conspicuous -than that of his queen, Cassiopeia, but equally ancient. Its leading -star, Alpha (α), also called Alderamin, the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</span> “Right Arm,” is a -candidate for the great office of Pole-star, which it will occupy in -about 5500 years. Beta (β), the second in rank, is named Alfirk, the -“Flock” or “Herd.” If you are sweeping here with an opera-glass you -will perceive, about half-way between Alpha (α) and Zeta (ζ), a small -star which will at once arrest your attention by its color. It is the -celebrated “Garnet Star” of Sir William Herschel, who was greatly -impressed by its brilliant hue, declaring it to be the most deeply -colored star that the naked eye can find in the sky. But its color is -not so striking unless a glass be used.</p> - -<p>Low down in the north-northwest we see the Great Dipper, above it the -coiling form and diamond head of Draco, and then, still higher, the -Northern Cross and Vega, bright as a jewel. Hercules and the Northern -Crown are near setting in the northwest.</p> - - -<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_1" href="#FNanchor_1" class="label">[1]</a> The reader who is curious concerning such matters is -advised to consult a paper by Dr. Louis Bell on “Star Colors,” in the -<i>Astrophysical Journal</i> (vol. xxi, No. 3, April, 1910). Dr. Bell’s -experiments with artificial stars seem to show that physiological -effects play a great part in producing the pronounced colors of the -small stars in many telescopic doubles. The paper is very interesting, -especially in its description of a startling imitation of the singular -cluster, Kappa (κ) Crucis, which Sir John Herschel described as -resembling a gorgeous piece of colored jewelry. But, whatever part -physiological optics may play in the phenomena of colored doubles, it -is certain that many single stars, including some of great magnitude, -possess distinctive tints. Compare, for instance, Castor and Pollux or -Rigel and Betelgeuse. Aldebaran and Betelgeuse are both reddish, yet -the color tones that they exhibit are clearly different.</p> - -</div> -</div> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="IV">IV<br /><span class="small">THE EVENING SKY AT THE WINTER SOLSTICE</span></h2> -</div> - - - -<p>The magic of the starry heavens does not fail with the decline of -the sun in winter, but, on the contrary, increases in power when the -curtains of the night begin to close so early that by six o’clock the -twilight is gone and the firmament has become a dome of jet ablaze with -clusters of living gems. And when the snows arrive, mantling the hills -with glistening ermine, the coruscating splendor of the sky seems to be -redoubled. If I were to choose a time most suitable for interesting a -novice in the beauties and wonders of uranography, I would select the -winter, and I would lead my acolyte, on a clear, frosty night, when the -landscape was glittering with crusted snow, upon some eminence where -the curve of the horizon was broken only by the leafless tops of a few -trees, through which the rising stars would flash like electric lamps. -The accord between the stars and the seasons is never more evident than -at such a time and in such a place, and the psychology of the stars is -then most strongly felt. When the earth is locked fast in the bonds -of winter the sparkling heavens seem most alive. I would have, if it<span class="pagenum" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</span> -were possible, a clump of dark pines or hemlocks near the place of -observation, throwing their shadows on the snow, while Sirius in all -its wild beauty blazed above them, and Aldebaran, Rigel, and Betelgeuse -filled the vibrant air about them with jewelled lances of prismatic -light. Then the sound of sleigh-bells in the resonant atmosphere would -seem an aerial music shaken from the scintillant sky, and a lurking -fox, stealing from his den in the edge of the shadows, would appear -timorously conscious of the splendor over his head. The nocturnal -animals know a day more glorious than ours, but it is never so glorious -as when its multi-colored rays splinter upon crystalled hills at the -winter solstice.</p> - -<p>Now the greatest of the constellations reign in the sky. Orion is -high up in the southeast, and around him are arrayed his brilliant -attendants and companions—toward the west Taurus, with Aldebaran and -the glittering Pleiades; above, Auriga and Gemini dipping their feet in -the Milky Way; in the east, Canis Minor, with great, steady Procyon, -and Canis Major proclaiming his precedence with flaming Sirius, the -King of the Stars. We cannot do better than begin with this starry -monarch and his constellation.</p> - -<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img005"> - <img src="images/005.jpg" class="w75" alt="CHART IV—THE WINTER EVENING SKY" /> -</span></p> -<p class="center caption">CHART IV—THE WINTER EVENING SKY<br /></p> - -<p>To me Sirius will always remain associated with the memory of Christmas -sleigh-bells and the thrilling creak of runners on crisp, hard snow, -for it was during a drive home from a “Christmas-tree” in a country -church that I first made the acquaintance of that imperial star. It -seemed to me more brilliantly<span class="pagenum" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</span> beautiful than any of the dazzling -gifts that had hung so magically on the illuminated tree. Its splendor -is unearthly, putting diamonds and sapphires to shame. How people can -live and be happy without ever gazing at such an object surpasses the -understanding of any one who has once beheld and yielded to its charm. -The splendors of Aladdin’s Cave are for children, and fade in the light -of advancing life, but these glories of the universe are for men and -women, and grow brighter with the years.</p> - -<p>The renown of Sirius is as ancient as the human race. There has never -been a time or a people in which or by whom it was not worshipped, -reverenced, and admired. To the builders of the Egyptian temples and -pyramids it was an object as familiar as the sun itself. Its name is -usually regarded as being derived from the Greek Σείριος, the “Bright -or Shining One,” but it is also thought that it may be connected with -Osiris. The familiar title of the “Dog Star” comes from its association -with the <i>dies caniculariæ</i> of the Romans.</p> - -<p>“As the movable Egyptian year,” says George Cornewell Lewis, “was held -to have originally begun at the heliacal rising of the Dog Star, which -was contemporary with the ordinary commencement of the inundation of -the Nile, this period was, by late writers, entitled the Canicular, or -Sothiac, period, Sothis being the Egyptian name for the Dog Star.”</p> - -<p>Norman Lockyer identifies Sirius with the goddess Isis, or Hathor, who -was personified by that star,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</span> and the temple of Isis at Dendera was, -he avers, built to watch it. “It has been pointed out, times without -number,” he adds, “that the inscriptions indicate that by far the most -important astronomical event in Egyptian history was the rising of the -star Sirius at this precise time.”</p> - -<p>Sirius has sometimes been identified with the “Mazzaroth” of the Book -of Job.</p> - -<p>The great star is worthy of all its fame, not only by its magnificent -beauty, but by the revelations which modern science has afforded us -concerning it. While not comparable in actual luminosity with Rigel, -Canopus, or even Arcturus, it immensely outshines the best of them to -our eyes because of its relative nearness. Its distance is only about -50,000,000,000,000 miles (parallax 0″.37), so that it is really one of -the nearest stars in the sky. Light requires about nine years to come -to us from Sirius. Outshining the sun at least thirty times, it is so -bright, even at that distance, that a special rank has been given to -it in stellar photometry. Formerly all very bright stars were ranked -as of the first magnitude, but greater exactness is now employed, the -naked-eye stars being divided among eight magnitudes, running from -6 up to -1. Thus the faintest star visible to the naked eye is of -magnitude 6; a star 2.51 times brighter is of magnitude 5; a star 2.51 -times brighter than that is of magnitude 4, and so on up to magnitude -1. A star 2.51 times brighter than magnitude 1 is of magnitude 0; and -one 2.51 times<span class="pagenum" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</span> brighter than the 0 magnitude is of magnitude -1, a -degree of brilliance which is attained by Sirius alone. In fact, Sirius -exceeds magnitude -1, its real rank being -1.6. On the same scale the -magnitude of the sun would be -26.3. The standard first magnitude s -usually taken as being represented by the star Altair, although that -star is not <i>exactly</i> of that magnitude. As a ready rule it may be -said that each magnitude is two and a half times brighter than the next -below it, and a difference of six magnitudes corresponds to an increase -of one hundred times in brilliance. Sirius is about ten times as -bright as Altair. While, if <i>seen from the same distance</i>, Sirius -would appear at least thirty times as bright as the sun, at our actual -distance from both the light received from the sun is to that received -from Sirius in the ratio of about 7,000,000,000 to 1. While by no means -the largest sun in the universe, Sirius is the largest sun in our part -of space, and some indications have been detected that it may, to a -certain extent, control the motion of the solar system. In other words, -our sun and some of the nearer stars appear to form a group, or family, -of which Sirius is probably the chief.</p> - -<p>Sirius is an intensely white star, but its whiteness is shot with a -tint of blue or green. It has not the purity of light of Spica. Owing -also to its great brilliance, it twinkles incessantly, darting, in -an unsteady atmosphere, rays of all the colors of the rainbow. The -spectroscope shows that it is a sun at an<span class="pagenum" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</span> earlier stage of development -than ours. It is also a binary. A very massive companion, singularly -faint for its size, revolves round it in a period of about fifty-three -years. At present the distance between these stars is more than 6″. The -small star is more than half as massive as Sirius, but ten thousand -times less brilliant—one would say a dying sun linked by gravitation -with another in the heyday of its life and splendor.</p> - -<p>The constellation Canis Major, of which Sirius is the leader, is very -striking in outline when well above the horizon. Some six degrees west -of Sirius is seen the second star of the constellation, Beta (β), or -Murzim (Arabic <i>Al Murzim</i>, the “Announcer”), a name which Ideler -says originated in the fact that this star rises ahead of Sirius, and -thus appears to announce its coming. The remainder of the constellation -should be viewed an hour or two later than that for which <a href="#img005">Chart IV</a> is -drawn, or a month later in the season, when it is farther from the -horizon. It represents the hind-quarters of the imaginary dog. The -star Epsilon (ε), or Adhara, perhaps the brightest in the group, is a -double; colors orange and violet; distance 7″.5. The smaller star is -of only the ninth magnitude. Delta (δ) is called Wezen, the “Weight,” -because “the star seems to rise with difficulty from the horizon,” an -excellent instance of the fanciful titles which the Arabs and others -often gave to stars. Zeta (ζ) is Furud, and Eta (η) Aludra. The meaning -of these names is uncertain. Allen says<span class="pagenum" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</span> that the Arabs called Epsilon, -Delta, Eta, and Omicron (ο) “The Virgins.” But they had other names for -them suggested by fancied resemblances as they rose sparkling from the -desert.</p> - -<p>From Canis Major the eye rises to Orion, the most glorious of all -constellations:</p> - -<p class="poetry"> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">“Whoso kens not him in cloudless night</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Gleaming aloft, shall cast his eyes in vain</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">To find a brighter sign in all the heaven.”</span><br /> -</p> - -<p>Brown, in his <i>Primitive Constellations</i>, undertakes to derive -the name from the Akkadian Uru-anna, the “Light of Heaven.” Whatever -its origin, it is certainly very ancient. For some thousands of years -it has been associated with a traditional giant who looms in the -background of Greek mythology. In the classical atlases of the heavens -Orion is represented as standing in an attitude of defiance, facing -westward, brandishing a huge club above his head, and lifting his -left arm, covered with a lion’s hide, to meet the charge of Taurus, -the “Bull.” And under some such guise all mankind has seen him for -untold ages—always a gigantic figure, always heroic in character, -always defying or pursuing—the symbol of strength, courage, conquest, -and victory. The same idea underlies every representation of this -constellation; whether it be the mythical “Giant” of the East, or -“Nimrod” or “Joshua” or the “Armed King” or the “Warrior” or the -“Hunter,” it is invariably the figure of a doer of great deeds which is -presented to the imagination. And it must be said<span class="pagenum" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</span> that the aspect of -the constellation is in accord with such thoughts. No one can look at -it without a stirring of the blood. It has something of the effect of a -great battle-piece, and it is not surprising that they once endeavored -in France to connect it with the name of Napoleon. Although its two -chief stars are separated some eighteen degrees, and the central “Belt” -forms a striking figure by itself, yet there is an unmistakable unity -about the constellation, and one would hardly think of dividing it into -separate groups. Singularly enough, this sense of oneness is borne out -by the photographic discovery that a vast swirl of nebulous matter -surrounds the entire constellation, and by the spectroscopic proof that -nearly all of its stars belong to one type, which has become known as -the “Orion type.”</p> - -<p>Perhaps the first feature of Orion that strikes the eye is the -arrangement of the three nearly equal bright stars which form the -Belt. Their Greek-letter names are Delta, Epsilon, and Zeta, and by -these they are usually designated, but there is a great charm in -their Arabic titles, which, in the same order, are <i>Mintaka</i>, -“Belt”; <i>Alnilam</i> (from “String of Pearls”); and <i>Alnitah</i>, -“Girdle.” It will be observed that all of these names have a similar -signification, and probably each of them was originally employed to -designate the whole row.<a id="FNanchor_2" href="#Footnote_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</span></p> - -<p>The Belt is remarkable in another way—it points very nearly toward -Sirius; it is like a glittering signboard indicating the position of -the brightest star in the sky. To hasty observation the row seems to be -perfectly straight, although there is in reality a slight bend, and the -distances separating the three stars appear to be exactly equal. The -effect is as beautiful as it is surprising.</p> - -<p>Below the Belt hangs a fainter row of stars constituting the “Sword.” -The central star of this row, Theta (θ), arrests the attention at once -by a curious appearance of nebulosity, especially if it is examined -with an opera-glass. A telescope shows it to be enveloped in one of the -grandest nebulæ in the sky, the celebrated “Great Nebula of Orion.” -With a large glass its appearance is astonishing in the highest degree. -Instead of being elongated like the great nebula in Andromeda, it is -about as broad as long, with no single centre of condensation, but -many curdled accumulations, interspersed with partial gaps, and a -great variety of curved lines of brighter nebulosity, suggesting the -misty skeleton of some nondescript monster impact of phosphorescent -clouds. A large number of stars are scattered over or through it, and -some of them seem clearly to be connected with it, as if created out -of its substance. Unlike the Andromeda nebula, this shows only the -spectrum of glowing gas, so that no such supposition as has been made -in the other case—<i>viz.</i>, that it may be an outside universe—is -admissible here. It is rather a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</span> chaos, rich with the elements from -whose combinations spring suns and planets, and where the effects of -organizing forces are just beginning to become manifest. It resembles -a vast everglade filled with tangled vegetation and uncouth growths, -but where the fertile soil, once cleared and drained, is capable of -producing an enormous harvest.</p> - -<p>On either side of the Belt, but far removed from it, shine the two -great stars of Orion, Alpha (α), or Betelgeuse (from an Arabic phrase -meaning the “Armpit of the Central One”), and Beta (β), or Rigel (from -an Arabic phrase meaning the “Leg of the Giant”). These stars differ -remarkably in color, Betelgeuse being orange-hued, and Rigel white. -Although Betelgeuse takes precedence in the Greek-letter ranking, it is -variable in brightness, sometimes exceeding Rigel in brilliance, and -sometimes falling below it. The changes are uncertain in a long and as -yet unascertained period. There is here an opportunity for an amateur -to make valuable observations. But such observations must be continued -over a considerable period of years.</p> - -<p>Both stars are of immense actual magnitude. Their distance is so great -that no trustworthy estimate of their parallax has yet been made. -Rigel was put by Newcomb in his “XM” class, to which we have several -times referred. It is without doubt one of the mightiest suns in the -universe. It is also a double, and one of the finest in the sky. -Close to its flaming rays the telescope reveals a small, intensely<span class="pagenum" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</span> -blue star. The distance is about 9″.5. In its general aspect Rigel -resembles Vega, but the latter has a more decided blue tint. Scientific -photometry gives the precedence in brightness to Vega, which is ranked -as of magnitude 0.1, while Rigel is 0.3, which means that the first is -one-tenth, and the second three-tenths of a magnitude below the 0 rank. -It is very interesting to bring Rigel and Betelgeuse close together -with a good sextant and then note the difference in their color.</p> - -<p>The star Gamma (γ), or Bellatrix, the “Amazon” or “Female Warrior,” -marks the left shoulder of the imaginary giant. Astrological -superstition connects this star with the fortunes of women. Kappa -(κ), or Saiph, “Sword” (although it is far from the Sword), is in the -right knee of the figure. The head is marked by a little triangular -group of stars, the chief of which is Lambda (λ), a fine double, -yellow and purplish; distance 4″.5. The “lion’s hide” which Orion -is represented as carrying on his left arm like a shield is shown -by a bending row of small stars, beginning with Pi (π) and running -upward between Bellatrix and Aldebaran in Taurus. The reader who -is not provided with a telescope is advised, at least, to employ -an opera-glass in sweeping over the whole space included in Orion. -It is a region superb in its beauty and grandeur. Around the Belt, -particularly, the sky is filled with sparkling multitudes infinitely -varied in size, color, and grouping. As already said, this part of -the firmament contains an enormous spiral<span class="pagenum" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</span> nebula, which, although -it can only be seen in photographs, seems to manifest its presence -to the eye by the significant arrangement of small stars in curving -lines. A word should be added about the star Zeta, or Alnitah, at the -southeastern end of the Belt. It is a triple, very remarkable for -the indescribable color of its second largest component. The Russian -astronomer Struve could find nothing exactly resembling it in tone in -the whole gamut of spectral colors, and he invented a special name to -describe it—<i>olivacea-sub-rubicunda</i>, which may be translated -“ruddy-olive.” It is 2″.5 from its larger companion. The third star -is very faint, and distant 56″. When the telescope is directed to the -star Sigma (σ) there comes into view an astonishing double group of -stars, among which such colors as pale blue, “grape-red,” ruddy, and -“gray” have been detected. The effect upon the mind of seeing such -combinations of tinted suns transcends all power of description. With -the feeling of pleasure that they give goes a sense of staggering -wonder.</p> - -<p>West of Orion, beginning near Rigel, is seen the constellation -Eridanus, the River Po. Its stars are interesting for their plainly -streaming tendency rather than for their individual peculiarities. -Rising slightly from the neighborhood of Rigel, the stream runs in a -graceful curve under Taurus, and continues westward until it meets -Cetus, where it turns downward toward the horizon, and then sweeps back -eastward again, disappearing behind the southern horizon<span class="pagenum" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</span> below Orion -and Lepus. It has no large star visible in northern latitudes, but in -the southern hemisphere it contains one of the brightest stars in the -sky, Achernar, the “End of the River.” All of the ancients saw a river -in this part of the sky, a fact which does not surprise the observer -when he has once noted the arrangement of the stars of Eridanus. Its -stars are so numerous that the old uranographers seem to have grown -weary of attaching letters to them; or rather, perhaps, the alphabet -was too short to answer the demand, for no less than nine of them, -beginning from the one thus lettered in <a href="#img006">Chart V</a>, are called Tau (τ), as -τ¹, τ², τ³, etc. (For the origin of the association of Eridanus with -the River Po, and with the story of Phaeton, see <i>Astronomy with the -Naked Eye</i>).</p> - -<p>The constellation Lepus, the Hare, below Orion, and marking the place -where Eridanus turns finally to flow into the far south, is noteworthy -only for its groupings of stars. It contains one star too faint to be -seen with the naked eye near the western border of the constellation, -below and to the right of the little group under Rigel, in <a href="#img006">Chart V</a>, -which is so intensely crimson that Hind likened its appearance to a -<i>blood drop</i>.</p> - -<p>We turn next to Taurus. On account of the beauty of Aldebaran and -the Pleiades, this constellation hardly falls behind Orion in -attractiveness. Aldebaran (Arabic <i>Al Dabaran</i>, the “Follower”) -is the chief star of the constellation and the leader of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</span> group -called the Hyades, a name which Lewis derives from the Greek word -ὕειυ, to rain, because their rising was connected with the beginning -of the rainy season. Popularly the group is known as the “Letter A,” -whose form it imitates, although it is usually seen nearly upside down. -The letter V would perhaps better represent our view of it. It is a -glorious sight with an opera-glass. Aldebaran is distinctly red, but -of a peculiar tone, which has frequently been called rose-red. Its -redness is certainly unlike the orange tone of Betelgeuse. When gazing -at it in a fanciful mood, I have often likened it imaginatively to -an apple-blossom in color. Flammarion has translated the Hebrew name -of this star, <i>Aleph</i>, as “God’s Eye.” Taurus, he says, is the -most ancient of the signs of the zodiac, the first that the Precession -of the Equinoxes placed at the head of the signs, and he adds that -observational astronomy appears to have been founded at the epoch when -the Vernal Equinox lay close to Aldebaran—<i>i. e.</i>, about three -thousand years before the commencement of our era.</p> - -<p>The beauty of Aldebaran, the singularity of the figure shaped by its -attendants, the charming effect produced by the flocks of little -stars, the Deltas and the Thetas, in the middle of the arms of the -letter, and the richness of the stellar groundwork of the cluster, all -combine to make the Hyades one of the most memorable objects in the -sky; but no one can describe it, because the starry heavens cannot be -put into words. Terrestrial analogies, and phrases applied<span class="pagenum" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</span> to things -seen on the earth, utterly fail to convey the impressions made by such -spectacles. I can only again urge the reader to examine the Hyades -with a good opera-glass on a clear night when there is no moonlight to -interfere. Some one once said, “If you would test your appreciation of -poetry, read Milton’s <i>Lycidas</i>”; so I would say, If you would -know how you are affected by nature’s masterpieces in the sky, look at -the Hyades.</p> - -<p>The stars Theta (θ) and Sigma (σ) are both naked-eye doubles for sharp -eyes. Try if you can see both of the pairs.</p> - -<p>The Hyades represent the head of the imaginary bull, Aldebaran -standing for the eye, while rows of stars running up toward Zeta (ζ) -and Beta (β) figure the “golden horns.” The Pleiades, the “Atlantid -Nymphs,” hang on the shoulder. They form a much more compact group -than the Hyades, and possess no large star, their chief brilliant, -Alcyone—Eta(η)—being only of the third magnitude. But the effect of -their combination is very striking and beautiful. In looking at them -one can never refrain from quoting Tennyson’s famous lines in which -they are described as glittering “like a swarm of fireflies tangled -in a silver braid.” The adjective silvery exactly describes them. If -you happen to glance at the sky at a point many degrees away from the -place where they shine, your eye will inevitably be drawn to them. -They have greater attractive power than a single large star, and the -effect of their intermingled rays<span class="pagenum" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</span> is truly fascinating. With an -opera-glass they look like the glimmering candles on a Christmas-tree. -Their mythological history and the many strange traditions pertaining -to them I have described elsewhere, and shall not repeat here; but it -should be said that there is not in all the sky any object comparable -with the Pleiades in influence over the human imagination. The fancy -of Maedler that Alcyone was the central sun of the universe, and the -inference, so popular at one time, that it might be the very seat of -the Almighty, have vanished in the limbo of baseless traditions; but -the mystic charm of the Pleiades has been increased by the photographic -discovery that they are involved in a wonderful mass of tangled nebulæ. -Their distance is unknown, but evidently very great, some having put it -at 250 light-years, corresponding to about 1,450,000,000,000,000 miles! -If this is correct, Alcyone may be really one of the most gigantic suns -in the universe. They appear to be travelling together like a flock of -birds.</p> - -<p>It is always an interesting question how many stars in the cluster -can be seen with the naked eye. Many persons can detect only six, but -better, or more trained, eyes see seven, or even nine. The telescope -and photography reveal thousands thickly sprinkled over the space of -sky that they occupy, or immediately around them. How many of these -are actually connected with the group is unknown. One of the most -persistent legends of antiquity is that of the “Lost Pleiad.” Says Miss -Clerke, in her <i>System of the Stars</i>:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>“That they 'were seven who now are six’ is asserted by almost all -the nations of the earth from Japan to Nigritia, and variants of the -classical story of the 'Lost Pleiad’ are still repeated by sable -legend-mongers in Victoria, by headhunters in Borneo, by fetish -worshippers amid the mangrove swamps of the Gold Coast. An impression -thus widely diffused must either have spread from a common source or -originated in an obvious fact; and it is at least possible that the -veiled face of the seventh Atlantid may typify a real loss of light in -a prehistorically conspicuous star.”</p> -</div> - -<p>The name Pleiades is derived from the Greek πλεἵν, to sail, because -their heliacal rising occurred at the time when navigation opened in -the seas of Greece, and their heliacal setting at the time of its close.</p> - -<p class="poetry"> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">“... Rude winter comes</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Just when the Pleiades begin to set.”</span><br /> -</p> - -<p>But their religious significance seems always to have exceeded their -practical importance as a sign of the seasons, and from the temples -on the Acropolis of Athens to the sanctuaries of Mexico, Yucatan, and -Peru they were regarded with reverence and awe. Modern popular fancies -have been less reverential, and Alcyone and her attendants have been -degraded to the figure of a “hen and her chickens.” Our red-skinned -predecessors on this continent were more poetical, for they saw in the -Pleiades a group of lost children, and in old China they were starry -sisters busy with their needlework.</p> - -<p>High overhead, above Orion and Taurus, gleams Capella, the chief star -of the constellation Auriga,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</span> the “Charioteer.” This is also a white -star, but no correct eye would confuse it with Rigel or Vega. It has -none of the sapphire tint that is mingled in their rays, but is rather -of the whiteness of cream. It is a very great star, not only in its -apparent brilliance, but in actual luminosity. With a parallax of -0″.09, Newcomb calculated its luminosity at one hundred and twenty -times that of the sun. It is a spectroscopic binary, the invisible -companion revolving round it in a period of one hundred and four days. -In spectroscopic character it closely resembles the sun, being in the -same stage of development. Vogel’s observations indicate that it is -flying away from us at a speed of more than a million and a quarter -miles per day; but, in contradiction to this, some have thought that it -is increasing in brightness. A little elongated triangle of stars below -and somewhat to the west of Capella serves to render its recognition -certain to the beginner in star-gazing. In the evenings of early -November, when one is in the northeast and the other in the northwest, -it is interesting to compare Capella with Vega, both in brightness and -in color. In late January evenings Capella is near the zenith for the -middle latitudes of the United States, and at such times is a superb -object. The Milky Way pouring through Auriga increases the beauty of -the spectacle.</p> - -<p>The second star of Auriga, Beta (β), or <i>Menkalina</i>, the -“Shoulder,” is also a spectroscopic binary with a period of only four -days. It was the first binary<span class="pagenum" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</span> of this class to be discovered. In -1889 Pickering found that its spectral lines were doubled every two -days, from which he inferred the duplicate character of the star and -calculated the period of revolution of its components.</p> - -<p>Farther east we see Gemini, the “Twins.” It is a very beautiful -constellation, independently of the brightness of its leaders, Castor -and Pollux, or Alpha (α) and Beta (β). The feet of the imaginary twins -are dipped in the Milky Way nearly above the uplifted club of the giant -Orion, and close to the summer solstice. The successive belts of stars -crossing the figures of the Twins present an attractive appearance. -Castor, although the literal leader of the constellation, is not now -as bright as its neighbor, Pollux. A change of brightness must have -taken place. Castor is a celebrated binary with a period of about one -thousand years. The distance between the two stars composing it is -about 5″.5, and, both being bright, they can be separated with small -telescopes.</p> - -<p>Pollux is very near the standard first magnitude in brightness. It has -a slightly orange tint in contrast with the whiteness of Castor. Like -Orion, Taurus, and Auriga, Gemini offers splendid fields of stars for -the opera-glass. A cluster, M35, not far above the place of the summer -solstice, is an object of rare beauty when seen with a low telescopic -power.</p> - -<p>South of Gemini shines the bright star Procyon in Canis Minor, the -Lesser Dog. This star, whose name implies the “Preceder, or Announcer, -of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</span> Dog,” because it rises a little ahead of Sirius, is the only -bright star of its constellation. It is interesting for having a dusky -companion whose existence was detected by the effects of its attraction -before any telescope had revealed it. With this companion Procyon forms -a binary system with a period of revolution of about forty years. The -star Beta (β) is named Gomeisa, from an Arabic word meaning the “Dim -One.” Procyon, Sirius, and Betelgeuse form a magnificent triangle, -through which flows the Milky Way.</p> - -<p>We now return to the western part of the sky, where we see, beyond -Eridanus, the vast expanse covered by the constellation Cetus, the -“Whale.” The head lies on and over the equator above the western bend -of Eridanus. It is marked by a striking group of stars, of which Alpha -(α), or Menkar, the “Nose,” is the chief. The star Gamma (γ) is a fine -double; colors yellow and blue; distance 2″.5. Below and toward the -west will be found Omicron (ο), better known by its popular title of -Mira, the “Wonderful.” In some respects this is the most extraordinary -of all variable stars. It excited great astonishment when its -variations were first recorded in the seventeenth century. Most of the -time it is entirely invisible to the naked eye; but once in about ten -months it begins to brighten, and in a few weeks becomes conspicuous, -sometimes equalling the second magnitude in brightness. Then it -fades again, and in about three months disappears from naked-eye<span class="pagenum" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</span> -vision, although it is never lost to the telescope, which follows it -down to the ninth magnitude, at which it remains, glowing redly, for -several successive months. Its variations are more or less irregular -both in period and in brightness. The causes are only conjectural. -About all that we can say is that here is a sun which once every ten -months blazes up to a thousand or fifteen hundred times its ordinary -brilliancy. The imagination can work its will with such a star as that.</p> - -<p>The western part of Cetus is marked by a striking group of stars shaped -something like the bowl of an upturned dipper and by a lone, bright -star still farther west, Beta (β), or Deneb Kaitos, the “Tail of the -Whale.”</p> - -<p>Above Cetus runs the long line of stars composing the constellation -Pisces, now the leader of the zodiac, since it contains the Vernal -Equinox. Alpha (α), or Al Rischa, the “Cord,” because it marks the -ribbon imagined to bind two fishes together by their tails, is directly -under the stars marking the head of Aries, to which we have already -referred. It is a double of very singular colors—green and blue. The -distance is about 3″.6. From Al Rischa the stars of the constellation -stream northward to the figure of the Northern Fish, whose nose touches -Andromeda, and westward to the Western Fish, which is situated under -the Great Square of Pegasus. The extraordinary tendency of the stars of -Pisces to run in streaming lines has been spoken of in Chapter III.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</span></p> - -<p>The other stars and constellations now visible are already familiar to -us. But we turn again for a moment to Polaris, which, being practically -fixed in the sky, can be seen at any season. I have referred to the -fact that this star for a long series of centuries has been a universal -guide to all the inhabitants of the northern hemisphere. In that -character its history is no less romantic than practically important. -One of the deepest impressions of my childhood was produced by an -acquaintance with a remarkable man who at that time seemed to me to be -a most wonderful traveller, since he had seen the Gulf of Mexico, the -Everglades of Florida, the Dismal Swamp of Virginia, and, according to -his story (which no boy would doubt), had battled with alligators and -tasted the delights of vagabond life on the great cotton plantations -of the South. I think he was the first who ever pointed out the North -Star to me, and he fired my imagination by tales of its connection -with the escape of negro slaves—escapes in which he professed to have -played a part. Many long winter evenings he sat by my father’s fireside -and fascinated his hearers with narratives of his adventures. But -nothing interested me more than what he said of the slaves following -the lead of the North Star, through the darkness of tangled swamps, -among deadly moccasins and lurking alligators, always fixing their eyes -upon “the star,” falling on their knees to it as their only friend and -guide. Trembling at the bay of pursuing bloodhounds, they would lie in -concealment<span class="pagenum" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</span> during the daylight hours, and as soon as night came on -would look for their celestial sentinel, and follow unquestioningly its -indication of the way to freedom. However apocryphal these stories may -have been, they certainly had a basis of truth, and the impressions -then produced upon my mind concerning the character of Polaris as the -sure friend of those who are lost and in trouble have remained undimmed -in my memory. What a triumph will be that of the man who first visits -the north pole by night, and sees that star gleaming directly over his -head, while all the constellations solemnly circle about it, unresting -and unsetting!</p> - - -<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_2" href="#FNanchor_2" class="label">[2]</a> It should be said that throughout this book I am indebted -for many of the translations of star names to Richard Hinckley Allen’s -<i>Star Names and Their Meanings</i>, the most complete work of its -kind in existence.</p> - -</div> -</div> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="V">V<br /><span class="small">THE PLANETS</span></h2> -</div> - - -<p>The beginner will often be troubled in his observations by the presence -in some constellation of a brilliant object which outshines all of the -stars shown in his charts, and is plainly an interloper among them. He -may at once set the stranger down for one of the planets—it may be -Jupiter, Saturn, Mars, or Venus, or possibly, if close to the horizon, -Mercury. Uranus and Neptune will not disturb his equanimity, for the -latter is never, and the former seldom, visible to the naked eye.</p> - -<p>Practice will quickly enable him to distinguish a planet from the true -stars, both by its greater apparent size and by the quality of its -light. The planets do not twinkle as do the stars. This arises from the -fact that they present measurable disks which reflect the sunlight, -but do not shine with a light of their own. No star shows a real disk, -even when viewed with a powerful telescope. The stars are mere points, -and the larger and better the telescope the smaller they appear. This -is not to say that they do not look brighter in a telescope, for the -larger stars are dazzling when viewed with a glass of large aperture;<span class="pagenum" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</span> -but they are so distant that the mightiest of telescopes cannot reveal -their real surfaces in the form of disks. The apparent disks which they -present are due entirely to irradiation, and the higher the power the -smaller these spurious disks appear.</p> - -<p>Another way in which the beginner may identify a planet is by observing -its motion. No planet remains long in the same position with regard -to neighboring stars. They all travel, at varying rates, from west to -east through the sky. But this motion is not constant, and at times it -is reversed. In the cases of Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn the reversal is -due to the fact that when they are in opposition to the sun the earth, -being nearer the sun than they are, outfoots them in eastward motion, -so that they appear for a time to move backward on their orbits. It -is like a fast train passing a slow one on a parallel track; to an -observer on the fast train the slow one seems to be either standing -still or moving backward. But Mercury and Venus, being nearer the sun -than the earth is, have at times a backward motion which is real. -Let us consider them only when they appear as “evening stars.” From -“superior conjunction” (<i>i. e.</i>, the point occupied by the planet -when it is on the opposite side of the sun from the earth) to “greatest -eastern elongation” (greatest apparent distance from the sun in the -evening sky) both Mercury and Venus move eastward among the stars; from -“greatest eastern elongation” to “inferior conjunction” (<i>i. e.</i>, -the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</span> point occupied by the planet when it is between the earth and the -sun) they move westward among the stars, or, in other words, approach -the sun.</p> - -<p>The motions of Mercury and Venus are comparatively swift, particularly -that of the former. Few persons have ever seen Mercury, because of -its nearness to the sun. When well seen it is brighter than any -first-magnitude star. As an “evening star” it appears in the west -immediately after sunset about once every four months (more precisely -once every 116 days). It remains within view about twenty days, but -can be easily distinguished only for a week or so when it is nearest -eastern elongation. Every almanac gives the dates of its appearances.</p> - -<p>Venus, being farther from the sun, travels less rapidly. It reappears -in the evening sky once in every 584 days, gradually withdrawing -from the sun, and growing brighter until it reaches greatest eastern -elongation, which may be as much as forty-seven degrees from the -sun, after which it approaches the sun, still becoming brighter for -several weeks, until at last it is lost in the glare of the sunlight. -During its excursions in the evening sky (and the same is true of its -morning apparitions), Venus becomes the most brilliant object in the -starry heavens, so brilliant, in fact, that many persons can hardly be -persuaded that it is not an artificial light, or some extraordinary -phenomenon in space. In the telescope it shows (as does Mercury, -also) phases like those of the moon, and when it is seen in the form -of a narrow crescent it becomes one<span class="pagenum" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</span> of the most charming objects -imaginable. For more details about Mercury, Venus, and the other -planets, the reader may consult <i>Astronomy with the Naked Eye</i>.</p> - -<p>Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn are more likely to cause confusion to the -beginner by getting “mixed up” with the stars of the constellations -he is studying, because they travel all round the sky, and may appear -in turn in each of the zodiacal constellations at any hour of the -night. The zodiacal constellations are twelve in number—Aries, Taurus, -Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricornus, -Aquarius, and Pisces—and they lie in succession along the course of -the ecliptic.</p> - -<p>Mars is not remarkably brilliant except when it is in opposition to the -sun, which happens once every 780 days; but some of the oppositions -are much more important than the average, because they occur when Mars -is relatively near the earth. This planet is always distinguishable by -its ruddy color. In case it is mistaken for a star, the error can be -corrected by watching it for a few successive nights, when its motion -will become clearly apparent. On the average it moves eastward about -half a degree per day.</p> - -<p>Jupiter, always very conspicuous when in view, outshines even Sirius, -though lacking the scintillation characteristic of that great star. -Its light has a slightly yellowish tint, and is remarkably steady. -Since it requires nearly twelve years to make a revolution<span class="pagenum" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</span> round the -sky, Jupiter’s motion is not immediately apparent. It remains for a -long time in any constellation in which it may be found, travelling -eastward, on the average, about 5′ of arc, or one-sixth of the apparent -diameter of the moon, per day. In a month it moves about two and a half -degrees.</p> - -<p>Saturn is yet more deliberate in its movements. Requiring almost thirty -years for a revolution, it may remain more than two years in the same -constellation, and its real motion will only become evident upon -careful observation continued for several weeks.</p> - -<p>The best way to recognize the planets with certainty is to look up -their positions with the aid of the <i>American Ephemeris and Nautical -Almanac</i>, published annually by the Government at Washington. There -the right ascensions and declinations of all the planets are given for -any time of the year. Having these, you may find on the large-scale -charts the approximate place of the planet sought, and, if you choose, -indicate its position with a pencil-mark.</p> - -<p>The study of the planets, even without telescopic aid, has a charm -hardly less potent than that of the stars. Mercury is fascinating -because of the difficulty of seeing him in the light of twilight or -dawn. The ancients were greatly puzzled by his dodges, and some of them -thought that he was a double personality, and gave him two names, one -for his morning and the other for his evening apparitions. With the -Egyptians he was respectively Set and Horus, and with the Greeks Apollo -and Hermes. The same was<span class="pagenum" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</span> true of Venus, who was Phosphorus in the -morning and Hesperus in the evening.</p> - -<p>Venus, after she passes the half-moon phase, becomes so bright that she -simply overpowers all stars in her neighborhood. Her splendor seems -almost supernatural, and she has frequently been seen at high noon, a -point of intense light burning in the blue sky.</p> - -<p>Jupiter’s entrance into any constellation immediately alters its -familiar aspect, and he becomes its unquestioned leader, and remains -such until his slow eastward motion carries him on to reign in another -quarter of the firmament. He is never more impressive than when, in -consequence of the annual revolution of the heavens, he rises late some -night and takes the lingering star-gazer by surprise. Then all the -stellar hosts that for hours have held the watcher spellbound cease -their incantation in the presence of this great counter-charmer, to -whose power they, too, seem to bow. Although Venus at her brightest -outshines Jupiter, she lacks a certain majesty which he alone -possesses. His light is calm, steady, insistent, commanding. He does -not look like a star, but rather a <i>superstar</i>. If he beams at -all, it is not the hurried scintillation of the twinkling multitude -around him. Rising through a moisture-laden and wind-swept sky, where -the stars are like pulsating atoms, shaken apart and scattered in -tinsel showers of rainbow sparks, he glows unflickering, recognizing -the aerial tumult only by a deepening of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</span> color which makes him the -more imposing. As he mounts the heights of the sky he gleams ever -brighter and ever steadier, and, casting off the tarnish of the -horizon, his supereminent light glows with a splendor that is amazing. -If you have an eye that can detect one or two of Jupiter’s moons hiding -close in his rays, you may boast of your powers of vision, for that -feat has been accomplished by very few human beings. Humboldt heard -of a German “master tailor” who could do it. There are a few other -cases on record. Most persons cannot see them even with the aid of -a strong opera-glass. There is a superstition that they can be seen -with a looking-glass, but it is only ghostly reflections that are thus -perceived—perhaps as real as any other ghosts.</p> - -<p>Saturn, although as bright as a first-magnitude star, is somewhat -disappointing as a naked-eye object, owing to the relative dulness -of its light. Like Jupiter, it shines with great steadiness, and a -practised eye could not mistake it for a fixed star. But its appearance -without a telescope gives no hint of the unearthly beauty with which -it astonishes the beholder when its rings are rendered visible. Not to -have seen those rings at least once in a lifetime, as they appear in a -powerful telescope, is to have missed one of the supreme spectacles of -creation.</p> - -<p>Mars is never very brilliant except during favorable oppositions, when, -approaching within less than 40,000,000 miles of the earth, it hangs in -the midnight<span class="pagenum" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</span> sky, gleaming red like a portent of disaster. The aspect -of Mars at such times is truly alarming. It is surprising to see what a -quantity of stained sunlight a world only about four thousand miles in -diameter is able to reflect across so vast a gap of space. The reason -why the ancients connected Mars with the god of war is plain enough -when he puts on his color.</p> - -<p>Close conjunctions of the bright planets are exceedingly interesting -phenomena. Mars and Jupiter seen together when the former is near one -of its favorable oppositions make a scene of strange beauty. After long -intervals of time several of these great planets sometimes assemble -in the same quarter, and such conjunctions are always memorable -occurrences. The stars are forgotten in the presence of this new -constellation, and yet the tiniest of the sparks that seems to hide its -light in the depths beyond would master these great planets and make -gravitational slaves of them, as the sun does.</p> - -<p>The planets are so conspicuous to our eyes, because of their relative -nearness, that it is not easy for the beginner in such studies to -realize how insignificant they actually are. But suppose that one -could fly like a spirit away from the earth and the neighborhood of -the sun, out into the deeps of interstellar space. As he moved away -the planets would seem to be swallowed up, one after the other, in the -solar rays. First Mercury would disappear, as if it had fallen into the -sun. It would be just like two neighboring<span class="pagenum" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</span> lights which appear to draw -together and blend into one as the observer travels away from them, the -greater swallowing the less. Then brilliant Venus would go, plunging -into the great solar furnace, to be seen no more. Next the earth would -follow in the perspective holocaust. Mars would seem to draw nearer -until he, too, disappeared; Jupiter would follow; then Saturn; then -Uranus, and finally Neptune. When the last planet was gone the sun -would be seen shining alone, unattended, as if he had never had any -planets. Thus it may be with the stars; most of them may have systems -of planets circling round them, but at our distance these planets are -concealed in the rays of their primaries.</p> - -<p>One would not need to go so far away as the stars in order to see -the sun apparently swallow his planets, as Saturn was fabled to have -swallowed his children. But as one approached the stellar region, the -sun itself would become a mere star. Fainter and fainter it appears, -glimmering and twinkling, deprived of its dominance, stripped of its -splendor, a pitiful spark now instead of an all-ruling and blinding -maker of daylight, until at last the far voyager from the earth, gazing -with his soul in his eyes, straining his vision to the utmost to hold -that glinting point clear of its fellows, <i>for it is his sun</i>, -suddenly, as a momentary film blurs his sight, loses it, and henceforth -seek as he may among the countless hosts that spangle the firmament, -he will never again find the day-star under whose cheery beams he -was born! Hidden in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</span> the Milky Way, one would have no more chance of -recognizing the sun than of finding a particular grain of sand on the -sea-shore. Man physical is as insignificant as the rock he dwells on -and as the eye-searing orb that lights him at his daily work; but man -spiritual is as great as the universe—and greater!</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_129">[Pg 129]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="APPENDIX">APPENDIX<br /><span class="small">URANOGRAPHY OR HEAVENLY DESCRIPTION OF THE CHURCHMEN</span></h2> -</div> - - -<p>Many readers may be interested in seeing a list of the names given -to the constellations when, as mentioned in the Introduction, the -starry sky was “Christianized.” In the seventeenth century Julius -Schillerius put forth his <i>Cœlum Stellatum Christianum</i>, and -Jacobus Bartschius a celestial globe, in which all of the well-known -constellations received new and strictly orthodox names. Unfortunately -the sponsors for these names did not always agree in their choice, and -a certain Harsdorfius (who may have been the poet Philip Harsdoerfer, -born at Nuremberg in 1607) added to the confusion by further varying -the selection. Wilhelm Schickard also introduced variations. In the -following list the first of the “Christian” names given is that chosen -by Schillerius, while their variants are due to either Harsdorfius, -Schickard, or Bartschius:</p> - -<ul class="index"> -<li class="isuba"><span class="smcap">Aries</span>—St. Peter—Abraham’s Ram.</li> -<li class="isuba"><span class="smcap">Taurus</span>—St. Andrew—The Burnt Sacrifice.</li> -<li class="isuba"><span class="smcap">Gemini</span>—St. James the Elder—Jacob and Esau.</li> -<li class="isuba"><span class="smcap">Cancer</span>—St. John the Evangelist.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_130">[Pg 130]</span></li> -<li class="isuba"><span class="smcap">Leo</span>—St. Thomas—The Lion of Judah. (Observe that the variants are generally more imaginative.)</li> -<li class="isuba"><span class="smcap">Virgo</span>—St. James the Younger—The Virgin Mary.</li> -<li class="isuba"><span class="smcap">Libra</span>—St. Philip—Belshazzar’s Balances.</li> -<li class="isuba"><span class="smcap">Scorpio</span>—St. Bartholomew.</li> -<li class="isuba"><span class="smcap">Sagittarius</span>—St. Matthew—Ishmael.</li> -<li class="isuba"><span class="smcap">Capricornus</span>—St. Simon.</li> -<li class="isuba"><span class="smcap">Aquarius</span>—St. Jude—Naaman.</li> -<li class="isuba"><span class="smcap">Pisces</span>—St. Mathias—The Gospel Fishes.</li> -<li class="isuba"><span class="smcap">Ursa Minor</span>—St. Michael—One of Elisha’s Bears—The Wagon of Joseph.</li> -<li class="isuba"><span class="smcap">Ursa Major</span>—St. Peter’s Fishing-boat—Elisha’s other Bear—The Chariot of Elias.</li> -<li class="isuba"><span class="smcap">Draco</span>—The Innocents—The Dragon Infernal. (Quite a difference of opinion.)</li> -<li class="isuba"><span class="smcap">Boötes</span>—St. Sylvester—Nimrod.</li> -<li class="isuba"><span class="smcap">Coma Berenices</span>—The Scourge of Christ—Absalom’s Hair—Samson’s Hair.</li> -<li class="isuba"><span class="smcap">Corona Borealis</span>—The Crown of Thorns—Queen Esther’s Crown.</li> -<li class="isuba"><span class="smcap">Hercules</span>—The Three Wise Men of the East—Samson.</li> -<li class="isuba"><span class="smcap">Lyra</span>—The Saviour’s Manger—David’s Harp.</li> -<li class="isuba"><span class="smcap">Cygnus</span>—The Cross of Calvary.</li> -<li class="isuba"><span class="smcap">Cassiopeia</span>—St. Mary Magdalen—Bathsheba.</li> -<li class="isuba"><span class="smcap">Cepheus</span>—St. Stephen—Solomon. (Solomon seems a better choice.)</li> -<li class="isuba"><span class="smcap">Perseus with Medusa’s Head</span>—David with the Head of Goliath—St. Paul.</li> -<li class="isuba"><span class="smcap">Andromeda</span>—The Holy Sepulchre—Abigail. (The last reverses Andromeda’s romance with a vengeance.)</li> -<li class="isuba"><span class="smcap">Auriga</span>—Jacob—St. Jerome.</li> -<li class="isuba"><span class="smcap">Ophiuchus et Serpens</span>—St. Benedict—St. Paul and the Viper. (The latter very pat.)</li> -<li class="isuba"><span class="smcap">Sagitta</span>—The Lance of Calvary—Jonathan’s Arrow.</li> -<li class="isuba"><span class="smcap">Aquila</span>—St. Katharine—The Standard of Rome.</li> -<li class="isuba"><span class="smcap">Delphinus</span>—The Canaanitish Woman’s Pitcher—Leviathan.</li> -<li class="isuba"><span class="smcap">Equuleus</span>—The Mystic Rose.</li> -<li class="isuba"><span class="smcap">Pegasus</span>—St. Gabriel—Jeremiah’s King of Babylon.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_131">[Pg 131]</span></li> -<li class="isuba"><span class="smcap">Triangulum</span>—St. Peter’s Mitre—Emblem of the Trinity.</li> -<li class="isuba"><span class="smcap">Cetus</span>—Sts. Joachim and Anna—Jonah’s Whale.</li> -<li class="isuba"><span class="smcap">Eridanus</span>—The Red Sea with Moses Crossing It—The Brook of Cedron.</li> -<li class="isuba"><span class="smcap">Orion</span>—St. Joseph—Joshua. (The last a good choice.)</li> -<li class="isuba"><span class="smcap">Lepus</span>—Gideon’s Fleece.</li> -<li class="isuba"><span class="smcap">Canis Major</span>—Tobias’s Dog—St. David.</li> -<li class="isuba"><span class="smcap">Canis Minor</span>—The Paschal Lamb.</li> -<li class="isuba"><span class="smcap">Argo Navis</span>—Noah’s Ark. (Inevitable!)</li> -<li class="isuba"><span class="smcap">Hydra</span>—The River Jordan.</li> -<li class="isuba"><span class="smcap">Crater</span> (together with Corvus)—The Ark of the Covenant.</li> -<li class="isuba"><span class="smcap">Corvus</span> (according to Schickard)—Elias’s Crow.</li> -<li class="isuba"><span class="smcap">Centaurus</span>—Abraham and Isaac.</li> -<li class="isuba"><span class="smcap">Lupus</span>—Jacob.</li> -<li class="isuba"><span class="smcap">Ara</span>—The Altar of Incense.</li> -<li class="isuba"><span class="smcap">Corona Australis</span>—David’s Crown—Solomon’s Crown.</li> -<li class="isuba"><span class="smcap">Piscis Austrinus</span>—The Widow’s Meal Barrel—St. Peter’s Fish with Money in Its Mouth.</li> -<li class="isuba"><span class="smcap sub">Grus</span></li> -<li class="isuba"><span class="smcap sup2">Phœnix</span><span class="vbig sup">}</span><span class="sup">—Aaron.</span></li> -<li class="isuba"><span class="smcap sub">Indus</span></li> -<li class="isuba"><span class="smcap sup2">Pavo  </span><span class="vbig sup">}</span><span class="sup">—Job.</span></li> -<li class="isuba"><span class="smcap sub2">Apus</span></li> -<li class="isuba"><span class="smcap">Chameleon    </span><span class="xbig sub">}</span>—Eve.</li> -<li class="isuba"><span class="smcap sup2">Piscis Volans</span></li> -<li class="isuba"><span class="smcap">Triangulum Australe</span>—The Cross of Christ. (At that time the Southern Cross seems not to have been known.)</li> -<li class="isuba"><span class="smcap sub2">Dorado</span></li> -<li class="isuba"><span class="smcap">Toucan</span>    <span class="xbig sub">}</span>—St. Raphael.</li> -<li class="isuba"><span class="smcap sup2">Hydrus</span></li> -</ul> - -<p>The southern constellations, Grus, Phœnix, Indus, Pavo, Apus, -Chameleon, Piscis Volans, Triangulum Australe, Dorado, Toucan, and -Hydrus, were all named by Bayer at the beginning of the seventeenth -century, so that the revisers were not upsetting any antique legends in -giving them more sacred names.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_132">[Pg 132]</span></p> - - -<h3>LETTERS OF THE GREEK ALPHABET EMPLOYED IN URANOGRAPHY</h3> - -<ul class="index"> -<li class="isuba">α—Alpha</li> -<li class="isuba">β—Beta</li> -<li class="isuba">γ—Gamma</li> -<li class="isuba">δ—Delta</li> -<li class="isuba">ε—Epsilon</li> -<li class="isuba">ζ—Zeta</li> -<li class="isuba">η—Eta</li> -<li class="isuba">θ—Theta</li> -<li class="isuba">ι—Iota</li> -<li class="isuba">κ—Kappa</li> -<li class="isuba">λ—Lambda</li> -<li class="isuba">μ—Mu</li> -<li class="isuba">ν—Nu</li> -<li class="isuba">ξ—Xi</li> -<li class="isuba">ο—Omicron</li> -<li class="isuba">π—Pi</li> -<li class="isuba">ρ—Rho</li> -<li class="isuba">σ—Sigma</li> -<li class="isuba">τ—Tau</li> -<li class="isuba">υ—Upsilon</li> -<li class="isuba">φ—Phi</li> -<li class="isuba">χ—Chi</li> -<li class="isuba">ψ—Psi</li> -<li class="isuba">ω—Omega</li> -</ul> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_133">[Pg 133]</span><br /></p> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_134">[Pg 134]</span></p> - -<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img006"> - <img src="images/006.jpg" class="w75" alt="CHART V—THE FIRST SIX HOURS FROM THE VERNAL EQUINOX" /> -</span></p> -<p class="center caption">CHART V—THE FIRST SIX HOURS FROM THE VERNAL EQUINOX<br /></p> - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_135">[Pg 135]</span></p> - -<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img007"> - <img src="images/007.jpg" class="w75" alt="CHART VI—FROM VI H. TO XII H. FROM THE VERNAL EQUINOX" /> -</span></p> -<p class="center caption">CHART VI—FROM VI H. TO XII H. FROM THE VERNAL EQUINOX<br /></p> - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_136">[Pg 136]</span></p> - -<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img008"> - <img src="images/008.jpg" class="w75" alt="CHART VII—FROM XII H. TO XVIII H. FROM THE VERNAL EQUINOX" /> -</span></p> -<p class="center caption">CHART VII—FROM XII H. TO XVIII H. FROM THE VERNAL -EQUINOX<br /></p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_137">[Pg 137]</span></p> - -<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img009"> - <img src="images/009.jpg" class="w75" alt="CHART VIII—FROM XVIII H. TO XXIV H. FROM THE VERNAL EQUINOX" /> -</span></p> -<p class="center caption">CHART VIII—FROM XVIII H. TO XXIV H. FROM THE VERNAL -EQUINOX<br /></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_138">[Pg 138]</span></p> - -<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img010"> - <img src="images/010.jpg" class="w75" alt="CHART IX—POLAR CONSTELLATIONS FROM VI H. TO XVIII H." /> -</span></p> -<p class="center caption">CHART IX—POLAR CONSTELLATIONS FROM VI H. TO XVIII H.<br /></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_139">[Pg 139]</span></p> - -<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img011"> - <img src="images/011.jpg" class="w75" alt="CHART X—POLAR CONSTELLATIONS FROM XVIII H. TO VI H." /> -</span></p> -<p class="center caption">CHART X—POLAR CONSTELLATIONS FROM XVIII H. TO VI H.<br /></p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_140">[Pg 140]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="PRONUNCIATION_OF_STAR_AND_CONSTELLATION_NAMES">PRONUNCIATION OF STAR AND CONSTELLATION NAMES</h2> -</div> - -<ul class="index"> -<li class="ifrst">Achernar (ä-ké̃r-när)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Albireo (ăl-bí̄-rē-ō)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Alcyone (ăl-sí̄-ŏ-nē)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Aldebaran (ăl-dé̆b-ȧr-ăn)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Algenib (ăl-ḡén-ib)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Algenubi (ắl-ḡen-ú̄-bǐ)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Algieba (ăl-jé̄-bȧ)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Algol (ăl-gol)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Algorab (ắl-go-rá̈b)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Alioth (ắl-ĭ-ŏth)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Alkalurops (ắl-kā-lú̄-rŏps)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Alnilam (ắl-nĭ-lá̈m)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Alnitah (ăl-nĭ-tá̈h)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Almaack (ắl-mā-ắck)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Alphacca (ăl-fắk-kȧ)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Alphard (ăl-fá̈rd)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Alpheratz (ăl-fé̄-rătz)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Alrischa (ăl-rĭ-sh́ȧ)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Alrucaba (ăl-rũ-cá̈-bȧ)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Altair (ăl-tá̄r or ăl-ẗá̈-ǐr)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Aludra (á̈-lũ-dr̈á̈)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Andromeda (ăn-dŕŏm-ē-dȧ)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Antares (ǎn-tá̄-rēz)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Antinous (ăn-tí̆n-ŏ̄-ŭs)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Aquarius (ȧ-kẃā-rĭ-ŭs)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Aquila (ắk-wĭ-lȧ)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Arcturus (ärk-t́ũ-rŭs)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Argo Navis (ār-gō ńā-vǐs)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Aries (á̄-rēz or á̄-rǐ-ēs)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Auriga (äw-rí̄-ḡȧ)</li> -</ul><ul class="index"> -<li class="ifrst">Baten Kaitos (bá̈-tĕn kí̄tŏs)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Bellatrix (bĕl-lá̄-trĭx)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Benetnasch (bē-né̆t-născh)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Betelgeuse (bé̆t-ĕl-ḡooz or bé̆t-ĕl-gēz)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Boötes (bb̄-ó̄-tēz)<span class="pagenum" id="Page_141">[Pg 141]</span></li> -</ul><ul class="index"> -<li class="ifrst">Camelopardalis (căm-ĕĺ-ō-pă´r-dā-lĭs)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Canes Venatici (cá̄-nēz vĕn-á̆t-ĭ̆-sī)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Canis Major (cá̄-nĭs má̄jor)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Canis Minor (cá̄-nĭs míṅor)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Canopus (cȧn-ó̄-pus)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Capella (cā-pé̆l-lȧ)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Caph (kāff)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Capricornus (cá̆p-rī-kór-nus)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Cassiopeia (cá̆s-sĭ-ō-pé̄-yȧ)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Centaurus (cĕn-táw-rus)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Cepheus (śē-fē-us or śē-fũs)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Cetus (śē-tŭs)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Coma Berenices (có̄mā bēr-ĕ-ní̄-sēs)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Corona Borealis (có̄-ró̄-nȧ bō-rē-á̄-lis)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Corvus (côŕ-vus)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Crater (crá̄-ter)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Cygnus (sĭǵ̄-nus)</li> -</ul><ul class="index"> -<li class="ifrst">Delphinus (del-fí̄-nus)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Deneb (dĕń-eb)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Denebola (dē-né̆b-ō-lȧ)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Draco (dŕā-co)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Dubhe (dũb́-hĕ)</li> -</ul><ul class="index"> -<li class="ifrst">Eltanin (ĕĺ-tȧ-nĭn)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Equuleus (ē-kwóo-lē-ŭs)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Eridanus (ē-rĭd́-ā-nus)</li> -</ul><ul class="index"> -<li class="ifrst">Fomalhaut (fó̄-măl-hôt)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Fornax (fôŕ-naks)</li> -</ul><ul class="index"> -<li class="ifrst">Gemini (jé̆m-ĭ-nī)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Giedi (jé̄-dĭ)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Gienah (jé̄-nah)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Gomelza (gō-mé̆l-zȧ)</li> -</ul><ul class="index"> -<li class="ifrst">Hamal (há̆m-al)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Hercules (hé̑r-kũ-lēz)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Hyades (hí̄-ȧ-dēz)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Hydra (hí̄-drȧ)</li> -</ul><ul class="index"> -<li class="ifrst">Lacerta (lȧ-sė̄r-ta)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Leo (lé̄-ō)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Lepus (lé̄-pus)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Libra (lí̄-brȧ)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Lyra (lí̄-rȧ)</li> -</ul><ul class="index"> -<li class="ifrst">Maia (má̄-yȧ)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Marfak (má̇r-făk)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Markab (má̇r-kăb)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Megrez (mé̄-grĕz)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Menkab (mĕn-ká̄b)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Menkalina (mé̆n-kȧ-lĭ-ná̄h)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Merope (mé̃r-ō-pē)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Mesarthim (mē-sār-th́ĭm)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Mintaka (mĭń-tȧ-kȧ)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Mira (mí̄-rȧ)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Mirach (mí̄-rak)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Mizar (mí̄-zȧr)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Monoceros (mō-nŏś-ĕr-ŏs)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Murzim (mú̆r-zĭm)</li> -</ul><ul class="index"> -<li class="ifrst">Ophiuchus (ó̄-fĭ-ú̄-kus)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Orion (ō-rí̄-ŏn)</li> -</ul><ul class="index"> -<li class="ifrst">Pegasus (pĕǵ-ā-sŭs)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Perseus (pé̃r-sē-ŭs or pé̃r-sũs)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Pisces (pĭś-sēz)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Piscis Austrinus (pi̇̆s-sĭs aus-tŕī-nus)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Pleiades (pĺē-ǎd-ēz or plí̄-ǎd-ēz)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Polaris (pō-lȧŕ-ĭs)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Pollux (pó̌l-lux)<span class="pagenum" id="Page_142">[Pg 142]</span></li> -<li class="ifrst">Porrima (pó̆r-rĭ-mȧ)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Præsepe (prē-sé̄-pē)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Procyon (prō-sí̄-ǒn)</li> -</ul><ul class="index"> -<li class="ifrst">Ras Algethi (rȧs ǎĺ-gĕ-th́ǐ)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Rastaban (rȧs-tà-bāń)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Regulus (ré̆ḡ-ũ-lǔs)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Rigel (rí̄-ḡĕl or rí̄-jĕl)</li> -</ul><ul class="index"> -<li class="ifrst">Sagitta (sȧ-jí̌t-tȧ)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Sagittarius (sȧ-jǐt-tá̄-rǐ-ǔs)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Scheat (she-ǎt́)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Schedar (shěd́-där)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Scorpio (skór-pǐ-ō)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Scutum Sobieskii (sḱũ-tǔm sō-bǐ-ěś-kǐ-ī)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Serpens (sé̃r-pens)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Sirius (sǐŕ-ǐ-ǔs)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Spica (spí̄-kȧ)</li> -</ul><ul class="index"> -<li class="ifrst">Taurus (tāú-rǔs)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Thuban (thu-bäń)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Triangulum (trī-ǎń-ġũ-lǔm)</li> -</ul><ul class="index"> -<li class="ifrst">Ursa Major (ûŕ-sȧ má̄-jor)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Ursa Minor (ûŕ-sȧ mí̄-nor)</li> -</ul><ul class="index"> -<li class="ifrst">Vega (vé̄-ḡȧ)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Vindemiatrix (vǐn-dé̄-mǐ-á̄-trǐx)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Virgo (vėŕ-go)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Vulpecula (vǔl-pěḱ-ũ-lȧ)</li> -</ul><ul class="index"> -<li class="ifrst">Wesen (wá̄-zĕn)</li> -</ul><ul class="index"> -<li class="ifrst">Zavijava (zȧ-vǐ-já̈-vāh)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Zubenelgenubi (zũ-bé̆n-ěl-jen-ú̄-bǐ)</li> -<li class="ifrst">Zubeneschemali (zũ-bé̌n-ěs-she-ḿȧ-lǐ)</li> -</ul> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_143">[Pg 143]</span></p> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="INDEX">INDEX</h2> -</div> - - -<ul class="index"> -<li class="ifrst">“A,” the letter, <a href="#Page_108">108</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Achernar, <a href="#Page_107">107</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Adhara, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Afternoon of the year, <a href="#Page_72">72</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Albireo, <a href="#Page_64">64</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Al Chiba, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Alcor, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Alcyone, <a href="#Page_110">110</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Aldebaran, <a href="#Page_107">107</a> <i>et seq.</i></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Alderamin, <a href="#Page_91">91</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Aleph, <a href="#Page_108">108</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Alfirk, <a href="#Page_92">92</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Algedi, <a href="#Page_78">78</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Algenib, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Algieba, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Algol, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Algorab, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Al Hiba, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Alioth, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Allen, R. H., quoted, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>, <a href="#Page_64">64</a>, <a href="#Page_70">70</a>, <a href="#Page_78">78</a>, <a href="#Page_101">101</a>, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Almaack, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Alnilam, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Alnitah, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Alpha Andromedæ, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>.</li> -<li class="isuba">Aquarii, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>.</li> -<li class="isuba">Aquilæ, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>.</li> -<li class="isuba">Arietis, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>.</li> -<li class="isuba">Aurigæ, <a href="#Page_111">111</a>.</li> -<li class="isuba">Boötes, <a href="#Page_67">67</a>.</li> -<li class="isuba">Canis Majoris, <a href="#Page_94">94</a>.</li> -<li class="isuba">Canis Minoris, <a href="#Page_113">113</a>.</li> -<li class="isuba">Capricorni, <a href="#Page_78">78</a>.</li> -<li class="isuba">Cassiopeiæ, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>.</li> -<li class="isuba">Centauri, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>.</li> -<li class="isuba">Cephei, <a href="#Page_91">91</a>.</li> -<li class="isuba">Ceti, <a href="#Page_114">114</a>.</li> -<li class="isuba">Corvi, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>.</li> -<li class="isuba">Cygni, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>.</li> -<li class="isuba">Draconis, <a href="#Page_45">45</a>, <a href="#Page_48">48</a>.</li> -<li class="isuba">Geminorum, <a href="#Page_113">113</a>.</li> -<li class="isuba">Herculis, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>.</li> -<li class="isuba">Hydræ, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>.</li> -<li class="isuba">Leonis, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>.</li> -<li class="isuba">Libræ, <a href="#Page_70">70</a>.</li> -<li class="isuba">Lyræ, <a href="#Page_48">48</a>, <a href="#Page_61">61</a>.</li> -<li class="isuba">Orionis, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>.</li> -<li class="isuba">Pegasi, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>.</li> -<li class="isuba">Piscis Austrinus, <a href="#Page_75">75</a>.</li> -<li class="isuba">Piscium, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>.</li> -<li class="isuba">Scorpii, <a href="#Page_54">54</a>.</li> -<li class="isuba">Serpentis, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>.</li> -<li class="isuba">Tauri, <a href="#Page_107">107</a>.</li> -<li class="isuba">Ursæ Majoris, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>.</li> -<li class="isuba">Ursæ Minoris, <a href="#Page_46">46</a>.</li> -<li class="isuba">Virginis, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Alphard, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Alpheratz, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Al Rischa, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Altair, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Aludra, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">American Ephemeris, <a href="#Page_122">122</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Andromedæ, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Antares, <a href="#Page_54">54</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Antinous, <a href="#Page_66">66</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Aonian Dragon, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Aquarius, <a href="#Page_77">77</a> <i>et seq.</i></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Aquila, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Aratus, quoted, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Arctophilax, <a href="#Page_68">68</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Arcturus, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>, <a href="#Page_67">67</a> <i>et seq.</i></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Argonautic Expedition, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_144">[Pg 144]</span></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Aries, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>, <a href="#Page_84">84</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Auriga, <a href="#Page_111">111</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Autumnal Equinox, <a href="#Page_71">71</a>.</li> -</ul><ul class="index"> - -<li class="ifrst">Barnard, E. E., quoted, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Beehive, the, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Bell, Dr. Louis, quoted, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Bellatrix, <a href="#Page_105">105</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Belt of Orion, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>, <a href="#Page_105">105</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Beta Andromedæ, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>.</li> -<li class="isuba">Aquarii, <a href="#Page_78">78</a>.</li> -<li class="isuba">Arietis, <a href="#Page_84">84</a>.</li> -<li class="isuba">Aurigæ, <a href="#Page_112">112</a>.</li> -<li class="isuba">Canis Majoris, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>.</li> -<li class="isuba">Canis Minoris, <a href="#Page_113">113</a>.</li> -<li class="isuba">Capricorni, <a href="#Page_78">78</a>.</li> -<li class="isuba">Cassiopeiæ, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>.</li> -<li class="isuba">Cephei, <a href="#Page_92">92</a>.</li> -<li class="isuba">Ceti, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>.</li> -<li class="isuba">Corvi, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>.</li> -<li class="isuba">Cygni, <a href="#Page_64">64</a>.</li> -<li class="isuba">Geminorum, <a href="#Page_113">113</a>.</li> -<li class="isuba">Leonis, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>.</li> -<li class="isuba">Libræ, <a href="#Page_70">70</a>.</li> -<li class="isuba">Lyræ, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>.</li> -<li class="isuba">Orionis, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>.</li> -<li class="isuba">Pegasi, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>.</li> -<li class="isuba">Scorpii, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>.</li> -<li class="isuba">Tauri, <a href="#Page_109">109</a>.</li> -<li class="isuba">Ursæ Majoris, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>.</li> -<li class="isuba">Ursæ Minoris, <a href="#Page_46">46</a>.</li> -<li class="isuba">Virginis, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Betelgeuse, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Boötes, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>.</li> - -</ul><ul class="index"> -<li class="ifrst">Cancer, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Canes Venatici, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Canis Major, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Canis Minor, <a href="#Page_113">113</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Capella, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>, <a href="#Page_111">111</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Caph, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Capricornus, <a href="#Page_78">78</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Carman, Bliss, quoted, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Cassiopeia, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Castor, <a href="#Page_113">113</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Cepheus, <a href="#Page_91">91</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Cetus, <a href="#Page_114">114</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Chair, Cassiopeia’s, <a href="#Page_87">87</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Cheops, pyramid of, <a href="#Page_45">45</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Christianization of sky, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Clerke, Agnes M., quoted, <a href="#Page_111">111</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Coma Berenices, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Constellations, their uses, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Cor Caroli, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Cor Hydræ, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Corona Borealis, <a href="#Page_66">66</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Corvus, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Crater, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Crete, discoveries in, <a href="#Page_62">62</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Cupid’s Arrow, <a href="#Page_80">80</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Cygnus, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">61 Cygni, <a href="#Page_64">64</a>.</li> -</ul><ul class="index"> - -<li class="ifrst">Dabih, <a href="#Page_78">78</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Dana, R. H., quoted, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Delphinus, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Delta Andromedæ, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>.</li> -<li class="isuba">Canis Majoris, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>.</li> -<li class="isuba">Cassiopeiæ, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>.</li> -<li class="isuba">Corvi, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>.</li> -<li class="isuba">Orionis, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>.</li> -<li class="isuba">Sagittarii, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>.</li> -<li class="isuba">Serpentis, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>.</li> -<li class="isuba">Ursæ Majoris, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>.</li> -<li class="isuba">Virginis, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Demon star, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Deneb, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Deneb Kaitos, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Denebola, <a href="#Page_37">37</a> <i>et seq.</i></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Dipper in Sagittarius, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Dippers, the, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Discipline in the sky, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Donati’s comet, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Draco, <a href="#Page_44">44</a> <i>et seq.</i></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Dream of the universe, <a href="#Page_91">91</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Dubhe, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Durchmusterungs, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>.</li> -</ul><ul class="index"> - -<li class="ifrst">Eltanin, <a href="#Page_46">46</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Emerson, R. W., quoted, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_53">53</a>, <a href="#Page_61">61</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Epsilon Canis Majoris, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>.</li> -<li class="isuba">Boötes, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>.</li> -<li class="isuba">Lyræ, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>.</li> -<li class="isuba">Orionis, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>.</li> -<li class="isuba">Pegasi, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>.</li> -<li class="isuba">Serpentis, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>.</li> -<li class="isuba">Ursæ Majoris, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>.</li> -<li class="isuba">Virginis, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_145">[Pg 145]</span></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Equator, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Equinoctial colure, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Equinoctial storms, <a href="#Page_71">71</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Equinoxes, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Eridanus, <a href="#Page_106">106</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Esculapius, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Eta Cassiopeiæ, <a href="#Page_89">89</a>.</li> -<li class="isuba">Canis Majoris, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Eta Tauri, <a href="#Page_107">107</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Expectancy of astronomers, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>.</li> -</ul><ul class="index"> - -<li class="ifrst">Feet of Ursa Major, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Field of the nebulæ, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Flammarion, quoted, <a href="#Page_108">108</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Fomalhaut, <a href="#Page_75">75</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Furud, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>.</li> -</ul><ul class="index"> - -<li class="ifrst">Galileo, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Gamma Andromedæ, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>.</li> -<li class="isuba">Aquarii, <a href="#Page_78">78</a>.</li> -<li class="isuba">Arietis, <a href="#Page_84">84</a>.</li> -<li class="isuba">Capricorni, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>.</li> -<li class="isuba">Ceti, <a href="#Page_114">114</a>.</li> -<li class="isuba">Corvi, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>.</li> -<li class="isuba">Draconis, <a href="#Page_46">46</a>.</li> -<li class="isuba">Leonis, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>.</li> -<li class="isuba">Lyræ, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>.</li> -<li class="isuba">Orionis, <a href="#Page_105">105</a>.</li> -<li class="isuba">Pegasi, <a href="#Page_80">80</a>.</li> -<li class="isuba">Virginis, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Gardens of the sky, <a href="#Page_72">72</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Garnet star, <a href="#Page_92">92</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Gateway of souls, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Gemini, <a href="#Page_113">113</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Gemma, <a href="#Page_66">66</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Gienah, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">“God’s Eye,” <a href="#Page_108">108</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Gomeisa, <a href="#Page_114">114</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Great Bear, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Great Dipper, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Great Square of Pegasus, <a href="#Page_80">80</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Great Year, Plato’s, <a href="#Page_62">62</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Greenwich of the sky, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>.</li> -</ul><ul class="index"> - -<li class="ifrst">Halley’s comet, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Hamal, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Hathor, temple of, <a href="#Page_46">46</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Hercules, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Hesperus, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Hexagon of Orion, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Hole in the sky, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Horus, <a href="#Page_122">122</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Hyades, <a href="#Page_108">108</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Hydra, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>.</li> -</ul><ul class="index"> - -<li class="ifrst">Influence of the stars, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>, <a href="#Page_44">44</a>, <a href="#Page_53">53</a>, <a href="#Page_68">68</a>, <a href="#Page_75">75</a>, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>, <a href="#Page_110">110</a>, <a href="#Page_116">116</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Isis, <a href="#Page_97">97</a>.</li> -</ul><ul class="index"> - -<li class="ifrst">Jason, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Job’s Coffin, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Job’s Star, <a href="#Page_68">68</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Jupiter, <a href="#Page_121">121</a>, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>.</li> -</ul><ul class="index"> - -<li class="ifrst">Kappa Cassiopeiæ, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>.</li> -<li class="isuba">Orionis, <a href="#Page_105">105</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Karnak, <a href="#Page_46">46</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Kochab, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>.</li> -</ul><ul class="index"> - -<li class="ifrst">Laconian Key, <a href="#Page_87">87</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Lambda Ophiuchi, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>.</li> -<li class="isuba">Orionis, <a href="#Page_105">105</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Language for celestial marvels, <a href="#Page_61">61</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Learning the stars, ease of, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>;</li> -<li class="isuba">best season for, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Leo, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Lepus, <a href="#Page_107">107</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Lewis, G. C., quoted, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>, <a href="#Page_97">97</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Libra, <a href="#Page_70">70</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Lockyer, Norman, quoted, <a href="#Page_97">97</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Longfellow, H. W., quoted, <a href="#Page_71">71</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Lucky stars, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>, <a href="#Page_78">78</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Lyra, <a href="#Page_61">61</a>.</li> -</ul><ul class="index"> - -<li class="ifrst">Magellan Clouds, R. H. Dana on, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Marfik, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Markab, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Mars, <a href="#Page_121">121</a>, <a href="#Page_124">124</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Mazzaroth, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Medusa, head of, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Megrez, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Menkalina, <a href="#Page_112">112</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Menkar, <a href="#Page_114">114</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Merak, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Mercury, <a href="#Page_122">122</a>.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_146">[Pg 146]</span></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Meridian, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Mesarthim, <a href="#Page_84">84</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Milky Way, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>, <a href="#Page_64">64</a>, <a href="#Page_72">72</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Mintaka, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Mira, <a href="#Page_114">114</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Mirach, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Mirrors, sky views by, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Mitchel, Gen. O. M., <a href="#Page_55">55</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Mizar, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Morning of the year, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Moses and the Brazen Serpent, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Mukdim-al Kitaf, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Murzim, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Mut, temple of, <a href="#Page_46">46</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Mystery in the sky, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">8 M., <a href="#Page_56">56</a>.</li> -</ul><ul class="index"> - -<li class="ifrst">Names of stars and travellers, <a href="#Page_76">76</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Nautical Almanac, <a href="#Page_122">122</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Nebulæ, in Andromeda, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>.</li> -<li class="isuba">in Canes Venatici, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>.</li> -<li class="isuba">in Lyra, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>.</li> -<li class="isuba">in Ophiuchus, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>.</li> -<li class="isuba">in Orion, <a href="#Page_103">103</a>.</li> -<li class="isuba">in Sagittarius, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>.</li> -<li class="isuba">in Virgo, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">New star of 1901, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Northern Cross, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Northern Crown, <a href="#Page_66">66</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">North star, <a href="#Page_46">46</a>, <a href="#Page_116">116</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">November meteors, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Nu Scorpii, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>.</li> -</ul><ul class="index"> - -<li class="ifrst">Omicron Ceti, <a href="#Page_114">114</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Ophiuchus, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Orion, <a href="#Page_101">101</a> <i>et seq.</i></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Orion group of constellations, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>.</li> -</ul><ul class="index"> - -<li class="ifrst">Pearl, the, <a href="#Page_66">66</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Pegasus, <a href="#Page_80">80</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Perseus, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Phæd, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Phæton, <a href="#Page_84">84</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Phosphorus, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Pi Orionis, <a href="#Page_105">105</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Pisces, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Piscis Austrinus, <a href="#Page_75">75</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Planets, the, <a href="#Page_118">118</a>;</li> -<li class="isuba">apparent swallowing by sun, <a href="#Page_125">125</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Plato, quoted, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Pleiades, <a href="#Page_109">109</a> <i>et seq.</i></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Pointers, the, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Polaris, <a href="#Page_46">46</a>, <a href="#Page_116">116</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Pole-stars, succession of, <a href="#Page_48">48</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Pollux, <a href="#Page_113">113</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Porrima, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Præsepe, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Precession of equinoxes, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>, <a href="#Page_84">84</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Procyon, <a href="#Page_113">113</a> <i>et seq.</i></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Pulcherrima, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>.</li> -</ul><ul class="index"> - -<li class="ifrst">Ras Algethi, <a href="#Page_59">59</a> <i>et seq.</i></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Ras Alhague, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Reflection, sky seen by, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>;</li> -<li class="isuba">supposed visibility of Jupiter’s moons by, <a href="#Page_124">124</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Regulus, <a href="#Page_35">35</a> <i>et seq.</i></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Revelation of the stars, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Revolution of the pole, <a href="#Page_48">48</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Revolutions of the heavens, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Rho Ophiuchi, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Richter, Jean Paul, quoted, <a href="#Page_91">91</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Rigel, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Right Ascension, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Rising stars, attraction of, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Royal family of sky, <a href="#Page_75">75</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Royal stars, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Ruchbah, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>.</li> -</ul><ul class="index"> - -<li class="ifrst">Sadachbia, <a href="#Page_78">78</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Sadalmelik, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Sadalsuud, <a href="#Page_78">78</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Sagitta, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Sagittarius, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">St. Paul and the viper, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Saiph, <a href="#Page_105">105</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Saturn, <a href="#Page_122">122</a>, <a href="#Page_124">124</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Scheat, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Schedar, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Scorpio, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Serpens, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Set, <a href="#Page_122">122</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Shakespeare, quoted, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>, <a href="#Page_80">80</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Sheratan, <a href="#Page_84">84</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Shield of Orion, <a href="#Page_105">105</a>.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_147">[Pg 147]</span></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Sickle, the, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Sigma Tauri, <a href="#Page_109">109</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Sirius, <a href="#Page_94">94</a> <i>et seq.</i></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Smyth, Admiral, quoted, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Sobieski’s Shield, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Solstices, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Sophocles, quoted, <a href="#Page_67">67</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Southern Cross, R. H. Dana on, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Southern Fish, <a href="#Page_75">75</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Spica, <a href="#Page_29">29</a> <i>et seq.</i></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Star colors, <a href="#Page_44">44</a>, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>, <a href="#Page_89">89</a>, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Star magnitudes, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Streaming of stars, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>, <a href="#Page_106">106</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Struve invents star color, <a href="#Page_106">106</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Summer Solstice, <a href="#Page_50">50</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Sword-hand of Perseus, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Sword of Orion, <a href="#Page_103">103</a>.</li> -</ul><ul class="index"> - -<li class="ifrst">Tent, the, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Theta Orionis, <a href="#Page_103">103</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Theta Tauri, <a href="#Page_109">109</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Three Guides, the, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Thuban, <a href="#Page_45">45</a>, <a href="#Page_48">48</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Toorus, <a href="#Page_107">107</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Tropic of Capricorn, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>;</li> -<li class="isuba">of Cancer, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Tycho’s star, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>.</li> - -</ul><ul class="index"> -<li class="ifrst">Ursa Major, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Ursa Minor, <a href="#Page_46">46</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Uru-anna, <a href="#Page_101">101</a>.</li> -</ul><ul class="index"> - -<li class="ifrst">Vega, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>, <a href="#Page_61">61</a> <i>et seq.</i></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Venus, <a href="#Page_120">120</a>, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Vernal Equinox, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Vindemiatrix, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Virgin, origin of name, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Virgo, <a href="#Page_29">29</a> <i>et seq.</i></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Vulpecula et Anser, <a href="#Page_80">80</a>.</li> -</ul><ul class="index"> - -<li class="ifrst">“W,” the letter, <a href="#Page_87">87</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Wesen, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Whirlpool nebula, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Whitney, Prof., quoted, <a href="#Page_78">78</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Winter heavens, glories of, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Winter Solstice, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>.</li> -</ul><ul class="index"> - -<li class="ifrst">“XM” class of stars, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>, <a href="#Page_64">64</a>, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Xavier de Maistre, quoted, <a href="#Page_89">89</a>.</li> - -</ul><ul class="index"> -<li class="ifrst">Year, various beginnings of, <a href="#Page_25">25</a> <i>et seq.</i></li> - -</ul><ul class="index"> -<li class="ifrst">Zeta Ursæ Majoris, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>.</li> -<li class="isuba">Aquarii, <a href="#Page_78">78</a>.</li> -<li class="isuba">Canis Majoris, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>.</li> -<li class="isuba">Herculis, <a href="#Page_60">60</a>.</li> -<li class="isuba">Orionis, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>, <a href="#Page_106">106</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Zodiac, <a href="#Page_84">84</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Zubeneschemali, <a href="#Page_70">70</a>.</li> - -<li class="ifrst">Zubenelgenubi, <a href="#Page_70">70</a>.</li> -</ul> - - -<p class="center p4">THE END</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter transnote"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="Transcribers_Notes">Transcriber’s Notes</h2> - - -<p>A few minor errors in punctuation have been fixed.</p> - -<p>In the section on <a href="#PRONUNCIATION_OF_STAR_AND_CONSTELLATION_NAMES">pronunciation of star and constellation names</a>, -combining diacritics may display following the letter they modify in -certain fonts.</p> - -<p><a href="#Page_79">Page 79</a>: “minimum visibile” changed to “minimum visible”</p> - -</div> -<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ROUND THE YEAR WITH THE STARS ***</div> -<div style='text-align:left'> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will -be renamed. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law 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™ electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG™ -concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, -and may not be used if you charge for an eBook, except by following -the terms of the trademark license, including paying royalties for use -of the Project Gutenberg trademark. If you do not charge anything for -copies of this eBook, complying with the trademark license is very -easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose such as creation -of derivative works, reports, performances and research. Project -Gutenberg eBooks may be modified and printed and given away—you may -do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks not protected -by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the trademark -license, especially commercial redistribution. -</div> - -<div style='margin-top:1em; font-size:1.1em; text-align:center'>START: FULL LICENSE</div> -<div style='text-align:center;font-size:0.9em'>THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE</div> -<div style='text-align:center;font-size:0.9em'>PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -To protect the Project Gutenberg™ 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™ License available with this file or online at -www.gutenberg.org/license. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; font-size:1.1em; margin:1em 0; font-weight:bold'> -Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg™ electronic works -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg™ -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™ electronic works in your -possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a -Project Gutenberg™ 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. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -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™ 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™ electronic works if you follow the terms of this -agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg™ -electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation (“the -Foundation” or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection -of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works. Nearly all the individual -works in the collection are in the public domain in the United -States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law 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™ mission of promoting -free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg™ -works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the -Project Gutenberg™ 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™ License when -you share it without charge with others. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -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™ work. The Foundation makes no -representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any -country other than the United States. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other -immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg™ License must appear -prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg™ 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: -</div> - -<blockquote> - <div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> - This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most - other parts of the world 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 <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you - are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws - of the country where you are located before using this eBook. - </div> -</blockquote> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg™ electronic work is -derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (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™ -trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg™ 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™ License for all works -posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the -beginning of this work. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg™ -License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this -work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg™. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -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™ License. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -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™ work in a format -other than “Plain Vanilla ASCII” or other format used in the official -version posted on the official Project Gutenberg™ website -(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™ License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, -performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg™ works -unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing -access to or distributing Project Gutenberg™ electronic works -provided that: -</div> - -<div style='margin-left:0.7em;'> - <div style='text-indent:-0.7em'> - • You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from - the use of Project Gutenberg™ works calculated using the method - you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed - to the owner of the Project Gutenberg™ 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.” - </div> - - <div style='text-indent:-0.7em'> - • 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™ - 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™ - works. - </div> - - <div style='text-indent:-0.7em'> - • 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. - </div> - - <div style='text-indent:-0.7em'> - • You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free - distribution of Project Gutenberg™ works. - </div> -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project -Gutenberg™ electronic work or group of works on different terms than -are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing -from the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the manager of -the Project Gutenberg™ trademark. Contact the Foundation as set -forth in Section 3 below. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.F. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable -effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread -works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project -Gutenberg™ collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg™ -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. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -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™ trademark, and any other party distributing a Project -Gutenberg™ 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. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -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. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -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 MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -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. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -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™ electronic works in -accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the -production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg™ -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™ work, (b) alteration, modification, or -additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg™ work, and (c) any -Defect you cause. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; font-size:1.1em; margin:1em 0; font-weight:bold'> -Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg™ -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Project Gutenberg™ 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. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the -assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg™’s -goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg™ 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™ 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 information page at www.gutenberg.org. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; font-size:1.1em; margin:1em 0; font-weight:bold'> -Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -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. 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. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -The Foundation’s business office is located at 809 North 1500 West, -Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact links and up -to date contact information can be found at the Foundation’s website -and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact -</div> - -<div style='display:block; font-size:1.1em; margin:1em 0; font-weight:bold'> -Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Project Gutenberg™ depends upon and cannot survive without widespread -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. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -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 <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/donate/">www.gutenberg.org/donate</a>. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -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. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -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. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -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: www.gutenberg.org/donate -</div> - -<div style='display:block; font-size:1.1em; margin:1em 0; font-weight:bold'> -Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg™ electronic works -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project -Gutenberg™ concept of a library of electronic works that could be -freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and -distributed Project Gutenberg™ eBooks with only a loose network of -volunteer support. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Project Gutenberg™ eBooks are often created from several printed -editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in -the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not -necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper -edition. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Most people start at our website which has the main PG search -facility: <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -This website includes information about Project Gutenberg™, -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. -</div> - -</div> -</body> -</html> diff --git a/old/68391-h/images/001.jpg b/old/68391-h/images/001.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index aa81a47..0000000 --- a/old/68391-h/images/001.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/68391-h/images/002.jpg b/old/68391-h/images/002.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index b3cbe07..0000000 --- a/old/68391-h/images/002.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/68391-h/images/003.jpg b/old/68391-h/images/003.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 602c381..0000000 --- a/old/68391-h/images/003.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/68391-h/images/004.jpg b/old/68391-h/images/004.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 3dc5dfc..0000000 --- a/old/68391-h/images/004.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/68391-h/images/005.jpg b/old/68391-h/images/005.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 19d1808..0000000 --- a/old/68391-h/images/005.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/68391-h/images/006.jpg b/old/68391-h/images/006.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index d5aab19..0000000 --- a/old/68391-h/images/006.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/68391-h/images/007.jpg b/old/68391-h/images/007.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index f6eff72..0000000 --- a/old/68391-h/images/007.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/68391-h/images/008.jpg b/old/68391-h/images/008.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 0f1639b..0000000 --- a/old/68391-h/images/008.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/68391-h/images/009.jpg b/old/68391-h/images/009.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index d450780..0000000 --- a/old/68391-h/images/009.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/68391-h/images/010.jpg b/old/68391-h/images/010.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 2ea1976..0000000 --- a/old/68391-h/images/010.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/68391-h/images/011.jpg b/old/68391-h/images/011.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 8b90dd3..0000000 --- a/old/68391-h/images/011.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/68391-h/images/cover.jpg b/old/68391-h/images/cover.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index ad75c1c..0000000 --- a/old/68391-h/images/cover.jpg +++ /dev/null |
