A N EW G EOG R AP H Y OF TH E H EAV EN S

W I T H D ESCR IPTIO N S A N D CH A R TS O l’

CONbTELLA TlONS. STARS. AN D PLA N ETS

BY R R E P S E R V I SS G A T T .

/ 8 8 4 7

NEW Y ORK AND DONDON

M C M V I I !

RRE P. s s av x ss g GA TT , 1 .

0 mm 33. 1 907

CONTENTS

FIIE PLEASURE OF KNOWI NG TH E CONSTELLATI ONS

— ’ the sta rs as lan dma rks Eflect of going north or south on the a p — — pearan ce of the hea vens Personal in fluen ce of the s ta rs View — ing the cons tella tion. a mid hi storic scenes Cass iopeia seen fro m ’ — Clytemnestra s tomb The celestia l pagea nt fro mMount Etna — — The sta rs ann ounce the seas ons Atmos pheric influence on — t he a ppea rance of the s ta rs Indi v idua lity of the stars 4 ta r — — — magn itudes Sta r colors The c ha rmof s ta r gro u pings The — h a rmony of the spheres How scientific astronomy has drifted Page 1

NSTELLATIONS ON TH E MERI DI AN I N JAN U ARY — 0! the meridian The dou ble revol u tion of the hea ven s — ~ ~ cha rioteer Ca pella a n d its his tory Ca melopa r — — — the Bu ll Aldeba ran The Hyades The Pleia ' of and su er a u the e ad es— n p stition bo t Pl i O on . — — se Rigel The Belt

a rs — Le the are—Its c n s icuous st m. H o p — — — Its origin A wonderfu l red sta r Columha the

I I I STELLATIONS ON TH E M ER IDIAN I N F EBRUARY — — the Grea ter Dog Sirius Why ca lled the Dog Star

V C O N T E N T S m c n e panion Monoceros Can i s Minor Pro yo G ini , h z i ac t w ns the u h c n s e a n t e C T i . fo rt o t ll tio of od as or h sa i s s a Pollux Their his tory Why ca lled t e lor t rs Lyn x

CONSTELLATIONS ON TH E MERIDI AN IN MARCH — the c s e a n the z d ac Th e M a n an ce the a b, fi C r, Cr fth on t ll tio of o i — m er Przese e n c en nce g , or p A i t i port a . ’ — lileo s discovery Plan eta ry conj un cti — on e of the largest of the con stella tions Su perstition s con ce Page

CONSTELLATI ONS ON TH E MERI DIAN I N A PRI L

Leo the L n s the z aca set— The , io , ixth of odi l figu re of the — The fa mous star Regu lus This constell a tion — — sen e as a n Leo n U a a the t d lio Mi or rs M jor , — The celebra ted figure of the Grea t D ipper I Th — — e n ames of its seven sta rs Miza r an d Al cor Sextan a e the Cu Cr t r, p

CONSTELLATIONS ON THE MERI D IAN IN M AY

us h — , t e w the e e c Corv Cro Virgo , s v nth onst ella tion of the l ed — The eau u ca A m u — b tif l Spi ine of myths The field of the ul& — m — ' a e en ces Th Co B r i e legen d of a q ueen s ha ir — s a s an es Ven a tici the - t r C , Hunting D ogs The Caroli

CONSTELLATIONS ON THE MERI DIAN I N j UNE

L a th , e a ance e in h — ibr B l , ighth t e zodiaca l circle A green s ta o es h , t e ea c ns e a — Bo t gr t o t ll tion of the north Arctu rus an d V I C O N T E N T S — — grea t fa me Corona Borea lis Bea utiful formof the constella n— The ea the w — U s a the a c s e a tio P rl of Cro n r Minor . pol r on t ll —The s a a i — D ac the ea d a the t tion t r Pol r s r o . gr t r gon of nor h s me h —R a a aco t e e a e a the e Alph Dr ni . for rly pol st r l tion of Gr t — Pyramid to this sta r His tory of Gamma Draconis Page 8 7

CONSTELLATI ONS ON THE M ERI DI AN I N JULY

‘ 5 c i zod aca c s e a — o s cuou fi u e the S orp o , ninth i l on t ll tion C n pi s g r of — — scorpion The grea t red s ta r Anta res Its wonderful green coma — uchus an ts— ercu es he c s e a d Se en t p nion Ophi rp H l . on t ll — tion towards which the ea rth is tra velling Mys tic significa nce of this cons tella tion in ancient times Page t o:

CO NSTELLATI ONS ON TH E MERI D I AN IN AUGUST

the c e e c s el a the z d ac— ea u Ar h r . t nth on t l tion of o i B ty — of the Milky Wa y in Sagitta d us Scu tu mSobies kii and its sta r c u s— u la the Ea e—The s a a — The cu i u lo d Aq i , gl t r Alt ir r o s Chi nese legen d of the Spinning Da msel a n d the M agpie Bridge a a — a the a Or heus 4 in ular s en the S gitt Lyr . H rp of p g pl dor of — sta r Vega When it will be the pole star again Page i n:

NSTELLATIONS ON TH E ME RI D IA N IN SE PTEM BER

a e e en the z d aca circ e—The a e Go t , l v th of o i l l G t of the s— De in us the — The ta ble God lph . Dolphin of Arion — — ’ Eq uuleus Vulpecu la Lo rd Rosse s wonderful Dumb-bell ebu a —C u the wa —The e s — ea u N l ygn s, S n North rn Cro s B ty of Page i n

ELLATIONS ON TH E MERID IA N I N OCTOBER — the last in the zodiaca l circle Piscis s — The s a ma au — e asus Fi h t r Fo lh t P g , V i i C O N T E N T S

— ua e l e a us Le en da the Wi nged Horse The Grea t Sq r of P g g of s — — — e eus the Kin The R a the Winged Horse Lacerta C ph , g oy l a e 1 Family of the sky P g 30

CONSTELLATIONS ON TH E MERI DIAN I N NOVEM B ER — h s es ea e the z d a c The ee wic the Pisces , t e Fi h , l d r of o i Gr n h of — — m n un c n s in sce eda the con sky Planetary co j tio Pi s Andro , — ma u a - stellation of roman ce The grea t Andro ed neb l 4 tory of — me a a nd her escue e eus ass e a the uee An dro d r r , P rs C iop i , Q n “ ’ — h Ke — c Bra he s s a T e W , or y Ty ho t r

CONSTELLATIONS ON TH E MERIDIAN I N DECEM BE R

es the Ra mea e the z aca s ns— ui the Ari , , l d r of odi l ig Antiq ty of ns a n — a n um— h c e u e seu s t e c ue th o t ll tio Tri g l P r , onq ror of e Gor — — on The o n s a c The n ew s a t m— g G rgo t r Al or t r of o Cetus , — the Whale The won derful va ria ble Mira

THE SOUTHERN CONSTELLATI ONS — — — Argo Navis The grea t star Can opus The Sou th Pole The — u e n ss en a u us - a en a u the So th r Cro C t r Alph C t ri . neares t sta r - Ara the a — The — — , Alt r Triangle Grus an d Tou ca n The Pha r nix - Th — — e Sou thern Eridanus The star Acherna r The Magel~ lanic clouds

X V

THE MI LKY WAY

nc en eas th — A i t id of e Milky Wa y The pa th wa y of th e gods an d — s i ri s The s — p ha e The lk Wa fi u e a s a of — t tory of P ton Mi y y g r d e u se the l — riv r Co r of Mi ky Wa y throu gh the sky Grea t sta rs a w h — th t follo t e Milky Wa y The Milky Way viii C O N T E N T S

TH E ZODI ACA L LI G HT — ts a ppea rance a nd the sea sons when bes t seen Traced a cross — ' — ' the wh le sky Du Cha illu s desc ri p i umb ld s descrip —o t on H o t tion Scien tific theories of the Zodiaca l Light Page 1 8:

X V I I TH E PLA N ETS — — How they differ in a ppea rance froms ta rs Their motions F ive a n — only lmown . to the cien ts4 u perstition s a bou t themTh e rs i c e e — e cu e us a u e a n d a u fi t d s ov ri s M r ry . V n . M rs , J pit r, S t rn ; e ul a s z i mem ec e ei si es s a ces e a s th ir p i riti . th r . d t n , ov nts . rot tion . su ace cha ac er s ic and he c r mthe rf r t i t s . t ir ondition f o point of

X VI I I TH E M OO N — on ex ercised by the moon The stra nge spots on her — su rface Stories of the Man in the Moon 4 toriec of the Woman — — ' in the Moon The Ha re in the Moon Ga lileo s di scoveries — N atu re of the luna r surface The birth of the moon fromthe

m a o u a eres and the su e s n s ass n ce e l n i port . th ir p p r i t t, p r titio o — months Occulta tions by the moon Page 2 3 6

Page 243

P R E F ACE 8 8 4 7 HE specific things undertaken in this book are : F i r s a of a - s e rst , the p e ent tion of a set st r charts , in a nd i u and a i company g ll strating the text , cont in ng cons tellation u res so a the fig , th t the reader may see those strange forms tha t the imaginations of men for thousands of yea rs have drawn in the sky . The charts also contain all the sta rs that have received t a a r distinc ive n mes , and with these all the other st s that the unaided eye readily perceives . The sixth a a re vis ible to magnitude st rs ordinarily good eyes , r r a but they a e inconspicu ous . The cha ts re redue ’ r s tions from Heis s Atla s C elesti . A cha rt of the southern sky has been added to n not i our cover the constellatio s v sible from latitudes . S n of eco d , the march the constellations across the s l a a sky , re u ting from the nnual revolution of the e rth r an d in its orbit , is followed f om month to month , they are presented in the text according to the times of i c a n the r su cessive arrivals ne r the meridia , the f north and south line of the sky . O course they are not visible only when on or near the meridian ; but o s s n s me sy tem mu t be followed in describi g them , ar r z c f and this rangement , ecogni ing the sequen e o the r i n months , and p esent ng them when , upo the whole , a re b a d for they est pl ce observation , seemed prefer xiii P R E F A C E

‘ able to any other . The appearance of the constella

, , tions , as viewed with the naked eye is described i their histories and mytholog es are given , and the l stories of their chief stars and star grou ps are deta i ed .

For the convenience of those who have telescopes , some of the double stars and other interesting tele scopic objects in each constellation are described and their positions indicated . d r Third , the planets are describe in a sepa ate il i n chapter, with lustrations nte ded to enable the uninitiated reader to follow their paths among the stars and to predict their approximate pla ces for l i himse f . In consequence of the r constant motion , the planets cannot be indicated by symbols definitely located on the charts like the fixed stars . to r To sum up , the general purpose is evive and cultivate interest in the picturesque and easily um derstood who side of astronomy , so that everybody ” a wishes may feel at home in the starry he vens , may share in the great intellectual pleasures which and an acquaintance with them invariably gives , may an d understand enjoy the references to the stars , the in constellations , and the planets that abound all in a literatures and all the periodic ls of the day .

RRE E V . GA TT P . S R I SS

BOROU GH or OOKLY N New Y BR , OR K, M a ch 1 0 8 r , 9 .

A S T R O N O M Y W I T H T H E N A K E D E Y E cross the equator and travel into the southern hemi sphere some of the constellations do sink permanently e un m below the horizon , whil fa iliar ones rise in the e u e opposite quart r , a jo rney in that dir ction seems longer than others . Nothing astonished the early navigators more than the u nusual aspect of the u mn . rma e t austral fi , and in partic lar the splendor of the c c u e Magellani lo dsmand the South rn Cross , which seemed to themsy bolic of an unknown world . The renown that these constellations attained in the days of the first circumnavigators still kindles the imagination .

So , in the far north the strange aspect of the noc turnal sky and the displacement of the arctic con s tella tion s agitate the most u ndau nted spirits as much as does the extraordinary character of the ma n u landscapes . The who stands pon the pole of e m me e the arth , as so ebody will do so day , will b hold nothing so fantastically wonderful as the horizontal m the e the otion of heav ns , carrying stars in circles r e u sun h of pe p t al apparition , and swinging the and t e moon round the whole horizon as if su spended by e mthe invisibl chains fro vortex of the world . In the experiences and sentiments of individu al e the . e lif stars play a great part Many a lon ly night , w e e w ee ith all t rrestrial fri nds far a ay , has b n bright ened for me by the fra ternal presence of Orion or ’

oo e . m u e u e m B t s A id the solit d of a h nt r s ca p , with com — a e e p nions abs nt on a night long exp dition , and the w c - e ee in ex r at h fir languishing , it has b n an p es sible comfort to see through the lofty tops of the trees familiar constellations flashing recognition and 2 K N O W I N G T H E C O N S T E L L A T I O N S

e e . giving assurance of their unfailing n arn ss Aratus , the e the e e e Greek sing r of stars , cl arly expr ss d a personal experience when he wrote that fromall u s ea ks a c q arters heaven p to man . Make the u u u e q aintance of Polaris , Sirius , Arct rus , Regul s , V ga ,

Spica , Rigel , and they will be always with you on u m yo r undane way , never leaving you alone and con l unfriended . He who knows the stars and ste la i n t o s carries the map of the world in his head . He me e has a book older than Ho r always open befor him . H e is in a gallery of pictu res containing the master pieces of the human imagination when the world was n mm young and thought u tra elled . The mere names of the ancient constellations cap iv m unm u t a te the ind . Who can look oved pon an d eu m Andromeda , chained , Pers s , with dia ond e i her u e u sword , spe d ng to resc ;or pon Orion , lifting e e his starry club to m et the Bull , charging h adlong down the curve of the zodmiac ! It is a felicity to u e know Siri s , that gr at pris atic star that awed the

c e . an ient land of the Nil at his rising , and in whose mme e m the re honor i ns te ples , the oldest in world , we e e e in er cted ; or Arcturus , whos pow r and beauty spired the poet Job . Among the tableaux of memory that I should most grieve to lose are views of the pictu resqu e heavens I disclosed amid remarkable scenes in foreign lands . u n e e wo ld i stanc a vision of Cassiopeia , s en shortly before dawn on an Au gust morning through the e r u l e a brok n oof of the h ge vau ted sepulchr at Mycen e , ’ m m u called Clyte nestra s to b . I had ridden thro gh m l a oon it night from Corinth , over the mountain 3 A S T R O N O M Y W I T H T H E N A K E D E Y E

n e ous neck of the Pelopon sus , and down to the a nd e a t the head of the Valley of Argolis , had arriv d ’ m et c u a s s ruins of Agamemnon s apital j st the oon , h m e the . t e at the dark st hour of night Amid gloom, e out fightin g off the awak ned dogs , I set with y

- e guide to explore the half disinterred city . Aft r we ha d viewed the bat - inhabited interior of the so called Treasu ry of Atreus by the light of a brush ” the m m fire , we approached s aller beehive to b of um m ea . Clyte nestra , n r the Gate of the Lions St e un me em bling ov r fallen stones , I fo d ys lf in the pty chamber where the body of the royal murderess is ree u e said to have lain th tho sand y ars ago , and , n u the glanci g pward , was startled at sight of Cas h m sio eia t e e o e p , flashing down through shatt red d her e her dau h fromher throne of stars . Near shon g eu e u ter Andromeda , and Pers s , the slay r of the Med sa mthe u u o and the Sea Dragon . Fro ndergro nd gl om that enveloped u s the spectacle was more magn ifi Bu cent than I can picture it in words . t its great est we in e who ul e re po r lay sugg stion , for co d h lp membering the legend that those starry characters e t e e had had th ir birth in his v ry vall y , and had u e ae l fo nd d Mycen , long anterior to the days of C yt m ! e nestra e mm e e H ec and H l n , Aga non and tor Cas siO eia a u her p had prob bly fo nd place in the stars , and ’ ee ec z e e e m w b n r ogni ed th re , b for Ho er s songs ere sung . To know the constellations is better than to know the — e e Iliad and asi r . Another insta nce of the exquisite pleasure that acquaintance with the constellations is capable of addin g to the enjoyment of impressive and historic K N O W I N G T H E C O N S T E L L A T I O N S scenes recurs with the recollection of a view of the starry heavens which I once had from the unob structed summit of Mount Etna , which , having no e rival within the ntire range of vision , puts a circle eight hu ndred miles in circumferen ce u nder the ’ him n s e e e e ob erver s y s , while lifting on its lon pin acl e u into the midst of the sky . Thr e or fo r hours after m the m u u idnight , at ti e of the A tumnal Eq inox , I the e e the e e stood on v rg of gr at crat r , and after a shudderin g glance at the fiery spiracles of the volca in ee . no , d p its throat , turned to look off The dark e the e w eeme e n ss over world b lo s d fathoml ss , except e e mu wh r the lights of Catania lay sparkling tre lously , as if a living con stella tion had fallen there and sunk to the bottomof the aerial ocean . For an instant I u the m et- q ailed at sight of the s ooth , j black slopes terrifica ll ee of the cone , gliding , y st p , down into the gloom until , like shadows , they vanished ; but the glory of the surrounding heavens soon blended all u sensations into that of s blimity alone . ul e u Beyond the G f of Er b s , in the direction of the

e e e e e- Strait of M ssina , wh r mod rn guid books show the e s ats of Scylla and Charybdis , and above the m m u di ly visible ountains of Calabria , rose a ref lgent ’

. a procession First , the st rry prow of Argo , Jason s e e e ship , in which he chas d the Gold n Fl ece ; then a ; e C nis Mmajor , with blinding Sirius in his jaws th n e ewe e Orion , agnific nt with his j ls as I had n ver him a e e beheld ; Erid nus , winding in str ams of gold n u u ze t th stars ; and Ta r s , abla wi h the splendor of e

Hyades and the Pleiades . Parallel with this train of celestial pageants was stretched the lu strous scarf A S T R O N O M Y W I T H T H E N A K E D E Y E

of the Galaxy , and from another point on the horizon e tower d the Zodiacaml Light , a gleaming portent , with Jupiter glowing cal and steady at its apex , as if Zeu s on Olympu s were presiding again over the gods and hermoes . The whole sky was a pictured scroll of Greek ythology , while the land beneath it was “ ” — more Greek than Greece itself the land of The ri us e e e oc t , Amaryllis , P rs phon , Lacon , Daphnis , Em l n e the doc es . pe Yonder , just u d r the coils of celes the e e tial Hydra , was slope where the he dl ss com u e the e the panions of Ulysses h nt d mox n of sun , and e a e e e e e I kn w th t wh n daylight ca I should p rc iv , u the e e e the j st at dg of the sea th re , black rocks that Polyphemus is said to have hurled after the escaping ship of the cu nning hero who had blinded ’ him the u . e Towards so th , with Jason s ship glitt r ’ e u e ing abov it , lay ancient Syrac s , with Arethusa s c m ee e. magi fountain , and the r dy ho e of Cyan u - e e Southwest , nder the star shod f et of P gasus , was e m the sacred hill of Enna , and the n cro antic lake where Aidoneu smcarried off Persephone to the under e e u h r world , until D et r fo nd and rescued e . Thus the memories that rose in crowds fromthe storied e e w n land hidd n b low , ans eri g to the emblazoned e e ff leg nds writt n with starry fires overhead , a orded an hour of romantic contemplation without a parallel i n m i y exper ence. It is no small part of the charm and interest of the constellations that they a nnounce and prefigure the e . S rin . summ er u s asons p g, , a tumn and winter e i each has its charact ristic stars , wh ch keep step the with year . When the early snows whiten the 6 K N O W I N G T H E C O N S T E L L A T I O N S

e e me hills in D c mber co s , with the jingling of sleigh w u him e . s b lls , Orion Who o ld not wi h to know as he m the e e - cli bs ast rn sky , scintillant with star gems , darting vivid sparks of varied color that affect the eye as the bells do the ear ! The coru scating land firmm scape and the spangled a ent are in accord . e umme w Orion , in a listl ss s r night , hen the face of the earth is dark and still , and the starlight falls u witho t a ripple in the languid air , would be deprived

e . n of half his spl ndor Orion , decli ing to the west in e e e a spring v ning wh n the snows are gone , the trees e the m m e e hav begun to feel the sap , and isty at osph r w the m w n is dro sy with aro a of the a akeni g earth , is a dethroned monarch . The mighty star fields surrounding himare then like the scenes of a theatre after pallid dawn steals in upon them. But the charm of the heavens does not cease at the advent of spring —the wand passes to another set wn n of constellations . The vernal sky has its o e m e e chant ent . As the arth puts on its earli st verdure the mild light of Virgo appears in the east , and silvery Spica beams in placid rivalry with the gold orange radiance of Arcturus hanging below the great ’ handle of the Dipper , between the sheen of Berenice s

Hair and the linked pearls of the Northern Crown . The constellations that rise at the opemning of the year , instead of the ostentation and agnificence e displayed in the hiemal sky , possess a quiet b auty

. e that harmonizes with the season Wh n , in an April n m or May night , the sedate Virgi glows a id her well e e e ord r d stars , like an abb ss surrounded by white u e re veiled nuns , how exq isit ly the celestial mood A S T R O N O M Y W I T H T H E N A K E D E Y E

! on e who has not sponds to the brooding planet N 0 m e ul e the ca n ha d the experience i agin , or f ly cr dit , thrill of pleasure that comes to the lover of the stars with his earliest glimpse of the constellations that e e announce the morning of the year . It is a joy d ep r than that felt by the discoverer of the first rhodora mu e a re c in the woods . Those const llations as h a part of the season and as prophetic of its delights as are the scented air and the pied meadows . And with summer arrives yet another empyreal pageant as gorgeou s as that which then decks the

the . teeming surface of globe Scorpio , sprawling

he fire- over t horizon , with red Antares flaring on em u his carapace , se s to b rn with ardentmreflection of the torrid su nset . The Crown hangs la bent in the e e e the e z nith , and , f stoon d across ori nt sky , like ee u m e m e sh ts of s m er lightning arr sted and otionl ss , h m t e . u e hangs Milky Way Vega , as p r a dia ond as c w — e the sky ontains , glo s among the silver g mmed strings of the Lyre , while the centaur , Sagittarius , lazily draws his arrow to the head and takes his

e - e e the nev r ending aim , wh r Galaxy spreads brightest e e above the southern verg of the sle ping earth . e Then on comes wint r once again , and the snort ing blasts of December a re not more characteristic of the boreal season than is the return of those con stellation s whose distinguishing feature is the keen e brilliance of th ir stars , startling and piercing the eye with incessant darts . The quality of the sidereal f radiations is now dif erent . Aldebaran in Taurus is red , and so is Antares in Scorpio , but the redness of e em Aldebaran is that of a polish d g , while the redness 8

A S T R O N O M Y W I T H T H E N A K E D E Y E

h e , siv eness as do t e princ s , dukes , marquises and earls of a terrestrial nobility . Indeed , according to n the more strict photometry developed in the closi g e ei ht decade of the nineteenth c ntury , there are g star magnitudes embraced within the range of the naked eye , two grades having been added above the old first magnitude . The highest , or brightest , is the tude zero n ega tive first magni . Then comes the mag r n itude, and below that follow , in order , the fo mer d first seco , third , fourth , fifth , and sixth magni , n m tudes . Between one agnitude and its next neighbor e a rox i the increase , or decr ase , of brightness is pp

— f - - - i e m a . . ately two and half times (accurately , , a star of the first magnitude is two - and - a - half times u - - a as bright as one of the second magnit de , six and quarter times as bright as one of the third mag n i u x s o - t de and on , a sixth magnitude star having only one - one - hun dredth as mu ch light —m as a first agnitude one . Standards of the first magnitude are Aldebaran and Altair . The zero mag nitude is two - and - a - half times as bright as the first magnitude . Arcturus is a representative of this rank .

- - a - The negative first magnitude , two and half times brighter yet , has but one member , the princely u Siri s , and he even exceeds the ideal standard of a his own rank , his ctual magnitude being The actual brilliance of Sirius exceeds that of a first- standard magnitude star about nine times . Next to Sirius in brightness is Canopus , in the Southern Hemisphere , invisible frommmost of the United States . u l According to some esti ates , Canop s shou d be admitted to the negative first magnitude , but he I O K N O W I N G T H E C O N S T E L L A T I O N S would occupy a place in that order far below

Sirius . But it is not only in brightness that the stars differ one from another . Their variations in color are only less striking . Even those that are called white show surprising chromatic variations . Both S Vega and irius are reckoned as white , but the former has a distinct tinge of blue and the latter a

- d r . s sha e of g een Rigel is al o a blue white star , but the intermixture of azure is less pronounced than in

Vega . Procyon is white of a yellowish tinge , Capella is creamy white , and Spica silvery . On the other u hand , Arctur s , Betelgeuse , Aldebaran , and Antares a re d all spoken of as red , or rud y , yet the first is yellowish - red (in some states of the air simply light

l - is ye low) , the second is topaz hued , the third a light rose , and the fourth is the color of fire . The atmosphere has much to do with the color a nd aspect of the stars . Faint sta rs are best seen near the

uff . zenith , where their light s ers the least absorption

Very bright stars , on the contrary , often seem most a brilliant when ne r the horizon , where , although they are robbed of half their light , their rays play with amazing vivacity , and dart prismatic flashes . Prosper Henry pointed out the fact that when a star close to the horizon is viewed with a telescope its a image , inste d of being a point , appears in the form of a little vertical spectrum , or band of prismatic i colors , the red , as the least refrangible , be ng at the top . Then there is a wonderful charm in the grouping of the stars , and this gave rise to the invention of the I I A S T R O N O M Y W I T H T H E N A K E D E Y E

constellations . In their assemblages they set off and ’ heighten one another s attractions . Anybody can verify the truth of X avier de Maistre ’s remark that when one fixes his eyes on a particular star all of its m i neighbors see to scint llamte more vividly , as if to divert his attention to the . The shampes of many constellations give a geometmrical enjoy ent to the eye . The suggestion of so e law of connection among their stars also sets the imagination at work . The impression thus produced recalls what Hum boldt says of the singular mental influence of the m r for s of such lands as Italy , Sicily , and G eece , and of such bodies of water as the Black and Caspian seas . The Belt of Orion , with its surprising straight ness and the notable equality of its stars , which e res mble carefully matched gems set on a bar , pro duces an ineffaceable impression which seems as won derful the hundredth time of viewing as the first . Even the most uncultivated minds are affected by the air of comradeship which some star groups

e . xhibit Thus the Rev . W . M . Beauchamp relates that the Onondaga Indians have a story that the s e Pleiade are a group of merry children who onc , with shouting and laughter , danced away into the ul sky , and co d never find their way back to the earth .

Scorpio , with its curiously curved lines of stars , arrests ’ e verybody s attention , and with its look of crawling e along just on the verge of the horizon , it giv s an c e un anny fe ling , for there is hardly another con stel lation whosme appearance so completely corresponds with its na e . e e e e R gard d in their broad r r lations and contrasts , 1 2 K N OW I N G T H E C O N S T E L L A T I O N S the stars as a whole possess a marvellous harmony

ffe . u of e ct It is the true m sic of the spheres , for who shall say that the universally felt influence of the star - bedight heavens does not arise from our in stin ctiv e e , but as yet un ducated , perception of a con “ ” cord which is not of sweet sounds , but of light and color , whose range of vibrations in the ether infinitely exceeds that of sonant oscillations in the atmosphere ! It has been half- seriou sly suggested that man may some time develop a new aesthetic capacity which will f enable him to enjoy mthe choral e fects of color , and that this lucent har ony , or prismatic music , will ff e a ord a more exquisit pleasure , and a more com lete p expression of the deeper emotions , than is now ff o ered by the harmonies of sound , based as they are on a smaller range of sensation , and addressed to a less perfect and comprehensive sense . The music of nomri so et c the spheres is photometric not , and the canticles of the stars are analogous to the wild melodies of nature . If we choose to exercise our fancy we may imagine that on some planet more advanced or more happily situated this noblest form has l of artistic expression been fu ly developed , and that there the sparkling heavens pour forth a soundless music as yet unappreciated by our dull senses . c Yet , while the de laration of Aratus , that the heavens from all quarters speak to man , is universally no true , there is doubt that the proportion of man kind acquainted with the s ta rry heavens and listen ing to their voices is smaller to—day than it was two thousand years ago . As astronomy has become more e scientific in its aims and m thods , it has drifted almost 1 3 A S T R O N O M Y W I T H T H E N A K E D E Y E

be beyond the ken even of educated people . It has l a come a science apart , cu tivated by a select few , p pealing occasionally to the Sense of wonder in the mul titude by some striking discovery , but upon the whole pursuing its way in solitary grandeur along unfamiliar

. paths , and uncomprehended except by experts I From the popular point of V iew this S a great pity .

As the astronomers , immersed in their technical labors , have ceased to dwell upon the beauties and wonders of the midnight sky which is visible to every u body , the p blic , lacking an incentive and guidance , has lost interest in the heavens . Yet the universe is there for everybody to see , and no observatory , no instruments , and no mathematics are needed to enable any person to enjoy the immensely ennobling and uplifting pleasure afforded by the contemplation of the stars and constellations that pass every night over our heads . It is only necessary to look . men The object of this book , then , is to recall busy to that branch of astronomy which is within every ’ body s reach , which was once the principal branch , and the basis of all , and which becomes only the more interesting as the scientific aspects of the subject are developed . But with these strictly scientific aspects we are here little concerned . Let us get back to

- astronomy as the first star gazers knew it , and with nl — o y the aid which they had that of their eyes . There is nothing that possesses a more fascinating t interest , outside the prac ical concerns of life , than the constellations . Yet they have been virtually banished from modern celestial charts . There is ful n nothing more beauti in nature , and nothi g that I 4 K N O W I N G T H E C O N S T E L L A T I O N S

appeals more powerfully to the imagination , than the fifteen or twenty great stars that from time imme morial have borne individual names ; yet modern books on astronomy seldom take any trouble to enable their readers to recognize and know them . There is nothing more captivating to thought than — — the planets Jupiter , Mars , Venus , Saturn those mysterious worlds that circle with us around the sun ; yet , outside a few observatories , who ever watches ! them , who knows even where to look for them It is quite time that an attempt should be made to correct so lamentable a state of affairs . I have been simply amazed by information which has recently come to me of the manner in which astronomy is regarded in our institutions of learning . More and more it is neglected . The public schools do not teach the constellations , do not tell their pupils l where , or when , they shou d look for Sirius , or

Aldebaran , or Arcturus , or at what time they can see Bootes leading his hun ting-dogs over the zenith in ”

a . their leash of sidere l fire To the vast majority , to nine hundred and ninety - nine out of every thou e sand , all these names are mer Greek . The colleges and universities teach their students nothing pertain in s gto the great univer e beyond the earth , except a few m ul ae athematical form , forgotten as soon as learned . the Possibly this is unavoidable , in view of constant

m - encroach ent of the trade school spirit , but it is not irremediable . As long as men have eyes to see and minds to think , it needs but a word , a hint , a glance , to turn them with rapt and ever increasing attention to the wonders overhead . 1 5 CONSTELLATIONS ON TH E M ERI D IAN I N JANU ARY

The meridian is a n ima gi n a ry lin e tra vers in g the sky from n orth to sou th a n d pa ss in g throu gh the pole of the h ea ven s ' n ea the e-s a a n d th rou h the zen the n e a c ( r pol t r) , g ith , poi t x tly ' m a ea en a s a c sses the e n is over the observer s h d . Wh t r ro ridi it equ idi sta n t fromits risin g a n d settin g poin ts an d is sa id to m a n h h sun is on he e T e s a cu m n n t e t . l in a te. At oo ridi t rry s phere (rega rdin g the h ea ven s a s the s h ell of a hollow globe s een m a wo a a n u n s on e u n a the cen e h s t e e fro tr ) pp r t r vol tio , di r l , ’ cau se the ea s a n on its a s a n d the e a n n u a d by rth rot tio xi , oth r l , ’ ca u s h a r u n a u n the su n In c n se u en ce ed by t e e rth s ev ol tio ro d . o q of the a n n u a l revolu tion of the hea ven s the con stella tion s seem mh a s n a h a an ce s w t e e s n ew n e a ea e t e to dv lo ly fro t , o pp ri g bov ea mn w n s sa s e n z n ea c e e ea e i n t r hori o h o th , hil old o di pp r b h d the wes e n z n u s se a ccu a a ce on h m t r hori o . Th tho th t o py pl t e e a m n r h mmn mridi a t an y given hou r a e n ot t e sa e fro o th to n In h n a n r o th . thi s book t e co stell tio s a e described in th e e h me a mn m e a a on t e n a e n a t a u ord r of th ir rriv l ridi o th ft r o th , bo t ’ n n e c h h m m c in t e e en n in t e e he n t . n i o lo k v i g , iddl of o th O ly those lyin g between the n orth pole an d the sou th ern hori zon a re es c e a s se s u a e e w the e ma u sua d rib d , tho it t d b lo pol y lly be better seen a t m an e other ti .

’ F you go out-of- doors at nine o clock on a clear evening in the middle of January you will see1 e overhead , and not far from the z nith , if your lati

1 6

C O N S T E L L A T I O N S I N JA N U A R Y

ude is ea i t n r that of New York , a brilliant wh te sta r , u of a of the first magnit de , and remark ble bea uty . It is the star celebrated in fable from remote antiquity n a a under the ame of Capella ( Aurig ) . At its great so a elevation , near the centre of the st rry dome , its light falls through an atmosphere so steady that it shows hardly a twinkle . Once in a while a lazy ripple seems to pass on the surface of the atmospheri c fl ocean , the star ashes like a tipped mirror , and then immediately resumes its quiet beaming . The name

l . l Capel a , as Mr A len says in his exhaustive work Sta r N a mes a nd Their M ea nin s on g , signifies the

- little She goat . It is a curious fact that in many s widely eparated parts of the earth , and in widely separated times , Capella has borne this designation . Not only the Greeks and the Romans called it the Kid , but the ancient Peruvians , who knew nothing a of Europe n or Asiatic mythology , had a similar a name for it in their langu ge , Colca , and they con w ff nected it ith the a airs of shepherds . For them instead of shining overhead it appea red far down in the north ; but remembering that in the southern um c hemisphere , s mer orresponds with our winter , it ’ is evident that the time of Capella s culmination cor responded with the season when the shepherds would be watching their flocks . Modern research has proved that Capella is a star n of imme se actual magnitude , exceeding our sun in a ewcomb brightness , ccording to Professor N , about one hundred and twenty times . It belongs to that very strange class of stars known as spectroscopic n bi aries , which term means that they consist each of I 7 A S T R O N O M Y W I T H T H E N A K E D E Y E two stars so close together that no telescope is able to separate their disks , although their duplicate nature is proved by the periodic splitting of their spectro scopic lines as they revolve swiftly about their com u mon centre of gravity . The period of revol tion of the Capella system is one hundred and four days . The principal star almost exactly resembles the sun m the e in its spectru , while companion resembl s Pro u cyon , a star f rther advanced in the order of devel opmen t. Capella is the leading star of the constellation u A riga , the Charioteer , or the Wagoner , which covers ° e 0 a large spac in the sky , about 4 from east to west ° 0 and 3 from north to south , and contains twenty stars fromthe first to the fifth magnitude inclusive . u A riga is a very ancient constellation , its origin being e lost in antique myths . It has been represent d for ages under the figure of a mighty man seated on the

Milky Way , and carrying a kid on his left arm . e n Cap lla shi es in the heart of the imaginary kid . mAbout ten degrees east of Capella is the second M en kalin a . agnitude star , (B) This star marks the right shoulder , or upper part of the right arm , of the ri M n k i e . e al na Cha ote r , like Capella , is a spectro but scopic binary , its period is only four days , the spectroscopic lines appearing split every alternate night . The right foot of the Charioteer rests upon u u the tip of the northern horn of Ta rus the B ll , - e , B r the second mamgnitud star El Nath ( Tau i) , being shared in co mon by the two constellations . A

- t L third magnitude star , Io a () , about ten degrees ’ northwest of El Nath , shines in the Charioteer s left 1 8 C O N S T E L L A T I O N S I N JA N U A R Y

- o . ma l e f ot Three fourth gnitude stars , Epsi on () , h Zeta (C) , and Eta (n) , w ich form a little triangle a few degrees southwest of Capella , indicate the Ki d . left hand of the Charioteer , which supports the This little starry triangle is a sort of signboard to insure the recognition of Capella by beginners . A i - th rd magnitude star , Theta about ten degrees M enkalin a fifth south of , with a fourth and two i ’ magn tude stars near it , marks the Charioteer s right hand , resting on his right knee , and bearing a long -d upright whipstock , the wind riven thongs of which are represented by a scattered group of half a dozen fifth-magnitude sta rs with a few of the sixth magnitude among them . All of these bear the name of the

r n . Greek letter Psi (q ) , with disti guishing numerals The head of the Charioteer bears a fourth- magnitude X i star , Delta with a fifth , above it . The as s a Milky Way p se across the lower half of Aurig ,

Capella lying on its northern edge . The mythological history of Auriga is not very n l clear . Allen , who thi ks that the conste lation originated among the ea rly s tar- gazers of the Eu hra tes al Nirnroud p v ley , mentions a sculpture from on which the figures of the Charioteer and the Goat or Kid are represented almost as they are drawn - S r to day . ometimes a chariot has also been epre sented here . By the Greeks Auriga was imagined a to represent Erechtheus , son of Heph estus and

Athena , who was fabled to have invented the four a u horse ch riot , and to have been rewarded by Ze s with

a place in the sky . The Romans followed this idea

I 9 A S T R O N O M Y W I T H T H E N A K E D E Y E

Close by the Kneeling B ull behold a tee who a e i The Ch rio r , g in d by sk ll of old ma d ea e a s ee he e His na e n h v n , first his st ds drov d i a e e fl w ee ee a n . With ying h ls , s n nst ll d by Jov

Seiss Gos el in the Sta rs Dr . Joseph A . , in his p , will have it that the Greeks were greatly puzzled i by the constellation of Auriga , not understand ng n its origin , and that they o ly preserved here a tra ditional figure which had existed long before their o time , and which represents the G od Shepherd who the was to lay down his life for sheep ; in other words , a symbol foretelling the coming of Christ . In the zodiac of Bendera there is a representation of Auriga Sei a s . ss which , Dr interprets it , holds a sceptre , the upper part showing the head of a lamb and the lower part the form of a cross . This constellation affords a good field for the opera 1 glass or telescope . The star 4 is a pretty double of m - - - a t agnitudes five and seven and half distance apar ,

e . colors , pale yellow and bluish or gr enish The star 4 (also kn own as 2 61 6) is a closer double ; dis 6” m red tance , agnitudes , five and nine ; colors , pale

(although some say green) and light blue . The star 1 2 8 u 4 ( 45) is do ble ; magnitudes , five and six ; dis ” e 8 The u 8 tanc , cl ster (2 3 ) is very beautifu l with a e t lescope . A number of its stars imitate roughly the form of a cross . Several other less brilliant clusters are scattered over this part of the constellation .

' Camelopardalts

(C H AR T II)

u Between A riga and the pole lies the faint , strag 20

A S T R O N O M Y W I T H T H E N A K E D E Y E

ological romance . Nothing can be more beautiful than these stars seen high in the mid - heaven on a ’ e e clear , frosty wint r s night , in the absenc of bright moonshine , and when there are no powerful electric or other lights near to dim the vision . The gem ff like. rays of Aldebaran are splendidly set o by the the c glitter of smaller stars , whi h seem to have been arranged by the hand of a bijou tier to enhance the splendor of the principal j ewel . Besides Aldebaran the group contamins fimv e stars of the fourth magni tude , two of the al ost touching each other in the we e the m lo r arm of the lett r ; four of fifth agnitude , and half a dozen of the sixtmh . And all around the sky is rich with scattered ge s . They have always been connected in the popular imagination with the e e e e e weath r , and sp cially with show ry or rainy w ather , “ H ” the poets calling them the rainy yades , the “ ”

e e . . m wat ry Hyad s , and so on Mr Allen re arks that thmey are among the few stellar objects mentioned by Homer , and Pliny said that they caused storms and te pests on both land and sea . This probably originated in their rising at the time when stormy e e e w ath r usually b gins . The letter V j u st referred to has its three cor e u ners mmarked by Aldebaran , Epsilon ( Ta ri) , and Gam a (7 Tauri) . Epsilon marks the top of the the mm n northern branch of V , and Ga a its poi t . About half- way between Epsilon and Gamma are a of the the e be pair stars , larger , of fourth magnitud , 8 . m ing Delta ( Tauri ) Its companion , also someti es e e the m u m call d D lta , is of fifth agnit de , and they for an attractive combination . Occupying a similar 2 2 C O NS T E L L A T I O N S I N J A N U A R Y

b h e position in the other ranc of the V , betw en m a re u - e Aldebaran and Gam a , two fo rth magnitud the e re stars , much closer together , Th tas It quires a good eye satisfactorily to separate these fifth- stars , and there is a magnitude star near them which increases the beauty of the sight . A little southeast of Aldebaran the eye catchesmanother small m . s pair , of the fifth agmnitude , the Sig as () The Sigmas are only seven inutes of arc apart , less than

- one fifth of the apparent diameter of the moon . n The smaller , fai ter , and more compact group of n m the Pleiamdes is eve more fa ous . They shine in poetry al ost as they shine in the sky . Everybody ’ knows by heart Tennyson s lines about themin

Locksley Hall , as well as the verse of Job in which me i their na s so poetically woven . They are men i n t o ed . . . in the fragments of Sappho Sir G C Lewis , Astron omo t e n n ts h A cie s in his y f , ays that their m ' lezn na e evidently comes from the Greek word p , to

sail , because their rising was synchronous with the

opening of the season of navigation in the Greek seas . l They comprise one star (A cyone) , of the third mag nitu de ;one (Maia) of the fourth ; four (Atlas , Electra , a eta Merope , and T yg ) of the fifth , or near the fifth ; a and one (Cel eno) of rather less than the sixth , so nl that o y a sharp eye can see it . This is usually “ ” e called the Lost Pleiad , but that nam has also n the bee applied to Pleione , another member of

group too faint for ordinary vision . There is also a

‘ double , Asterope , which lies a little below the limit lu cida of ordinary eyesight . Alcyone , the , is famous as the supposed centre of revolution of the starry 2 3 A S T R O N O M Y W I T H T H E N A K E D E Y E

w ad im hea ven s , hich the German astronomer M ler a gin ed that he had detected . Astronomy knows no

e . such centre of revolution , if any xists Within recent years marvellous photographs of the en Pleiades have be made , showing this group of stars to be embedded in a wonderful mass of nebulous ma t

ul . ter , the most sing ar in aspect of any in the heavens u e This wonderful neb la , or , rath r , mass of inter a e the twisted nebul e , is not visibl to naked eye , and but little of it can be seen with telescopes . Yet the strange fact exists that every observer seems to feel that there is something else in the Pleiades besides the star rays . It is a kind of glimmer which is not — or starlight , at least , does not impress the eye as . but n lumin o e e s starlight , rather as an i d finit , misty ity forming a background against which the stars a p ’ pear . The descriptive tru th of Tennyson s line about the Pleiades , when he says that they

e ke a wa m fi efl e a e in a e a Glitt r li s r of r i s t ngl d silv r br id ,

impresses everybody who has ever seen them . The meaning of this intermingling of stars and nebulous matter may be that the Pleiades are a group of suns in which the formative process is but partially com leted m p , a large part of the original chaotic atter e remaining still uncombin d and uncondensed . Besides themtwo great clusters just described , Taurus contains a nu ber of notable stars . El Nath or Beta (B) Tauri has already been mentioned as common to

Taurus and Auriga , since it indicates the place where ’ the foot of the latter res ts u pon the tip of the Bull s 2 4 C O N S T E L L A T I O N S I N J A N U A R Y

. s c horn El Nath is of the e ond magnitude , and ul appears sing arly beautiful when carefully observed , a on account of its pure whiteness . Many other p pa rently white stars are seen to be slightly colored when compared with El Nath . About nine degrees below El Nath , in the direction of Orion , is a third ti magnitude star , Zeta (C) Tauri , marking the p of the southern horn . Between the two horns , and in the top of the head , are four or five fourth and fif th magnitude stars , and several of the sixth mag n itude i , which mpart a glimmering beauty to the ’ scene , and justify Virgil s epithet of the golden l ab horns of Taurus . The body of the Bu l ends ru tl u s p y j t west of the Pleiades , and the old myth which represents Taurus as the bull into which Zeus off transformed himself in order to carry Europa , w u fi a c s imming with her through the sea , s f ciently co umnts for the invisibility of the hind quarters of the ani al , which must be supposed immersed in the waves . But his breast and forefeet are visible , and contain several moderately bright stars , which may be found on the chart . Taurus contains one star of the first magnitude ; one of the second ; three of the third ; ten of the fourth ; twenty- seven of the fifth ; and a crowd of the sixth . s i Tauru is rich w th myths and legends . The identification of this constellation with the bull of

Europa has already been mentioned . It seems to have been regarded as a bull in all of the ancient

Mediterranean countries , and also in countries far dista nt ' from Europe , and the natal lands of Greek 3 2 5 A S T R O N O M Y W I T H T H E N A K E D E Y E

d n mythology . The Indians of the Amazon , accor i g A to some of the early explorers in South merica , e called it the Ox . In Egypt it was identifi d with

- m u irus l e Os , the bu l god , although ther is so e q estion

as to the time when this identification occurred . It

may have been subsequent to the Greek legend .

But , at any rate , the constellation always played a n important part in the Egyptian religious cere

monies connected with the zodiac , and there was a belief in Egypt that the human race sprang into

being at a time when the sun was in Taurus . It seems also to have been identified by the Egyptians

ul - with Apis , the b l god of the Nile , and in this form , ll m a as Mr . A en suggests , it y have been known before l A the bui ding of the great pyramids . momng the Chinese , when white men first visited the , this e constellation was known as the White Tig r , but after the Jesu it Fathers had introduced occidental

ideas its name in China became the Golden Ox . The “ ” idea of whiteness in connection with Taurus

seems to have had a very early origin . This prob ’ ably arose from the legend that Europa s bull was u ul snowy white , for the great ruler of Olymp s co d not be expected to turn himself into an ordinary brindle beast when he was going to carry on his back the beau tiful rival of his qu een ! But the myths pertaining to Taurus centre par ticularly around the two groups of the Hyades and

the Pleiades . I have mentioned above the charm ing legend of the Onondaga Indians concerning the

Pleiades . This legend brilliantly expresses their po e e bu t tic attractiven ss , there are many older ones , 2 6 C O N S T E L L A T I O N S I N J A N U A R Y

found everywhere in the world , which show that the Pleiades have always impressed mankind with a sense of mystery . From ancient Egypt and Chaldea to the shores of the Northern Ocean ; from Japan to Australia and the island groups of the South Pacific ;from the Great Lakes of North America to Mexico and Peru , traces have been found of a strange worship of this group of stars . They have been connected in a most remarkable manner with u u legends of a del ge , and their c lt has often assumed the form of a festival of the dead , as among the E M gyptians . The Spanish conquerors found in ex ico a tradition that the world was once destroyed l when the Pleiades cu minated at midnight . The Jampanese Feast of Lanterns has been supposed by so e to be a survival of man ancient rite relatinmg to the Pleiades , and comme orating a vast cala ity which overwhelmed the race of man at some period in the remote past when that group of stars hap

pened to occupy a conspicuous position in the sky . There seems to be no doubt that one of the mysterious passages constructed through the heart of the pyra mid of Cheops was intended to point to the Pleiades at the moment when they passed their upper cul e mination at the hour of midnight . It hasmven been s sugge ted that the Europa myth , already entioned , may have originated in the tradition of a connection between the Pleiades and an apparently universal e n e delug , since it i troduces the id a of a flood of waters through which the Bull is struggling with

more than half his body submerged . The Druids

also had a cult of the Pleiades , or at any rate of the 2 7 A S T R O N O M Y W I T H T H E N A K E D E Y E

constellation Taurus , and , in connection with this ,

Mr . Allen mentions an old Scotch myth concerning m u the Candle as B ll , which is said to appear at h e t e . twilight , rising in the ast and sailing across sky But the most definite of the Pleiades legends is that which connects themwith the seven daughters “ m e of Atlas , the Atlantid ny phs . Of thes Alcyone mme e is the chi f , and is so eti s called the light of the ” e Pleiades . Maia was both the eld st and the most e beautiful of the daughters , although her star is l ss brilliant than that of her great sister . Electra was h m e D a rdan os e t e oth r of , the found r of Troy , and the legend avers that upon the destru ction of that city she covered her face and has never since shone e as bright as before . Merop is also said once to have faded in shame at the recollection of her having e ul marri d a mortal . But in this she was not sing ar among her immortal sisters . Taygeta was the patron e e a n e godd ss of Sparta , sinc her son Laced emon fou d d u that redo btable little state . The other two sisters e a were C l eno and Asterope , both of whose stars are m m e faint , and one of the , as already ention d , double . e mem An ighth ber of the group , hardly visible to the

e e e . m nak d y , is Pleione She was the other of the “ seven sisters and her star may be the true Lost e e e Pleiad of the l g nd , rath r than either Electra e e c e me or M rop , be aus od rn spectroscopic inves tiga tiomn has shown that Pleione bears evidence of a e . e te porary charact r Atlas , the fath r , also has his e e star , which shines a little b low Pl ione , but is mu . On c m ch mbrighter the a co panying little chart e of w be u the na s the Pleiades ill fo nd . 2 8

A S T R O N O M Y YV I T H T H E N A K E D E Y E

e saints , s curely supported by the terrible Judge , and e who , together with the holy ang ls , whom they are m infliction s like , thus ove with Him and His upon ” a guilty world . ’ m Seiss s Perhaps Dr . interpretation has as uch n foundationmas the older myths , but certai ly it lacks their char . In a small telescope Alcyone presents a ca ptiv a t e e ing sight , on account of the pres nc of two minute stars forming a little triangle with it . Aldebaran , remarkable , as already pointed out , for its pale ruby -m l n A color , has a dista t tenth agnitude companion . fir - debaran is one of the standard st magnitude stars . x ri The star Lambda () is a rapid va able , changing fromabout the third to abou t the fourth magnitude u once in every four days . Abo t one degree north of the e west the star Zeta (C) , at the tip of south rn e horn , is the celebrated Crab N bula , which is only e e l e to be se n with a v ry powerfu telescope . It pres nts x an e traordinary appearance when photographed .

Orion

(C H AR TS V AN D IX)

Southeast of Taurus flashes the Golconda of the ” - The heavens the brilliant constellation Orion . celestial equator passes through the centre of this e m const llation , almost touching the northern ost star

- e . The first mn in the B lt two great ag itude stars , Betelgeuse and Rigel— the former something over e ten degrees above , and the latt r an equal distance below the three stars forming the Belt —seembal an ced against each other . Their splendid contrast 30 C O N S T E L L A T I O N S I N J A N U A R Y

a nd of color , the dazzlinmg beauty of the stars in the Belt , which lie in an al ost true straight line , and are matched as perfectly in size and tint as selected e g ms , impart to this constellation the appearance of a gigantic piece of jewelry . There is nothing else in all the sky to equal it in splendor . The famous Southern Cross is far inferior to Orion as a celes tial spectacle . The unparalleled magnificence of the constellation of Orion lifts the name of a compara tiv ely obscure hero of Grecian mythology to a prom m e e e e i enee b fore which v n Z us , or Jupiter , and the other great Olympia n gods and goddesses dwindle to n i n e relative in sig fica ce. Jove is fabl d to have placed Orion among the stars as a reward of merit— as merit — was reckoned in those days but surely he cou ld never have looked upon the splendid constellation which e e he thus gave away , lsemhe would have reserv d it to enshrine his own fa e . Orion is one of the few constellations visible from all parts of the earth .

w h w e e No ea t e . , n r t ins b hold Orion ris His a rms extended mea su re h alf the skies ; w a w e n o e . ea a ce His strid l ss On rd ith st dy f , H e trea ds the boundless rea lms of st a rry sp a ce em On ea c a u e a a e h bro d sho ld r brightmg displ y d , a e Whil e three obliqu ely grace his ighty bl d . On a h 1 d ee e e a a re ee his v st \ mthr l ss r st rs s n , e a c m e in a e y ee Th ir r ys o ingl d silv r sh n , m ’ So far re oved tha t h a lf their splendor s lost .

Thu s gra ced a n d a rmed he lea ds the hea venly host . —ll/I a n ilius .

The traditional figure of Orion is that of a Hercules

standing with uplifted club to confront the Bull , who 31 A S T R O N O M Y W I T H T H E N A K E D E Y E is charging down upon him from the circle of the

zodiac . Thrown over his left arm like a shield is a ’ e lion s hide , r presented in the sky by a remarkable e bendin g row of small stars . Betelg use glitters on his right shoulder and Rigel on his left foot . His e the left shoulder is epaul tted with star Bellatrix , u not so bright as the other two , but still a bea ty .

It is sometimes called the Amazon Star . These three e are the leaders of the constellation , Betelgeuse b ing e a l is honored with the nam Alpha () , whi e Rigel m e e r Beta (B) , and B llat ix is Gam a Both Rig l and Betelgeuse are above the mstandard first magni tude , and approach the zero agnitude mentioned a l in Chapter I . Rigel is ordinarily the brighter , though it ranks in nomenclature below its rival . e Betelgeus is irregularly variable , and probably the first letter of the alphabet was assign ed to it at a n m time when it was in o e of its brilliant oods . It i attained a great degree of splendor in 1 894. S nce e 1 0 8 then it has be n fainter than Rigel , but now (9 ) 1 8 2 it is brighter . In 5 it was so brilliant that it was e the e u reckon d the brightest star north of q ator , e e bright r than either Capella , V ga , or Arcturus . Its e hue e c color is r markable , a rich topaz , spe ially when e The view d with a glass . color appears to vary with the i e e m ee br ghtn ss , the tone b co ing d per as the star w gro s fainter . This would indicate that it is enter e e e ingmupon the earli r stag s of xtinction . At present u it st be a sun of prodigious splendor . It is so distant that its parallax has not been certainly a scer tain ed , and from this it follows that it exceedsmour sun in intrinsic brilliance probably thousands of ti es , 32 C O N S T E L L A T I O N S I N J A N U A R Y

b ecause the sun at its distance would be invisible . e the The name B telgeuse is derived from Arabic , “ and means The Armpit of the Central One . e e e Rig l , which g n rally appears a little brighter than

Betelgeuse , is an equally distant and equally great s ss sun , pos e ing , according to Professor Newcomb , possibly ten thousand times the in trinsic brightness of our sun . Its color is invariably brilliant white with a tinge of blue , the color of a diamond of the first e e decre qu ality . If Bet lg use is a sun falling into pi e tude Rig l is one enjoying the heyday of solar youth . Bellatrix is of the standard second magnitude and i of a yellow sh color . It is often called Mirzam , a name , as we shall see , applied to one or two other e e stars . Ev n Betelgeuse was som times called Mirzam th n e by the Arabs , e word meani g Announcer or H rald . in The three stars the Belt , which is about three degrees in length , and which adds so strikingly to u e the picturesq ness of the constellation , are named , e n r spectively , beginning with the norther most , Min m i l . des taka , Alni am , and Al ita Their Greek letter g e e e nations , in the same ord r , are D lta Epsilon () , e and Zeta (C) . The first two are whit , the third e slightly y llowish . In the right knee is a star of the near third magnitude called Saiph , or Eta e e e e Saiph , Rig l , B llatrix , and B t lgeuse mark the n e e u e e cor rs of an irr g lar parallelogram , about ight en e the e degrees in its greatest l ngth , and having B lt in its centre . Below the Belt hangs the Sword made conspicuou s by a short row of stars of the fourth and fifth mag n itudes t e , the lowermost of which , Iota () , is rath r 33 A S T R O N O M Y W I T H T H E N A K E D E Y E

l brighter than fourth magnitude . The midd e star ,

Theta is involved in misty light . This light e e l comes from the celebrated Gr at N bu a of Orion , ment firma one of the most astonishing obj ects in the

- , of heaven . A good opera glass shows this nebula and in a telescope its appearance is wonderful beyond - m Eta description . A third agnitude star , below

Mintaka , and making a right angle with the line of h . t e Belt , indicates the handle of the Sword The Head of Orion is represented by a group of the e t , stars , som wha crowded in appearance principal mm w is m x ) e ber of hich La bda ( , of the third magni The the H a ka h tude. Arabs called head of Orion Al , mmn m a meaning a White Spot . Its gli eri g aspect y

e . be thought to j u stify this designation . Mr . Jul s A Colas has called attention to the curiou s fact that the full moon could be inserted in the little triangle of stars constituting the head of Orion . This is an instructive example of the exaggerated impression of size that the moon makes upon the eyes of persons me unaccusto d to astronomical observation , for few could be foun d willing to believe that its disk would not cover a far greater space. The uplifted Club of

Orion , and his right hand which holds it , contain five fifth - magnitude stars and several of the sixth n magnitude. The upper e d of the Club is almost on e h a lev l with the point of t e southern horn of Taurus . ’ e c a rm e The Lion s Hid whi h Orion b ars on his left , e s m u n lik a shield , contain fo r stars of the fourth ag i u e t d , twmo of the fifth , and about ten of the sixth , which i part to it a curious glimmer . Orion contains altogether two stars of the first 34 C O N S T E L L A T I O N S I N J A N U A R Y magnitude (really brighter than first magnitude) ; fou r of the second ; fou r of the third ; three of the fourth ; twenty - four of the fifth ; and a great number of the sixth . According to Burritt , there are seventy eight stars visible to the unaided vision , but most e so ey s do not distinctly discern many . An opera ' m e u glass r veals any h ndreds . e t mAs alr ady inmdicated , Orion is of great my hological fa e . A far ore brilliant constellation has been the assigned to him than to mgreat hero Herakles , e in con or Hercules , yet he plays co parativ ly an i the sp cuous and uncertain parmt in old myths . He is generally regarded as a ighty hunter of giganmtic sea . stature , so tall that he could wade the So e say he was the son of the Amazonian queen Euryale n and Neptu e , and boasted that the mightiest beasts of the earth could not successfully strive with him . him Then a scorpion bit , and when he died of the h m wound the gods placed i among the stars . Ac cording to another story , he was born , like Athena , w e u ithout a moth r , and became so famo s as a worker in iron that Vulcan employed him to build a palace e h under the sea . Still anoth r legend avers that e f e e (En o ion K of er d viol nce to the daughter of p , ing e of Chios , who thereupon put out his ey s when he u e was asleep . But V lcan , remembering his s rvices , sent him a guide to lead him to a place where he

' ra s restored could confront the rising sun , and its y e his sight . According to som , Orion had one of his own forgemen carry him on his back to meet the sun .

It is also said that Diana fell in love with him , thereby n the arousi g the jealousy of Apollo , who persuaded 35 A S T R O N O M Y W I T II T H E N A K E D E Y E

an goddess to a trial of skill at archery . Di a aimed a shaft at an object in the sea and pierced it . It was the head of Orion , who was amusing himself by wading far from shore . Having killed him with her arrow Diana had him transported to the heavens , , m a and made him outshine all his rivals there . We y m e et s ile at these l gends , y as products of the human imagination they cannot but interest us when we see them perpetu ated among the stars . But for his constellation Orion would never have been remem bered ; nmow he has a monument more lasting than the pyra ids . Among the Arabs the constellation Orion was AI si nifica known as Jauzah , a term of uncertain g e h tion . The translation Giant , Mr . All n t inks , l is incorrect . The Egyptians said that the sou of

Osiris rested in Orion . Among the Jews , Orion was e m The e the great hunt r Ni rod . anci nt Hindoos u said that he abased his own da ghter , the rosy w e e him Aldebaran , h reupon Sirius transfix d with e e ee e an arrow , repres nt d by the thr stars of the B lt . “ In English popular lore the Belt is called the Yard ” 1 The i and E 1. Ch nese knew Orion u nder the name i . . Se ss Gos el in the Sta rs of Shen For Dr , and his p , Orion stands as a prophetic representation of the great “ ” e m e e e mne y and d stroy r of d ath , and all the ancient a re e yths r handled to accord with this interpretation .

e e mIn tel scopic obj cts Orion is wonderfully rich . Most u d u e e fa o s of its o bl stars is Rig l . The companion e e - e e may be s en with a thr e inch t lescop . Its dis c c e ue m , ; n u e tanme is olor de p bl ag it de , ight e n a ost beautiful obj ct . Al ita (g) in the Belt is 36

A S T R O N O M Y W I T H T H E N A K E D E Y E m thirty degrees . It is so etimes divided , for con e e v enien ce of r ference , into two str ams , or reaches , the northern stream reaching wmestward from Orion the u ad to Cetus , and so thern strea , which , as alre y m e c re ark d , runs ba k nearly to the longitude of the e u sou rc . Many of the stars of Eridan s are strik u ingly arranged in pairs . Far down in the so thern e e hemisph re , invisible from latitud s north of Eridanu s possesses a splendid star of the first magni tude named Achernar . But for us of the northern e e e e h misph re its bright st star is Cursa , or B ta (B) ,

m e ee e . so e three d gr s northwest of Rigml in Orion m . The na e Cursa , Mr Allen explains , co es from an n Arabic word signifyi g the footstool , this star being regarded as a support for the left foot of Orion , on

z m- - c e e l whi h Rig l bla es like a g set shoe buck e . The mm al e r em star Ga a , also c l d Zau ak , se s to have been e e connected with the id a of a boat afloat in the str am . Cursa is rather above the third and Zaurak a little b elow that mmagnitu de . The other stars in the e e v north rn strea sp cially worthy of note are Nu () , the pair of the Omicrons Delta and Epsilon e are e e () , which n ar togeth r , Zeta (C) , and Eta (n) . Nearly three hu ndred naked—eye stars have been

e bu t - catalogu d in Emridanus , the ordinary star gazer will not notice ore than thirty or forty .

The c c e w a e E a u ea - e fl s or h d t rs of rid n s , t r swoll n ood Wel e ea the e ling b n th l ft foot of Orion . —A tus ra .

These lines of the old Greek poet indicate the connection which some of the ancients made between 38 C O N S T E L L A T I O N S I N J A N U A R Y

an d the ae Eridanus story of Ph ton , the ambitious e a e son of Phoebus , who p rsuaded his f th r to allow e one da the the a n d him to driv for y Chariot of Sun , Whose wild ride nearly resulted in the burning up of e c u e the earth , wh n his o rsers , feeling a feebl r hand e on the r ins , took the bits in their teeth and ran away Sun the with the , leaving track of Zodiac , and dash e ing so close to the earth that it began to smok . e the r s m e u Order was r stored by Jove , who smote p p tuon s youth with a thunderbolt and precipitated him “ e m into the riv r Eridanus , whose ny phs swelled the ” e in flood with th ir tears , shed mourning over the fate of their unhappy favorite . This story has been thought to contain the fading memory of some season of terrible drought , that brought famine and disaster to the Mediterranean lands . Jove is said to have u e t rned the we ping nymphs into poplars , the tree in now so abundant the valley of the Po (Eridanus) , and Ovid has commemorated their grief in these lines :

All the long night their mou rnful w a t ch they keep h a m all t e d a u the a n d wee And y st nd ro nd to b p .

Seiss the Dr . says Eridanus is River of the Judge , and refers to Daniel ’s vision of the four beasts that e m were cast into a fiery str a .

2 The star 3 Eridani is a superb double ; magnitudes , fif th and seventh ; distance , colors , topaz and 2 ul - 0 tra marine . The lower of the Omicrons ( ) is e e triple ; magnitudes , fourth , tenth , and l venth ; dis 82 e re tances , and A powerful telescop is 1 2 E is quired for this object . The star ridani a close binary ; magnitudes , fourth and eighth ; distance , 39 A S T R O N O M Y W I T H T H E N A K E D E Y E

Lepus

’ Below Orion s feet the H a re m Is cha sed eterna lly ; behind hi e ee a s in u u Siriu s ev r sp ds p rsmit , e af e a n d ey es hi a s And ris s t r ,

The eye is led to Lepus by the conspicuous aspect of its little quadrangles and triangles of stars lying just south of Orion . It contains two stars of the

Al a third magnitude , pha () and Beta (B) ; six of the r l e fou th , Mu (p ) , Epsi on () , Gamma Delta f Zeta (t) , and Eta (n) ; and ten of the fi th . Mu is u in sit ated in the eye of the animal , and Eta the tail .

Three fifth and one sixth magnitude stars , forming a little quadrangle , mark the ears , lying just below e Rig l . The lines already quoted from Aratus tell the al mythological story of Lepus . The hare has ways ’ beemn a favorite victim of the hunter s skill , and it see s to have been no less a favorite with Orion . ’ u The Great Dog , Siri s , is Orion s hound chasing the ’ Hare . In Dr . Seise s gospel mythology Lepus is intemrpreted as typifying the overthrow of the enemy of ankind , and he remarks that in Persian and Egyptian zodiacs the figure represented is that of e d e a serp nt trod en under the fe t of Orion . Tmhe star R Leporis is very remarkable for its intense cri son color , which has been compared with that of a drop of blood . It is variable , and the color is e The K deepest when the star is faint st . star appa x e () is double ; magnitud s , fifth and eighth ; distance , 40 CON ST E L L AT I ON S I N' JAN U AR Y

. t colors , pale yellow and blue The star Iota () l shows in the telescope a beautifu tinge of green , e n which is comparativ ly a rare color amo g the stars . - It has an eleventh magnitude companion , distant " about 1 3

Cola mba

u The constellation of Col mba , the Dove , south of

a Lepus , has one star , Alpha () , or Phaet , of the second magnitude , one , Beta (B) , of the third , and two ,

Epsilon (e) and Gamma of the fourth . It is said to represent the Dove that Noah sent forth from the ark . The constellation appears to have

first been named in the sixteenth century . Norman s t on om D awn o A r Lockyer , in his f y , avers that Phaet was particularly worshipped among the ancient

Egyptians , no less than a dozen temples having been oriented to this star . Mr . Allen records the curious “ Cha n in fact that the Chinese call Phaet gf , the Old ” Folks . CONSTELLATIONS ON TH E M ERI D IAN I N F EB RU ARY

' Cams Major (CHART IX)

OOK directly towards the south at nine o ’clock in the evening in the middle of February , and you — will see the brightest of all stars Sirius , the Dog e Star . It is situated about sixt en and a half degrees e e south of the c lestial quator , and is the leader of the constellation Canis Major , the Greater Dog .

In his fell ja w Flames a st a r a bove all oth ers w ith sea ring bea ms F e ce u a m u c e a . i r ly b rning , ll d by ort ls Siri s — A ra tus .

The name of this magnificent star has been de rived by some from the Greek word seapos spar ” “ klin g or scorching by others from the Egyptian Osiris All ; by Dupuis from the Celtic word Syr. readers of the Iliad will recall the passage in which Achilles is likened to this star as he rushes across the plain of Troy to encounter Hector at the gates :

H imthe ld m o a n a m s e e a s he e a c the Pri fir t b h ld , sp d ross o a i a z a s the a a c me a me , a t e pl n bl ing st r th t o th forth h rv st ti , 42

C O N S T E L L A T I O N S I N F E B R U A R Y a n d pla in seen his ra vs shine forth a mid the host of sta rs in the a e the the a w e ame men a c d rkn ss of night , st r hos n ll ’ ” — ’ i D o Iliad bk a a n d ea a . . a Or on s g , xxii . (L ng L f s Tr nsl tion) .

It is impossible to be guilty of exaggeration in i S ra speak ng of the splendid beauty of irius . Its dian ce is as indescribable as that of a great diamond . m e n As re ark d in the i troductory chapter , it stands s n in a class by it elf as far as mag itude is concerned . un i It has a h dred moods , accord ng to the state of i s . S is the atmo phere omet mes , when the air still , un flickerin the star burns with a steady white light , g, s like a core of electric fire ; then , as invi ible atmos heric p waves flow over it , its rays spread and leap i i i s and flutter , break ng nto keen pr smatic dart that almost cause the eye to wince . By turns it flames , s fl it sparkles , it glows , it blaze , it flares , it ashes , it contracts to a point of in tenses t brilliance or ex pands into a coruscating spectrum . There is some evidence for thin king that two thousand years ago its its prevailing hue may have been red . From cross - motion in space it has been calculated that six hundred centuries ago it was on the eastern border of the Milky Way ; now it is on the western border .

Since Siri u s crossed the Milky Wa y ea a e e Fu ll sixty thou sand y rs h v gon , Y et hou r by hou r an d da y by da y an d This tireless st a r speeds on on .

M ethinks he mu st be moved to mirth a a e e e By th t droll t l of G n sis , Which sa ys Crea tion h ad its birth For such a tiny world a s this ; 43 A S T R O N O M Y W I T H T H E N A K E D E Y E

To hear th a t One who fas hioned a ll em e e Those sola r syst s ti r on ti rs , ’ Expressed in little Adams fa ll The pu rpose of a million spheres !

m e n a e ere a c O pl n ts old , for or pl m who w ! a e ea a we W s l nt to rth , y d ll , kno s A godlike an d perfected ra ce

Tha t ha ils grea t Siriu s a s he goes . —E lcox W Wi . . .

But splendid beyond comparison as he appears to our eyes , Sirius is now known not to be , by any a means , the greatest sun in space . He owes his p parent primacy to his relative nearness . His dis tance is only a little over eight light - years (a light-year is the distance that a wave of light travels in a twelve

- i month) , or , say , forty seven tr llions of miles , and his i ntrinsic brilliance exceeds that of the sun only thirty e s times , whil such tars as Rigel and Betelgeuse may n be thousands of times brighter tha the sun . Sir ’

. i ris in G C . Lewis remarks that the time of S rius s g the e with sun was connected at an arly period , with e u the idea of int nse summer heat , and M ller con jectures that it was called the Dog Star on account of the prevalence of canine madnes s at that season . Some think that Sirius is identical with the Maz za roth of the book of Job . Its midnight cu lmina i e in tion , or pass ng of the m ridian , was celebrated the Eleusinian Mysteries . Four hundred years be fore the Christian era Sirius rose just before the su n the e di at the hottest season of y ar , whence the es ” ca n icn la rice the , or dog days , of Romans . The spectrum of Sirius is typical of a class known 44 C O N S T E L L A T I O N S I N F E B R U A R Y

he Si i h f as t r an stars , which include , perhaps , al of i i all that are v sible , and which are character zed by a brilliant white color and broad absorption bands , indicating the presence of enormous quantities of hydrogen . They are believed to represent a rela tiv el S y early stage of solar evolution , so that irius is to be regarded as a youthful giant among the suns . Siri After the princely splendor of us , the other stars of Canis Major seem insignificant and yet the constellation when well above the hor1 zon presents i r in a strik ng appearance . Si ius is the jaw of the

i . imag nary dog The second star of the constellation , a Bet (B) , or Mirzam , of near the second magnitude , is in one of the uplifted paws , towards Lepus . Delta e also called Wezen , and Epsilon () , also called the i Adara , are in the right flank , dog stand ng nearly a re upright on its hind legs . These stars of the full i second magnitude and brighter than M rzam . Zeta r i (C) , or Fu ud , in the right h nd paw , is of the third

e u . magnitud , as is Eta (n) , or Al dra , in the tail The

- e is last nam d star , however , rather the brighter of n a the two . There are seve st rs of the fourth magni tude and fourteen of the fifth , besides many of the s sixth . A comparatively empty space eparates Sirius with its group of attendants from the more southern stars of the constellation , so that the latter seem almost to form a constellation by thems elves . Just east and northeast of the tail of the Dog is a group of fourth and fifth magnitude stars which ’ mark the prow of Jason s Ship in the constellation l Argo . But the larger part of this conste lation lies too far south to be seen from the mean latitude of 45 A S T R O N O M Y W I T H T H E N A K E D E Y E

be es the the United States . It will d cribed in chapter i u on the southern stars . Its pr ncipal star , Canop s , ri e ranks next to Si us in brightn ss , and can be seen from the extreme southern parts of the United States . m S u It is al ost directly south of iri s , at a distance of abou t

The mythological history of Canis Major , as already indicated , is intimately related to that of Orion . Bu t the constellation , or at least its principal star , seems to have been associated with the idea of a dog among ancient nations unacquainted with the the myth of Orion . Thus among Scandinavians it was regarded as the dog of Sigurd . In ancient India m e r it was called the Deerslayer . So e of the a ly ee e a Gr k myths represent d it as the hound of Act eon , ’ and also as one of Diana s hunting dogs . Mr . Allen m the entions curious facts that an ivory disk , found e in by Schli mann his excavations on the site of Troy , contain s a representation of a dog believed to be

Canis Major , and that an ancient Etruscan figured mirror shows this constellation , together with Orion e and Lepus , with the neighboring stars corr ctly located . Those who find a prophecy of the coming of the reign of Christ in the constellations have made u o i i m ch of Canis Major . N v d us called it the Dog

. Sei of Tobias Dr . ss claims that it represents the “ ” e m e the e H e M ssiah hi s lf , Appointed Princ . has a curious passage in which he derives the name Sirius “ ” “ Seir e from the word , meaning Princ , or Gu ardian “ ” i Na z - eir i n and then connects th s with S , found he an Egyptian zodiac . Thus arrives at the word “ ” “ ” - - 10 ! Naz seir ene , whence Nazarene , and an ex 46 C O N S T E L L A T I O N S I N F E B R U A R Y planation of the much -discussed origin of the prophecy that Christ should be called a Nazarene ! In Egypt the Dog was regarded as the celestial fore of n runner the annual flood in the Nile , a nouncing the coming of the waters by rising just before the sun . Mr . Lockyer has found seven Egyptian temples which were so oriented as to receive upon their the r i o altars rays of Si iu s ris ng . In the famous z diac D en dera in of , Canis Major appears the form of a cow carried in a boat . It was also represented as the goddess Sothis , and bore likewise the names of Isis , “ ” As e i . Os ris , and Thoth mthe Nil star , Sirius was wor e in shipped under the na of Sihor . Its supposed flu ence in causing the annual flooding of the river is indi t D endera i ca ed in the zodiac of by overflow ng urns .

Sirius is a famous double star . The companion , of the ninth magnitude , revolves around Sirius in a - period of about forty nine years . The apparent dis 8 0 e . 1 tanc , therefore , varies In 9 the two stars were so 8 close that no telescope could separate them . In 1 96

Burnham , then at the Lick Observatory , caught sight of the companion emerging from the overpowering rays of its primary , and since then the distance has e 1 0 been slowly incr asing . In 9 5 it had become about A very sin gular fact is that this com e panion , although ten thousand tim s less bright than its ! Sirius , is nearly half as massive as great neighbor u The star Mu (a) is double ; magnit des , fifth and eighth ; distance , colors , white and pale blue . About f ou r degrees sou th of Siriu s is the star cluster 1 l V in 454, which presents a beautifu iew the telescope , e r having a red star n a the centre , and curving rows of minute stars about it . 47 A S T R O N O M Y W I T H T H E N A K E D E Y E

(CHART IX)

North of Canis Major and the prow of Argo lies

Monoceros , the Unicorn an inconspicuous constella 0 tion covering a space 4 long from east to wes t . It has but four stars as bright as the fourth magni tude , and these are scattered . In addition there are thirteen of the fifth magnitude , five of which appear in e the head , which fac s Orion , with the horn nearly

' h n b. T e touching his c . u stars of this constellatio have not even enjoyed the honor of having the letters ee e e mu e of the Gr k alphab t appli d to them , ch l ss of m a re being designated by special na es . They only

e . e indicat d by numerals It is a mod rn constellation , i and has no mytholog cal history . It is interesting for those possessing telescopes on account of its many m e e ul s all clust rs of stars , and for one b autif triple , the 1 1 m star whose agnitudes are fifth , sixth , and e d1sta n ces The 8 s venth ; , and star is u e u e e do bl ; magnit d s , fifth and s venth ; distance , "

1 e . e 4 colors , golden y llow and lilac A littl north east of 8 the eye catches a fain t glimmering point which is expanded by a telescope in to a beautiful 1 2 cluster , No . 4 4.

' Cams M nor

(CHART IX )

Above Monoceros shines Canis Minor , the Lesser u u e Dog , two of whose stars are conspic o s , the larg , e u fir t-m r s u e b autif l , agnit d b illiant Procyon , and its 48

A S T R O N O M Y W I T H T H E N A K E D E YE

the a little ahead of Canis Major . In valley of the Euphrates it seems to have been regarded as a water dog on account of its standing on the border of the

k the . n Mil y Way , river of the sky For some reaso known only to themselves , astrologers connect this ul constellation , and partic arly Procyon , with good fortune and the possession of wealth .

The companion of Procyon is of the n 1n th magni e 1 0 bu t tud , and dismtant only in 9 5 , so that a few of the ost powerful telescopes can show it . The two form a binary system with a period of revo o e luti n of abou t forty years . Th ir actual distance apart is only as great as that between the sun and e telesc0 ic u the planet Uranus . A littl p star abo t ten minutes of arc east of Procyon is double ; magni tudes , seventh and eighth ; distance ,

Gemini

(CHART S V AN D IX)

On the meridian northwest of Canis Minor shine the emn the e twins , G i i , fourth const llation of the in h u t e . e zodiac , Ta rus be g third The two chi f ul stars , Castor and Pollux , are pop arly supposed to e be equal , and often they are both spok n of as belong m e ing to the first agnitude. In reality th re is a ff m i e . the decided di erence between th Castor , bear ng

e Al a t Greek lett r name pha () , and herefore ranking i as the lead ng star of the constellation , is about half e e the e e e way b twe n first and s cond magnitud s , whil u e bu t the . Poll x , B ta (B) , is little less than first Within the last three hundred years either Castor 5 0 C O N S T E L L A T I O N S I N F E B R U A R Y

e e e the e has fad d or Pollux has bright n d , so that ord r e u r e e of th ir act al b ightness has been reversed . Th r ffe e e is a striking di r nce of color betwe n them , Castor e W re b ing hite and Pollu x pale orange . From the motest antiquity these stars seem to have impressed all beholders with the idea of a sort of fratern al re ion i la t sh . ee p Their distance apart , about five degr s , e em si n ifi is not too great for th m to res ble a pair , g can tl e e n y placed with regard to ach oth r , and whe their magnitudes were equal this impression must e et have b en y stronger . The Twi ns stand with their feet in the Milky Way , and their heads in the clear space northeast of its borders . The eye readily notices two or three rows " e e e of stars crossing the const llation , n arly parall l n e with the line joi ing Castor and Pollu x . The middl

- m row has a third agnitude star at each end , the e lower one , D lta also called Wasat , being in the the right arm of the twin named Pollux , and upper

- e e one , Theta in the out str tch d left hand of his

e r - E brother Castor . Anoth r thi d magnitude star , p ’ e u silon () , in Castor s left thigh , makes an obt se

e . e triangle with Delta and Th ta The star Z ta , in the right thigh of Pollux , is variable , changing from between the third and fourth to between the fourth e e and fifth magnitud s . The bright st star in the con e the st llation , after two leaders , is Gamma or h ’ Almison t e e . , in l ft foot of Pollux Castor s left a e the sta rs foot and ankle are m rk d by Eta (n) , or

s . Propu , and Mu both of the third magnitude e on e e G mini has star of the first magnitud , two six of the second , four of the third , of the fourth , SI A S T R O N O M Y W I T H T H E N A K E D E Y E

f - u e a re and thirteen of the fi th . Sixth magnit d stars be numerous , four of them making a striking row m A ex tween Ga ma (7 ) and Lambda () , which is e tended eastward beyond Lambda by thre others ,

- with a fifth magnitude one in their string .

’ m a e a w in e a ec ee F ir L d s t ins , ti to st rs d r d ,

One u on on e cu e the e ee . fo ght foot , rb d fi ry st d ’ n r D ryde s Vi gil.

The heroes Castor and Pollux are among the most e interesting figures in Gr ek mythology , and they so fascinated the imagination of the Romans that they adopted them as the celestial leaders of their world i In the n conquer ng armies . chase of the Calydo ian ’ o in b ar , in Jason s Argonautic expedition search of e the Golden Fle ce , and in many another famous

the e - e e adventure of d mi gods in Gre c , Castor and e i Pollux took th ir part , and it was nevitable that n e they should fi ally b translated to the stars . Ac e the cording to one legend , they w re brothers of Helen for whose fair face the topless towers of e e e Ilium were burned ; according to another , th y w r the twin sons of Leda and Jupiter . In any event , i u they were fighters w thout stint , and that was eno gh to insure their adoption at Rome as the “ Great e e e Whit Brethr n , whose appearanc in the thick of a desperate battle more than once restored the courage e of both g nerals and soldiers . m m a m a e en ca u s By ny n s ll , In m an a w y l nds e dwell . We am a c a n w u s ll S othr i k o s , e e w Cyr n kno s u s well . 5 2 C O N S T E L L A T I O N S I N F E B R U A R Y

Our hou se in gay T a rent um mmw w u ea c o fl e Is h ng h ith o rs , ’ High o er the mas ts of Syra cu se ur m l w a O a rb e port l to ers . But by the prou d Eu rotmas IS our ea a e e d r n tiv ho , And for the right we come to fight h R m Before t e ranks of o e. ’ — !M a ca u la B a le o Re illus y s tt f g .

Visitors to Rome to -day admire their colossal ” the figures in the Dioscuri , on Monte Cavallo . On e among the many legends abou t these heroes is interesting as indicating that in very ancient times the names of Castor and Pollux may have been applied to other conspicuous stars , one of which the (for instance , Vega) rises when other (for instance , s Aldebaran) is setting . This story a serts that at a double weddingo fea st the brothers got into a broil with the bridegrooms and killed them while attempt ff ing to carry o the two brides . But Castor was n ~in mortally wou ded the fray , whereupon Pollux , i i who possessed the gift of mmortality , w shed to die also . Jove solved the diffi culty by transferring e the ei th m to sky , decre ng that while one shone resplenden t the other should pass the time in the nether world , and so alternately . The Twins have from time immemorial been re ’ s garded as the sailors star . There is a curious ’ reminder of this in the story of St. Paul s voyage to n e u the S Rome , which was i t rr pted by hipwreck at

Malta . An Alexandrian ship , which had wintered

St. l in the isle , and whose sign , says Pau , was Castor 5 3 A S T R O N O M Y W I T H T H E N A K E D E Y E

and Pollux , carried the apostle on to the Eternal ’ i the St. u City . Pa l s tak ng trouble to mention this fact is characteristic of his interest in a wide range of things outside his religion . We know that he had c read the astronomi al poem of Aratus , for he qu oted ’ a lin e from it in his celebrated oration on Mars Hill Seiss in Athens . Dr . would persuade us that Gemini was intended to represent the mystic union of Christ and His redeemed . For the Jews they were Simeon e and Levi . The Egyptians represent d them as the two gods Horus , the Elder and the Younger . They e have also b en called David and Jonathan , and even

Adam and Eve . They have likewise been connected ’ ’ with the St . Elmo s lamps of the sailors . Homer s “ Hymn to Castor and Pollux seems to suggest this imagined connection between these stars and the mysterious mast- head lights :

’ When w intry t empests o er th e sa va ge sea A n d h m re a a t e a e r ging , s ilors tr blingly a on the w e w a e an d v ow C ll T ins of Jov ith pr y r , a e e in ea u the w G th r d f r pon lofty pro , e u e a ea th y s dd nly pp r , On e w w u a w a the y llo ings r shing th rt sky , An d u h n m t e a i u u l ll bl sts t e tranq illity . — ’ Shelle s t a n s la ion y r t .

The two stars were regarded as twins among the aborigines of the South Pacific islands . In Australia ” e e M en they w re call d the Young , and among the ” m the South African Bush en Young Women . For the Assyrians and the Babylonians , independent of the Greek traditions , they were also the Twins . 54 C O N S T E L L A T I O N S I N F E B R U A R Y

is e one the fi s Castor a cel brated double star , of r t m e o e The binaries de onstrat d to p ss ss orbital motion . a re e magnitudes , approximat ly , second and third , is i n 1 0 ee d tance 9 7 , 5 ; colors , gr nish white and i e. u whit The period of revol t on is long , estimated all the way between two hundred and fifty and one 8 e thousand years . Delta () is double ; magnitud s , s third and eighth ; di tance , colors , yellow and u e e purple . A co pl of degr es northwest of the star

e . 1 60 Eta (n) is a b autiful cluster , No 3 , which can

- be seen as a glimmering mass with a good opera glass . The telescope reveals it as an astonishing assemblage of minute stars of various magnitudes .

Lynx

S AN D (CHART I I , II I , VI)

i North of Gem ni , and between the head of Ursa u Major , the Greater Bear , and that of A riga , lies the very inconspicuous constellation of the Lynx . It i i the conta ns one star of the th rd magnitmude , one of fif . constel fourth , and nine of the th It is a odern e in lation , invent d by Hevelius the seventeenth cen Al tury . It has sometimes been called the Tiger . though so insignificant to the naked eye , it contains a remarkable number of beautiful double and triple

n 1 2 stars . The most i teresting of these is the star , in the eye of the animal . The components are of the S ixth , seventh , and eighth magnitudes ; distances , 8 in e and The star 3 , the extr me south eastern part of the constellation , is a fine double ; 5 5 A S T R O N O M Y W I T H T H E N A K E D E Y E

u di magnitudes , fo rth and seventh ; stance , 3 colors , white and lilac . North of the Lynx lies a pa rt of Camelopardalis c constel (already des ribed) , and the tail of Draco , a lation which will be described later .

A S T R O N O M Y W I T H T H E N A K E D E Y E

The e a re supposed to feed . Manger was a celebrat d r weather portent in the days of A atus and Homer . m n w h a e e a e A d a tch t e M ng r . Lik littl ist ’ fl F a r in a ce e a . north , C n r s t rritory , it o ts wo n mme c e are t a a Its onfin s f i tly gli ring st rs , h he e on he u On e on t e t t . north , oth r so th es e are two es a the a e a Th Ass th t M ng r p rts , W c u e w e all the c ea hi h s dd nly , h n sky is l r , m u me e a e a n d h w e t e t o a So ti s q it v nimsh s , st rs . e mc e a e u e e e e e S los r mto h v ov d th ir s nd r d orbs . e e e e w a h Nomfe ble t p st th n ill so k t e leas . u a e w a A rky M ng r , ith both st rs

U a e e a S a . n lt r d , is ign of r in If while the Northern Ass is di mmed a u u he h u m t e ea a a By v poro s shro d , of So th gl r di nt , E u w n a d xpect a so th i d . V por a n ra di ance E a c a a a e e . x h nging st rs , h rbing r Bor s — ’ Ara us s D o ema t i s i .

The dimming of the Manger may truly portend a i change of weather , s nce its stars are so faint that e only their number mak s them noticeable at all , and the least veil of cirrus at night would hide them before the cloud became sufficiently pronounced to reveal its presence to the eye . Historically the Man i a ff i on e ger is nteresting , bec use it a orded to Gal leo of his earliest teleSCOpic proofs of the existence of multitudes of stars invisible to the naked eye . In Sideren s N un tins the n his , containing origi al account “ e e : aes of his discov ri s , he says Pr epe is not one star

l . only , but a mass of more than forty sma l stars I

- have noticed thirty six stars , besides the Aselli , ar i ” ranged n the order of the accompanying diagram . 58

C O N S T E L L A T I O N S I N M A R C H

s is He then give the diagram , which herewith repro duced

This was a great astronomical dis covery in his si — s day , but now anybody posses ng a large opera gla s field- or glass can see all that he saw , and even yet many persons , who have never looked at the sky with a telescope , may be almost as much surprised s and delighted as Galileo was . An a semblage of stars s like this , seen through a glas , always produces a vivid impression which can never be forgotten . he T . former Astronomer Royal , Mr Hind , has recorded another his toric event commemorated by

M . , the anger The most ancient scientific observa tion of Jupiter that is known to us , he says , was noted by Ptolemy as having occurred eighty-three 5 9 A S T R O N O M Y W I T H T H E N A K E D E Y E

e A r years aft r the death of lexander the G eat , when he e the a t planet , happening to pass ov r Pr esepe u e s Aus cl ster , eclipsed the star D lta , or the A ellus lis tra . In English astronomical folk - lore the Manger is e e u e e e e call d the B ehive , s r ly a mor d scriptiv name e e a re et e than the other . Th r y two more vents in astronomical history connected with this constella wa s e the e tion . It in its n ighborhood that cel brated m i e u comet of Hall y , the ost nfreq ent in its returns , the me r and largest of all periodic co ts , was fi st no ce 1 1 the u e u ti d in 5 3 , and two s pposed intram rc rial c m e c the e im plan ts , whi h Am ri an astrono er Watson a gin ed that he had discovered during the solar eclipse 1 8 8 e e e e e e the of 7 , w r id ntifi d by Prof ssor Pet rs with stars Zeta (C) and Theta Formerly the summer i u e in e u solstitial po nt was sit at d Canc r , altho gh now the Precession of the Equ inoxes has carried it more a e ee w bu t we th n thirty d gr s to ards the west , still th o ce speak of e tr pic of Can r . An ancient Greek myth avers that Cancer repre sents the Crab tha t H era sent to bite the foot of Herakles when he wa s battling with the Hydra the e a bu t the e e the L rn ean marshes , h ro sl w Crab as e the e eu e n u e w ll as Hydra , wh r pon the godd ss i d c d e th m e e e the c e Z us to translat for r to sky . In an i nt ' c a wa s m a e c a u Egypt this onst ll tion i agined as a S rab e s , e m e e e o and r gard d as bl matic of imm rtality . One ma y wonder how far the ghostly glimmer of the e e c u e u e Pra s pe l st r contrib t d to this idea . The astro logica l significance of Cancer has generally been e s e e the l malign , and B rosu pr dict d that earth wou d 60

A S T R ’O N O M Y W I T H T H E N A K E D E Y E

P M l tail arriving upon that line at 9 . . in the midd e of June . But , upon the whole , it is best , perhaps , to inclu de the description of this constellation in t the present chapter . The total leng h of Hydra , s about a hundred degrees , is le s than that of Eridanus , e but it appears much long r because , unlike the great ” river , it does not turn back upon its course . Two a Sea of the st rs in the Head of this immense Monster , e e Z ta (C) and Epsilon () , are of the third magnitude , one , Delta of the fourth , and three of the fifth .

a AI The lucida of the constellation , Alpha () , or

a . phard (also Cor Hydr e) , is of the second magnitude It is in line with the eastern edge of Cancer and below the forepaws of Leo . In its comparatively S lone ituation it is fairly conspicuous , made more so ,

- m i perhaps , by its orange yellow color . Fro this po nt w the constellation , marked ith third , fourth , and ri fifth magnitude stars , often arranged in st king w S pairs , winds east ard under Leo , extans , Crater , i i Corvus , and Virgo , the ta l end ng near a bright star i in the upl fted claw of Scorpio . After the eye has once traced out the course of Hydra the image of ffi a serpent is not di cult to recognize . Nearly all of the bright sta rs of the constellation are included in is n the figure as it usually drawn . Hydra , faci g m n westward , see s to be co templating an attack upon i i Canis M nor , just ahead of him , and stand ng appar ently upon the back of Monoceros . It has sometimes r been called D aco , but that name is reserved for the great dragon that curls about the northern pole of the heavens . In Greek mythology this was the Lemaean monster 62 C O N S T E L L A T I O N S I N M A R C H

destroyed by Herakles . It was fabled to have a hundred heads , and those who sought to destroy it if off in found that they cut one , two grew its place while they were occupied with a second . Herakles ffi got over the di culty , at the suggestion of Iolaus , by searing the stumps with a hot iron as fast as the — heads were severed an excellent plan for other

Hydra s .

' Art u e the a e tho proportion d to Hydr s l ngth , Who fromhis wou nds received a u gmented strength ! H e ra ised a hundred hissing hea ds in a ir ; n e u a e u When o e I lopp d p spr ng a dr a df l pa ir .

The Egyptians at one time regarded this con stel lation not as a serpent but as the celestial counter pa rt of the Nile . It has also been identified with the dragon of the Argonautic expedition , but that is generally regarded as being represented by the Draco of the North Polar region . Dr . Seiss avers that G t Ser Hydra stands for the reat Dragon , tha old i S pent , called the Dev l , and atan , which deceived the whole world (see Revelations and earlier con stru ctors of Biblical symbols among the stars re e n a s s gard d this co stellation repre enting the Flood , was while Corvus , the Raven , standing on its back , the bird sent out by Noah . Epsil on (e) is a remarkably beautiful double ; mag " it e n ud s . r , fourth and eighth ; distance , 3 4 ; colo s , 6 . a yellow and blue Thet () is double ; magnitudes , fourth and twelfth ; distance , i Underneath the Head of Hydra , extend ng down to the southern horizon , is a relatively barren region , 63 A S T R O N O M Y W I T H T H E N A K E D E Y E covered by a part of the constellation Argo n the n Turni g to region north of Cancer , near the li e we n of the meridian , find before reachi g the Pole

Star only the hind quarters of the Lynx , the paws and head of Ursa Major , and the head of Cam elo a rdalis s i l p , which have already been de cr bed or wi l be described later . CONSTELLATIONS ON TH E M ERI D IAN IN APR I L

(CHART VI)

E0 , the great Lion of the sky , now reigns supreme ,

kin g of celestial as of terrestrial beasts . Leo is o the sixth c nstellation of the zodiac , and one of the most clearly marked on account of the figure of a w i large sickle , with its handle down ard and its curv ng the blade open towards the west , which occupies s n i we tern part of the constellation , i clud ng the head and fore quarte rs of the Lion . At the end of the ‘ handle of this sickle glows the principal star of the

a constellation , Regulus , or Alpha () , usually ranked in s as of the first magnitude , but reality of le s than i con s ic s . S the standard brightnes t ll , Regulus is a p uous i a i and beaut ful st r , and , ly ng very close to the ecliptic , it is sometimes occulted by the moon .

This star has been famous in all ages . Copernicus dirninu bestowed upon it the name it now bears , a tive form , says Mr . Allen , of the earlier name Rex , which arose from the ancient belief that it ruled the ff ha a airs of heaven . In English it s often been called S r the Royal tar . In Persian uranog aphy it was one 65 A S T R O N O M Y W I T H T H E N A K E D EY E

S u of four Royal tars , the Four G ardians of Heaven , the others of which have been identified with F omal

e . e haut , Aldebaran , and Antar s Th se marked the s e u four cardinal point , R gulus standing for the So th , n Fomalhaut for the North , Aldebara for the East , s ix and Antares for the West . As they are about hours of Right Ascension apart , and all very con s icuous s p , their election for this purpose was not unnatural . With the exception of Fomalhaut , they all lie quite close to the ecliptic , the annual path of

the sun . e i Leo R gulus sh nes near the heart of , and accord ’ e ingly is som times spoken of as the Lion s Heart . The second star of the constellation lies far away is to the east in the end of the tail . It called Dene

u . bola , or Beta (B) , and is of the second magnit de Five other stars besides Regulus constitute the figure G a of the sickle already spoken of One of these , amm

e the a Eta Algi ba , is of second magnitude ; thre e Zeta (C) , and Epsilon () , are of the third mag

i v n tude . a ; and one , Mu () , of the fourth Gamm u i in is a beautif l double , and is also interest ng for ly g close to the radiant point of the great November m " e l 1 8 an. et or shower , which was so bri liant in 33 1 866 lie . These stars in the mane and head of the A e Lion , Lambda () , a little w st of Epsilon being in t e l he e . u m op n jaws R g us , Ga ma , Denebola , and Delta mark the corners of a conspicuous quadrilateral which covers the whole central part of the cons tel

. ul s e lation Both Reg u and Denebola , by their sp ctra , ri — is belong to the Si an order of suns that to say ,

they are younger than our sun . 66

CON S T E L L A T I ON S I N A P R I L

Nea rly a ll of the old n ation s sa w a lion in this con in Greeks s la . Accord tel tion g to the , it was the cel s a ebra ted Nemaean Lion l in by Herakles . In India and in Egypt it was a lwa ys repres ented in the zodi ass ocia ted acs by the figu re of a lion . It was with a s s : the great he t of ummer , and Burritt remark

The Egyptian s were mu ch an n oyed by lion s durin g the ea of su e as e a t a season e the ese a n d h t mm r , th y th t l ft d rt aun e the a n s of the e ha d en its ea es h t d b k Nil , which th gr t t n was e e o e n a u a for e as on o e s elevatio . It th r f r t r l th ir tr m r n w fin d himn to pla ce the Lio where e i their zodia c .

The Lion was the symbol of the tribe of Judah , c s is n and the on tellation fou d in the Hebrew zodiac , where it is the twelfth or la s t sign instead of the f l s n a n fi th . Allen ca l atte tion to a rem rk of La d seer that the association of Leo with Judah arose ’ a wa s s s from the fact th t Leo Judah natal ign , and a s such was borne on the s ignet ring which he gave a a wa to T m r . In the Middle Ages Leo s identified ’ i a n i s . Se ss s w th D niel lio . Dr develop in detail the n connectio of Leo with the lion of the tribe of Judah , “ i s sa t a and , referr ng to the Apocalyp e , he ys hat wh t is thus pictured in the last book of the Scriptures is the same that was fore - intimated a nd recorded in this las t sign of the zodiac before any one book of ” s wa s C a our pre ent Bible written . As in hin every n s s n wa s thi g goe by contrarie , the Lio of the zodiac e a a s s ha s s e there r g rded a Horse . Regu lu alway b en a s a s s a fortun te tar with the trologer , while Denebola , c s is at the other end of the on tellation , an unfortunate 67 A S T R ON OM Y W I T H T H E N A K E D E Y E

— - one a very even handed dis tribution of powers for a on e cons tell tion . Regulus ha s at a dis tance of three minutes of a re a a n s ha s s a f int comp ion tar which , it been aid , a s ha d n s a n d looks if it bee teeped in indigo , which a n s -a nd - a - a a n d is double ; m g itude , eight h lf thir t enth s n a a is s e ; di ta ce , G mm one of the mo t a n s sk a s s n ch rmi g double in the y ; m gnitude , eco d

a nd s s a n a n d . fourth ; di tance , color , or ge green n These colors are pronou ced . Iota is double ; ma g n itudes s s , fourth and eighth ; di tance , color , a n a s lemon yellow d light blue . The v riable tar R i a Its is a n s . d s rem rkable color deep red , in the pace of three hun dred and twelve da ys it cha n ges from the

n a nd a a . Con fifth magnitude to the te th , back g in sequen tly for a part of the time it is en tirely a bsent sk a s a s n a - s a from the y , far ked eye ob erv tion is con m a a a n a 2 0 ce ed . t u Being a m ximum bout Ja ry , 1 0 8 s s s s a ma 9 , future period of vi ibility of thi t r y be i predicted from its periodic t me .

Leo Minor

(CHARTS III AND V I)

This is a small constella tion lyin g north of Leo and n a under the hi d feet of Ursa M jor . The Lesser Lion is n s s a nd ss ss s i con picuou to the eye , po e e no mythol a i n s s ogy , h v ng been i vented by Heveliu in the even teen th n a s ce tury . It contains only three stars bright a s the fourth ma gnitude a nd six of the fifth ma gni i tude . It s almost equally uninteresting for telescopic s ob ervation . 68

A S T R ON OM Y W I T H T H E N A K E D E Y E

s lar title in England . Mr . Allen has hown how the ’ name Charles s Wain (meaning wa gon) is derived ’ from an earlier title which mad e it Cha rlemagne s

ur C s . Wa in . The co tiers of King harle I of England connected it with his name :

those bright stars ’ n s s e e s C a es s a n do n a e Which E gli h h ph rd h rl W i m , ’ o e s s e is C a es s a n Bu t m r thi i l h rl w i , n Sin ce Cha rles her roya l w a go er beca me. — j ohn Ta ylor

The use of this asterism a s a timekeeper is vividly illustra ted by Sha kas pea re in the scene between the “ - s ca rriers in the inn yard at Roche ter , in King Henry

a I . . P rt , Act II , Scene I

’ ’ H e - ho ! an be n ot our the da be an e igh it f by y , I ll h g d ’ Cha rles s Wa in is o e the n ew n e a n d et our o se v r chim y , y h r is n ot pa cked !

’ In ea rlier England it was called Arthur s Wain . In America the seven stars of the Dipper have sometimes a s s borne the ple ing title of the Seven Little Indian , a nd s Val I recall from boyhood day , in the Mohawk s was s n s : ley , thi doggerel , which u g to a childi h air

On e e two e ee e n u n s littl , littl , thr littl I j , ou e fiv e e s ix e n un s F r littl , littl , littl I j , Se en e n u n v littl I j boys . Se en e s ix e fiv e e In un s v littl , littl , littl j , F ou e ee e two e n un s r littl , thr littl , littl I j , On e e n b littl I j un oy .

I do not know whether the Indians had any legend a s s s e bout the even tars , but the Algonquin call d the 7 0 CON S T E L L A T I ON S I N A P R I L

s l a whole con te lation the Bear and Hunters . The n me is Plough , so popular in England , of classic origin , s i s the Roman hav ng known the Dipper as the Trione ,

O a s . or xen , which were figured drawing a plough ri s These became with later w ters the Septentrione , as in Virgil . fa r s For the people of the North , the Laplander , the stars of the Dipper represent a reindeer . The name s e a s Seven Star has oft n been given to the Plei de , but ,

. s s s a as Mr Allen remark , eem more appropri te when s a s applied to the t r of the Dipper , on account of the

u ss . conspicuo sne of the latter They have been called , s e s variou ly , the Sev n Wi e Men of Greece , the Seven e s C a Sle pers of Ephesu , and the Seven h mpions of

Christendom . s s s The individual name of these tar , beginning with the northwes tern corn er of the bowl of the ima gina ry Pha ed dipper , are Dubhe , Merak , , Megrez (the faint A its one) , lioth , Mizar (before mentioned with com a d i n s . pan on , Alcor) , Benetna ch Their Greek letter

a s a n me , in the same order , are Alpha () , Beta l e a Gamma Delta Epsi on () , Zet (C) , and Eta a s Alph and Beta , the pair in the outer ide of n im s the bowl , are often called the Poi ter , because an a gina ry line drawn through them and extended pole wa rds nearly hits the pole - star at a distance of about f al . s s s s thirty degrees The e even tar di fer in color , though the fact may not be apparent to hasty ob l servation . Alpha and Gamma are ye low , Beta is

s . greeni h , and Zeta and Eta are brilliant white Delta , now so much fainter than its sisters that one feels a certain . disappointment over the irregularity which 7 1 A S T R ON OM Y W I T H T H E N A K E D E Y E it introduces into a n otherwise perfect a rra y of equal a s s s a a s a s a n st r , eem formerly to h ve been bright y a nd in his a s of them , , time , Tycho Brahe , the f mou a s a s s s D ni h tronomer , e timated it of the econd mag

i r - nitude s . s , like the other It p obably a long period a va ri ble . i wa s n The idea of danc ng co nected with Ursa Major , a s a s s s well with the other circumpolar con tellation , wa n s . C. s s s s by the a cient Sir G . Lewi say that thi a a derived from the circul r d nces of the Greeks . The two bears (Ursa M a jor and Ursa Minor) were imag in ed reeling round the pole like a pair of waltzers :

On a the n e ea s oo s e s u e w rd ki dr d B r , with f t t p r d , D n un h o u u n d u u a e o t e e s an s e . c r d p l , p r i g p r d — E D a wi n . r .

The mythology of Ursa Major is intimately asso cia ted with tha t of Ursa Minor (see Cha pter a nd together they have furnished more poetic sug gestions to the literature of ma ny nations than a n y

a - h lf dozen of the other cons tellations . The ceaseless s tread of the Bear , keeping guard round the north

a a a s a . pole , n turally ppe l to the popul r imagination sa a a e C s Ur M jor was f bl d to be Helice , or alli to , a s s f prince of Arcadia , who , having o fended Hera by

a - s attr cting the attention of the ever amorous Zeu , was turned into a bear :

her an n her a she oun h d withi h ir w d , S u n her o n d w g t ea rth a dra gged her on the groun d. The prostrate wretch lifts u p her han ds in pra yer ; H er a rm s o s a a n d e o e a gr w h ggy d f rm d with h ir , 7 2

’ A S T R O N O M Y W I T H T H E N AK E D E Y E

a nd a a s . fifth , gre t number of the ixth The three pa irs in the feet a re conspicuous . s a a ha s a The t r Zet (C) , or Mizar , lready been de - i scribed a s a n a ked eye double . The larger s tar s a u in s s a g in do bled the tele cope , pre enting a very a n s e a s ch rmi g p ctacle ; m gnitude , second and fourth ; ’

s n 1 s a nd a . di ta ce , 4 5 ;color , white emer ld The larger a s tar of this pa ir is a close s pectroscopic bin ry . Zeta is a lso interestin g a s the first teles copic double ever its u i 1 6 0 observed . Riccioli detected d plic ty in 5 s - is The tar Xi (E) , in the right hind foot , double ; a ni s a nd s a s m g tude , fourth fifth ;di t nce , The tar 0 is Sigma () double ; magnitudes , fifth and eighth ; s di tance ,

(CHARTS V I AND X)

Between Ursa Major and the north pole winds the s subse body of Draco , which will be de cribed in a a quent ch pter . We turn now to the neighborhood of n s the meridia outh of Leo . Directly underneath the i mal n n s s s s Sickle of Leo the l co tellatio Sextan , the i — Sextant . Thi s s one of the seventeenth century s s u s s s s con tellation formed by Heveli from tar pace , s la s s either left out of their con tel tion by the ancient , a s ss n n re or app rently u ele to them , and co seque tly ” a a s i an s g rded a k nd of public l d , which the fir t s s wa s 11 ettler could eize . Hevelius his is s s own glory in th ca e , ince he stella tion to immortalize t his s a a tell r observ tions . Hevelius put the Sextan 7 4 CON S T E L L A T I ON S I N A P R I L

s s because those con tellation , according to the as rolo ers s t g , were of a fiery nature , and he wi hed to commemorate the fire which destroyed his house and zi his instruments at D a n t c in 1 67 9 . After a couple of thousand years this could be transformed into a s as n d rni good a myth any , Hevelius becomi g a e god who hunted down celes tial monsters and brought or der into the sky with a terrible three-bladed wea p C u on more fatal than the l b of Herakles . In the seventeenth century Von Rheita imagined that he ’ saw Saint Veronica s Sa cred Handkerchief among the s s hi s tars out of which Heveliu con tructed s Sextant . r Sir John He schel , who was not without humor for ’ a s an tronomer , remarked concerning Von Rheita s sacred ha ndkerchief tha t many stra nge things were seen among the stars before powerful telescopes be s came common . Sextan contains one star of the ni f fourth mag tude , and four of the fi th .

(CHART X)

C Cu r The constellation rater , the p, is rep esented by an appropriate figure standing on the back of the s - s a s s immen e sea serpent Hydra . Its h pe uggest the name by which it has been known from time imme morial . It is usually repres ented in the form of a large urn , or beaker , tipped towards the east . In

China it seems to have been figured as a dog . It c s r i ontains one ta of the th rd magnitude , Delta four of the fourth , and two of the fifth . The leading 7 5 A S T R ON OM Y W I T H T H E N A K E D E Y E

i a a s s . star, Alph () , or Alke , not now the brightest The mythology of this constella tion is more inter a a n s s esting tha n its appe r ce promi e . The Greeks a rega rded it as the Goblet of Apollo , but M nilius ascribes it to Ba cchus :

C ose the Se en s ea s ose n n s es l by rp t pr d , wh wi di g pir o e s a s ese e s a es With rd red t r r mbl c ly fir . e es the C o a n d n e the en e ou s o N xt fli r w , xt g r B wl d h Of a u s o s a n ee s t e s o e. B cch fl w , ch r thir ty p l

wa s s a s Cu a It al o known the p of Her kles , of Achil wa les a nd a . a s , of Dido , of Mede L ter it identified ’ a s n in a s sa with the cup th t Jo eph fou d Benj min ck , ’ n a - Seiss s a d with No h s wine cup . Dr . give it a tragic a nd s a s Cu a turn , ominou ly c ll it the p of Wr th of the Revelations : Drea dful beyon d a ll thought is the picture John gives of thi s cup of unmin gled a nd eter a ul a nal wrath , but not a whit more dre df th n the picture of it which the primeval prophets have thus ” a inscribed upon the st rs . ’ It must be con fes sed tha t the good doctor s im a ina tion is C a is ff s g vivid , for r ter a very ino en ive s a s looking con tell tion , much more uggestive of Bac a chus th n of wrath .

A S T R ON OM Y W I T H T H E N A K E D E Y E

the other ancients sa w a bird there . With the Chinese s a nd H e it was the Red Bird , with the Roman the a a s brews the Raven , and in the v lley of the Euphr te ’

ma a . s it y , ccording to Mr Allen interpretation of an a n a a n l ncie t t blet , h ve bee ca led the Great Storm Bird , s n or the Bird of the De ert , co nected with the myth a a n wa s of Ti m t . Amo g the Greeks , Apollo credited a s s a s a s with having pl ced thi bird among the t r , s a s a s s s s a n u u l in uch c e , for ervice rendered in amo n s s s rous a dve ture . Becoming u piciou of the beautiful Z C x Escul a ius s oronis , the mother of p , the god ent a crow mn a s s n to w tch her . The te ti o y of thi wi ged detective C s a n n a a nd led to the death of oroni by an ve gi g rrow ,

n s a - sk to the tra l tion of the tell tale bird to the y . ’ i S iss s n his C s s . e orvu Dr Bird of Doom , indicati g by a a on tt ck Hydra , the Fleeing Serpent , the final over throw of the Evil One.

(CHARTS V I AND X)

C s i fa r North of orvu , but extend ng beyond the ea stern limit of tha t compa ra tively sma ll constella is s s a a 3 tion , Virgo , the eventh con tell tion of the zodi , which conta ins one of the most beau tiful of all tl e

fir - ni a a st s s a a s . mag tude t r , Spic , or Alph () Virgini No one ca n familia ri ze himself with the sta rs with a n out insensibly choosing f vorites amo g them . Spica ha s a s s long been one of my f vorite , not becau e of ex traordina r l a ha s y bril i ncy , for it not the full bright s s s nes of the fir t magnitude , but rather becau e of the 7 8

CON S T E L L A T I ON S I N M A Y s ul hi s ing ar purity of its w te ray , and because of its association with the opening of spring . Its situation in the sky is also such a s to attract and plea se the is s eye . There no other tar of anything like equal

ss s . brightne within thirty degree of it Spica , to ’ a s Ar s gether with Denebol in the Lion tail , cturu in o s a nd Cor C C s Venatici Bo te , aroli in ane , form the celebrated Diamond of Virgo , a geometrical figure fifty degrees in its greatest length and very strikin g h a when once the eye a s tr ced it out . Historically s a s a n Spica is very intere ting , h vi g , together with l rn a s a Regu us in Leo , fu ished to Hipp rchu the d ta which ena bled him to discover the Precession of the

s . s s Equinoxe It belongs to the fir t , or younge t , order

s ns s a . of u , together with Siriu , Rigel , and Veg Like i is sun s . s them , too , it a of enormou magnitude It s s one of the spectro copic binarie , the period of revo lu tion bein g only four days . i ha s s Virgo , the V rgin , been the name of thi con stella tion a mong a ll peoples and in all parts of the C n was world , even in hi a , where she called the a a s Frigid Maiden . As gener lly dr wn by the maker n s a s a a of co tell tion figures , she carrie head of whe t in a a nd s s a a a si ni her left h nd , here hine Spic , n me g has s s fying a wheat ear . She folded wing pringing s ul s a a from her ho ders , the tar Beta (B) , or Z vijav ,

a . m rking the top of the left wing Three fourth , one

a nd s s a s . fifth , two ixth magnitude t r indicate the head a m s a ni The tar Eta (n) , or Z ni h , of the third ag tude ,

i a . m s in the he rt Gamma or Porri a , of the third i s . magnitude , h nes on the girdle Theta Zeta (C) , 8 and Delta () are spangled upon the drapery . Theta 7 9 A ST R ON OM Y W I T H T H E N A K E D E Y E

a is of the fourth and the others of the third m gnitude . s e a Ep ilon () , or Vindemiatrix , of the third m gnitude , “ a shines in the right wing . The n me means grape a n a a a s a g therer, and origi ted from the f ct th t thi st r wa s seen risin g before the morning sun a t the begin s s a A w ning of the vintage . The tar L mbda () , Pi ( ) , ’ n s a a nd Iota (L) are in the Virgi feet . There are bout a dozen fa irly conspicuous stars belonging to the con a a re n l Al stell tion which not i c uded in the figure . together Virgo contains one star of the first magni six s tude , of the third , nine of the fourth , and eventeen

s - a s s e of the fifth . The ixth m gnitude tar are v ry nu mrous s i a e , a trik ng b nd of them running down the middle of the dra pery below the girdle and a bove a Spic .

Virgo is a mine of beautiful myths . Mr . Andrew ” has s w s - Lang ho n that the old Engli h Kern baby , a s n n s ha s es m de up of the la t glea i g of the rve t , and corted s s s with mu ic from the field , recall the harve t goddess of a ncient Peru a n d a simila r divinity of wa s a s da u h Sicily , who identic l with Per ephone , the g

ss n . s ter of Demeter , the godde of the cor Georgiu Cmius s n a s l im , in the ixtee th century , beautifu ly g in ed the cla ss ic Virgo a s Ruth gleanin g in the fields a a s a n of Bo z . Mr . Allen rec ll old custom of La ’ e a s w Vend e , where the f rmer ife , under the name of C is ss a a a nd the orn Mother , to ed in bl nket t the e

a s n - u h of the h rve t to bri g good l ck at the t reshing . All of thes e popula r customs are directly a ssocia ted s n n a n with the myth concer i g the constell tio Virgo . s A rma s s s t He iod identified Virgo with , the Godde s As of Ju tice , who ruled the world in the Golden Age . 80

A S T R ON OM Y W I T H T H E N A K E D E Y E

ms s s see to have been as ociated with I htar , the Queen s e Al s of the Star , turn d , says len , into the A htoreth of s s the Book of King , the A tarte of Syria , the Hathor of

a nd . s she Egypt , the Aphrodite of Greece In As yria ’ a wa B wa . s ethulah s Bel s wife In Jude her name , h wa s a s a a a a nd s e regarded giving bund nt h rvests . Seiss i s Dr . , as we might anticipate , ident fie her with a s wa the Virgin M ry . The ame thing s done by the s churchmen of the Middle Age . s Scattered over the area between the star Beta , Eta a s s , Gamm , Delta , and Ep ilon lie the celebrated u a s a on Field of the Neb l , thu c lled account of the surprising a ssembla ge of fa int telescopic nebula to n a be see there . They number more th n three hun ! la s s s a nd re dred Nebu are the eed of future uns , , mmb rin a n n e e ss g this f ct , one ca ot help being impre ed by the sin gular choice of Virgo a s the celes tia l patron s s s s be of hu bandry , a choice made thou and of year fore the invention of the telescope or the discovery a a a s n that such things s nebul existed . W there o ce a now forgotten a ge when men were a s learned a s we a re - da a nd a n s e to y, did little of this k owledge de c nd to their degenera te successors in the form of u n com prehended traditions ! Another thi ng which a ssoci ates the Field of the Nebula with the idea s of seed a nd a a n m i s d s time h rve t , of growth , life , develop ent , the presen ce in the sa me area of an extra ordinary a number of variable st rs .

Among teles copic obj ects may be mentioned the s s su tar Gamma , one of the mo t celebrated of vi al a a bin ries . In brightness the two components are ne r l a s a y equ l , both being u u lly reckoned of the third 82 CON S T E L L A T I ON S I N M A Y

s a magnitude . The di tance between them is vari ble , since they revolve a round their common centre of a ma gravity in long period , which y be as much as a s a rs 1 8 6 so hundred and eventy ye . In 3 they were 1 0 close that no telescope could split them . In 9 4 their distance was In 1 931 their distance should a nd e be over after that , if the p riod mentioned i s s a . correct , they will begin to clo e up gain Theta is u es s do ble ; magnitud , fourth and ninth ; di tance , ” There is a third faint star at a distance of 65

Coma Berenices

(CHARTS III AN D HZ)

i North of V rgo , directly on the meridian in the mid s a dle of May , and almo t ex ctly overhead in the mean n s is l latitude of the U ited State , the beautiful litt e ’ s t a C con ell tion of oma Berenices , or Berenice s Hair . s s sk To the eye it appear as a glimmering pot in the y , and a little attention is needed to reveal the separate ix s tars compo sing it . There are s of these in a close r group in the c own omf the chevelure , one of the fourth , and five of the fifth agnitude . There are two other fourth - ma gnitude and twelve fifth - ma gnitude s tars s a s in the con tellation , with m ny of the ixth magnitude a which serve to increase the glimmer . They h ve no s s — s name or letter only numbers . Yet the con tella i tion is an ancient one . It s situated at the northern a is pole of the Milky W y . The name said to be that of Berenice , the queen of Ptolemy Euergetes , and the legend relates that when her husband started on a ss dangerous campaign into A yria , Berenice vowed to 83 A S T R ON OM Y W I T H T H E N A K E D EY E

dedica te her beautiful ha ir to the Temple of Venus if

ul r sa . a nd he sho d retu n fe He did return , the queen wa a . s a s a kept her vow Then Jove , who lw y re dy to a a l a she oblige be utifu wom n , even though were mor a l a s a s n s s a s t , tr n l ted the hini g lock to the t r . Eratos m s a s the e , however, identified the con tell tion with the a a C a ha ir of Ari dne . In l ter hri sti n times it wa s sa a identified with the cred h ndkerchief, the Vera n S i a a . . e ss ss a s Icon , of S int Vero ic Dr a oci te it with a wa s a the Star of the M gi . It vertic lly overhead at Jerusalem on the 2 5th of December at the time of ’ s i s s a nd s Chri t s b rth , he ay , he locate the wonderful s s a s new tar ob erved by Hipp rchu , more than a hun s s wa s . s dred year before , in thi con tellation It the appea ra nce of thi s s tar tha t led Hipparchus to ma ke a a u a his stella r c t log e . Hipp rchus lived more tha n C Sei ha s . ss s a a century before hri t , but Dr found Chines e reference to the new sta r a s bein g brillia nt ’ at a period correspondin g to that of the Sa viour s a s n a nd birth . In the d y of Ptolemy , a ce tury a half C s s wa s so a a s dis after hri t , the tar f int hardly to be wa s ha in uishable. s s t g If it a temporary tar , it not

reappea red since . There is in Coma Berenices a singu lar collection of

lila c- s s s . double tar with colored companion I quote , s s P lea sures o the Teles co e: on thi ubject , from my f p

Let u s e n the s a 2 a n u es s a n d se en b gi with t r , m g it d ixth v " Th f h is an d a a s an e . 6 . e o o o t e s a e s a h lf , di t c 3 c l r m ll r t r ila T o o a ou n ot e un on on l c. s e e o a hi c l r , lth gh xtr m ly c mm m g ou e s a s e se e e e u s s n ul a e s s en e in d bl t r l wh r , r c r with i g r p r i t c n h n w oo this little con stellation . I t e very ext star tha t e l k

at 1 2 we fin d a ou e ose s al e o on en is lilac. , , d bl wh m l r c mp t 84

A S T R ON OM Y W I T H T H E N A K E D E Y E

of Bootes running across the zenith in their leash of ” C Ven a ici . s t s s sidereal fire ane contain , beside Cor

Caroli , one star of the fourth magnitude and seven f . s teen of the fi th In the head of the dog A terion , s its l invi ible to the naked eye , and revealing fu l won s der only in photograph , is the famous Whirlpool

Nebula of Lord Rosse . Some degrees north - northwest of Cor Caroli is a s a e remarkable star , faintly vi ible to the n k d eye , La which Secchi named Superba , on account of its a r surprisingly brilli nt ed color . A telescope

be used to appreciate its beauty . CONSTELLATION S ON TH E M ERI DIAN IN JU NE

Libra

(CHARTS X AN D X I)

E begin with the eighth constellation of the zo ’

diac , Libra , the Balance , which at nine o clock in the middle of June appears jus t enterin g upon the s meridian from the ea t , following the feet of Virgo . This constellation was blended by the Greeks with

- s s Scorpio , forming the out tretched claw of that mon

st . s s a s c er It eem to h ve been eparated from S orpio , a l s Ca s under the n me of Libra , in the time of Ju iu ar . ’ “ Homer s reference to golden scales hung by Zeus in hea ven is thought to have been associated with s t some other group of tars , but Mil on places the Balan ce where we see it in his description of the threatened battle between Gabriel a nd Satan

Now dreadfu l deeds M a e en sue n or on Pa a se ight h v d , ly r di In ' this o o on but the sta o e c mm ti , rry c p Of ea en e a s or all the e e en s h v p rh p , l m t At eas h ad on e to a st ur e an d o n l t , g wr ck , di b d t r o en e of s on ha d n ot soon With vi l c thi c flict , 87 A S T R ON OM Y W I T H T H E N A K E D EY E

The e n a to e en su o a Et r l , pr v t ch h rrid fr y , H un o in ea en his o en s a es et seen g f rth h v g ld c l , y n Betwixt As tra a an d the Scorpion s ig . — P a r i e L ad s os t, B ook I V .

A s a s stra a here refers to Virgo . Two t r of the sec a Z uben eschemali ond m gnitude , Beta (B) , or , and a a two s a s Alph () , or Zubenelgenubi , indicate the c le a of the bal nce , Beta being the more northern and s s a a a a the brighter . Thi t r is rem rk ble s the only

a - ha s a hu n ked eye star which green color . The e is sufficien tly pronounced to be eviden t to a n y sensitive i a a . n s s s eye Gree a r re tell r color , except with ome

n s s . s of the compone ts of tele copic double Some eye , a in a s s . however , detect tinge of green the r y of Siriu Alpha ha s a fifth - ma gnitude compa nion ea sily seen

- s its a n a s a n a ss . s s with opera gl Be ide two le di g t r , Libra conta i n s on e star of the fourth ma gn itude and nin e of the fifth . s s a i The my thology of thi con tell tion s confusing . Although forming the cla ws of Scorpio in the time of n s s s a a n n Eratosthe e , it eem to h ve been i dependent n a a s constella tio at an e rlier d te . The Greek at one a a a nd ss time c lled it the Be m , a ociated it with the scales of the Goddes s of Justice . Rea ders of Addison will recall his beautiful drea m of the Bala nce in the a tler C a s a a t s s T . In hin the con tell tion fir t repre ented a s a n ra a s . a d gon , but fterward cele ti l bala ce There are in distin ct indications that in the va lley of the a Euphrates it stood for the Tower of B bel . It was s a al o reg rded a s an altar . Another identification ’ a s mong the Greeks was with Pluto chariot , in which 88

A S T R ON OM Y W I T H T H E N A K E D E Y E

a s Ca s V n i a t i. are att ched the Hunting Dog , ne e c They s a seem to be cha ing the Gre ter Bear around the pole , a o s hence the n me , often given to Bo te , of the Bear ha s a s s Driver . But he l o been repre ented as a Herds a s l a man a nd a Ploughm n . The con te l tion is nearly s n s m fifty degree in le gth from north to outh , and i me dia tely attra cts the eye by the splendor of its principa l s a s tar , the celebrated Arcturus , which many regard the a ha s s s . s brighte t t r north of the cele tial equator It , s s C however , two rival for thi honor , apella and Vega , s or Alpha Lyra . Photometric mea urements show — all three of a bout the same brightness o nly three tenths of a magnitude below the zero rank . But Arcturus posses ses a peculiar prestige on account of a its a the dmiring mention of n me in the Book of Job , s where the Almighty , an wering Job out of the whirl is s a s a n wind , repre ented dem ndi g , at the end of a a zz s s n s s C s d ling tring of a tro omical allu ion , an t thou ui s his s s ! is g de Arcturu with on It doubtful , how wa s i ever, whether the Hebrew poet th nking of the star Arcturus or of the con stella tion Ursa Major when s a a ss s s s he wrote thi m gnificent p age , who e rhetoric lo e i n none of ts sublimity in the English renderi g . i a h Arcturus s generally reg rded a s a red s tar . W en z s s near the hori on it flame plendidly , but high in the a i s i he vens ts color seem to fade . There s evidence a s s a th t it undergoe change of color , and th t formerly n s the ruddy tint was more pronou ced . At pre ent

s s s a s . it may , perhap , be t be de cribed golden yellow is a sun It of great magnitude , exceeding ours in intrinsic brilliancy at least a hundred times . Its s sun pectrum resembles that of the , but indicates a 90 CON S T E L L A T I ON S I N J U N E

8 8 ’ s . 1 a more advanced tage In 5 , when Don ti s comet sk s s blazed in the Northern y , Arcturu hone brilliant

l s . y one night through the comet , clo e to the head C ri s a 1 61 8 a ss u ou ly enough , the gre t comet of also p ed it over Arcturus without dimming s light . Arcturus is a a s s one of the run w y un , its proper motion amounting to two hundred or three hundred miles per a s second . It is moving in outhwesterly direction s sk a s acro s the y , the ch nge of po ition amounting to ” ha a more tha n 2 of a rc per yea r . It s tr velled twice a the di meter of the moon since the time of Ptolemy . The sudden arrest of the motion of so vast a sta r by mea ns of one of the as tronomica l collisions which occasionally occur in s pa ce would produce a n outburst of light exceedin g anything of the kind that has ever been witnessed from the earth . Arcturus is sometimes represented in the knee of a nd s s a a the figure , ometime , like gre t pendent jewel , ’ ’ it hangs on the hem of the giant s robe . Next to s s in s a is Arcturus , the brighte t tar the con tell tion s e a a a s Ep ilon () , or Mir c , of the third m gnitude , or ,

s a s . s s Hei ch rts it , the econd Thi is reckoned by ome observers a s the most beautiful double star in the a s s s heavens , on account of the contr t of color pre ented . is a a Mirac in the right elbow . Beta (B) , or N kk r , in is a re a the head , of the third magnitude , as G mma (y) s 8 s f in the left houlder , Delta () in the taf held in the i a a nd r ght h nd , Zeta (C) in the right foot , Eta (n) in fifth- a a the left kn ee . A group of three m gnitude st rs ’ northeast of the end of the Grea t Dipper s handle n marks the uplifted left ha d holding the lea sh . The s s a mo t ea sterly of these star , Theta be rs the curi 91 A S T R ON OM Y W I T H T H E N A K E D E Y E

ous a s a sa n me of Alkalurop , of Ar bic origin , but id by Allen to be an ada ptation of the Greek n ame Ka

Xa fi ox r n u ff . s a p l , meani g cl b The t , or crook in the right hand is ma rked by a row consi sting of PS1 Delta

u v a s a Mu () , and Nu () , with smaller st r mong

them . a ll s s s In , Boote contains one tar of the fir t magni a nd a s tude ( bove) , one of the econd , five of the third ,

a nd - nine of the fourth , twenty four of the fifth . There s a s a are , of cour e , m ny of the ixth m gnitude , but the con stellation covers a spa ce so la rge that as a whole s it doe not greatly impress the eye . I n ts mythology is interesti g . According to some s s a s a of the Greek , it repre ented Ic riu , the f ther of

. O s sa a s s Erigone ther id th t it repre ented Erichthoniu , the inventor of cha riots ; still others tha t it wa s the son s Ca s wa s a of Zeu and the nymph lli to , who ch nged ’ n a wa i to Ursa Ma jor through Her s jealousy . It s a s s Area s son s a nd Ca l l o ometimes called , the of Zeu A o hila x s . O n s rct e li to vid ide tifie p , one of the arly A hila x a s s a s . rcto n me of the con tell tion , with Arca p w a s a . the Bear W tcher According to Lockyer , the star Arcturus wa s one of those to which Egyptia n S i ’ temples were oriented . In Dr . e ss s system of gos o s s a pel mythology , Bo te repre ents the Gre t Shep a nd s s a nd a a s a herd Harve ter of Soul , he m n ge to tr ce this prophetic meanin g back through a ll the Oriental s myth .

Men tion ha s already been made of the bea uty of E s a s o s . the double tar Mir c , or p ilon Bo te The mag n itudes are third (or two a n d a ha lf) a nd sixth ; dis a s ra a nd a t nce , color , bright o nge brilli nt emer 9 2

A S T R ON OM Y W I T H T H E N A K E D E Y E

a is s crown . It soon f ded , but till visible with tele scopes . This constella tion ha s been known from remote ’ wa s antiquity . It called by the Greeks Ariadne s C a e s s un rown , pl c d among the tar in memory of the a of s s fortunate d ughter Mino , who , after giving The eus C a a a s a s a the clew to the ret n l byrinth , well her he rt , wa s a ss s de erted by the f ithle hero . Apollonius of s his Ta le o the Ar ona uts s Rhode , in f g , repre ents the heroes who sailed with Ja son in search of the Gold en Fleece a s wa tching this constellation while they crossed the Pontus Eux inus :

the immorta ls di vin e v In h h firm n L t e s of t e a e t is o ed well that m a id . mid t m set her s n ig , ’ A o n of s a s e n a e A a dne s a e cr w t r , which th y m ri di d m , n h n e All n ight circling ami dst of the s ig s that t e hea ve s beg m . ’ - a T ns t on W y s ra la i .

ha s s s Plutarch a tory that , after the de ertion of s s a n s s a s a The eu , Ari d e e pou ed B cchu , who g ve her s s s a crown of even tar , which , upon her death , was a a k tr nsl ted to the s y .

An d e e a o n s een D on su s e th r th t cr w by h y i y fix d , n u n of ea A n M o me t d d ria d e.

The star Gamma (7 ) is a famous binary ; magni a nd s n s tudes , fourth eve th ; di tance a is a s s Zet double ;m gnitude , fourth and fifth ; di tance , s a nd - color , white blue green . 94 CON S T E L L A T I ON S I N J U N E

(CHART I)

e Ursa Minor , the L sser Bear , is the polar constella a r ex cellen ce a nd is s a a tion p , een on the meridi n bove n i the pole in the eveni gs of June . Since ts most con spicuous s tar marks very nearly the exact north pole s s of the heaven , it has been an object of ob ervation , all and more or less of veneration , in the northern u a i a is hemisphere . As the fig re of the im g n ry bear s a ri s alway dr wn , the North Star , Pola , represents the s in s s end of its long tail , by which it w g about the axi s s s u of the sky . The tar in thi fig re form the outline of a dipper with its handle bent the wrong way , and i e s this s often call d the Little Dipper . Its bowl hang down towards the handle of the Great Dipper in Ursa s a a s Major . The con tell tion cont ins two tars of the second magnitude , one of the third , three of the f - i . s fourth , and four of the fi th The pole star the

a s Alpha () of the con tellation , but it is rivalled in ss brightne by Beta (B) , or Kochab , in the bowl of i a i the D pper and in the fl nk of the imag nary bear . Gr Phoenice Alpha was called in eece , because the Phoenicians us ed this star to guide them in naviga e a tion . Its virtually fix d position in sp ce (it is now less than one degree a nd a quarter from the true pole) ma kes it a universal sign - post for wanderers both by s land and ea .

On thy un alterin g bl aze The a - e a n e his o ass os h lf wreck d m ri r , c mp l t , 95 A S T R ON OM Y W I T H T H E N A K E D E Y E

es his s ea a ze Fix t dy g , An d s ee s un ou n to the en oas t r , d bti g , fri dly c t ; An d they who stra y in peril ou s wa stes by n ight Are a en ou os s ne to u e e oo s e gl d wh th d t hi g id th ir f t t ps right . IV C B r a n . . y t.

In the days of American slavery Polaris wa s the star of stars for esca pin g sla ves who sought to find wa s their y at night toward freedom and the North . s s Although , in con equence of the Prece sion of the Equi s wa s a noxe , Polaris more th n twelve degrees from the s s s true pole in the day of Hipparchu , even then it erved is to indicate the north point . It still approaching a ss the pole , and will be within half degree of it le i s . a than two centurie hence After th t it w ll recede , and in the course of some eleven thousand years will l be fifty degrees distant from the pole . Whi e the s s s a s Phoenician u ed Polari , or perh p the whole con s sea tellation , for their guide at , the Greek sailors seem to have employed Ursa Major for a similar pur s s ' pose . Thus Aratu say

The n a e of on e is C n osu a m y r , H H G Of the other elice. By elice reek Sea a e s ea n a w a to s ee ei s s f r r l r wh t y t r th r hip , ’ u e P oen The other g id s h ician s o er the m a in .

l wa s Helice , it wi l be remembered , the Greater a u a wa a Be r ; Cynos r s the Lesser Be r . s a The tar Kochab , or Bet , in the bowl of the Little is a s in a Dipper , the riv l of Polari brilli ncy , but it dif s s a i i . s s s fer trikingly in color Pol ri white , or yellow h i a s s . s white , and Koch b reddi h The neare t neighbor to Kochab , Gamma , is of the third magnitude . The 96

A S T R ON OM Y W I T H T H E N A K E D E Y E

a a S i s . e ss u red this con tellation as be r , but Dr will i . s al ha ve no bear there For him Ursa Minor , and a ha s a w ys been , Sheepfold , and he tries to Show that such wa s the mean in g of the ancient na mes given to it . s s a s Among the tele copic object of Ursa Minor , Pol ri a a a takes the first pl ce . In the d ys of sm ll telescopes it wa s the un iversal test for the optical qualities of a n a l gla ss . O e th t wou d show the companion of the

- pole star could be a ccepted without question . The component sta rs a re of ma gnitudes s econd a n d ninth ; ”

s a 1 8 s s a nd . di t nce , 5 ; color , yellowi h white dull blue s is s s n The large tar a pectro copic bi ary .

s u Between the two Bear c rls Draco , the great a n s un s s Dr gon of the North . It wi d aro d three ide of a nd s s s s the pole , con equently occupie everal month ss a a n in cro ing the meridi n , for y fixed hour of the

i s s a . n ght , but it may best be de cribed in thi ch pter The hea d of the imaginary dra gon is a t this time ° s s en d its is ome 35 ea t of the pole , while the of tail ° I a a 1 0 s s . ts a s a bout outhwe t of it le ding tar , Alph () , a is n a on a or Thub n , e rly the meridi n between the bowl of the Little Dipper a n d the ha n dle of the Great 6 0 a s a o a wa Dipper . About 4 5 ye r g Thub n s the north a s s pol r tar , and much clo er to the true pole than i Polari s s at the present time . Then the Dragon whirled about the pole a s if balanced at the centre i i a of ts body . This s tar s now below the third m gni 98 CON S T E L L A T I ON S I N J U N E

a s tude , but it is believed once to have been bright a s as Pola ris . It po ssess es gre t interes t becau e the mysterious cen tral pa ssage in the great pyramid of C s is 80 heop , which 3 feet long and 4 feet by 3} feet a a in diameter , points to the pl ce th t it occupied in

w - a is a the sky when it a s the pole st r . It thought th t the s tar could then be seen by da y a s well a s by night a is s a from the bottom of the p ssage , which itu ted in a small cha mber carved out of the solid rock deep

beneath the foun dation of the mighty pile . The brightes t s tar in Draco is now Ga mma or a s a Eltanin , in the head . Bet or Ra tab n , and Xi a also in the head , are of the third m gnitude , and i v s u . their neighbor , N u () , of the fo rth Starting with s s s s the head , who e principal tar form a triking lozenge or dia mond shaped figure with the star Iota (b) in s Hercules , the eye can ea ily trace out the coiling a s s a figure of the Dr gon , running fir t northea tw rd , a s a be then northw rd , then outhw rd , then westward a s s tween the Be r , the end of the tail finally twi ting O s . s towards the pole from the northwe t ver thi long , winding course are distributed the third - magnitude

s s a tar Delta Zeta (C) , Eta (fl) . Iota Alpha () ,

1c a A . Kappa () , and L mbda () is a s s s s so There , perh ps , no con tellation to who e tar i a many ndividu l na mes ha ve been given . The Ara bs s a ll s s s a s u had name for of its brighter tar , u u lly ig i f in s i y g goat or camels . Gamma s the most in teresting because it wa s an object of temple worship in early

Egypt , where it was known under the name of I sis .

The temple of Hathor , at Denderah , and that of Mut , at s so a s s Thebe , were oriented th t this tar hone through 99 A S T R ON OM Y W I T H T H E N A K E D E Y E

their centra l pa ssage into the holy of holies . Long afterwards it served for the orientation of the great

a . n s n temple at Karn k Seve other temple , accordi g i . ts u to Lockyer , were oriented to it At Karnak sle der light- bea m passed between ma gn ificen t wa lls and columns exten ding over fifteen hundred feet in length wa a a before it s led to the lt r . When the precession s s its s s of the equinoxe hifted place of ri ing , the po i tion of the a xes of the temples was changed in order i ra still to escort ts sacred y . In a stronomica l history Ga mma Draconis is inter estin g a s ha vin g been the sta r which led Bra dley to his s a n di covery of the aberr tion of light , a phe omenon a hi a 1 2 A which firs t attr cted s ttention in 7 5 . s Lock ha s a E a es s s n yer rem rked , the gypti n pri t , in hifti g s ss s s s a the axe of their ma ive temple to follow thi t r , ha d ss n s a n d evidence of the prece ion of the equi oxe , may be regarded a s its di scoverers long an terior to a ha a s . so s d Hipp rchu But , if , they eem to h ve no n scientific unders ta ndi g of it . Dra co contain s one s ta r of near the second ma g n i u n n six t de ; ni e of the third , or u der ; of the u s s a nd fo rth , or le ; twenty five of about the

fifth . The religious importance of the constellation in ha s a n m Egypt lready been i dicated . In Greek y thology it wa s sometimes iden tified with the dra gon a a s s s that gu rded the golden pple of the He peride , and sometimes a s the dra gon a ssocia ted with the wa s Ca s Golden Fleece , which killed by dmu , aided n a nd s s s a u by Athe e , who e teeth when own pr ng p

a s . a s a n s armed men J on obt i ed ome of these teeth , I OO

CONSTELLATION S ON TH E M ERID IAN IN JU LY

s a n a a nd H E ninth con tell tio of the zodi c , one of s s r s a s s the mo t triking figu e mong the tar , Scorpio , n a s a s a the Scorpio , tr il long the outhern horizon on s n s ums i s a s t cle r ummer night , tretchi g the t p of sun a s s a s dered cl w toward Libr , very conspicuou in the ab sence of full moonlight on a ccount of the splendor of i s s s a a s t chief tar , Antare , or Alph () Scorpioni , one of I s the reddes t stars visible to the na ked eye . t color is a f s in n th t of flame , and it di fer ti t from both Betel

n a a fla e- a geuse a d Aldeb r n . The mlike char cter of s wa s e C s the light of Antare r cognized by the hine e , n a n a ha who ca lled it the Grea t Fire . The me A t res s ” dun - A n s been derived from the Greek pm, denoti g ome a ss a s s a rs a ociation , or contr t , with Are , or M , the n me borne from a ntiquity by the ruddy pla net tha t circles a a n i between the e rth d Jupiter . It s one of the four ” i a s a a a n n e . Royal St r , wh ch h ve lre dy bee mentio d It is genera lly represented a s shini ng in the heart of m u a a s s the Scorpion , or where the he rt y be ppo ed to ’ a nd i a n w ts n a . lie , Arabi ame s the Scorpion s Heart 1 0 2

CON S T E L L A T I ON S I N J U L Y

e it s Antares is render d , possible , more con picuous two s u a a n by small stars tanding like g rdi s , one on

s . s ma 0 s s r either ide of it The e tar , Sig () and Tau () ,

- a are of about the third ma gnitude . Two second mg nitude s s a stars northwe t of Antare , Beta (B) , or Gr f fias AI b - , and Delta or Jab ab , with a third magni u m t de one , Pi ( ) , below them , mark the front of the ’

i s . n s Scorp on head The tail , begi ning with Ep ilon e z s s () , drops down to the hori on , then turn ea tward , n a n n and fi lly curves upward again , termi ati g in a con s icuous s s a A s v p pair of tar , Lambd () and Up ilon () , the first of the third a nd the other of the fourth ma g i u ha n t de. s s s All told , Scorpio one tar of the fir t s magnitude , two of the second , even of the third ,

. s eight of the fourth , and ten of the fifth The ea tern s a is Wa part of the con tell tion immersed in the Milky y , s a s near its brighte t portion , where it f ll behind the a s a s southern horizon in v t flaky clouds of p le lumino ity . a wa s s Scorpio , in Greek f ble , the scorpion that tung ’ Orion s heel when he wa s ba ttling with the Lerna a n u monster . Arat s s peaks of the fiery sting of the ’ ”

s s s . huge portent , Scorpio , in the outh wind bo om It ma y ha ve been the color of An tares which led the old a lchemists to believe that iron could be trans muted into gold only when the sun shone in the Sign h a of Scorpio . But t e as trologers did not regard it s a s n wa s fortunate ign ; quite the co trary , indeed , for it said to have been the birthplace of the baleful planet “ his Mars , and house

i S or o a e o son ou s a e ares Br ght c pi , rm d with p i t il , pr p ’ M en s m a rti a l min ds for violen ce an d wa rs . 1 0 3 A S T R ON OM Y W I T H T H E N A K E D E Y E

H is ven om heats an d bo il s their bl ood to ra ge ’ n d n s ea s o er the u n u a e A ra pi e pr d l cky g . — ]li n u a ili s .

s s Seis From the ancient my terie Dr . s demon a s his s s a a wa s n str te , to ati f ction , th t Scorpio inte ded to prefigure the great con flict for the salva tion of ma n n a nd s n s s ki d , he trie to ide tify it with the my teriou a s Ch mber of the South of the Book of Job . Scorpio offers a splendid object for the telescope n s s s n a in A tare , a double tar of i gul r beauty . The ” a u s a re s a nd s s a m gnit de fir t eventh ; di t nce , 3

s a nd a . color , fiery red bright emer ld I know no more attra ctive object for a good telescope of four or ’

n s . a five i che aperture The stronomer O. M . Mitch ell once saw the little green star emerging from n its behind the moon , duri g an occultation , ahead of a n s great red comr de . A tares belong to the third type s s i s n be of tar , in wh ch the ab orbing e velopes have come so dense tha t they are fa st approa chin g ex n is s a nd ti ction . Sigma double ; magnitude , fourth

- n s n 2 2 s a n d . inth ; di ta ce , color , white plum blue is a a u s s n Beta very be utif l double ; magnitude , eco d " a nd s s n 1 s a n d a . ixth ; di ta ce , 3 color , white p le blue a s a is a a n s a The l rger t r g i double ; di t nce , Xi (E) a s a nd s dis is triple ; m gnitude , fifth fifth , eventh ; ta n ces a nd 7 Nu (v) is also triple ; a s s a nd s s m gnitude , fourth , eventh , eventh ; di tances , ” 40 a n d Ra ther less tha n ha lf- wa y on a line a s is a s s from Ant re to Beta a celebr ted tar clu ter , 1 80 s No . 4 7 3 ( Herschel thought it the riche t a s n n 1 860 s m s of stars i the heave s . In a new tar a s u s s ppeared in thi cl ter , but la ted for only about a wa uis month . It s bright enough nearly to exting h s its n i a n the clu ter by overpoweri g br lli cy , although it 1 0 4

A S T R ON OM Y W I T H T H E N A K E D E Y E

O s is o a ca the serpent . Although phiuchu not a z di l s n a a s a ss c be con tellatio , p rt of it lie cro the eclipti s d a a nd a a s tween the depre se t il of Scorpio S gitt riu , so tha t the sun is in this con stella tion in the latter n d n n n pa rt of November a the begi i g of December . The head of Serpe n s is well ma rked by a group of s a s on e of five t r , of the third , two of the fourth , and a n a n u two of the fifth m g itude , which form irreg lar w s quincunx . Belo the e are Delta of the third

a n a a a ss m g itude ; Alpha () , or Unuk lh i , of rather le

a s n a n s e th n the eco d m g itude ; Ep ilon () , of the third ;

a nd . Mu (a) , of the third The figure of the Serpent a O s a a a s then blends with th t of phiuchu , re ppe ring e t

' of i n has s ward the g a t , where it one tar of the third a a nd m gnitude , Eta (n) , one of the fourth , Theta Al is which indicates the end of the ta il . pha in the ’

s n is s a Cor n s . Serpent eck , and ometimes c lled Serpe ti O u s a nd e s n s s All told , phiuch Serp n co tain three tar n a s s n n generally ra ked of the eco d mag itude , twelve i a n d - of the th rd , twelve of the fourth , thirty four of f n in a n a the fi th . Lyi g rich regio of the he vens , they ss ss s s s s a n po e numerou tar of the ixth m g itude . In Greek mythology Ophiuchus wa s the great phy sicia n E scu la ius s p , to whom Socrate , about to die , s his f reque ted friends to o fer a cock . The legend a s n s be rel te that Pluto , the god of the ether region , a a t s E s cula ius c me alarmed the cure of p , who even s a s re brought the dead to life , and per u ded Zeu to sk move him from the earth to the y , where he could do no moreharm . Not only the cock but the serpent wa s sa ZEscula ius— ih a s wa s cred to p f ct , the erpent his favorite ; hence the presence of Serpens with him in the

1 0 6 CON S T E L L A T I ON S I N J U L Y

O w s s i sk . s a y In the Middle Age , phiuchus omet mes regarded as symbolizing Moses with the Brazen Ser ’ s wa s s n s pent . Serpen al o ide tified with Eve tempter Seiss O s in the Garden of Eden . For Dr . , phiuchu represents the Great Physician who was to heal the woes of mankind . Ophiuchus and Serpens conta in many interestin g s 6 hi chi i telescopic obj ects . The tar 3 Op u s double ; fif and s s magnitudes , th eighth ; di tance , color , a 7L O hiu chi is a s yellow and red . L mbda () p clo e doub le s s s ; magnitude , fourth and ixth ;di tance , Tau r O hiu chi is n s s () p double ; mag itude , fifth and ixth ; s c s 0 O hiuchi is di tan e , The tar 7 p a binary , with a period of 95 years . The magnitudes are fourth and s ixth ;dista nce This star isone of those whose paralla xes have been calcula ted with some de Its s gree of accuracy . di tance appears to be a bout one and a quarter million times the distance of the O s s s a sun . phiuchu contain many mall globul r star 1 60 clusters . The great new star of 4 appeared in

s s t l . a thi con e lation Beta Serpentis , of the third m gni a -m s tude , has ninth agnitude companion , di tant i s s s a re Revers ng the usual order , the color in thi ca e bluish for the large star and yellowish for the sma ll

. s n s one Theta Serpenti is double ; mag itude , fourth and s and four a half ; di tance ,

(CHART V II)

O s North of phiuchu , with his feet towards the pole “ s s e s s and his head toward the outh , kn el Hercule , one k “ s s sa s . of the oldest y figure , y Mr Allen , although not known to the first Greek astronomers under that 1 0 7 A S T R ON OM Y W I T H T H E N A K E D EY E

s n name . The ancients eem , i deed , to have felt that there wa s a n unexplained mystery connected with this constellation :

’ ea to the D a on s ea in o -s en os u e N r r g h d , t il p t p t r , R e o es a an o ose n a e n on e can e v lv ph t m , wh m t ll , Nor a he a o s a t T e a s wh t l b r . h y c ll him imply The M an u on his Kn e H is n ees see p es . k m ben t In es e a e s u e e o o his s ou e s d p r t tr ggl , whil fr m b th h ld r H is han ds a re high u plifted a n d outsprea d A f h H i ’ s ar as e can stretch . s right foot s sole Is an e on he es of the o D n pl t d t cr t c iled rago . -A u rat s .

The constellation is n ot conspicuous by any es ecia l l a s n a its s s p bri li ncy or triki g arr ngement of tar , yet it ha s borne many na mes a mong ma n y nations One is from the remotes t antiquity . tempted to a s wa s think th t ome primeval legend attached to it , only indistinct memories of which ha ve come down a n into hi storic time d been preserved . Some have s C Ishduba r thought that it repre ented the haldean , or imrou s a iama ia N d t. , who lew the dr gon T In Phoenic i a s M r h it s said to h ve repre ented the god elka t . It a s a t f s was l o , di ferent time , identified with Ixion ,

s s . a with Prometheu bound , and with The eus Fin lly all the world settled down to the belief tha t it was Era s a s a s a s . Hercule , or Her kle , tr n l ted to the tars tos then es seems to ha ve been the firs t to fix this s name upon it . Some of the inventors of Bible tar myths supposed tha t it represented Adam . But

others made the twins in Gemini Adam and Eve . Dr . Seiss says :

A S T R ON OM Y W I T H T H E N A K E D E Y E

a t a a t s a s a to the l t er , f in peck , b rely vi ible to good

a w s - a ss eye , but easily notice ble ith a trong opera gl field— a ss a s a or gl , indic te the loc tion of one of the — s upreme won ders of the universe the Great Sta r

C s in s . 2 0 Its lu ter Hercule (No 4 3 , or M glory , of rs is s a cou e , only to be een and appreci ted with the s a its aid of a powerful tele cope , but knowledge of s a in s n s itu tion pace cannot but i tere t everybody . I n a s . . a recall night pent with Prof . E E B rnard u der a s the dome of the gre t Lick tele cope , when we looked into the heart of this amazin g telescopic globule of s s s see s tellar atom , and eemed to it re olved into s a s its separate but innumerable t r to very centre . There is n o wa y to describe such a specta cle ! It n s i arouses a d a t the sa me time daun t the imag na tion . s One can find no words for it . More than twice a man y stars a s the sha rpest eye ca n see in the whole hea ven s — n orthern a nd southern hemispheres both — included a re there pa cked into a spa ce so small to our eyes tha t it would not make a visible s peck on

. is s the face of the moon It , perhaps , idle to peculate on the way in which those thronging suns came to be — associated in that ma nner . There they are a per etual n a p challe ge to man to decl re , if he knoweth , the ordin a nces of Hea ven

is a s s s . a Hercule full of be utiful double tar K ppa , fif has s - of the th magnitude , a eventh magnitude companion a t a distan ce of 31 The colors are light

. a a n yellow and pale red In Gamm , other double , n s a n d s the mag itude are third ninth ; di tance , is a telesCO ic a n s Alpha a ch rming p object ; m g itude , s s s a a n d third and ixth ; di tance , color , or nge 1 1 0 CON S T E L L A T I ON S I N J U L Y

s green . Delta combine a pale green with a purple s star ; magnitudes , third and eighth ; di tance , is s s s Zeta a clo e binary ; magnitude , third and ixth ”

2 . or seventh ; distance I . 3 The period of is revolution of these stars is 35 years . Rho (p) a i ul s s dis beaut f double ; magnitude , fourth and ixth ; s f tance , color , both green or blue , but dif ering is s s in tone . The double 95 perhap the mo t remark f s able o all in its colors . The magnitude are fifth ” s 6 s and five and a half di tance , color , according to i - the Rev . T . W . Webb , l ght apple green and cherry CON STELLATION S ON TH E M ERIDIAN IN AU GU ST

Sagittarius (CHART X I)

0 lie on the warm sands of a s outh -fronting sea s a a s a coa t , or on the deck of tr n atl ntic liner , s a n d on an Augu t evening , watch the Milk Dipper in Sa gittarius la dling the golden flood of the Milky ’ Wa is a s - s a s s s its y , ummer night ple ure which re erve n s n full e joyment for tho e who k ow the constella tions . a a s is s a S gitt riu , the Archer , the tenth con tell tion of a s s the zodi c , and , like Scorpio , lie low on the outhern a horizon when seen from medi n northern la titudes . has s s a It no tar of the fir t m gnitude , and only one a s s n pproaching the econd , but the pre e ce of the Wa a n all s s s s Milky y , br nchi g on ide in luminou deep s l s a a n s and ha lows , lend cert i plendor to the con a s is stellation through which it flows . S gittariu full

s a - s s s of t r clu ter , two of which are vi ible to the naked — i M 2 2 . s eye 4 and M 5 The former , which two or s a s a s u s s a three time broad the f ll moon , re emble projection a t the edge of the Milky Wa y . The Milk its s is n st s Dipper , with hort handle , outli ed by the ar A Ta u c a a () . Zeta (C) , Sigma Phi (t) , L mbd 1 1 2

A S T R ON OM Y W I T H T H E N A K E D E Y E

a bowman . With the Jews it was the bow of Ephraim Seiss s i and Manasseh . Dr . call it a pictor al prophecy is n of our blessed Lord . There another Ce taur in the s sk southern hemi phere of the y , the mythology of which h s s a a s sometime been confu ed with that of S gittarius . The teles copic riches of Sagitta rius are es pecia lly a a s ul remark ble , already indicated , for the beautif - s a u s sta r cluster th t they incl de . Some of the e clus ters a re more wonderful in photographs tha n they a p ’ One a pea r in the best telescopes . of Barn rd s photo a s s s s 8 a s s gr ph how , in the clu ter M (l o vi ible to the a s s s a naked eye a glimmering peck) , a trange bl ck hole opening ou t like a window in to starless space st a s a beyond . The clu er ppear to be m de up of a s s a - s a n a curiou assemblage of t r cloud d nebul .

ta mSobies ki : Sca (0mmX I)

’ The little constellation called Sobieski s Shield was

s in s . formed by Heveliu honor of John Sobie ki III , n s u a n d King of Pola d . It contain one fo rth five fifth “ a s s s a s u n m gnitude tar , which Heveliu regarded ” a a n c - s cl imed by the ient constella tion ma ker . It lies between the hea d of Sagittarius a nd the ta il of s a n d is s its s a - s Serpen , intere ting only for t r clu ters a nd for the brilliancy of the Milky Way within its n a s s bou daries . Sir Willi m Her chel e timated that it s s contained more than tar .

On e s - s s ha s of its tar cloud , vi ible to the naked eye , a a s been photogr phed by B rnard , and its richne s is s a beyond all belief . It look like a g thering of fiery

s s s n . cirrocumuli , and yet it con i t of nothi g but stars 1 1 4 CON S T E L L A T I ON S I N A U G U S T

Aquila (CHARTS X I AND X II)

Northeast of Scutum Sobieskii flies Aquila the a i s Eagle . The lower p rt of this constella tion s ome s i us a s a time called Ant no , name aid to h ve been given to it by the Emperor Hadria n in honor of his n a wa s favorite atte d nt , who drowned in the Nile , and in the representation of whose youthful beauty sculptors afterwards contended so industriously that m his s a s i they filled the Ro an world with t tue , vy ng s i s s in grace with ome of the work of the r ma ter , the s Greek . Aquila is plainly marked for the na ked eye

s a a nd by its chief tar , Altair , Alpha () , its two attendants placed one on either side like those of a s n Anta res . Altair is of ne r the fir t ma g itude ; one s a is n of its attendant , Gamm of the third mag i tude , and the other , Beta (B) , of the fourth . Two h - s 8 other t ird magnitude tars , Delta () and Lambda i A i s u Sobieski . () , lie in a line extend ng toward Scut m i is a a nd Alta r in the neck of the e gle , Zeta (C) , of the

l . s t third magnitude , in its tai The ar Theta of i is An the th rd magnitude , in one of the hands of n s tin ofi s . A more evident represe tation of a pread a a a e gle would be m de by taking Alt ir for the head , w s Zeta and Theta for the tips of the ing , and Delta

i is n . for the tail . The M lky Way brillia t in Aquila Aquila appearing before the sun la te in the year was regarded by the ancients as a harbinger of tempe sts

dan gerou s when he rises mn m h of he n e a hi e o the a n t e ea e t s . B f re d w , gl wi d c ll —A a us r t . 1 1 5 A S T R ON OM Y W I T H T H E N A K E D E Y E

s s l a a n d a s Thi con te l tion Lyr , on the other ide of Wa a re a ss a w s Chi the Milky y , oci ted ith the curiou nese legend of the Spinn ing Damsel a n d the Ma gpie i s s s a . Bridge , which l o found in Korea The tory a s s s a n s a s s : v rie , but in ub t nce ru follow A cowherd s fell in love with the Spinning Dam el . Her father , n s s k in a ger , bani hed them both to the y , where the cowherd became Aquila a n d the Spinnin g Damsel a i Ly ra . But with th t tender regard for romance wh ch cha racterized the ancient powers that translated peo s ple to the tars , the angry father decreed that the lovers s hould meet once a year if they could con — s triv e to cross the river the Milky Wa y . Thi they n s were enabled to do with the aid of their frie d , the s s s magpie , who till once a year , on the eventh night s n ss - of the eventh moon , co gregate at the cro ing point a n d form a bridge over which the lovers pas s . At the

- s a s end of twenty four hour the bridge bre k up , the s s s a a n magpie return to earth , and the lover mu t w it ii a a a a . other ye r before meeting g in In Korea , mag is se a its s a a s s pie en bout u u l h unt at thi time , the children stone it for shirking its duty when it ought to be helping to form the bridge for the lovers in the k s y . As Lafcadio Hearn found this story during his resi a a s dence in J p n , it eemed to him to be the origin of s a a a s s a the fe tiv l c lled Tanabata , lway di tinctively ’ s a s woman holid y from the earlie t times . The name n a s wa s Orihimé of the Spinni g D m el , another form of Ta n aba ta a nd wa s s driv , her lover a pea ant lad who , in a n da a ss n s a g ox , one y p ed her loom and i t ntly won her heart . In the sky the lovers are known as the 1 1 6

A S T R ON OM Y W I T H T H E N A K E D E Y E

An other a rrow flies on high La n e n o bow ea to the n o u ch d by . N r it rth h Flies t e Bird .

s not A uila C s Thi bird is q , but ygnu , to be described s later . Eratosthene made Sagitta the arrow of Apol lo , but others before him had identified it with one of the arrows of Herakles shot against the Stym l s hill ri s s . Sc e u phalian bird Ju iu , in the seventeenth u his Cceln ni Stella tu mChristia numre re cent ry , in , p s a s C i ented Sagitta the Spear of the rucifixion , wh ch ’ i a s . Se ss s recall Dr ide about Aquila mentioned above . s a 8 is s The t r Delta () double ; magnitude , fifth and s ninth ; di tance ,

(0mmV II)

Just on the meridian northwest of Aquila shines one s s first~ma n it ude s s of the mo t uperb of all the g tar , a Vega , or Alpha of the Lyre (Alpha Lyr ) , of which “ Burritt justly says : The rema rkable brightness of a Lyra has a ttracted the admiration of astronomers ll in a ages . s is The con tellation Lyra not large , but there are s a few which more quickly arre t the ttention .

I sa w its e es a e s , with c l ti l k y , Its o s of a ir its e s of fire ch rd , fr t , ’ The Sa an s ea ! o an e mi gr t E li lyr , ’ R i sin g thro al l its seven fold ba rs o ea un o the e Fr m rth t fix d sta rs . Lon ellow ccu tation o O ion O l . gf , f r 1 1 8 CON S T E L L A T I ON S I N A U G U S T

This refers to the old Greek legend a ssocia ting the ha rp in the sta rs with the magic in strument with O s s s a nd s a nd in which rpheu charmed tone tree , vaded the infernal regions in sea rch of his lost Euryd w . s s as s a n ice With the Per ian it al o lyre . The a ’ r s l s a cient B iton cal ed it King Arthur H rp .

s Al a a The principal tar , pha () , or Veg , derived a s from Weg , a malformed Arabic word , fir t received ’ s s s s the name it now bear in King Alfon o tellar tables . s s C In magnitude it equal Arcturu and apella , being only three - tenths of a magnitude below the zero

ll - rank . The bri iancy of its blue white rays is aston ishin and is bea utiq g, their color y revealed in a telescope . Perhaps it approaches nearer to the idea “ ” i sk s Its of a dmamond in the y than any other tar . actual agnitude is very great , probably a hundred

s sun . a time that of the It belongs to the Siri n type , being young in the order of evolution . Two little s a s s t r of between the fourth and fifth magnitude , s e ul Ep ilon () and Zeta (C) , form a beautif little tri wi n s of angle th Vega , by mea which the beginner

s c . may alway re ognize the latter Beta (B) and Gama ma about eight degrees below Vega , are of the m s i third magnitude , and ark the top of the tr ngs of is s s . the imaginary harp , whose ba e toward the north About fourteen thousand years ago Vega was the

- s an d s north polar tar , , in consequence of the prece sion s l u sa s of the equinoxe , it wi l occ py the me po ition is about eleven thousand years hence . It now more n so than fifty degree s from the pole . Accordi g to me — s s Wa is recent e timate , the apex of the Solar y that , — the direction of the motion of the solar system is 1 1 9 A S T R ON OM Y W I T H T H E N A K E D E Y E

In a s i a s a . towa rd s Lyr that c e , half a m llion ye r from now the earth ma y find itself in the presence of a

- mighty blue white sun , a hundredfold more brilliant da a a is than its present orb of y . The parall x of Veg ” I s s u s a bout 0 . , and the amount of light that it end from its presen t dis tan ce is about one forty- thousand n millionth of that received from the su . s s s Lyra contain one tar of the fir t magnitude , one of the third , five of the fourth , and eight of the fifth . The a ncient mythology of Lyra has a lready been ’

n . Seiss s s s s i dicated . In Dr y tem it ymbolized the rejoicing in heaven at the final victory over the s a his a s power of evil , and , fter way , he tr ces thi meanin g through all the antique legends con cerning the H a rp . ha s - s n Vega a tenth magnitude companion , di ta ce , which is a well - known test for telescopes of s is a moderate power . Ep ilon a celebr ted quadruple

- s . An a ss s s o tar oper gla , and ome eye without p a id i a a s s al tical , separate it nto two ne rly equ l tar s sc i s most touching each other . A mall tele ope div de ” ”

s 2 a nd . each of the e into two , between 3 apart A more powerful gl ass shows two faint stars between s s s a the pairs . The e faint tar were c lled by Sir John billissi is a Herschel the de ma . Zeta lso double ; mag nitudes s s is , fourth and ixth ; di tance , Beta s n variable , lo ing and regaini g one entire magnitude a s - in a period of twelve d y , twenty one hours , and - s On i a a nd forty even minutes . a l ne between Bet a nd - s a Gamma , about one third of the di t nce from the s se is fir t to the cond , found the celebrated Ring - n s l s a s Nebula , which a three i ch tele cope wi l how a n s faint , minute circle;like a little smoke ri g . Thi ring ha s about one -thirtieth the apparent diameter of the 1 20

CONSTELLATION S ON TH E M ERIDIAN IN SEPTEMBER

Ca p r i c o rn u s

(CB \ RT X II)

APRICORN is e s , the Goat , the elev nth con tella

i . s s tion of the zod ac Its two leading tar , Alpha

a Al iedi a re s s s () , or g , and Beta (B) , or Dabih , een ju t we t ’ of the meri dian at nine o clock on the 1 5th of Septem r ss i s ber . Before the p ece ion of the equ noxe had car ried the signs of the zodia c westward out of the con stellations with which they were formerly identified ” (the motion amounts to a little more than 50 per a sun wa s C ye r) , the in apricornus at the time of the ’ s s is i r winter ol tice . This the orig n of A atus s lines in the Pha inomena

h u n s he Ca o n t e oa a t sun . pric r , g l th t t r ’ Be it n e er thy lot in th at m on th to be tossed On the mid-ocean ; n either by da y F ar sa ilest ou for few the ou s of i th , h r l ght , Nor ea on e ea s the a n rly thy p ril br k d w , F or ll n on P es s a thy i vocati s . itil Sirocc os las h the m ain when Capricorn Lo es the su n an d eu s s n s e o dg , Z e d bitt r c ld To n umhe ro n sa o s b t f ze il r . ’ - P 0s te s tra nslatwn .

1 2 2

CON S T E L L A T I ON S I N S E P T E M B E R

At present the sun does not touch the constellation s dl Capricornu until the mid e of January , but the de scription of the kind of weather prevailing at sea sun C i s when the is in apricornus w ll till hold good , n s s s a s tra atlantic traveller know to their cost . Zeu l s has not forgotten how to plague the sai or , and Nep tune is unabashed by turbines . Capricornus is not very well marked out as a figure

s s . among the tar Alpha and Beta , of the third mag nitude are , in the head of the goat , and Delta of

- is s . the same magnitude , in the hind quarter There s s are , beside , even fourth and ten fifth magnitude stars scattered over the constellation . In Grecia n mythology Capricornus occupied a con s icu ou s p place as the Gate of the Gods , it being fabled that the souls of men passed through its stars on their

sc . s s re way to a better ene Bero u , who , it will be e s membered , predict d the de truction of the earth by s C water , when all the planet should assemble in ancer , declared that the globe would be burned with fire when a similar conjunction shoul d take place in Capri

. su s a e a corn So Bero , ft r the manner of his strological da a brethren , even to the present y , took good p ins to provide for contrary events in his prognostications . wa He would not let mankind escape either y . C s s According to another legend , apricornu represent da a nd wa s Pan , who one y , in a frolicsome mood , he s eldom long in any other , jumped into the Nile and f s s on trans ormed him elf , for the amu ement of the i i i a look ng gods , nto a k nd of mphibious monster , the part of his body under the wa ter ass uming a fish

s . hape , while that above water looked like a goat 1 2 3 A S T R ON OM Y W I T H T H E N A K E D E Y E

Zeus wa s so delighted that he decreed that this form ul s a s s sho d be tran l ted to the tar , whence the ancient representation of Capricornus as a cross between a h i But . Se ss goat and a fis . Dr brings u s back to a serious view by averring that the Goa t - Fish s hines s a s a s s s among the t r a ymbol of acrifice and atonement . — Both Alpha and Beta are na ked - eye doubles a t s a is s s s lea t , Alph ea ily een double , its two tars being ’ 6 a a a n a s p rt , while exception l eye may catch a glimp e

- of the sixth magnitude star within of Beta . Each ‘ i a of the stars in Alpha s telescopica lly double . In the ma gnitudes are fourth a nd eighth (distance ’ a nd a s in third and tenth or eleventh (di tance , A little group of fifth and sixth ma gnitude stars be a low Beta , in the mouth of the Go t , forms a pretty One s is s . ight of the e , Rho (p) , an attractive double ; a s s m gnitude , fifth and eighth ; di tance , Three a r of the other stars in this group e also doubles .

s A part of the next zodiacal con tellation , Aquarius , s s a Ca lie north of the ea tern h lf of pricornus , but we s shall come to this later . At pre ent we lift our eyes s s s higher toward the north , where , ju t ea t of Sagitta , we see the rema rkable little constellation Delphinus ’ u fi as s C . (the Dolphin) , pop larly known Job of n Two s a s t r of the third , two of the fourth , and one of the fifth ma gn itude crowded closely together mark out a n u a n u is s irreg l r oblo g fig re , which prolonged toward s u s the o th by another tar of the fourth , one of the

s . fifth , and three of the ixth magnitude The curved 1 24

A S T R ON OM Y W I T H T H E N A K E D E Y E teles copes on a ccoun t of its ma n y close double and triple sta rs ; but to the n a ked eye it offers no attrae s a s a s tion , having but one tar bright the fourth mag i n n itu de. s s It , however , an a cient con tellation , and , s s s wa s lying clo e by the head of Pega u , mythological l sso a s ss y a ci ted with the winged hor e , some a erting s s s that it repre ented the brother of Pega u , ridden by Ca s s s s tor , and other that it was the hor e that prang forth from the rock which Neptune struck with his trident when he and Athene were tryin g to outdo O each other in lympian magic .

(CHART VII)

North of Delphin us and Sagitta lies another small

s . con tellation , Vulpecula , the Little Fox It is one ’ s o s a s is s s of Heveliu s c n tell tion , and too incon picuou to deserve notice if it were not included in all celes ° s is tial charts and tar catalogues . Although it 35 ° s a nd 1 0 long from east to we t , about broad , it has only one star approa ching the fourth magnitude in is s brightness . Telescopically it intere ting for con taining the celebrated Dumb - bell nebula first seen by his six - Lord Rosse with gigantic foot reflector , but Its much more fully revealed in modern photogra phs . photogra phic appeara nce is rather that of an hour ss a nd a s s a ss s gla , it looks though two enormou m e a s were gradually separating , very much the moon a nd the earth are supposed to have s epa ra ted when their originally combined mass wa s in a plastic state . 1 2 6 CON S T E L L A T I ON S I N S E P T E M B E R

Again we come to one of the great figures in the — stars which everybody can recognize at a glance the in l n C C . Northern ross the constel ation yg us , the Swan

The form of the cross is evident , that of the swan may be recognized as soon as the fact is poin ted out that the long beam of the cross indicates the - s d c s out tretche ne k of the bird , flying southwe tward , while the branches of the cross - arm represent the

- out stretched wings .

i s s B C. Before the t me of Erato thene (third century . ) the name of this cons tellation a mong the Greeks was s imply the Bird . Thus Aratus wrote

’ F or hea ven s floor has a fleet-win ged Bird A his od his n s ou en e iry b y , wi g r gh d s a s n ot a es s ze an d et n ot With t r , l rg t i d y dim , u n in the ue ee s of the sk Ex lti g bl d p y , D o n the a e es a oa n his en nons a ze w g l w tw rd fl ti g , right p gr Th e a n of Ce eu s right h d ph , H e h is l ft t e feet of pra n cin g Pegas us . ’ —P os te tra n la t on s s i .

was e an d s a It also call d the Hen , in some old cele ti l charts is represented by the figure of a motherly barn yard fowl .

n s a is s Its leadi g tar , Alpha () , or Deneb , sometime s ranked of the fir t magnitude , although its actual ss ns ss s brightne is co iderably le than the tandard . It is su i a n of the S rian type and of great magnitude . The s ss tar Beta (B) , or Albireo , in the foot of the cro , 1 2 7 A S T R ON OM Y W I T H T H E N A K E D E Y E

is i or the beak of the swan , one of the most beaut ful is s s . double known It a very ea y object to view , even a strong binocula r or field- glass serving to re s is veal the fact that the tar duplicate . The s mallest telescope at once splits it up into a third a nd a sev ” enth a magnitude st r , 34 apart , the former light yel of low , the latter deep blue . The color the blue star is so pronounced and the contrast IS so beautiful that the effect produced upon the eye recalls that of a pair is a a s of skilfully combined gems . Albireo f vorite how object for all possess ors of sma ll telescopes who in s a s vite their friend to look at the be utie of the heavens . “ ” It resembles a picture with a story in a connois ’ — n scur s collection everybody ca apprecia te it . An other very famous object in Cygnus is the little s a 61 n a s s s t r , lo g known the neare t tar in the northern

s . a is hemi phere Its parall x about and , unlike the other s tars tha t we ha ve compared in actua l brill ia nc sun is a s n y with the , it rel tively in ig ificant . It en s a s 6 1 C a would take t t r like ygni to equ l the sun . n s s a n The compone t are both of the ixth m g itude , and their dista nce apart is a bout so that the sma llest s ffi telescope u ces to sepa ra te them . The Milky Wa y passin g through Cygnus adds to n s a n a n d the beauty of the co tell tio , there are many s - plendid fields for the opera glass . In the space be s is tween Alpha , Gamma , and Ep ilon there a great void in the Milky Wa y known a s the Northern Coal a ss is m s a c S ck , whose darkne all the ore triking on count of the fa ct that between Alpha and Gamma lie streams of min ute stars of a stonishing richness an d

a . C n s is a s s s be uty yg u l o full of nebulou cloud , some

1 2 8

CON STELLATION S ON TH E M ER ID IAN IN OCTOB ER

Aquarius (CH A R T X I I )

OR some reason a ll of the a ncients imagined that a sk u a s the p rt of the y occ pied by Aqu riu , the m a - ar a nd its i con Water an or W ter be er , neighbor ng n stellatio s conta ined a celestial sea . Ideler has un derta ken to find a reas on for this in the fact tha t the sun pa ss es through tha t pa rt of the hea vens dur s n a s ing the rainy sea o of the ye r . The con tellation Aquarius has been represented by virtually the same s figure from the da ys of ancient Babylon . A man i seen pouring wa ter from an urn . An Egyptian le gend a verred tha t the floods of the Nile were caused V by the V a ter- bea rer sinking his huge urn into the fi founta ins of the river to re ll it . s is s a Aquariu the twelfth con tellation of the zodi c , n m a s C s n lyi g im edi tely ea t of apricornu , but curvi g roun d on the north of the la tter to the border of

s as The con tellation is not remarkable to the eye , it con tains no stars brighter than the third magn itude . : a There are four or five of about that rank Alpha () , 1 30

CON S T E L L A T I ON S I N OCT OB E R

e or Sadalmelik ; Beta (B) , or Sadalsuud ; Epsilon () ,

AI . or Bali , and Delta or Scheat The larger part s s of the con tellation lies outh of the ecliptic , and the s s its sun only pas e through narrower northern portion , although through the centre of the figure . Alpha is s u in the right ho lder , and Beta in the left , while s s s s Gamma , with a group of maller tar near it , mark s s the overturned urn . These tar form a rather singu Y -S a i lar haped figure , or a tri ngle , w th a relatively s s bright tar within it , by which the con tellation may readily be recognized . In Greek mythology Aquarius represented Gany

- s . was s iden ti mede , the cup bearer of the god It al o fied i s with Deucalion , who , l ke Noah , e caped from a universal deluge and finally ca me to dry ground on ’ is i s s . Se ss s the top of Mount Parnass u . Aquariu Dr s b s Him ym ol in the tars of who said , If any man s thir t let him come unto me and drink . a r is a a a s Zeta (C) Aqu ii beautiful bin ry ; m gnitude , r an d s a s a s fou th fourth ; di t nce , color of both t r , Psi i l i e . s s pale gre n (l ) double ; magnitude , fourth is l 0 . and eighth ; d tance , 5 colors , ye low and blue

Hs ds Australis , or Aus trinus (CHART X II)

Below Aquarius the eye is caught by a conspicuous a nd first- a s lone m gnitude tar named Fomalhaut , or a s l s s . Alpha () of Pisci Austra i , the Southern Fi h This fish is very distinctly marked out by Foma lhaut and six or seven smaller stars arranged in a long oval on ’

. h is s the west Fomal aut in the fi h s mouth . It is 1 31 A S T R ON OM Y W I T H T H E N A K E D E Y E

s s one of the four Royal Star , important to navigator , ts a nd ga ins much by i solita ry s ituation . Flaming s above the outhern horizon on a chilly autumn night , it attracts a degree of attention that would not be paid to it if it occupied a place in some richer

sk is - region of the y . It like a di stant watch fire i in s a gleam ng the mid t of lonely prairie . In the traditional figure of this con stellation the fish is represented a s drinking the wa ter poured out of the urn of Aquariu s . Besides the two names given s s n is s s m a at the head of thi ectio , it al o o etimes c lled n Piscis Meridio alis and Piscis Netin s . A Greek legend ’ associated it with the story of Venus s a dventure on s s h the bank of the Euphrate with the giant Typ on , s she s C when , to e cape , changed her elf and upid into s ri fi hes . Dupuis identified it with the Sy an god a i s s s D gon . Dr . Se ss see in it a ymbol of the my tic union of Christ with His Church .

(CHARTS IV AND X II)

The great wi nged horse Pegasus is seen flying westward through the sky a bove Aquarius and the h w v s fish s s . s s a o e we tern in Pi ce Thi con tell tion , s s s s er , bear no re emblance to the outline of a hor e , and strikes the eye only by a large quadrangular fig ure ca lled the Great Square of Pegasus . Three of its stars are of the second and one of the third s magnitude . Beginning at the lower we tern corner s of the quare and running round towards the left, 1 32

A S T R ON OM Y W I T H T H E N A K E D E Y E ern travellers may still see this foun tain full of wa ter on the very crest of the vast rock which towers eighteen hundred feet above the neck of the I sthmus C s s is of orinth . The figure of Pega u found on Corin thian coins five hundred years before the Christian s n a era . Longfellow repre e ts the mgic horse as pay ing an unexpected visit to a quiet New England v il lage and being put into the pound a s an astray °

An d the u ous oun eo e c ri c try p pl , R an d oo a n d ou n a n d old ich p r y g , Ca me in haste to see this won drou s n e n f s ee a e o o . Wi g d t d , with m g ld

On the o o en the a e m rr w , wh vill g o e to a ll its o a n d a e W k t il c r , Lo ! the s an e s ee ha d e a te tr g t d d p r d, n n An d they kn ew ot whe or where.

But e ou n u on the een s a th y f d p gr w rd , e e his s u n ee ha d o Wh r tr ggli g f t tr d , Pu re an d bright a founta in flowin g

- From the hoof m arks in the sod . — P e a s us in nd g P ou .

One s of the old legends as erts that Pegasus , while wa s visiting the earth , caught by Bellerophon , who rode him through the air when he went to slay the Bellero hirn a ra . s a s C Thi ngered Zeu , who hurled his s s C a phon from eat after the conque t of the him ra , and never permitted Pegas us to stra y ea rthward a gain — until the time of Longfellow , when there were no longer a ny heroe s to ride him and when only poets

. Seiss could appreciate him . Dr assures us , with 1 34 CON S T E L L A T I ON S I N OCT OB E R

learned comments on the ancient names of this con its st s s s was stellation and ar , that Pega u meant to n signify the Mess enger of Glad Tidi gs . s s is s s The tar Ep ilon double ; magnitude , econd ” an d s an 1 8 s a n d . eighth ; di t ce , 3 color , yellow violet Sir John Hers chel discovered a cu rious telescopic ex rim ri e en hi s l p t w ch may be t ed with Ep i on Pegasi . When the star is on the meridian the small component is below the brighter one . If , then , the tube of the IS s a s l telescope wung little from ide to side , the smal s tar will appear to vibrate like the bob of a pendulum . The suggested explanation is that the relative faint ness of the small star ca uses it to affect the sense of ss r a so vision le p omptly than the bright one bove it , s e that it linger b hind in the apparent motion , and thus it seems to be swinging to and fro with reference to the other .

D c as s s ire tly north of Peg u , and ju t on the me ridia n s s a r , we find the mall con tellation L ce ta , the s s t Lizard . Heveliu formed it in the even eenth cen s s s tury . It contain two tar of the fourth magnitude f a s and ten of the fi th , but , lthough retained on all cele s t s tial charts , it possesses almo t no in ere t , even for

Between Lacerta and the pole lies the first of a s s s s s serie of con tellation , ometime called the Royal A S T R ON OM Y W I T H T H E N A K E D E Y E

s s Family , and which commemorate the mo t roman tic of a ll the legends of a ncient times inscribed in the — stars the story of Andromeda and her rescue from

- n s the sea mo ter . s s n s s Thi con tellation , which contai no tar much a ha s ss bove the third magnitude , , neverthele , attract n s ed attention from the beginni g of recorded hi tory .

Nor sha ll bl an k silen ce whelm the ha ra ssed hou se Th n Of Ce eu s . e ea e s n o e n a e ph high h v k w th ir m , F or eu s is in e n e a t few e o s Z th ir li r m ve . Ce eu s se she- ea C n osu e ph him lf by b r y r , I id n s an s u e as a s . ki g , t d with plift d rm — Ara tus .

Iasid s The adjective refers to Ia ion , the son of s C s wa s s s Zeu and Electra , from whom epheu uppo ed w s sc . C s a to be de ended epheu the King of Ethiopia , his i was C ss his dau h w fe the celebrated a iopeia , and g ter was the still more celebrated Andromeda . Their story will better be told in the next chapter . An ss has s s s a ociation been ugge ted , through the la rit s C s C s y of name , between epheu and heop , builder of the Great Pyramid . China the Inner Throne of the Five Emperors located somewhere in this constellation . For Seiss the story of Cepheus and his constellation i resents the com ng of the Redeemer as kin g .

s a The tar Alpha () , of between the second s third magnitudes , bear the name Alderamin , marks the right shoulder . This will be the north s s s 60 0 s tar for our de cendant about 5 year hence . Alfirk is s Beta (B) , , a tele copic double ; m 1 36

CONSTELLATIONS ON TH E M ERID IAN IN NOV EM BER

Pis ces

C IV III AN D X I ( HARTS , V , )

ISCES s s t n , the Fi he , is the leading cons ellatio of

‘ i ss the zodiacal c rcle , the prece ion of the equi noxes having brought it into the position originally — u s si n via s . occ pied by the fir t g of the zodiac , Arie sun s s The vernal equinox , or the point where the cro se i s is s the equator com ng northward in the pring , ituated ” is s s s . s k in Pi ce Thi the Greenwich of the y , from whose longitude the right ascension of all the s tars i - s . is s ss reckoned It , of cour e , a cro ing point of the s is ecliptic and the equator , but thi important spot s s not marked by any con picuous tar , nor even by any noticeable groupin g of stars . It may be well to sa y here that usually a distinction is observed in speaking of the zodiacal signs and the con stella tion s s zodiacal , the former , notwith tanding s a s their we tward drift , indic ting the true divi ions s s of the zodiac , while the con tellation change their

s . s places on thi framework Reckoned in thi way , s is s s s Pisce the fir t con tellation of the zodiac , ince it 1 38

CON S T E L L A T I ON S I N N OV E M B E R

now occupies the place of the first Sign ; Aries is the s s n C econd , Tauru the third , Gemi i the fourth , ancer f s s the fi th , Leo the ixth , Virgo the eventh , Libra the i a s C eighth , Scorpio the ninth , Sag tt riu the tenth , apri nd l a ri s . cornus the eleventh , Aqua u the twe fth The constellation Pisces is incons picuous to the s s s eye , but it occupie an enormou territory , ome fifty s s i degrees from ea t to we t , and more than th rty de s s grees in its extreme north and outh exten ion . The two fishes are represented a s tied by the tails to the s is a ends of a long ribbon , the cour e of which f irly s s s a s n well marked by tream of t r , o ly one of which , n a s occupyi g knot near the middle of the ribbon , ri es

r . s is a to the thi d magnitude Thi the Alpha () , or s a is a AI leader , of the con tell tion , and often c lled Ri ha s s sc . , and ometimes Nodu There are eleven

- s a s s n fourth magnitude t r in the con tellatio , and eigh f ss a teen o the fifth magnitude . Profe or S yce thinks that the double form of this constellation owes its origin to the extra month which wa s inserted into the Babylonia n ca lenda r every six years to make up for the fact that the year wa s divided into three hun dred

s a s . s s s s a and ixty d y Like Pisci Au trali , this con tell tion was associated with the story of Venus changing herself and Cupid into fishes to esca pe the pursuit of ’ s s s s s s a Typhon . Aratu de cription of Pi ce indicate th t in his time the representa tion of the two fishes was the same a s in our cha rts :

' est a an d u e in the sou -W n s a W w rd , f rth r th i d p th , The Fishes float ; one ever u pperm ost

First hears the boisterou s comin g of the n orth .

Both are un ited by a b an d . I 39 A S T R ON OM Y W I T H T H E N A K E D E Y E

Their ta ils poin t to an a n gle l e a s n e oo s a Fi l d by i gl g dly t r , ’ Ca e the Con o n e o he e T ll d j i r f t Fi sh s a ils . — The P ha in omen a .

Three conj u nctions of the pla nets Jupiter a n d Saturn took pla ce in Pisces in the yea r which wa s a ss n a s a C s formerly ig ed th t of the birth of hri t , and this has led to much mystical specula tion concern ing

hl . the Sta r of Bet ehem Mr . Allen remarks tha t the conjun ctions just s poken of strikin gly agree in some ’ of their deta ils with St . Ma tthew s a ccount of the

s s s a . a nd n a my teriou t r Kepler , E cke long fter him , a dvoca ted the idea tha t this wa s in rea lity the celes s s tial ign followed by the magi , but the revi ion of the Christia n era throws the da te of the con jun ctions 1 881 a n a four yea rs out . In Jupiter d Saturn were gain n s s fa ct wa s s in conjunctio in Pi ce , and the not lo t s n in s Sight of by tho e (and they were not few , eve thi a ge of science) who thought tha t tha t yea r wa s the epoch of the new dis pen sa tion and the sign of the ’ n a s s s s millen ium . Pi zzi Smyth curiou mea urement in a ssa s a n d a s a the p ge ch mber of the Great Pyr mid , and the still more curious conclusion s that he drew from s s n them , added force to the uper titio with which the 88 iss n a 1 1 wa s . Se adve t of the ye r greeted . Dr a vers that Pisces s ymbolizes the two - foldness of the ” Church . s a u s The tar Alpha is a be utiful double ; magnit de , a n d s s n s - fourth fifth ; di tance , color , gree i h white i a n d . s a s u n s blue The t r 5 5 do ble ; mag itude , fifth a n d s n s eighth ; di ta ce , color , yellow and deep - s blue . Psi (it) consists of two fifth magnitude star ; 1 40

A S T R ON OM Y W I T H T H E N A K E D E Y E m ous la a a Andromeda nebu , which y be c ught as a s mere wi p of light by the naked eye . It is near the s northernmost of the two ta rs . Photogra phs of this a s s a s s nebul pre ent a pect cle that defie de cription . n s s s a a s a ss It co i t of v t oblong centr l ma , the outer s n a s a n d portion of which hows longitudi al g p , in one a n - u n p rt a breaki g p i to cumuli , while all around a re a n n n s s s r ged , ri g within ring , great lumi ou ellip e , some of which seem to be contra ctin g into globula r s a s s form . If L place could have seen the e photograph he woul d ha ve thought tha t the hea vens ha d pro duced for him a n irrefraga ble witness to the truth a s s n of his nebul r hypothe i of the origi of worlds . More truly descriptive of this nebula tha n of the con ’ stella tion (although he did not know it) is Kingsley s line

Sprea din g thy lon g white a rm s a ll n ight in the heights of the e eth r .

n ew s a 1 88 A t r blazed out in the nebula in 5 , and s s s remained vi ible with tele cope for a year . Although the Greek poetess Sa ppho referred to a uri a nd Andromed , and although both E pides Soph ocles a s wrote dram s about her , we mu t probably , l s sa s . ss y Mr A len , eek her origin far back of cla ical

s a s . time , in the v lley of the Euphrate The myth of Andromeda rela tes that she wa s the a C s a n d Ca ss a d ughter of epheu iopei , king and queen C ss f n s of E thiopia . a iopeia of ended Neptu e by boa t s a s a a sea - s ing her elf f irer th n the nymph , and he

- s a a sent a sea mon ter to rav ge the kingdom . An p a a s n pe l was m de to the oracle of Zeu at Ammo , but 1 42 CON S T E L L A T I ON S I N N OV E M B E R the only relief obta ined was a decree that the king dom shoul d be sa ved if the Prin cess Andromeda were

a s a se - s wa s a given prey to the a mon ter . She t ken to sea - s a nd a a is s the hore ch ined to rock . The location a ’ “ fleeting a s that of Sha kespea re s islan d in The Tem ” s s s a a his a s pe t , but Jo ephu decl red th t in time the m rk ’ of Andromeda s cha in s were to be seen on the rocks a a nd a s s ne r Joppa , that ne r by on the hore the bone

- n of the sea monster were still shown . Awaiti g her a s n m A dro fate , and abandoned by her roy l relative , eda remained by the shore until a rushing soun d and the flight of fri ghten ed birds told her tha t the

s wa s a a . s mon ter ppro ching She hid her eye , trem s bling , when uddenly ,

L e ea of un e o un ou e sk ik p l th d r fr m cl d d y , n A su dden n eighin g rolls an d echoes igh . H er e es un ose o o an d o a re on e y cl ; h rr r j y , F or she e o s in n a n d ee b h ld , whirli g flight fr , ’ The n e o se u ea n eu s s son wi g d h r , pb ri g Z ,

Throw his va st sha de of a zu re on the sea .

a s n It was Perseus , mounted on Peg us , retur ing His dia from the conquest of the Gorgon Medusa . mond - hilted sword glittered a s he da rted upon the s s n . a mon ter a d transfixed him But , ccording to ome s account , he only gained the victory by holding before s the eyes of the monster the bleeding head of Medu a , s s the ight of which , with its naky locks , froze all who looked upon it into stone .

- n s s The sea monster havi g been de troyed , Per eus unchained the maiden and conducted her back to ’ a his wa s her father s court . The rew rd of valor the 1 43 A S T R ON OM Y W I T H T H E N A K E D E Y E

— traditional one in all such cases he received the s hand of the re cued maiden in marriage . When the ha ppy lives of all the actors in this drama s s s were ended , Zeu , not orry , perhap , to thwart Nep a his s s tune , pl yed cu tomary part by tran lating them to the stars

An d e e a o u s a ue o is s een th r , w f l t t f rm , ’ An o a e o her o e s I e a s e. on dr m d , p rt d fr m m th r id L g, T ou n ot see her in the n sk h wilt k ightly y , So her ea so bright h d , bright

H er ou e s ee a n d e. Sh ld r , f t , girdl Y et e en e e she has her a s e en e v th r rm xt d d , An d s a e e en in ea en u e h ckl d , v h v ; plift d

Ou s ea e e n a are ose a a n s . t pr d t r lly , th f ir h d — A atu r s .

But other poets a ssert tha t Zeus was so delighted with the triumph of his son that he did not wa it for a s s so s s a n d de th in thi ca e , that Per eu Andromeda had the peculiar ha ppiness of seeing their new- made ’ s s as a s s s con tellation blazing overhead , , on Peg u

s u . back , they flew away from the cene of the enco nter

The s en en n e o se in n o se ess pl d t wi g d h r i l flight , o out his n os s o n ou s of u e Fr m tril bl wi g cl d f m , ea s e u e n of his e e u e B r th m , with q iv ri g v ry pl m , h a e e a n d u e n Across t e st rry th r bl ight . Like two en orm ou s cloa k s the win d swells wide The n on s a s ou the s a s e e pi i , which , thr gh t r th y glid , Kee the a s e o e s n es e o the o p cl p d l v r t d fr m c ld , e a s e o n s a o s e es Whil th ir thr bbi g h d w th y d cry , From Aries to Aqu a riu s they behold

Th eir con stell ation s fl amin g in the sky . ’ — M H eredia Ta lo s tra ns ] osé . ( y r ) 1 44

A S T R ON OM Y W I T H T H E N A K E D E Y E

from Zeta (C) Ursa Ma joris t hrough Pola ris hits

Delta Cassiopeia . The tru e pole is situated about a degree and a quarter from Polaris on the side towards

Ursa Major . Thus the position of the pole can be ascertain ed with approx imate accuracy at any hour

of the night . Some of the Greeks called the constellation the a a s L coni n Key , from the peculiar hape of the figure ’ s a lready described . Thi is the origin of Aratus s de scription :

H ea en - ou e u een s a n s a s v tr bl d q , with c ty t r , But us ou s in the u - oon e n s s Ca ss o e a . l tr f ll m d ight , it i p i Not n u e ou s n or ou e- o e m r , d bl r w d , The e s a e her o g m th t d ck f rm , Bu t like a key which throu gh an in ward- fa stened - m o n oo en u s to n o a s e the o s F ldi g d r thr t k ck id b lt , n z -z w They shine in si gle ig ag ro . — The Pha in omena .

Several of the stars in the W , or the Key , have

. is is C individual names Alpha Schedar , Beta aph , 0 ’ a nd Delta is Ruchbar . Theta () in the queen s el

- bow is Ma rfak . The fourth magnitude sta r Kappa (1c) is interesting as indica ting the place in the sky ° (a bout 1 north of Kappa) where the famous new star of Tycho Bra he suddenly bla zed out in the yea r 2 s wa s s a 1 5 7 . Thi one of the mo t brilli nt temporary s a n d s a tars on record , attempt have been m de to ss a ociate it with the Star of Bethlehem , on the sup s it 1 2 6 ha s po ition that appeared in 945 and 4, and , s so a therefore , a period exceeding three centurie , th t one of its epochs of visibility would fall about the 1 46 CON S T E L L A T I ON S I N N OV E M B E R

time of the birth of Christ . But it has never been ’ s s T cho s al een ince it faded from sight in y day , though a small telescopic s ta r close to the place which ha s s s t n it occupied been u pec ed of ide tity with it . ’ This star is the Al Aa raa f of Edgar Allan Poe s poem : m D i w a s its e s a n d a n e e es littl di k , g l y Alon e could see the pha n tom in the s kies When first Al Aa ra a f kn ew her course to be ’ ea on e a o er he s a H dl g thith rw rd t t rry sea .

Beta and Ga mma a re of the second magnitude ; n s ll a s a a d . a C Alpha , Delt , Ep ilon of the third In , sio eia n s s a s s a p contai two t r of the econd m gnitude , a n d - three of the third , six of the fourth , twenty one f of the fi th , or near.

The cons tellation is rich in telescopic objects . s s s on e Sigma (9) con i ts of two tars , blue , the other s a f s s a n greeni h ; m gnitudes , fi th and eventh ; di t ce , a s a nd s n Eta (n) , of m gnitude fourth eve th , con s st t a n d s i s of a whi e a purple component ; di tance , a b is a l n s Iot () a be utifu triple ; mag itude , fourth , ” s a nd s a s 2 a n d eventh , eighth ; di t nce , There - s are many telescopic star clusters in the con tellation . CONSTELLATIONS ON TH E M ER ID IAN IN D ECEM B ER

s RIES , the Ram , is the econd constellation of the a As a s is rst si n zodi c . before rem rked , Arie the fi g , and this sign has now drifted ba ck into the constella

s s . is s a n s a tion Pi ce The Ram a m ll co tell tion , only s n -fiv e s in its ome twe ty degree extreme length , lying between the northern fish of Pisces a n d the Pleiades

a s s a s Al a in T uru . Two t r in the head , pha () , or a a a a its n Ham l , and Bet (B) , or Sher t n , are o ly con s icu ou s n s s a p brillia t . They are in the we tern p rt of h m s a n a a M esa rt i the con tell tio . G mm or , a lit

a n is n . tle below Sherat , of the fourth mag itude The tail is in dica ted by a group of three fourth and two fifth ma gnitude stars a bout ten degrees south of west

1 om f s the Pleiade . In mythology this wa s the ra mof the Golden

Fleece .

The n e m en oo R a e n in o . pri c ly , glitt ri g g ld w l — M a n iliu s .

He flew from Colchis with Phrixus and his sister ’ s wa s Helle on his back , but Helle head giddied by 1 48

A S T R O N O M Y W I T H T H E N A K E D E Y E an d on the fou rteen th da y of that m oon a ll Egypt w a s in o h o n n m h joy ver t e d mi io of the R a . T e people crown ed the a o e s a e e a o n a o l mb with fl w r , c rri d him with xtr rdi ry p mp in an o ess on s an d e o e in hi to the u m os . gr d pr c i , r j ic d tm t The an en Pe s an s h a d a s a es a of A e F or ci t r i imil r f tiv l ri s . all this it is ha rd to a ccoun t except in conn ection with what w al n a s prophetic ly s ig ified by Aries .

s a M rthim esa was s u The tar G mma , or , the fir t do ble s s i . a tar di covered Robert Hooke , follow ng comet his s 1 66 a n a ss with tele cope in 4, h ppe ed to p over M rthima n wa s s s esa d see . , a toni hed to it double The

n s s . mag itude are fourth and fourth ; di tance , 5 a is a n a d Lambd a wide double ; m g itudes , fifth n

s . s eighth ; di tance , 37 colors , white and lilac Ep i is s f s lon a clo e double ; magnitudes , fi th and ixth ; s di tance ,

(CHART IV)

s The little con tellation called the Triangle , north s s n we t of Arie , and ear the feet of Andromeda , is very a s s Deltoton s ancient . Ar tu call it , from its re em a A blance to the Greek delt ( ) . The corners of the a are s s elongated tri ngle marked by the tar Alpha , a is Beta , and Delta . Bet of the third magnitude ,

a n a . a nd Alpha d Delt are of the fourth Alpha , no is v has a . s a s doubt , f ded The fir t teroid to be d co ered ,

ria n lum 1 80 1 . C s n u ere , was fou d in T g in the year

Pers eus (CHARTS II AND IV)

The constellation Perseus brings u s back to the

Royal Family of the sky . 1 50 CO N S T E L L A T I ON S I N D E CE M B E R

H e in the n o - n s a n s an rth wi d t d gig tic , His right armstretched towa rds the thron e e e s s the o e of his e As one n Wh r it m th r brid . be t on some

-s a n e he s es o e the oo of e n D ust t i d trid v r fl r h a ve . -A ratus .

’ The dust that sparkles on the hero s armor consists s s is of the powdered tarlet of the Milky Way , which no a s s wa s where richer th n here . Per eu a celebrated hero s n H before he re cued A dromeda . is conquest of the Gorgon Medusa is one of the finest stories of Greek son e s a na a mythology . The of Z u and D , he bec me s s the favorite of the god . When other were contend a n Pol dectes a t ing with rare gifts for the f vor of Ki g y , s c s s s who e ourt he lived , Per eu ought to outdo them all by bringin g the head of Medusa to throw at the ’ w n s . as s ki g feet It an adventure worthy of Hercule , an d to undertake it with a n y cha n ce of success he had to borrow the helmet of invisibility from the god sa n s s i ss of the lower world , the dal of w ftne from

s an d s n . Herme , the buckle of wi dom from Athe e Furnished also with a magic sword set with dia s a nd n s n a s s n mond , , accordi g to ome , ridi g Peg u , loa ed

s s n u . by Zeu , he ha tened to the e co nter Even then ul a n s he wo d h ve failed , and have bee turned to tone n a s n by the petrifyi g gl nce of the Gorgo , had not ’ Athene s polished buckle served a s a mirror in which n he could see his enemy withou t fa ci g her . With a ’ a s s s a backw rd troke he severed Medu a terrible he d , ss n s a s an d wa s his wa i g n ke for hair , on y i Pol dectes the dreadful g ft upon King y ,

ed to espy Andromeda in her plight , 1 5 1 A S T R ON OM Y W I T H T H E N A K E D E Y E

and stopped for a nother and a more romantic ex

ploit. ’ s s ll s sa s is re r Per eu sti carrie Medu head , which p e sk s a s sented in the y by a group of five or six t r , the

a s is a so- l rge t of which the celebr ted Algol , the called n n Demon Star , or the Wi ki g Demon , which every two

s s - n u s s day , twenty hour , and forty ni e min te uddenly

i s a rs 01 1 beg n to fade aw y , until , in the cou e of three

- fif h s s s u t s . . four hour , it lo e fo r of its light A few i s s m nutes later it begin to brighten , and in the cour e s s its of the next three or four hour it regain all of , ' n i i i . ts s s former br lliancy Whe at brighte t , Algol

s a s is . nearly of the econd magnitude ; when f inte t , it a not far above the fourth . The c use of these Singular variation s ha s been shown to be an a s a sun n body , l rge as our , revolvi g around s mi s di tance of only about three llion mile ,

la rl s n a s s a . y eclip i g it , een from the e rth The tire course of the cha nges undergon e by Algol can n a wa tched with the ked eye . n s s Amo g the Hebrew , Algol was aid to re ’ a s s ri u s s i is n Ad m my te o fir t w fe , Lilith , but it o ly ma tter of guesswork tha t this identifica tion had a n ’ s s n a conn ection with the tar s tra ge v riability . On 2 2 1 0 1 s s a February , 9 , a marvellou new t r

s . s di covered by Dr Ander on , of Edinburgh , not 0 s a ha d s a fa r from Algol . N t r been vi ible at th t

i - ur s before . With n twenty fo hours the tranger h become so bright that it outshone Capella . In s a a nd s week or two it had vi ibly f ded , in the cour e a few months it wa s ha rdly discernible with the nak

. i eye Its decl ne continued , and by the end of t 1 5 2

A S T R ON OM Y W I T H T H E N A K E D E Y E

s s Persei de criptive phrase ; The glorie of X , is ’ Proctor s tribute ; One of the most brilliant ob ” ects s l j in the heaven , wrote Admira Smyth . Sir Willia m Herschel here tried on e of his fa mous sta r ” a s his s s g uge , but with mo t powerful tele cope he could not rea ch the bottom of wha t s eems to have been rega rded by him a s a s ort of well filled with s a n s star , for he thought th t it exte ded out into pace to a depth far greater than its width . I remember once showing this object with a small telescope to a person who had never before looked into an a stro mi s his n o ca l s s s a gla , and udden tart and excl mation of a mazement were a tribute to the wonder-stirring power of the starry universe . The mythology of this constellation ha s already n 0 s been sufficie tly indica ted . N one will be urprised Seiss a s s s s Re that Dr . m ke Per eu the ymbol of the a s a E On e deemer of m nkind and the l yer of the vil , s the la tter being represented by Algol . He derive s s a s i the name Per eu from root ignify ng the Breaker , s s sa s and , umming up the old myth , he y

No n atu ra l events in the seas on s or in the history of ma n n n u o could ever serve a s a fou datio for s ch a st ry a s thi s . H e e is a n e- u a n son e o en of a o en s o e o r divi h m , b g tt g ld h w r fr m he D e a of a f on an d e se u on o his e t ity , child flicti p r c ti fr m v ry bu t e es n e the ea en o e s to e a n d birth , pr d ti d by h v ly p w r liv H is n e a n d en a a on s o as M h . e tH p wi g d , giv di m d w rd , ’ n s essen e a n d e a to un o the o e s of e H ea ve m g r h r ld , d p w r vil an d a dmin ister delivera n ce an d prosperity .

The double star Eta (n) ha s components of magni u a nd s a s tudes fo rth eighth ; di t nce , color , white n s e s a d pale blue . In Ep ilon () the magnitude are 1 5 4 CON S T E L L A T I ON S I N D E CE M B E R

a - third and eighth ; dist nce , 9 The eighth magni s a s tude tar is v riable , and some ob ervers ha ve said s a s that its color change from blue to red it fades .

(CHART VIII)

s C s is The great con tellation of etu , the Whale , now s s s a mo tly pa t the meridian in the outh , the he d ,

a s a n s s . which is turned e tw rd , lyi g ju t under Arie The constellation is about fifty degrees in len gth from east s a nd a s its a s to we t , nearly much in gre te t exten s n i s a a d s . Its a ion north outh lead ng t r , Alpha () , or in a is ss n s a n Menkar , the he d , of le tha the econd m g i

. m s a six s tude Ga m degree we t of it , in the di

a Pisciumis n u . rection of Alph , of the third mag it de Some twenty- fiv e degrees sou thwest of Men ka r fou r i - a s a s a th rd m gnitude t r , in the body of the Wh le , mark the outlines of the upturned bowl of a dipper .

s a nd s is a s n - a s a Farther we t outh eco d m gnitude t r ,

in a is s a D en ib Ka itos . Beta (B) , the t il , which al o c lled s s is a a a n Much of thi con tellation comp r tively a bl k ,

1 s a s owin g to the a bsence of conspicuous sta rs . Hei

- -m s s s s a six a ign to Cetu two econd m gnitude , third g nitude s - a n a nd - f fifth , even fourth m g itude , twenty our n s a s all a s is s a a mag itude t r , but of them , u u l , v ry much from the sta nda rd . Cetus wa s identified by Aratus with the sea -monster sent to devour Andromeda :

her owe n o An d yon der di sta nt from c ri g f rm , - e The on com1 ng mon ster scares An drom da . I SS A S T R ON OM Y W I T H T H E i N AK E D E Y E

She in the blasts of Thra ci an B orea s Is sta on e e the sou - n n s her foe. ti d , whil th wi d bri g — The P ha in omena .

In ea rlier times it seems to have been regarded as some kind of levia than without connection with the n s story of A dromeda . Allen uggests that it may ha ve represented the ferocious Tia ma t of the Chaldean a s s myths . The cre ture eem about to plun ge into the

wa ters of the river Eridanus . In the seventeenth ’ century it was considered to be a symbol of Jona h s ’ n n i n a a d a s s . s eces wh le , l o of Job leviatha It hardly Seiss s sary to sa y that Dr . find in it the Apocalyptic “ Old Dragon , the Serpent which is the Devil and ” Sata n .

s i s r Ce s O o The mo t interest ng ta in tu is micron () , t a s a s celebra ed by the n me Mira , the fir t v riable tar a n ever recognized as such . Its ch ges were noticed wi as s a a s a n th great toni hment by D vid F briciu , 6 a s 1 . a mateur a tronomer of Germany , in 59 Mir when brightest sometimes exceeds the second ma gni a n d tude (this occurred in December , when s fa r a a fa inte t it is beyond the r nge of the n ked eye . Its avera ge period is about three hundred and thirty a s s is a one d y , but thi period vari ble to the extent of a s s a ri ne rly a month . Sometime the t r fails to b ghten s n when expected to do so . In the eventeenth ce tury it once rema ined invisible for four yea rs . General ly when at ma ximu m it does not exceed the third a its a s a s or fourth m gnitude ; occ ion l outbur ts are ,

s . Its s a therefore , all the more surpri ing color , e peci l l s a y when fading , is red , and its spectrum hows bl z

TH E SOU TH ERN CON STELLATIONS

Argo Nabis

mwa rd she es to s Ste e a h ose glid , lik ip wh helm H er e a e tu n e to a n a cr w h v r d l dw rd, omn to a n o All the c a rs C . a a te i g ch r b ck w r, " An a n s u es s a s u o n the s t a n d l ppi g rg pl h p r d . ’ T us s te n a d a son s A o a es her wa h r w r J rg m k y , e t a her a e a n d sta ess o the o Sp c r l fr m , rl fr m pr w To the en t a as bu t a d a n all h r a r- ul e e . c r l m t, r i t ft h l — Aratus .

Chart XIII the whole southern hemisphere of s the heavens is repre ented . The inner circle is - fiv e a placed about thirty degrees below the equ tor , a nd the constellations below or within this circle are circumpolar for the inhabitants of the s outhern s hemi phere , and are not observable from median north a n a s s s s s ern l titudes . I a smuch the e tar are invi ible a s s for the m jority of the reader of thi book , the con stellations n ot s s are repre ented by outline , but their n a s places a d principa l stars are shown . P rt of those lying close to the circle are visible from the Southern s a n d United State Southern Europe , and they can be recognized by observing their position with reference 1 58

A S T R ON OM Y W I T H T H E N A K E D E Y E

because it is much nearer to us . Basing the speen C s s lation on the immense magnitude of anopu , ome have suggested that it may be the actual centre of the s s s univer e , but there are no good ground for uch a Ca us s s s a s belief . nop belong to the ame tellar type

ri s a nd s i s s - Si u , h ne with the ame electric blue white bea ms . Ca s has s s nopu been wor hipped in many countrie ,

such a s C a a nd C n a . C s h ldea , Egypt , hi arlyle Speak ’ its s Ara s in a s of wor hip by the b Moh mmed time , and finds a n excuse for his hero to follow the exa mple of

w s - his countrymen in the ild , blue , pirit like bright ness which the sta r exhibits when seen glitterin g n s s wa s a bove the sa dy de ert of the South . It Mo ’ h mm s s a a s n s s a is a ed t r , Ve u een by d ylight said to ’ ha ve been N a poleon s . In ha s a n s— a t Egypt , Lockyer found m y temple a a n d s — n Ca s Edfu , Phil , el ewhere orie ted to nopu when it rose just before sun ri se a t the a utumn a l equ i O s — a s s a a t a n a nox . ther temple , for in t nce , two K r k — h s i its s . s a po nted to place of etting Like Siriu , it n n bee ide tified with the Egyptia n Osiri s . The other conspicuous sta rs of Argo N a vi s a re fa r n n Of s s i a nd l Wa . ther ea t , lying alo g the Mi ky y the e s a s n a n u is the tar G mma of the eco d m g it de , nota ble a s bein g the on ly bright star in the hea vens

- - i e s a s . . which Show the Wolf R yet type of pectrum , a continuous spectru m crossed by brilliant white in s ul s a a s tead of dark lines . It wo d eem th t the tmo n phere of such stars must be brilliantly inca n desce t . Another nota ble sta r is Eta a most wonderful

a . s s a s a a s s v riable Sometime it become brilli nt Siriu , ‘ 1 60 T H E S OU T H E R N CON S T E L L A T I ON S

‘ s is s at other time it invi ible to the naked eye . Its s a n a nd is period of change extend over m y years , E . t s a s a a very erratic a is urrounded by tr nge nebul , al n s its s a c led by Sir Joh Her chel , from h pe , the Key s n in a . s a hole Nebul Thi , too , like the wo derful t r s a volved in it , appear to be v riable .

The South Pole

C s a nd s O Between anopu Lepu , below rion , lies the ’ n s a C a s little co tell tion olomba , the Dove , or No h

a a . s Dove , mentioned in preceding ch pter Thi , like s s s a s is mo t of the outhern con tell tion , of modern

o . s s a s n s rigin Some of the e , uch the Flyi g Fi h , the C n O a a re hameleo , the Air Pump , and the ct nt , in themselves ha rdly worth mentionin g for our purposes ; but the Octan t is interesting a s being the a nta rctic sa s n s s s equivalent of Ur Minor , i ce it urround the outh is s s a s . ern pole of the he ven There , trictly peaking , -s a st a - s no south polar t r , the neare n ked eye tar to the pole being hardly above the sixth ma gnitude . It is s n a intere ti g , however , to know th t when the brill ia nt s a a n Vega become the North Pol r Star , bout eleve s Ca s su f thousand year hence , nopu will be ficiently nea r the south pole of the hea ven s to serve a s a south n ern Pola ris . Another curious fa ct a ssocia ti g these two brillia nt stars is tha t the poin t in spa ce from which the proper motion of the sola r system is car r in is s a n s Ca n s y g us itu ted not ma y degree from opu , while the poin t towards which we are travelling is

1 61 A S T R ON OM Y W I T H T H E N A K E D E Y E

The Southern Cross

This world -famous constellation lies exactly south C a t s n s of rater , a di ta ce of about thirty degree from ss the south pole . The prece ion of the equinoxes is a C ss s s a nd c rrying the ro lowly outhward , it is a s ha n a . s a a curiou f ct , to which Mr Allen c lled tte tion , tha t thi s constella tion wa s la st seen on the horizon u sa a u of Jer lem bo t the time of the Crucifixion . The C ss its un Southern ro did not receive name , however , til a fter it ha d a ttra cted the attention a nd excited n the a dmira tion of the ea rly circu m a viga tors . It seems to ha ve been n a med ea rly in the sixteenth cen ’ n n a tury . Da nte s li es i the first ca nto of the Purg tory ha ve often been supposed to refer to this con s a a C ss s its tell tion (not then c lled the ro ) , becau e of four bright sta rs :

To the right ha n d I tu rn ed a n d fixed my min d On the o e o e a en e e e I sa w th r p l , tt tiv , wh r ’ Fou r sta rs n e er seen before sa ve by the ken H n o e ra Of our s a en s . ea e f fir t p r t v th ir y , O ou n o n e e e See e o ou s . e s m d j y , th rth r it , b r ft

In ee a n d o e s n e of ese e e . d d , wid w d , i c th d priv d ’ - n t n Ca rey s tra s la io .

s firs a Amerigo Ve pucci , on his t voy ge , saw the C ss a n d u n a ha d ro , ex lti gly wrote th t he beheld ’ “ s As a s ss Dante s four ta rs . other n vigator pre ed ma ra vi n s s Croce i to the Southern ea , the fame of the

liosa a s Pi afetta s a . g , g called it , pre d over the world Pigafetta thought it more glorious than all the other s s con tellations . It appeared on a cele tial globe by

1 6 2

A S T R ON OM Y W I T H T H E N A K E D E Y E

ix in a s . bout degrees length , points to the pole The s s s four tars are , re pectively , of the fir t , second , second , n s s s a d . l a third magnitude The lamrge t tar , A pha () , is a t s u . s n the ba e of the fig re Ga ma (y) , of the eco d

ss - magnitude , at the top of the cro , is orange colored . s s is The other tar are white . Alpha a beautiful tele s copic double . A famous telescopic object in the Southern Cross is the colored cluster surroundin g the little star Kappa x s s s ob () . Sir John Her chel , the di coverer of thi a e s jcet , comp r d it to a gorgeou piece of fancy ” s s jewelry , on account of the many color di played . s l s s s n There are evera red tar , and other imitati g em l f era ds s s s . s v , apphire , and topaze Dif erent ob er ers ’ since Sir John Herschel s time have been differently ss s s impre ed by this curious clu ter , some de cribing it a s s ul s a exqui itely beautif , and other finding th t the only colors especia lly noticeable are the reds . I have noticed a surprising difference in the eyes of persons

s s s . ob erving tar color Some , apparently not color n s a s see blind in ordi ary circum t nce , can little or no s is s color in a tar where it perfectly obvious to other .

Centaurus

is s C r sk There a econd entau in the southern y , a s is who , lthough he lack the d tinction enjoyed by his rival Sa gitta rius of belongin g to the zodiacal s twelve , make upon the whole a more notable figure , although situated too fa r s outh to be seen from our s s s s la titudes . The con tellation Centa uru urround the C ss s s s Southern ro on three ide , and extend north of it s a s s is to the coil of Hydra . It f ce ea tward , and rep 1 64 T H E S OU T H E R N CON S T E L L A T I ON S

as i a t resented charg ng , with a levelled lance , either s a the Wolf , ju t head of it , or at the more formidable

a a s . s Scorpio , f rther e t and north The con tellation is e s C C fabl d to repre ent the entaur hiron , who was s his a nd a a the be t of race , the favorite of Apollo Di n , and the instructor of E scula pius in medicine and the a s s s wa s ch e , of Ja on , and of the young Achille , who hi a brou ght up under s care in a c ve on Moun t Pelion . Chiron tried to ma ke peace between Hercules a n d n s n the other Ce taurs . Being truck by a poiso ed ar n a s f a row, he mag nimou ly of ered to die in the pl ce of s a n d ds a his sa ri a n d Prometheu , the go ccepted c fice w a s s . a u C as put him mong the tar In ntiq ity , hiron believed to have in vented the constella tions . Centaurus is es pecially interesting for con tainin g n s u s s s a the eare t to of all the tar , the celebrated Alph s is n Centa uri . Thi a very brilliant star of early the Its a a a n a Ca s . zero m g itude , r nking next to nopu p r l lax is only equivalent to a distance of four a nd

- i s sa - six n s one third l ght year , or , y , twenty millio of is s s . C million of mile Alpha entauri a binary , the smaller star being itself a lmost of the first magn itude . a s an T ken together , the intrin ic brilli cy of the two s a s is s u t r four times tha t of the sun . The pectr m in dicates a s tage of evolution between tha t of Siriu s a n a mi d a th t of the sun . Alpha Centauri was pro nent object of temple wors hip in Egypt . a a n d a C a s Alph Bet entauri , the l tter of the fir t a a s magnitude , make noble p ir , only about five degree a a re ap rt , and they sometimes called the Southern P si s ointers , nce they indicate the po ition of the

1 65 A S T R ON OM Y W I T H T H E N A K E D E Y E

Directly south of the tail of Scorpio stands the

s a . cele tial ltar , Ara

A ou a A a an en b t th t lt r ci t Night , P n u a n oes in o ea n s o s ityi g h m w c t rm , H on as ra ised a bea c . — A ra tus .

The poet refers to the ancient importance of this constella tion a s a weather portent . When black clouds were seen a t nightfall forming like smoke above its s s s a n d s a tar , the ailors took warning t yed in har its n s a bor . But for antiquity the co tell tion would its s a dl a s s . h r y demand notice , for t r are few and mall The promin ence of the n a me in an cient times has led s s a s s s wa s to the u picion th t ome other group of tar ,

a t s a . s fir t , called the Alt r Yet the con tellation de scribed by Ara tus is the same one tha t bears the name a t the present tirne.

The Triangle

The Southern Tria ngle is a much more conspicuous object in the sky tha n its n orthern na mesake nea r is s Andromeda . It an invention of the ixteenth cen u C ss a tury , like the So thern ro , and B yer called it the One its s is s a s . s Three P triarch of tar of the econd , n a d the other two of the third magnitude . In the Northern Triangle the brightest sta r is of the third a a n wa s u n o m gnitu de . The Sou thern Tri gle m ch

ticed by the ea rly naviga tors in southern seas . 1 66

A S T R ON OM Y W I T H T H E N A K E D E Y E

s a s n . tar Alpha () , in the con tellatio Phoenix The a s sso s s s Ar b a ciated thi con tellation with the o trich , u t a o 1 60 b B yer gave it the name of the Ph enix in 3. Its principal star lies very close to the equinoctial a nd is sun a t colure , on the meridian with the the

n On s n . ope ing of spring . thi accou t Mr Allen thinks tha t the n a me Phoenix was very a ppropriately be s n its towed , Since the fabled Phoe ix renewed life at G s i the opening of the reat Year of the ancient , beg n a t da sun s ning noon of the y when the entered Arie , a nd thus the a stron omical symbolism of the constella is s s s . tion name , in thi in tance , preserved

The Southern Eridanus

s n s a n s In de cribing the co tellation Erid u , the starry river which ta kes its rise from the begemmed san da l Ori wa s a s a of on , it remarked th t the chief t r of the n co stellation is not visible from northern la titudes . is n s a s n a It fou d outhe t of the Phoe ix , bout thirty s s a n d is two degree from the outh pole , one of the s i n s a s Sk u a Ca mo t brill a t t r in the y , eq l to Rigel , pella ,

a n d s . a s n a Vega , Arcturu It be r the me Achernar , i a . s from the Ar bic , meaning the End of the River It n s a a n d a in a a other tar of the Siri n type , , h v g very s a a a s u s i rin s brillia n m ll par ll x , mu t be of enormo nt ic c a n s y . In e rly times Erida us wa s sometime called the O n n has n a d s s O . cea , ometime the River of cea It also at different times been identified with various a n s f mous rivers other tha the Po . Aratu knew it nl as s s s o y the River . Thu , de cribing the ri ing of C s sa s : etu , he y 1 68 T H E S OU T H E R N CON S T E L L A T I ON S

’ An d n ow the R e -flood s s n n rea iv r fir t wi di g ch , The bec a lmed m a rin er ma y see in hea ven As he a es for O on to es he a a u o a w tch ri , py if h th ght t s y ’ Of the n s ea su e or the s u e n ight m r l mb ri g win ds . — The Pha in n ome a .

a ss In Egypt it was ociated with the Nile , and in C a haldea with the Euphr tes .

The Magellanic Cloq

s Almost directly outh of Achernar , and about half s s way to the pole , in the con tellation called Hydru , or sh s the Water ake , lies the smaller of the famou Ma lla nic C C s is e C . g louds , or ape louds Thi the Nu Its becula . Minor greater companion , the Nubecula is se s a n Major , en in the con tell tio Dorado , the Gold

fish f- C u . s s , hal way to anop s The e luminou clouds , s s M which re emble detached portion of the ilky Way , h far from w ich they are , however , removed , excited the astonishment of ea rly na vigators of the southern oceans and shared a ttention with the Southern Cross . is The Nubecula Minor the brighter of the two , sk a covering about ten square degrees on the y . Fl m n a s s a la s mario enumer te in it 37 ep rate nebu , 7 tar

s 2 0 0 di i s a . clu ters , and in v dual t rs The Nubecula is a ul Major , which very f int in the presence of the f l s c a 2 1 moon , contain , ac ording to the s me authority , 9 a 6 s s 82 separate nebul , 4 star clu ter , and 5 individual s s tar . It covers an area of about forty square de s s sk gree . All around these singular cloud the y is s curiou ly dark and vacant , as if its contents had sw been ept into these hea ps . 1 3 1 69 A S T R ON OM Y W I T H T H E N A K E D E Y E

’ a a n C s a a C The n me M gella ic loud , or M gell n s louds , was given to them beca use of the description which mthe great circu mna viga tor furn ished of these phe n on his ome a voya ge . But they were known before his da a n d a Ca C s y , were c lled the pe loud on account of being seen by those who visited or rounded the Ca pe of Good Hope . Hu mboldt thought that the wa s a Ox larger cloud prob bly the White of the Arabs , s a in s and he remark th t Southern Arabia , e pecially s in the interior of the country , where the atmo phere is r a n d sk a a ve y dry the y of a deep azure , the M gell nic a Clouds must be notable phenomena . The Singul r idea wa s on ce enterta ined that these clouds were pa rts of the Milky Wa y which ha d been broken off and drifted a s aw y , and the gap which they had left were even n is u a s poi ted out . There no gro nd wh tever for thi

‘ n n n s otio . In their intermi gling of nebula and tar clusters they res emble certa in region s of the Milky Way tha t have been photogra phed by Barnard in s a a a s the con tell tion S gittarius . Photogr ph of the two clouds ma de by Russell in 1 890 show that both s s are spiral in their genera l structure . In thi re pect they recall the enormous spira l nebula (invisible to

the eye) which envelops the constellation Orion .

A S T R ON OM Y W I T H T H E N A K E D E Y E

’ Galileo s description of the appearance of the Milky Wa y in his little telescope is interesting :

The n e o e I a e o se e is the essen e or xt bj ct which h v b rv d c , h su s an e of the Wa . t e a id of a e es o b t c , Milky y By t l c pe an y on e ma y behold this in a m an n er which so distin ctly a ppea ls to the sen ses that a ll the dispu tes which ha ve tormented philosophers throu gh so m an y a ges a re expl oded a t on ce the e a a e e en e of our e es a n d we a re ee by irr fr g bl vid c y , fr d o o s u es u on s su e for the Ga a is fr m w rdy di p t p thi bj ct , l xy n othin g el se but a m a ss of in n umera ble sta rs pl a n ted to U on e o gether in clu sters . p what ver pa rt f it you direct the e es o e s a a a a s o of s a s resen s se t l c p , tr ightw y v t cr wd t r p t it lf an of e a re o e a a e a n d e to view . M y th m t l r bly l rg xtremely but the n u e of s a on es is u e e on de bright , mb r m ll q it b y d n termi ation .

As soon as one begins to observe the Milky Way a a with the le st care , it becomes evident th t it varies s a ff s a nd immen ely in brilli ncy in di erent place , that s its border are very irregular , although upon the whole it pursues a fairly stra ight course inclined at a n a verage angle of about twenty - fiv e degrees to the O . a axis of the equator wing to this inclin tion , the Milky Wa y lies in a long ba nd along the northern i M a hor zon in the evenings of y , stretching from the s s O t we tern to the ea tern points , while in c ober , No v ember a nd ss s sk , December it cro e the y between n the zenith and the orth pole like a va st a rch . In the la tter part of Ja nuary this luminous arch springs s a ss from the horizon in the southea t , p es through the s a zenith , and reache the horizon ag in in the north s northwest . In the middle of March it run parallel a with the meridi n on the west , and at the end of 1 7 2 T H E M I L K Y W A Y

s s s a s a July it occupie a imilar po ition e t of the meridi n . is a t s s n s s s It thi time that its mo t co picuou reache , running from Ca ss iopeia through Cygnus and Aquila

s s . to Sagittarius and Scorpio , are be t een The half Wa s o is of the Milky y that lie s uth of the equator , s a upon the whole , the mo t brilli nt . The immense amount of detail tha t the Milky Way s t s n a s its ea pre en s , and the triki g v riation in app r iff s n its r ance at d erent point alo g cou se , make it well worth while to tra ce it throughout its whole extent . fa ct is c ss so a n In , it ne e ary to do if we would form “ a s idea of the rchitecture of the heaven , for the Milky Way enters as the foundation a nd fra me of the r n s not n a entire structu e . It i dicate o ly the gener l s s a s a s a w hape , but the kelet l detail of the v t org nic hole ’ a s which we call the u niverse . Sir Willi m Herschel original idea was that the Milky Wa y showed tha t the a s s wa s s a s sun n stell r y tem haped like di k , the bei g a so a somewhere ne r the centre , th t when we look out in the direction of the plane of the di sk we see in s w o s numerable tars , while hen we l ok at right angle to that plane ou r vision ranges out into the open s but a s a re space on either ide , where few st r to be wa s s a s seen . It with thi idea in mind th t he devi ed s a n a a nd his method of tar g ugi g , re ching deeper deep er into space with his telescopic plummets a s the s ize a nd power of his in struments increa sed . Later he i his s a nd a a mod fied view , ppro ched more to the mod a s s a re s ern idea , th t the tar not di tributed uniform a ly inside the circuit of the Milky Way , but th t the s s latter is , in reality , what it look to be , a va t ring or Spiral of distant stars surrounding the entire sys I 7 S A S T R ON OM Y W I T H T H E N A K E D E Y E

a nd s n a a s a . tem , enclo i g rel tively empty p ce Through s a s a sun its a thi rel tively empty p ce our , with tten i n i n s s . ts s ha s a s da t planet , journeyi g If cour e alw y s on e a nd is n s been a traight , if it to conti ue the ame

' the fu ture s a in , then it mu t once h ve been near the s a nd edge of the Milky Way in the outh , eventually it will approach the opposite edge of the Milky Way in the north . is s s The idea that the Milky Way a ring of tar , s s a s s is made up of ub idi ry piral , borne out by the va ried as pects which it presents at different points n i s a ts s . lo g cour e I cannot too trongly urge , even n - s a nd upon the aked eye ob erver , the utility the charm of studying the Milky Way in detail . No more ’ delightful occupa tion can be ima gined for a summer s is s n s night , when the moon ab ent , when the heave s n a n d s s are clear and ere e , when the ob erver find him self a t a distan ce from the smoke and blaze of towns n is s ss tr see a a d cities . It u ele to y to the Milky W y where the atmosphere is impure a nd the air filled ffu i with the di sed light of electric lamps . It s one of ' Nature s phenomena which she exhibits in full glory s a only to tho e who love to be lone with her . There is a line of constella tions which ma y be called Wa s a n s s all a the Milky y con tell tio , ince they are to s n n a greater or les extent i volved in it . Beginni g ne r a nd a s the north pole , following the order of right cen sion s a s : Ca ss a , these con tell tion are iopei , Per s s a O eu , Aurig , Gemini (the feet) , rion (the club) , r C s a s Monoce os , ani M jor (the head) , Argo Navi , the C ss C Ara Southern ro , entaurus (the feet) , , Scorpio mSobi kii es C (the tail) , Sagittarius , Scutu , Aquila , yg 1 7 4

A S T R ON OM Y W I T H T H E N A K E D E Y E

Wa s s a s of the Milky y , repre ent mo t singular bend settin g off from the ma in stream between Ta urus and O a nd n a a rion , ru ning in long , n rrow curve through “ ’ s s a s a s the row of t r th t form the lion hide , which Orion is represented a s ca rrying for a shield on his a rm s s a ll s a left . The gene i of thi p rt of the heavens i is evidently recent . It s full of a peculiar type of s s a O s s a tar , c lled the rion tar , in relatively early sta ge of development ; it is ma rked by some of the s s a ffs s Wa mo t ingul r o et from the Milky y , apparently associa ted with notable rows of sta rs ; and it contains s s s the mo t unique nebulou object , connected with s s s a groups and clu ter of tars , like the nebul in the ’ n Pleiades and around Orion s belt . O e might call s a a e it the New World of p ce , where the more nci nt parts of the starry universe ma y see their history re- n beginni g and developing on a grander plan , with a a more m gnificent det ils . In Mon oceros a n d Ca nis Ma jor the Milky Way is a a s s a s a f int ; in Argo N vi it preads into bro d h llows , but on approa chin g the Southern Cross it suddenly

a s a n - s a s a n rrow to lu e h ped trait , which immedi tely a fterwards expa nds into a vast lumin ous cloud com pletely enveloping the lower pa rt of the Cross a nd n C n C ss extending on i to e taurus . Between the ro a nd a nd C n a s Alpha Beta e tauri ppear , in the very s s a s a mid t of the brighte t p rt of the tre m , a phe n omenon which drew almost a s much a ttention from the ea rly na viga tors of the South Seas a s the Cross s s s is con sid it elf , and which Mr . J . Ellard Gore ay ered by some observers to be the most extraordinary s k feature of the outhern S y . This is a black , pear 1 7 6 T H E M I L K Y W A Y sha ped spot about eight degrees long by five degrees w C ide , bearing the name of the oal Sack . Some of the first explorers of the southern hemisphere seem to have thought that it wa s a real object a mong the s wa s s tars , and this the opinion of the sailor , who

s . is looked upon it with more or le s awe It , in fact , Wa a an opening in the Milky y , cont ining but one s a a tar visible to the n ked eye , and th t a very faint its s s one , while border are harply defined by rich banks of stars . The telescope shows other faint a a re s st rs within the opening , but they too cat r m te ed ss so to make any i pre ion on the eye , that the effect of contrast causes the Coal Sa ck to a p pear distinctly blacker than any other part of the

After passing Centaurus the Milky Way splits in two , the larger and brighter stream passing through

Ara into Sagittarius , while the other enters the east ern end of Scorpio and finally fades away in Ophiu chus after throwing out one or two cross streams a which connect it with the main current in Sagitt rius . s s a Thi portion of the Milky Way , which lies ju t bove s the southern horizon , as een from our middle lati O s a . n tudes in ummer , is very striking in appear nce a dark night it suggests va st sheets of heat lightning s a a s s arre ted and motionless . But brilli nt thi part Wa is fa r of the Milky y appears to us , it more brilliant when seen from tropical latitudes on either side of the a a equator . A vivid description of its appe r nce in the dry a ir of the upla nds of South Africa is quoted ick . M a rkw by Mr Gore from Colonel , an English army

I 7 7 A S T R ON OM Y W I T H T H E N A K E D E Y E

Certa in ly the M ilky Wa y about the n eighborhood of Lu u s Ara a n d o a is a on e u s e a e u of a p , , N rm w d rf l p ct cl , f ll mysterious weirdn ess with its delicate clou d - like wisps of light a n d da rk p a ssa ges twin in g in a n d ou t a mon g the sta r To n e e is n o a of the n o e n mi st . my mi d th r p rt rth r Milky o o a e o Wa y t c mp r t this .

In Sa gittarius a n d ScutumSobieskii there are Spots n s a which look like lumi ou knots to the n ked eye . s is a s i a The tream l o very bright in Aqu l , and won derfull so C n s its n s y in yg u , where long , windi g reache a n d cross - currents i n volve the entire figure of the C s C n s ss s Ca ss Northern ro s . From yg u it pa e into io ia e . p , the point from which we began On e ca nnot study the Milky Wa y without observ ing that the great majority of the first—magnitude in a i s s a a n s ts s . tar are rr ged , or clo e long , cour e These a re Ca n s a C s a a nd Sirius , opu , Alph ruci , Alph Beta C A s a Ca A entauri , ntare , Alt ir , Vega , pella , ldebaran , a n fi - s d . rst Betelgeu e , Procyon , Rigel The only mag n itude stars which a re situated at a great distance Wa a re s s from the Milky y Arcturu , Regulu , Spica , a a a a s ss Achern r , and Fom lh ut . St r of le er magnitude a lso in creas e in number as the Milky Wa y is a p roa ched a nd a n p , a very not ble circumsta ce is that the curving wisps and ra ys tha t s et off from the Milky Wa y are a lmost inva riably a ccompanied by a ccord ant curves of s tars . — first- a s s of The great circle of m gnitude tar with , s s n n a n cour e , many of the eco d mag itude mo g them n ha s s ha s to which atte tion ju t been called , often s a s a n d been the ubject of rem rk , and Sir John Her chel s Dr . Gould thought that it indicated the exi tence of 1 7 8

A S T R ON OM Y W I T H T H E N A K E D E Y E

s a s s a and at the pect cle of the mon ter of the zodi c , i s feeling no longer the hand of Apollo upon the re n , i bolted from the r road , set the heavens on fire , and came near burning up the earth . The scorched track u a wa s of their r n way marked by the Milky Way . s s a Another tory aid th t the gods trod this way . In ancien t Engla nd the Milky Way was sometimes ca lled s a Watling Street , leading to A g rd ; also the Asgard i s . Bridge , a name l kewi e given to the rainbow O wa s s ften , however, the idea of a river a sociated s with the Milky Way , and it mu t be said that this is C s more in accord with its appearance . The hine e s a s s and the Japane e regarded it a tream , and had a beautiful legend that the Silvery fishes sporting in its waves were frightened and hid themselves a t the sight s a s s hoe of the new moon , the h pe of which ugge ted a -a very good wa y of a ccounting for the fact that t e sta r- clouds of the Ga laxy almost disappear in the s presence of moonlight . The Greeks also sometime i O a a called t the ce n Stre m . u n i s But ret rni g to the dea of a pathway , the Bu h a s men of South Africa , like the American Indians , socia ted it with the thought of lights illumina ted in wa s the night to guide wandering spirits . It a line s s s of glowing a he and ember , they said , by which O benighted travellers might find their way . ther sava ge tribes rega rded it as a road a long which their dead friend s were hunting ostriches . Mr . Allen as cribes this belief to the Pata gonia ns . r Lafcadio H earn , writing of the omance of the

Milky Way among the Japanese , and particularly of the story which we have already referred to in con 1 80 T H E M I L K Y WA Y nection with the constellations of Aquila and Lyra C ( hapter IX) , says , in his eloquent way

In the s en e of an s a en n s e o e the s n of il c tr p r t ight , b f r ri i g the moon the a of the a n en a e so e es es en s , ch rm ci t t l m tim d c d mou of the s n an sk m u on e t to a e e o e he p ci till t y , m k f rg t t m on strou s facts of scien ce an d the stu pen dou s horror of T en I n o on e e o the Wa a s a a w Spa ce. h l g r b h ld Milky y th t ful R n of the Cos os ose un e on s un s are i g m , wh h dr d milli o e ess to en the A ss but as the e Aman o awa p w rl light by , v ry g - e a I see the of its s n n itself the River Cel sti l . thrill hi i g s ea the sts a o e a on its e e a n d the a e tr m , mi th t h v r l g v rg , w tmr r h é grasses that ben d in the win ds of a utu mn . White O i i I see at her s a oo a n d the Ox a azes on the t rry l m , th t gr — farther sh ore an d I kn ow tha t the fallin g dew is the spra y ’

of the H erdsrnan s oar. TH E Z ODIACAL LIGH T

s s is H IS my teriou phenomenon not , strictly speak s a is un uestiona abl ing , a tell r object , although it q y — o ur un connected with a star own s . Like the con lla ion s a nd i Wa ha s s te t the M lky y , it long attracted a fi a great de l of attention , although it is too inde nite a i a ss a n s a nd to h ve any mytholog cal oci tio , even yet its nature is not well understood . The genera l opin ion a t present is tha t the Zodiacal Light is a fa in t ex ’ n a is tension of the sun s coro . It generally described a s - s la s n a a cone haped or lenticu r light , ri i g bove the western horizon a fter s unset a n d a bove the east s s s e a ll ern horizon before unri e , but not to be e n at

i s a a a - i s s s . s s ea on It e peci lly n ked eye object , for it ff s s s a nd a t too di u e to be ob erved with a tele cope , s a a re s ss tempt to photogr ph it not very ucce ful . s in n a ecli The light lie , or very ear , the pl ne of the p a nd s n is s s tic , con eque tly be t een when the ecliptic a n ma kes the steepest gle with the horizon . For our a s s s n n a l titude thi occur in the eve ing duri g Febru ry, a a n d a nd n n M rch , April , in the morni g duri g Sep

O . ca n a a a sk tember and ctober It be tr ced in cle r y , a n d in the a bsence of moonlight to a distance of a bout Of s s sun . s ixty degree from the cour e , it cannot be 1 82

A S T R ON OM Y W I T H T H E N A K E D E Y E

It a s a en e a a n e on the u s a oun the a e . o p x c t g tl r di c cl d r d it , a n d so e es o e a os a n but n e e e e m tim f rm d lm t ri g , v r p rf ct , ha vin g a brea k n ea r the meridian ; a t times bein g reflected in the ea s n ea a s u a n n ot a s u as t with rly m ch brilli cy , if m ch n h n on e mo n i t e es an d a a s a e a se on sun w t , m ki g l t im gi c d ri se.

The Zodiacal Light in its brightest part is more a a brilli nt than the Milky Way . It is brightest long its a nd a a a t s s central line , gr dually fades aw y the ide . It has at times been supposed to be va riable in brill ia n c s a suc y . Humboldt says that in Europe ever l cessiv e years ela psed during which it wa s affirmed s l that carcely any Zodiacal Light cou d be seen . He thi s describes his observa tion s of it during a voyage from Lirn a to the western coast of Mexico :

° F or ou n s e een an d 1 n o lat or three f r ight , b tw 4 rth itu de the o a a L h as a ea e in ea e s en o , Z di c l ight pp r d gr t r pl d r An ou n w than I ha ve ever observed it . h r a fter su set it as seen in rea an e een A e a a n a n d the P e a es g t brilli cy b tw ld b r l i d . a o e on a e ou s are s a e e o e the ea u u N rr w , l g t d cl d c tt r d v r b tif l ee az u e of the s an o zon n a s the o a a d p r di t t h ri , flitti g p t Z di c l n Light as before a golde cu rta in .

These observations were made about the middle a of M rch .

Professor Wright , of Yale , has found that the spec i is trum of the Zod acal Light continuous , indicating i s l ss that it is s mply reflected un ight , and Profe or Young apparently favored the view that the phenom enon wa s caused by the existence of myriads of small meteoric bodies revolving a round the sun nearly in “ the plane of the ecliptic , and forming a thin , flat ’ sheet like one of Saturn s rings , and extending far 1 84 T H E Z OD I A CA L L I G H T

n beyo d the orbit of the earth . This reca lls a re

a o f ss a a s u a a m rk the Ru i n tronomer Str ve , th t , in ll ’ a a s s i a prob bility , S turn ring v ewed from th t pla net i s n ot as us a t elf would look they do to , but would p pea r on ly as a shimmering wreath s urrounding the a a n d a s n o a pl net , perh p brighter th n the Milky Way . s a a s a Sir John Her chel , who entert ined imil r idea of a su s a the n ture of the Zodiacal Light , gge ted th t the s n sun a s pre ence of this phenomeno might give the , s n s a a a a viewed from di ta t p ce , the ppe r nce of a neb ss n ulc us star . He also expre ed the opi ion that the “ Zodiacal Light might be no other tha n the denser a s part of that medium which , we h ve ome reason to b elieve , resists the motion of comets ; loaded perhaps with the actua l ma teria ls of the tails of millions of those bodies of which they ha ve been stripped in their ” successive perihelion passages . i s But the whole subj ect is still nvolved in ob curity , and a generally acceptable theory of the origin and

nature of the Zodiacal Light remains to be found .

1 3 X VI I

TH E PLANETS

HE distinction between the stars and the planets a s they appear in the sky is one which is never all s s a nd popularly made . For except a tronomer per s s a s s a s on ccu tomed to view the heaven , the pl net are is s a ff n simply stars . There an unque tion ble di ere ce to a t r a in ed eye between the light of a planet a nd tha t s rs n s a a nd ss a ff of a tar , the fi t bei g te dier le ected by a s s a bu t s the phenomenon known cintill tion , to mo t s ff is a l a eye this di erence not re di y app rent , although everybody recognizes it when once it ha s been point is s s so s a a ed out . The fact the tar are di t nt th t , s s a a notwith tanding their immen e actu l m gnitude , s a s s they appear , even with the tele cope , mere point , while the planets a re nea r enough to present sensible s s a s di k . Moreover , the st rs hine with a piercing light s nl of their own , while the planets are luminou o y with s reflected unlight . s i Neverthele s , a very large planet , l ke Jupiter , or s hi s one of moderate ize , like Venus , w ch come rela tiv el us s s s y near to , out hine even the mo t brilliant of s s ha s s s the tars . Venu often been di tinctly een in the e its daytime with the nak d eye , and light is at times sufli ci n a e tly bright to cast shadow . Even Mercury 1 86

A S T R ON OM Y W I T H T H E N A K E D E Y E

But the apparent perplexity involved in the effort a sk s s to follow the pl nets through the y , which eem hopeless to those who have never underta ke s s s a s a s n a s the problem for them elve , di appe r soo a a n d a s a t they h ve once been recognized , their pl ce

a n a s . y given time have been certained After that , d from a knowle ge of their orbital movements , they n n can be found a t a y subseque t time . We shall concern ourselves here with only five of a s— u n s a s a nd Sa t the pl net Merc ry , Ve u , M r , Jupiter , — a u s a s a nd a r urn bec e the other two , Ur nu Neptune , e too fa int on a ccount of dista nce to be studied with a a ha s a a i the na ked eye . A di gr m been m de to d the reader in tra cing the pla ces of the three outer pla nets s a s s zo named . In thi diagr m the po ition of the twelve i s a n s a re s a n d d a cal con tell tio hown , within the circle — of the constella tions three other circles a re dra wn one n u a nd s on for Satur , one for J piter , one for Mar ; and these circles the position s of the respective plan ets are a s ss a s 1 0 8 1 2 0 m rked in twelve ucce ive ye r , from 9 to 9 , covering a complete revolution of Jupiter . Simply for s s a re s a t convenience of reference , the po ition hown

a . a nd es the opening of each ye r For Jupiter , more ia ll s s s pec y for Saturn , the e po ition change very little in s a s s s u the cour e of few month , but Mar travel m ch r n a more swiftly . By ioti g in what constell tion the a a a a s s its a pl net ppe rs , hown in the outer circle , p

proxima te pla ce among the sta rs ma y be ascertained . is n a a s When once it know that Jupiter , S turn , or M r is to be seen within the borders of a n y given constella n n o ffi u be u tio , di c lty will fo nd in recognizing the a n s a a be pl net co cerned , e peci lly fter the reader has 1 88 T H E P L A N E T S come a li ttle fa milia r with the grouping of the sta rs in a s a n n e ch con tell tio , for the the presence of a la rge - s s s planet among the well known tar proclaim itself .

The recognition of the planets is rendered so much the easier by the fa ct tha t their orbits are a ll con a fined within the limits of the zodiac l band , which ex s tend eight degrees on each side of the ecliptic , or the a re al apparent path of the sun . Accordingly they ways to be found in one or another of the zodia cal 1 89 A S T R ON OM Y W I T H T H E N A K E D E Y E

a s . a ll a a s constell tion They dv nce from west to ea t , a lthough when they are nearest to the earth they a p pea r for a rela tively short time to move slowly back a a n ff w rd , e ect of the more rapid motion of the earth in pa ssing them . It will be found that the position of a planet at the beginning of any particular year ma y be so close to the sun tha t the planet can not readily be seen a t i sun a s a that t me , for the m ke the round of the zodi c si s once every year , pas ng each of the planets in ucces

s . s s ion The reader may allow for thi , and may e ti ma te when the pla net will be fa r enough from the sun to be visible by simply noting that in Jan ua ry the sun ss s i s C u s pa e from Sag ttariu into apricorn , in February C s s a from apricornu through Aquariu , in M rch from s s s s Aquariu through Pi ces , in April from Pi ce through s M a a s s Arie , in y through T uru , in June from Tauru i C into Gem ni , in July from Gemini through ancer , in s Ca Augu t from ncer through Leo , in September from O n a Leo into Virgo , in ctober through Virgo i to Libr , r a nd in November th ough Libra into Scorpio , in De c mb e er from Scorpio into Sagittarius . ns l s a s a The co te lation , before expl ined , have , in con s ss s equence of the prece ion of the equinoxe , drifted out of connection with the framework of the zodiac is si ns a which formed with the g s a basis . Thus the si n s is con stella tion s s si n g Arie now in the Pi ce , the g u s constella tion In s . al Ta ru covers the Arie , etc the manacs the course of the sun and pla nets it traced by s n si is s n s the zodiacal ig s , but nce it the con tellatio a nd s s s Sk a not the ign which are vi ible in the y , I h ve used the constellations for reference in indicating the 1 90

A S T R ON OM Y W I T H T H E N A K E D E Y E

thesespheres rotating on e within another wa s con ceiv ed to give rise to a celestia l harmon y audible to s u s : the god , but beyond the range of h man ear

’ ’ There s n ot the smallest orb which thou behold st But in his o on e a n a n e s n s m ti lik g l i g , u n o he - u Still q irimg t t youn g eyed cher bims . Su a on is in o a sou s ch h r y imm rt l l , B u t whil st thi s mu ddy vestu re of deca y w n D oth grossly close in it e can ot hea r it . n en i Act Scene I M ercha t o V ce V . . f , ,

An elaborate sca le of harmony was invented repre w senting the tones of the various spheres . Cicero a s delighted with these old Greek ideas , and gave them a u s l eleg nt expres sion . He tho ght that the moon hou d a a s ss s s be reg rded the ba inger in thi heavenly choir , while the fixed stars furnished the higher notes . Kep s a s s a s ler , who pent much time in uch dreams in s s s cientific tudy of the univer e , gave the bass notes a nd a to Jupiter S turn , the tenor to Mars , the con tralto a to the E rth and Venus , and the soprano to

Mercury .

Mercury

The five naked - eye planets were naturally the only s a nd ones known to the ancient , of these Mercury , s sun s the neare t to the , was probably the la t to be recognized . The time of his first discovery is un n is a n a n s n a know , but there ext t ob ervatio of him m de s a s a a ixty ye r fter the de th of Alexander the Great , a nd a 8 B 1 1 C. Chinese observa tion in the yea r . He s s a a mu t have been een at much earlier d te , alter 1 92 T H E P L A N E T S h a nd n ately in the morning the eveni g sky . At first s a upposed to be two independent pl nets , and rdin l g y received two names . As a morning sta r a s a nd a s the Egypti n called him Set , a n evening

Horus . The corresponding n a mes among the a n d R a uhine a a n d a Buddha y , mong the a nd n Mercury . Fi a lly the fa ct wa s t the supposed two pla n ets were rea lly wa s one , and the name Mercury un iversa lly bestowed

- a n t in the Greco Rom world . This name a fter became associated with our fourth day of the a a s s a s which ppears Wedne d y in Engli h , de Wuota n wa s through the Saxon , but which M ercnrii dies n in Latin , whence the Fre ch Mercredi . he messenger of specia lly pa t

a n s s . I onized or tors , mercha t , traveller , and thieves s s a O a He was the fir t of thieve , very lympi n Tweed , for he fea red nobody when the itch for possession ’ ’ s hi m a s s s s s eized . He tole Jove sceptre , M r word , ’ ’

s s . Neptune s trident , and Venu girdle He could m s a s as u e any h pe , and nobody could trust him ; and wa s yet the gods loved him . He the personification

- n of shrewdness . If myth making were ion qw there would be no difficulty in finding a type fo 7 r,

Astronomers have to acknowledge tha t their science wa s a s a s a nd s a s born trology , the a trologers b ed their system of celes tial influences mainly u pon the planets

(including the su n a nd the moon) . They adopted the s ancient ideas a bout the character of Mercury . Say old William Lilly : I 9S A S T R ON OM Y W I T H T H E N A K E D E Y E

m n ot al e e u n e or e n n e for he We a as y c l him ith r m c li f mi i , e e on e or the o e a s o n e to a n an e for in is ith r th r j i d y pl t , if n un on a a s u n e an e he e o es as u n e co j cti with m c li pl t b c m m c li , if with a femin i n e then femin in e ; bu t of his own n a tu re he is o h h o a n d a n d e e e e an o . t e oo e c ld dry , th r f r m l ch ly With g d he e H e is u f u is oo t e an s . a o o s e g d , with vil pl t ill th r btl ty , n h n s e es e u . e e n e e e ese s trick , d vic , p rj ry B i g w ll dig ifi d , r pr t mn f a s u e a n o n a n d n e x a a o d a a e an e btl p litic l br i i t ll ct , cellen t s u a n a n d o an u s n u e o u en e in his di p t t l gici , i g m ch l q c s ee a sea e n o a ll n s of s e es an d ea n n p ch rch r i t ki d my t ri l r i g , an d n a u a des ou s to a e a m f u n s a an o h rp witty , t r lly ir tr v l , ea e a n y u ous in the sea for a n o u n o e e w ri d f c , c ri rch y cc lt k wl dg , wn o u o n a a e his o en u s to e n e s en to on . bl by g i pr d c w d r , giv divi ti If he tu rn merchan t n o ma n exceeds him in wa y of tra de or in venti on of n ew wa ys whereby to obta in wea lth If ill d h u e e n o e mn di n ifie e is a o so a f en a g tr bl m wit , ki d phr tic , d n n m his on ue an e a a s e e an a ea a oas te t g p g i t v ry , gr t li r , b r , a e us o a a e- a e a e to e a s t ttl r , b yb dy , t l c rri r , ddict d wick d ct , eas of e e a n a s s or e o on s an in n o a e or y b li f , v ry idi t , c t t pl c n n a n n d n w If he o a O o e a e e e e e. e pi i , ch ti g thi vi g v ry h r pr v n e en a e e e a e o o of n o u en divi , th m r v rb l f ll w , fr thy , j dgm t , H n e e . e e a s m eas e e n es a ll e a en ily p rv rt d g r lly ig ifi lit r ry , oso e s a e a a n s as trolo ia n s e an s s u phil ph r , m th m tici , g , m rch t , c lp o s oe s o a o s a o a es s oo as e s a assa o s t r , p t , r t r , dv c t , ch lm t r , mb d r ,

artificers so e es e es ra a a n s a o s usu e s . ; m tim thi v , g mm ri , t il r , r r

Perhaps the most curious thing in connection with s a a s s thi is th t strology till urvives , and I do not know how many thou sands of men a nd women yet n s s a a thi k , or allow them elves to be per u ded , th t if Mercury presided over their birth they must partake a u of these qu lities , according as his protean nat re may ha ve been a ffected at the time by the influence u of othmer planets . These things , however ridic lous a they y be , have played far too great a part in wa s a f human history to be ignored . Even Kepler 1 94

A S T R ON OM Y W I T H T H E N A K E D E Y E pri se experienced by the eye in s eeing Mercury so bright in the retrea ting or the on - comin g da ylight ff a u a dd s to the e ect th t he prod ces . To the eye of fa ncy he resembles a gem pin ned u pon the cu rtain of n a n d s s the eveni g , the Greek often poke of Mercury a a by the n me of The Sp rkler . ha s his a Mercury given n me to a metal which , in s s s a n ome re pect , is not unlike the pl et , being very s a a a nd s parkling in appe r nce very hifty in conduct , run ning a wa y a n d hidin g itself when ever the cha n ce a s s n a offers . The old lchemi t origi lly bestowed the u a ll a s n name of Mercury pon vol tile metals , but i ce “ ” i ha s s s a their t me it been re tricted to quick ilver , a r en tumvivu m word derived from the L a tin g . It is a s ul a a a na s ing r f ct th t , according to recent determi tion , the density of the planet is about equa l to that of a the met l mercury . The ancien t idea tha t Mercury wa s the patron of m u a s a a s s tr veller y h ve been gge ted by the rapid , s movement of the planet . Being , in round numbers , al only miles from the sun , his mean orbit a s - in s s velocity mount to twenty n e mile per econd , while when he is tra velling a t his highest speed he goes

- fiv n ff his thirty e miles per seco d . The di erence in velocity a t different times a rises from the great eccen n in tricity of his orbit . Whe perihelion he is only sun i a t miles from the , wh le aphelion this is a s incre ed to In other words , his dis ta nce from the sun va ries to the exten t of s s n six s ! mile , and thi in a period of o ly about week On the a vera ge he receives from the sun nearly Six and three - qua rters times a s much heat and light as 1 96 T H E P L A N E T S

bu t s a the earth does , thi mount is so variable tha t it is more tha n twice as grea t in perihelion a s in

’ s u n his a is Mercury period of revol tio , or ye r , three

u s a n - a s a n d q arter of hour less than eighty eight d y , he comes into con junction with the ea rth once in s n about one hundred and ixtee days . From the earth his distance va ries from a bout miles at inferior conjun ction to about miles a t h superior conjunction . If t e orbit of Mercury la y in the a a s a a r same pl ne th t of the e th , he would be seen crossing the dis k of the sun a s a round black spot — i e in three times every year . , every time he is in f ri r his is e o . conjunction with the earth But orbit , in a so n a our a s f ct , incli ed to th t of globe th t the e n On tra sits a cross the sun a re rela tively ra re . the a re i average , there th rteen of them every one hun a an d a u dred ye rs , they alw ys occ r either in May or a u November . The latest tr nsit of Merc ry occurred 1 0 a n d n in November , 9 7 , the ext four will occur No v mr 8 1 2 e be 6 1 1 M a 1 2 , , 9 4 ; y 7 , 9 4 ; November , 9 7 ;and M a 1 0 1 y , 937 . is s a s s Mercury the m llest of the planet , the asteroid H is a is being left out of consideration . di meter only r s i s so a his s a is th ee thou and m le , th t urf ce but one ss seventh as great as tha t of the earth . Neverthele , a a his s is a n as lready rem rked , den ity very great , mou t a s s a e ing , ccording to the e timate of B cklund , to n ar s is a ly tha t of wa ter bein g seven . Thi ne rly s the density of the metal mercury . Thi extraordinary density may be rega rded a s an indication tha t the s planet is entirely metallic in its constitution . E ti I 97 A S T R ON OM Y W I T H T H E N A K E D E Y E

mates of the density vary widely , but they are all s c high . Being ituated so near the entre of the solar s a system , there are reason why Mercury might n tural ly be composed of ma teria ls of greater mean density a b tha n those foun d in the earth . The he viest Su s s in ss s tance would , the proce of conden ation from a

l s s . nebu ous tate , eek the centre Being nearer than sun r s s s ss the earth to the , Mercu y pre ent in ucce ion a s s s s all the ph e which are hown by the moon , but the e can only be seen with the aid of telescopes . The question of the presence or absence of life al a s a s a a nd w y ri es in connection with the pl nets , it can only be a nswered in a gen eral wa y by a ppealin g to n i s a s a s our k owledge of the r phy ical condition , well s sun of their ituation with respect to the , which is s s a nd a the univer al ource of light , heat , radi nt energy in of all kinds . For such formation we are partly i dependent upon telescopic observation . This s diffi ’ on a s ss cult account of the pl net nearne to the sun , a nd in recent times many such observa tion s ha ve been ma de in full da ylight when Mercury is high a bove the obscuring mists a nd confusing a tmospheric

currents of the horizon . The results are not very

encoura ging . Few of the surfa ce fea tures of the a i pl net can be clearly discerned . There s nothing to n s s al i dicate the pre ence of ocean and continents , though some observers ha ve thought that they found evidence of the existence of extremely lofty moun n a i a tain s . The ge er l impression at present s th t Mer ’ cury s surface is altogether barren a s far as life is con a nd a s n cerned , th t it more nearly re embles the moo a th n the earth .

A S T R ON OM Y W I T H T H E N A K E D E Y E

s sun . av s a nearne s to the We h e already een th t , on

s a six - a ms the average , he get ne rly and three qu rter ti e a s s a a s s much ol r light and heat come to the earth . This in itself would seem to prohibit the presence of s s s s s being re embling our elve , for it mu t ma ke the ’ mean temperature of the planet s surface fa r a bove a n a ca n th t of boili g w ter , so that no liquid exi st on it . On a is the other h nd , there little evidence of the exi stence of a n y clouds or any watery vapor s a is s l cury . But the itu tion made ti l more by the fact of the great a nd ra pid cha nges of t ture which Mercury undergoes on a ccount of i a eccentricity of the orbit . When he s ne rest to sun he receives two a nd a qua rter times a s much 1 a s is a s sun and heat when he f rthe t from the , and cha nge from on e position to the ix i s weeks . This s to be plunged into the fire with a vengeance ! which the surfa ce condition of Mercury close to that of the earth a ppea rs to be i fiv e- s s a s . gr vity , which ixth of that on our globe cordingly there would not be much difference in mn on a n a weight of a a Mercurymd on the e rth . a sa Upon the whole , then , it y be id that Merc a a a s a a nd c nnot be reg rded a h bitable globe , exceedin gly dou btful if he ha s ever had any in ff n . so s a ta ts If , they mu t h ve di ered very widely

s . s s ss the creature of the earth So we mu t di mi , l s s ul an indu gent mile , the pec ations of delightful Thomas Dick concerning the n umber of in tellec s s a m a ss s s be being in the ol r y te , in which igned j 8 6o s ! , 9 ,ooo , ooo inhabitant to the planet Mercury 20 0 T H E P L A N E T S

mof th - Ge e son o o e e en crim c l r d v , Co a n on of e n da mp i r tiri g y , a t the os n a es of ea en Why cl i g g t h v , e o e s a os ou e a ! B l v d t r , d t th d l y Ca mbell p .

The zenith of poetic suggestion and a ssociation among celestial objects is unqu estionably occupied by h Th s n t e planet Venus . e i gers of all a ges a nd all peo a s s a n d a s have chanted her pr i e , lmo t universally ha s been associated with the goddess of love :

E o le ui es en sur la e e o n e t i q d c d v rt c lli , ' T ste a e a en du a n ea u de la n u ri l rm d rg t m t it , Toi q ue regarde a u loin le patre q u i chemin e Tan s ue as a a s son on ou eau le su di q , p p , l g tr p it , ’ Etoile! ou t en v a s -tu da n s cette n u it immen se ! Cherches -tu sur la rive u n lit da n s les rosea u x ! ’ ’ Ofi t en v a s - tu s i e e a eu e du s en e , b ll l h r il c , Tomber comme u n e perle a u sein profon d des ea ux ! Ah ! si tu o s ou bel as e et s i s a e e d i m rir , tr , t t m n e on s e eu V a an s la a s e er o e t s d v t pl g r bl d ch v x , Avan t de n ou s quitter un seul in sta n t arrete z ’ ' Etoile d amour me descen ds pas des cieu x ! —La ma ine rt .

a It is unnecessary to say how Venus got her n me . a l no other pl net , cou d not Ven us is the Bea utifu u s s s ss Like Merc ry , Venu appear in ucce ion as morn s a nd she ing and as evening tar , , like Mercury , was at first suppo sed to be two sta rs ; a n d she received — a nd two distinct names Phosphorus in the morning ,

2 0 1 A S T R ON OM Y W I T H T H E N AK E D E Y E

Hesperus in the evening sky Pythagora s is sup posed to ha ve been the firs to identify Hesperus

with Venus . The ea rlies t recorded observation of

wa 686 B C. h n s s a . s e s Ve u m de , but mu t have been wa tched with a dmira tion from the beginning of hu ’ a man history . Some h ve identified her with I saiah s “ ”

. s Lucifer , Son of the Morning The Arab called her “

. s s El Zorah , the Splendor of Heaven Siriu him elf pales to insignifica nce in comparison with Venus when h i n s e s near inferior conju ction with the earth . To ma n y persons unfa milia r with the sky she then ap a s n s t a nd s pe r i credibly brilliant for a ar , ince the development of electric lamps she has often been a a s n a s a mistaken for an eri l ig l ent loft in the night . fl ira o s a in 1 n a g relate th t 7 97 , whe N poleon returned a s a his a s a wa s s to P ri fter camp ign in It ly , he a ton ished to see the crowds a round the pa la ce of the n k Luxembourg fixi g their eyes upon the s y . Then he looked u p himself a n d sa w Ven us gleami n g there in u s s f ll daylight . The people enthu ia tically applauded

a a a s his sta r; is fi u the pp rition In fact , it not dif c lt to see Venus by day if one knows exactly where to look) she is a s when ne re t to the earth , and whmen her dis tance is reduced to about iles . Her light then is a bout o n e- thousandth of tha t received ul s from the f l moon , but , being concentrated almo t s efful in a point , it impresse the eye with dazzling

gence . s The rea on why Venus , like Mercury , cannot be s sk een in the midnight y , but only before or after sun n a n d n the , in the mor ing the eve ing , has already on s f n a . been u ficie tly expl ined But while Mercury , 2 0 2

A S T R ON OM Y W I T H T H E N A K E D E Y E

o en e e in o as o es or in a e as o e w m , ith r b dy , cl th , f c , c mpl x H ion ate s . er es are V en n a an d Tu n w r citi i ri .

The old astrologer avers that a right Venus per a ma n son is pretty , complete , handsome or woman . And another a strologer a dds tha t those who ha ve Venus strong in their n ativities inva riably ha ve dim is ples in the cheek or chin . It comforting to be as sured so a a a a n of gree ble m rk of ide tification , bestowed by a so winning member of the old Olympic concla ve . From Venus is derived the name of the s ixth day ' Ven e ns dies endredi V . of the week , ; in French , In astron omical hi story Ven us is celebra ted for ni s a his s having fur hed to G lileo , during fir t observa s 1 61 0 a a tion with the tele cope in , crushing refut tion

s . s of the old Ptolemaic , or geocentric , sy tem Venu , s a s s s a s like Mercury , exhibit ph e imil r to tho e of the h she moon as s e moves through her orbit . When is s s she on the oppo ite ide of the sun from the earth , appea rs round like the full moon ; when she moves . sun a n d she a s between the the earth , p ses through n s the va rious cresce t and wa ning phases . The e

Ga lileo discovered with his little telescope . But it was s his da e s dangerou in y to upset receiv d opinion , s a and he kept the discovery to him elf for while , ’ simply confiding to his friend Giul io de Medici a n m a n s enig atic n ouncement of it , to which he him elf n later furnished the clew . For refere ce it may be ’ a s a a a a as well to give G lileo L tin n gr m , he sent it in 1 6 1 0 a nd n n September , , his expla atio of it , sent in a 1 61 1 : J nuary ,

— Y n 0 . . H az mmu ra me a mru t a u tur. e i at a s r le , , j f , g 20 4 T H E P L A N E T S

c n s s s 0 Negle ti g the uperfluou letter . Y this reads in English : These unripe things a re rea d a s yet in vain by me . The explanation was made by simply tra nsposing the letters of the Latin a na gra m so tha t it now reads :

n hice u ra s m l C t ce u la tu r Al a ter Amoru m y fig .

This means in English The Mother of Loves s s C n imitate the hapes of y thia . By the Mother ” “ s n s G n of Love , of course , he meant Ve u , and by y ” thia the moon . The smalles t modern telescope ea sily shows the s i s c re phases of Venu , wh ch , at fir t , were imperfe tly ’ a a s n ve led by G lileo instrume t . s n us t s a ss s Like Mercury , al o , Ve at cer ain time p e un s a s s across the disk of the s . The e tr n its of Venu are both more ra re a nd more important tha n those u s a s n n s of Merc ry . For rea ons ri i g out of the relatio between the orbital movements of Venus a n d the s s a a nd a a earth , the tran it occur in p irs , lw ys either a t the beginning of June or the beginn ing of Decem a a a ber . The two tr nsits constituting p ir occur eight a s ss s a re a a ye rs apart , while the ucce ive pair sep r ted

- by an interva l of one hundred a n d twenty two years .

The la tes t tra nsits of Ven us occurred in December ,

8 2 1 a nd 1 88 . 74, December , The next pair is due in n n t a 20 0 a n d 2 0 1 2 . Ju e , 4, June , The prese re der will ha rdly take a n expectan t interest in the statement that when in transit Venus can be seen with the na ked e e a a ss a n d a y (protected by dark gl ) , th t the perfect rou ndness of her figure a nd the inky blackness of her

silhouette make the specta cle surprisingly a ttractive . 2 0 5 A S T R ON OM Y W I T H T H E N A K E D E Y E

The transits of Venus have held a high rank among astronomical phenomena on account of the oppor tunit ff s y which they a ord to mea ure the parallax , n n s n 8 a d su . 1 82 he ce the di tance , of the But since a n d s other better method have been developed , so that for our descen dants of the twenty - first century these transits will probably possess only such interest a s their picturesqueness and their historic importance n ma y le d to them . There are man y circumsta nces which ma ke Venus pa rticula rly interesting from the point of view of the h . s s e problem of habitability In the fir t place , is very nearly the twin of the earth in size . Her diam i n 0 0 s a nd s a s . eter is 7 7 mile , her urf ce o ly 5 per cent less in area tha n tha t of our globe . Her density ’ is s ss a a s so a omewhat le th n the e rth , th t the force a a i a 8 of gr vity on her surf ce s bout 5 per cent . of ter r ri l a a s 1 0 0 s est a gr vity . Anything th t weigh pound on the ea rth would weigh 85 pounds if removed to n As fa r a s s n s Ve us . thi influences livi g being , we might suppose that they would be perceptibly larger on Venus tha n on the ea rth . s s In the next place , Venus po ses es an abundant

s a . atmo phere , ch rged with watery vapor Both tele scopic a nd spectroscopic observations prove the cor

rectnes s s s . a s of thi tatement In f ct , the atmo phere of Venus a ppears to be decidedly more dense tha n ’ m a s a s a n d s a the e rth , or at le t more cloudy , thi y possibly be a n importan t agent in a meliora ting the n n so climatic conditio of the planet . Bei g much a sun she s a s ne rer the , get about twice much solar a n d a a s light he t we do ; but , on the other hand , her 2 0 6

A S T R ON OM Y W I T H T H E N A K E D E Y E

a n a a a a s sun her ye rs , thus keepi g the s me f ce lw y s u a V i wa rd . If it ho ld finally turn out th t this iew s u s ss well founded , then , it m t be confe ed , the theory of the ha bita bility of Ven us wou ld be much more ffi a a a a n di cult to m int in . A world h lf d y a d ha lf s a s s a s a night , with its ab olute contr t of clim te , phy ic l n s n a ff a s co dition , sce ery , and r ce would o er a m rvellou a a i n n s s field for the pl y of the im g atio , but ober cience would not con cern itself greatly a bout a nima ted ex i nc s a an s s ste e on uch pl etary mon tro ity . Brilliant beyond comparison a s Venus appears to u s s far , the earth mu t be more brilliant when it n k u shines in the mid ight s y of Ven s . When Venus a s s n a - ppears brighte t to our eye , o ly bout one quarter a i ma s s s of her urface , as een from the e rth , illu in ted

sun . s a sur by the At the ame time , ne rly the whole fa ce of the earth a ppears illuminated a s seen from n b us . s a a s s e Ven A hort time fterw rd , when Ve u s s u s s a s ss come lo t to in the ol r ray , the earth cro es a a t a l her meridi n midnight in the form of fu l moon , a s s a s a s s and , ob erv tion of the ph e both of the moon s a and of the interior planet prove , the g in in light reflected from a fully illumina ted globe is far greater tha n tha t indica ted by the increase in the area of the h w n n su a . a s s s reflecti g rf ce It been ho n , for i tance , that the full moon sen ds u s n in e times a s much light

- i i s a n . s ts a s the h lf moo When the earth in full pha e , a s s s s een from Venu , it mu t be a phenomenon of a n s a ss truly am zi g plendor , while the attr ctivene of the spectacle is sin gula rly increa s ed by the visibility a t sa s the me time of the moon , lowly circling about s s the earth . If the de ire to find a mean of com 2 0 8 T H E P L A N E T S

in munica t g with the other world s visible in our sky has a a s a us seized im gin tive mind mong , how much more intense should that desire be a mong the imba bi s tants of Venus (if they exi t) , when they behold this

great , round earth magnificently pouring her bea ms u pon their heads ! When we ga ze with a dmiration a t s is a a a n Venu in her glory , it c ptiv ti g thought tha t s s to her we pre ent a pectacle far more glorious still . It is true that the intensity of the sun light received is a as a s nu but on the earth only h lf great on Ve s , a ff a s C n s that hardly ects the comp ri on . o ider how a a s a s s re brilli nt M r ppear in oppo ition , although he Ceiv es on ly about ha lf as much sola r light a s comes

to the earth . There is one other circumstance affecting the con dition of Ven us considered a s a habitable globe which u n a s s should not go nn oticed . Ma y observ tion eem ' tha t her s is a a a to prove axi rem rk bly upright , ne rly

perpendicul a r to the pla ne of the ecliptic . If this is t she a a s n sea rue , cannot h ve the m rked uccessio of s s a nd s a s a on , with winter ummer ch ing e ch other to a nd a ss s fro cro the equator , from one hemi phere into a urs a a s the other , th t occ on the e rth . but her clim te must ra ther be a rra n ged in zon es— a lwa ys summer in a a a n a a a n ss s n the equ tori l d tropic l belt , ch gele pri g a r a n temper tu e in higher l titudes , and unbroken wi ter a in the pol r regions .

The immense literature that has grown up a bout a s a nd the pla net Ma rs within the pa st ten ye r , the 2 0 9 A S T R ON OM Y W I T H T H E N A K E D E Y E

s s acerbity of ome of the di putes concerning it , demon strate the hold that the question of the ha bitability of other worlds possesses not only upon the popular s imagination , but upon the mind of many who are a s s s a eng ged in cientific tudy of the cele ti l bodies . Bu t long before it became possible to discuss this question on a ny other ba sis than tha t of pure hy h i a n ot es s a s . p , M r had attr cted u iversal attention so a s s his s Never bright Venu or Jupiter , tartling his s s color , frequent return to a prominent po ition in sk a n d his s a s ss the y , enormou ch nge of brightne have a a lways excited a grea t de l of interes t . When he bea ms like a red s ignal - lan tern in the midnight hea v

en s a s s s t a . , M r fixe the eye like no other cele i l object There is a kind of insistent assertiveness a bout his i s s s appearance wh ch pique curio ity , and at the ame time defies it . In a ncient times Mars received everywhere na mes a C n ba sed upon his ruddy spect . The hi ese called a a s him , pl inly , the Red Pl net ; the H indoo , the E s On e E mber ; the Hebrew , the Burning ; the gyp

a s s s . ti n , the Red Horu ; the Greek , the Fiery He wa s a s n a a a ss a wa r l o i v ri bly oci ted with the god of , a a wha tever the pa rticul r name of th t deity might be . The na me which has clung to the pla net is tha t of the

s a s a s . Greek Are , tr n formed into the Roman M r There is a somewha t uncertain Chinese record of an observa 2 1 B C a s rolo tion of Ma rs made a bout 44 . . With the t “ a ha s a s a a a ss gers M rs lway been m lign pl net , the le er

n s a nd s i . n i fortune , author of quarrel tr fe Whe well sa s a s s dignified , y old Lilly , he m ke tho e born under n n in a s wa r a nd a s him i vi cible fe t of cour ge , lover of 2 1 0

A S T R ON OM Y W I T H T H E N A K E D E Y E

is s a s a helion point itu ted , the di t nce between him a nd is e a s ss the earth r duced to the le t po ible amount . s 1 0 on e s The oppo ition of 9 9 will be of thi kind . s a s a n s a nd In ize M r r k between Mercury the earth . H is dia meter is 420 0 miles a nd his surface a rea about 8 2 . a per cent . of the earth s Gr vity on his surfa ce i 8 s a s 3 per cent . of terre trial gr vity . A body weighing 1 0 0 poun ds on the ea rth would weigh but 38 pound s

if tran sported to Ma rs . Very important suppositiona l s s a s a s s con equence h ve been drawn from thi , we hall see la ter . The first thin g tha t seized the a ttention of tele s s s s wa s his a copic ob erver of Mar white polar c ps . These both look and behave exa ctly as we should ex pect caps of snow and ice to do . The seasons of Mars s a are very like tho e of the earth , except th t each is a a s n a s s a nd s a s ne rly twice lo g our , , ju t with our un s s ss s s . globe , the hine in ucce ion upon the two poles ’ ° The in clina tion of M a rs s a xis is 2 4 on ly a trifle ’ greater than tha t of the earth s axis . Thus the effect sun s u his s u s s of the ri ing pon pole m t , other thing s s its ff s being equal , clo ely re emble e ect in the ca e of ’ a s s is the earth . Moreover , M r rotation period won derf s s his t clo e to our , day and night together

n - s —s covering twe ty four hour and thirty even minutes . Co s n s a ff n eque tly , we hould expect the gener l e ect of the alterna tion of sunshin e a nd da rkness on Ma rs to H is a s a a . s re emble th t upon the e rth tmo phere , how i n a nd s u ha s im s ever , very deficie t , thi undo btedly portant results in the distribution a nd retention of s In a a s s olar heat . f ct , the tmo phere of Mars doe not appear to be more dense than that found on the sum 2 1 2 T H E P L A N E T S

- s mits of our loftiest mountain peak , and the spectro scopic evidence touching the presence of wa tery v a is s por un atisfactory . It ha s been suggested tha t a ’ slight excess of carbonic a cid in Ma rs s a tmosphere ’ would serve to keep the planet s tempera ture suffi ciently high to en a ble both pla nt and animal life to s flouri h on his sumrface . s a a However thi y be , the beh vior of the pola r ca ps seems to indica te tha t they a re composed of a nd a a z n a nd s snow ice ltern tely fro e di s olved . They regula rly and slowly diminish in exten t a s summer a a s a n d n dv nces , and ometimes one the the other a s a s nearly disappe r , if the whole winter depo sit had a wa been melted y . Synchronously with this disappeara nce of the pola r “ ” s a s a s s a s cap , the f mou can l , fir t cle rly ob erved by a 1 8 a a a n Schi parelli in 7 9, m ke their ppear ce . These s a re fa r n n a s s object beyo d the reach of ordi ry tele cope , but they have been stu died a nd dra wn by a n umber o f s s a a a n d a n d ob erver , not bly Schi parelli Lowell , u h ndreds of them ha ve been ma pped . They cover a n the whole face of the pl et , a few of them even a r traver sing the polar region s . They e perfectly s a a n a nd ss in sc s a s tr ight , d they meet cro ore of pl ce , sometimes as ma n y a s a dozen comin g together a t a nd a s a a one point , lmo t inv ri bly where two or more a is s of these dus ky lines cross sort of knot een , like ’ the knots in a spider s web . The genera l teleSCOpic a spect of Ma rs is tha t of a s s a potty globe , the urf ce being divided between light a s a s ochrish and d rk region , the former of reddi h or n a a a s ti t , and the l tter h ving du ky green or blue 2 1 3 A S T R ON OM Y W I T H T H E N A K E D E Y E

c tinge . These were formerly called , respe tively , con i ents s is t n and ocean , but at present it believed that s s no large bodie of water can exi t on Mars . The ca nals traverse these variously colored regions with i n ind ffere ce , although they are much more numerous s a a i s . s s in the light , or reddi h , re There one pot , “ s s a s s ometime c lled the Eye of Mar , which bear no s s little re emblance to the hub of a wheel , con picuous “ ” s s canal radiating from it , with triking regularity , on all sides . The prevailing theory in regard to these objects ” is l a a nd is n ot s a a (it on y theory , cientific lly c c ed a s a ept by tronomers in general) is th t of Mr . a i s a Perciv l Lowell , who th nk th t they are probably irriga ted lands watered by innumerable canals made a s a s by the inh bitant of M r , who , owing to the de s a s a a icc ted t te of their pl net , are compelled to de pend for a supply of water suffi cient to keep v ege ta tion a live upon the a n nua l liquida tion of the polar . “ ” a snows . The fa ct that the can ls begin to appea r s a s oon fter the polar cap begin to diminish , and a a s s s a is s grow d rker the cap become m ller , perhap the strongest genera l a rgument in fa vor of the view ” tha t the ca na ls in dica te the existence of wa ter i l a a a n r - which s a tern tely withdr wn d e supplied . The vi s ibility of the ca na ls is ascribed not to the wa ter a a but to the veget tion whose growth it stimul tes . If it were gran ted tha t this giga ntic irrigation sys a s s a s s s s u s tem re lly exi t on M r , the mo t in i tent q e tion would be : How can any ima gina ble race of beings have performed such a la bor ! The reply that ha s been suggested is based upon the small force of 2 1 4

A S T R O N O M Y W I T H T H E N A K E D E Y E

wa r s the god of Olympus . Deimo revolves a round M a rs at a dista nce of miles in 30 hours 1 0 s a n d s a t a s 60 0 0 i minute , Phobo di tance of m les in s s s a s 7 hour 39 minutes . The e di t nce are from the centre ‘ of a s a the pl net . Neither of the e toy s tellites probably exceeds ten miles in diameter .

The ancients reasoned well when they ga ve the a s n me of the chief of the god to the planet Jupiter . s fa r s n Although Venus , when at her brighte t , out hi es is a a Jupiter , yet there no pl net which can riv l him a s ss his a in the unf iling tateline of appe rance . s s n a n d low , maje tic moveme t lo g the zo iac (he twelve yea rs to ma ke the circuit of the sky) hi is fa r a s impres siveness . He by the l rge

' a s a s h the pl net , lthough tho e who named a a O s s un w re of that fact . b ervation of Jupiter found in Chinese record s severa l thousand years our ra a him l a C s fore e . The hine e c lled the Regu a s a n a a a and l o the Pl et of the Ye r . Fl mm rion suggested tha t the la tter name ma y ha ve b either from the fa ct tha t he ta kes twelve a revolution , equ l to the number of the from the fa ct tha t he is conspicuously vi a a a s l rge p rt of every year . The Egy pti n

a s s . Horu , the Guider of the Sphere The a nd the Greeks both rega rded Jupiter a s the chief a wa the planets . Astrologic lly Jupiter s the Grea ”

. a s s s Fortune When well pected , ay Lilly , he a s a s magnanimous , faithful , b hful , piring in 2 1 6 T H E P L A N E T S ora ble a t way high matters , a lover of fair dealing, a s doing glorious ction , honorable and religious , won derfull y indulgent to wife and children , full of char a nd ss s s ity godline , ju t , wi e , prudent , and virtuous . u is f s s But when J piter a flicted by malign planet , ays r a s his a is h ocriti the astrologe , he w ste p trimony , yp l s s a s ss cally re igiou , ob tin te , ignorant , carele s , gro , dull , i a basing h m self . We need not be surprised to hear s n s s s s i s s that he ig ifie judge , enator , counc llor , bi h o s s s — : p , prie ts , cardinals , chancellor but why woollen

The fifth da y of the week takes its name from ' ' 001 s dies 2udi Jupiter , 7 ; in French , 3 . ’ Jupiter s avera ge dista n ce from the sun is 48 0 0 0 s a s n mile , more th n five times the di ta ce of the s is a earth . Thi vari ble to the extent of a his s a a s n miles . From the e rth di t nce v rie betwee On a a a nd s . mile the ver ge , sa s u n is a u s as y Professor Yo g , he bo t five time bright a i1i u H is s s sun u in s S s . oppo ition to the occ r once H is ss is s every 399 da ys . colo al globe mile s u a a n d in diameter , mea ured thro gh the equ tor , s so a miles mea sured through the pole , th t the s pola r fla tten in g is very evident in teles copic view . This ha s no doubt origina ted from his swift rotation his a s a s n s ss on xi , ingle turn requiring five mi ute le a D a n th n ten hours . y and ight , accordingly , flit s a nd a over his surface with astoni shing peed , in few s s ff his 1 0 hour , watching with a tele cope , the e ect of tation becomes very evident . r His four prin cipal moons (three very minute ones have been discovered sin ce 1 892) add immensely to x 5 2 1 7 A S T R ON OM Y W I T H T H E N A K E D E Y E

the interest of Jupiter . It has been alleged that these o s s m on can sometimes be een , under exceptional s s circum tances , and by eye of extraordinary power , i without optical a d . The discovery of thes emoons 61 0 e 1 a a a s s . s by Galil o , in , m de gre t en ation The e ’ “ a il s e a s s na were G l eo M dice n tar , med in honor of s C s a s Ca a nd the brother o imo , Fr nce co , rlo , Lorenzo ’ a his Li e o Ga lileo s de Medici . Mr . F hie , in f f , give an a musing insta nce of the competition which immediate ly arose among some of the crowned hea ds of Europe for the honor of ha ving their names put in the sky a s by the gre t discoverer . Within about three month a hi s s s a s re fter di covery of the Medicean t r , Galileo ceiv ed s : a letter from the French court , aying

In a se ou s o e a n y o e fine s a a the n a e c y di c v r th r t r, c ll it by m of the G ea S a of a n e a s e a s the os a n of r t t r Fr c , w ll m t brilli t all the ea a n d see s to ou a a e his rth , , if it m fit y , c ll it r th r by H n n h n u o e n a e e a t e a a e o on . pr p r m , ri , th by f mily m B rb Thu s you will ha ve a n opportun ity of doin g a thin g du e an d o e in se a n d a t the s a e e of en e n ou se pr p r it lf , , m tim , r d ri g y r lf an d ou a i a n o e u o e e y r f mily r ch d p w rf l f r v r .

wa s a a It s the great Henri IV . in who e beh lf this p plication wa s made ; but a s the king was a ssassinated s a u two month later , G lileo had no opport nity to take

s s . the bribe , even if he had been di po ed to accept it Needy a stron omers in our time ha ve no such chances ff n a a n d o ered to them of becomi g we lthy powerful , the magnates who now rule the world being less ambitious s to hine in the heavens . For all who possess telescopes t he satellites of a r Jupiter e a cea seless source of joy . Their move 2 1 8

A S T R ON OM Y IV I T H T H E N A K E D E Y E

Piazzi Smyth was unaware of what we now know ’ tha t Jupiter s surfa ce ha s ma ny different ra tes of ro ta tion s n a s , the cloud travelli g f ter near the equator a i s s . s than tow rd the pole Moreover , there evidence , a s ss ha s s w a is a a n Profe or Hough ho n , th t Jupiter m y s a a storied world of clouds , the lower tr ta travelling t a different ra te from those a bove ; and a t times the sight seems to ra n ge down into depths tha t ma y meas a ure a thous nd miles . About the only fea ture a pproaching perma nence is a s of form on Jupiter the f mou Red Spot , which lies - fiv e s a a nd at about thirty degree south l titude , which ha s been visible with varying distinctness since 1 87 8. In tha t year I had the good - fortune to catch sight of

s a t s - w a it , almo t the earlie t kno n date of pparition ,

- n sc s a . with a three i ch tele ope , the fir t th t I ever owned At times this spot assu mes a deep- red color ; at other times it fades awa y a s if covered by a veil ; but a l wa ys its loca tion is indicated by a deep scallop lying exactly alongside of it in the grea t south equa torial s ss a cloud belt . The spot mea ures not le th n i 0 0 0 in ts s a . miles in length , by 7 greate t bre dth It s a nd a s is oval in outline . The cau e n ture of thi won ms s derful spot have been much discu sed , but the y tery rema ins unsolved . Additiona l evidence of the u nsolidified state of

Jupiter is furnished by his low mean density . This ’ - a s s is on ly a bout one qua rter of the e rth den ity , or , — a s . say , one third greater th n the den ity of water It is s if n ot a a pos ible , prob ble , th t there may be a solid s so s s a in nucleu , but if it mu t be inten ely he ted and

s a ss , candescent . Owing to his enormou collective m 2 2 0 T H E P L A N E T S

the force of gra vity on the visible surface of Jupiter is a as times as gre t on the earth . He exceeds the 1 00 es 1 6 s in earth 3 tim in volume and 3 time mass ,

or weight . About a thousand bodies of the s ize of t l a u sun Jupi er wou d m ke a globe eq al to the . The l is n a i probabi ity that Jupiter o ly recently , s t me is in s i s a ss measured uch th ng , p ed out of the condition a s a s s s un s n i of tar , or ub idiary , hi ing with ts own a a nd n r diance , began to e ter upon the earlier sta ges n s of pla etary conden ation . When he shone with his own light he appea red from outer space a s a little sun n a a companion of the , the two formi g bin ry star whose components differed eight or nine magnitudes

Saturn

The most distant of the planets known to the a n cien ts e a C n s r ceived from the Greeks the n me hro o , a a As a equivalent to the L tin S turn . the n me indi a s was ss a du c te , it a oci ted with the idea of time , or a a n d a r tion , no doubt the application to the pl net ’ Sa turn arose from tha t pla net s exceedingly slow s a a movements . It requires nearly thirty year to m ke s a es a a s ingle circuit of the heavens . N m h ving imilar meaning were bes towed upon the planet by other early ’ a s a peoples . S turn s a spect accord with the deliber te ’ ss his s a n d s a s s ne of movement , recall Ke t picture of the dethroned fa ther of the gods in his hidden retreat :

D h s a sa dness of a a e eep in t e h dy v l , a ea of o n F a r sun ken from the he lthy br th m r , ’ n n a n d e e s on e s a F ar from the fiery oo v t r, Sa t a - a e Sa u n u e a s a s on e gr y h ir d t r , q i t t ,

Still as the s ilen ce roun d about his la ir . 2 2 1 A S T R ON OM Y W I T H T H E N A K E D E Y E

The seventh day of the week ta kes its name from a la mi dies a u S S medi . Sat rn , ; in French , The astrologers foun d rea so n s sa tisfa ctory to them n a a s a for maki g S turn the ex ct oppo ite of Jupiter , c ll him “ ” ing the Greater Infortune , while Jupiter was ” M a l . efic ao the Greater Fortune though he be , s s ss a s cording to their y tem , neverthele they cribed s many admirable qualitie to Saturn , which he was capable of impa rting to those born under his rul e w “ ” “ i when he a s well dignified . He s profound in “ a a s s his s s s im gin tion , ay Lilly , in act evere , in word s s a nd n s a a re erved , in peaking givi g very p re , in l bor a a s n a p tient , in rguing or di puti g gr ve , in obtaining s s s a nd s s a ll the good of thi life studiou olicitou , in ” a a a i a m nner of ctions ustere . This s very good de scription of wha t is popularly known a s a saturnine a is a dis position . But when S turn pl gued with evil n n s a s s ba d i flue ce , then the trologer give him a very a a i s s mis s s ch r cter . He enviou , covetou , jealou , s i s s ss s s s tru tful , t morou , ordid , di embling , luggi h , tub a a n d a a born , contemner of women li r , never con ”

. s tented and ever repining Some of the e , too , are a a a sa s good definitions of wh t we c ll turnine per on , a n d the a doption of the word in common u se shows how deeply the a strologica l superstition sank into ’ people s minds in former centuries . ’ Sa turn s mea n dis tan ce from the sun is H i s . s mile period of revolution , or the length of his

a is n - n a n d on e- a s s ye r , twe ty ine h lf year , con equently he remains vis ible in the sa me quarter of the sky for s a s s ever l years in succession . He come into oppo ition 8 to the sun once in every 37 days . From the earth 2 2 2

A S T R ON OM Y W I T H T H E N A K E D E Y E of light which resembles a pair of illuminated needles s a tuck into the b ll of the planet on opposite sides . s a c a r They thu disappe r on e in bout eve y fifteen years . a s 1 The l te t disappearance occurred in 90 7 . About 1 1 i l a 9 5 they w l be opened ag in to their widest extent . Ga lileo discovered the existence of the rings of 1 A hi Saturn in 1 6 0 . s in the case of s discovery of the a s ph es of Venus , he concealed the fact for a time in 1 6 1 2 an a nagram sent to Kepler . In they got so near s see a nd edgewi e that he could no longer them , his a a wa s his m zement for a time extreme , while enemies laughed at hima nd gloried in his disappointment a 1 1 a n d wha t they reg rded a s deception . In 6 6 he s a b caught ight of them gain , but , ecoming blind in his s later year , he never recognized them in their true a a s su s s s form , lw y ppo ing that they were ub idiary s a n s bodie attending S tur , or projection extending out wa 1 on each side of the globe . It s not until 65 6 tha t a sa w i in Huygens fin lly the r ngs their true form . It s a was s is a curiou f ct , to which Proctor the fir t to call s s general attention , that among the di coverie of Lay ard in the ruins of Nineveh wa s a figure of the god

Nisroch (identical with Sa turn) enveloped with a ring . a n Mr . Proctor thought that here might be indication a C s s had s th t the ancient haldean a tronomer tele copes , but no confirma tion of this ha s been obtained . What ha s been said about the ha bitability of Jupiter H i a s a s s a . s applie equally to S turn globe , we h ve een , ss s s ss a po sse e a den ity much le , even , than th t of Jupi ss s ter , so that it is hardly po ible to suppo e that it has so s re a solid nucleus at the centre . If it mu t be l iv el s a t y very small . At the di tance of Saturn , too , 2 24 T H E P L A N E T S

hea t of the sun are reduced to

- s a one ninetieth of their inten ity at the earth , so th t if this planet should ever become a solid globe its surface temperature would be so extremely low tha t no living s h forms with which we are acquainted could exi t t ere . X VIII

TH E MOON

ueen a n d un t ess a ste a n d a Q h r ch f ir, Now the sun is a to s ee l id l p, S ea ted in thy s ilver cha ir ta te in on te a n n e S w d m r keep . H es peru s en trea ts thy light o es s e e G dd xc llen tly bright . — Ben

HE imagination of mankind has never resisted a s a a the f cin tion of the moon . Under her m gic spell the whole world is transformed ; a nd every mind s ff become poetical in its degree . Watch the e ect ’ upon a great ship s compa n y when the full moon ’ ”

s s sea . ma s hine over the It y be the captain night , a a with a brilliant b ll on the promen de deck , but neither the da ncing nor the small talk nor the mu5 1 c ca n a a a nd overmatch the ttr ction of the moon , couples will be observed withdrawing from the revelry a nd seeking open pla ces on the deck where they ca n watch n the wondrous sight of Dia a on her throne . Without the presen ce of the moon the Grand Ca nal a a s a a of Venice f ils in its sorcery . The P ri i ns e gerly ' a wait the nights of the cla zr de lune to a ssemble a long the ba nks of the Seine and enjoy the spectacle of their beautiful and historic river stretching its shin

2 2 6

T H E M OON

b ing reaches etween the bridges , while the towers of l Notre Dame stand bewitched in the moon ight . Lon ’ don s Victoria Emba nkmen t a nd ugly Thames become fairy scenes when the ra ys of the full moon touch Wha t New- Yorker who has ever crossed the n ri a t y B dge midnight , when the moon was sil v ering the ba y and turning the sails of dista n t sloops w s u a a s into ebon ing o tspread g in t the brightness , can possibly erase the picture from his memory ! The force of the incantation is always a nd everywhere h t e same . Who can number the songs and the poems tha t have been inspired by the moonlight ! In the s a n a s s depth of the African or the Am zo i n fore t , or

w s C n a a - the ild of a ad , or among the p lm ringed Pacific s ice sn i lands , or amid the and ow of the arctic and the is s a n s . antarctic circles , the moon the ame ench tres In every part of the world people have sa t in the l s sit s n s a moon ight , and till , pinni g fancie bout the k s a s . curious spot on th t bright , round face in the y The legend of the Man in the Moon is a s a ncient and as multiform in its va riations as anything in the his ‘ a C n Ma n tory of hum n thought . In hi a the in the Moon is believed to govern ma rria ges and to tie to gether with an invisible silken cord the youn g men n a nd maidens whom he design s to unite in ma trimo y . “ ” sa s This , y the Reverend Timothy Harley , comment mn in s in M 0012 Lore s a g on the tory his , mu t be the ho -mo a his s ne on s of the y , and we h ll not meet uperior a n in part of the world . In Teutonic legend the y , i Man in the Moon , carry ng a bundle of sticks on his

- back , represents a Sabbath breaker who met a di n da vine being while cutting wood o the sacred y , and 2 2 7 A S T R ON OM Y W I T H T H E N A K E D E Y E when remonstra ted with la ughed and said that Sun day and Monday were all the same to him . Then ” stand in the moon for a perpetual Monday ! (Moon wa s day) the sentence instantly pronounced . Dante a in i says th t the Man the Moon s Cain . Some of our Indian tribes had a legen d that the Man in the Moon wa s his s sk a hunter with dog , bani hed to the y for ' s n s s s a n d a s C ome tra gre ion ; Briti h olumbian tribe ,

s . vi ited by Mr William Duncan , told him a story of a was child that cried out in the night for water , but sud neglected by its mother , whereupon the Moon denly appeared a t the door of the lodge with a pot

’ of water which the child eagerly seized . Then the sk a Moon carried the child up into the y , where its f ce n s ca till be seen . The New Zea land savages said that wa s i the Man in the Moon one who , go ng out in the s a n d s a his k night , tumbled pr ined an le , whereupon he c a o s ried for help , and l mented so l udly that at la t n i the Moon ca me down a d took hold of him . In h s s a s terror he eized bu h , but the Moon pulled it up by the roots and sailed back into the sky with both a n man d bush . The Woma n in the Moon has a lso been a favorite

- s . u s ubj ect of myth making In truth , it wo ld eem ’ tha t the profile of a woma n s fa ce in the moon is more n evident than a n y ma scul i e eidolon there . It can be seen at any time between first quarter and full

n a is e . moo . The f ce , which is bright , turn d eastward s s a re The outline of forehead , no e , mouth , and chin “ ” “ formed by the Sea of Showers a nd the Sea of sm Clouds the eye is indicated by one of the all , s s dark , oval plain near the centre of the di k , while

2 2 8

A S T R ON OM Y W I T H T H E N A K E D EY E

u m is feminine , but in the Teutonic lang ages a scu line . Equally;fa mous with the Man in the Moon a nd the in is Woman the Moon the Hare in the Moon . The ri a s is s o gin l of thi a Buddhi t legend . The god Sak r a s i a s a h a s k i , di gu sed a Br m n , pretended to be tarving n a a a d went to the nim ls for help . The monkey got him a bunch of ma ngoes ; the coot picked up a fisher ’ ma n s neglected strin g for him ; the fox stole him a a a pot of milk . At l st the god appro ched the hare . “ ass sa a I have nothing but gr , id the h re , and you ’ ” s is s can t eat that . But your fle h good , uggest

a a . s ed the pretended Br hm n The hare a sented . ’ sa a a a a t Then , id the Br hm n , I ll kindle fire the ’ a n off i 11 foot of this rock d you jump nto it . That ” n sa ve me the trouble of killi g you . The hare as s a a as a d ented g in , but he le pe from the rock the god his s a nd his caught him in arm , then drew figure in the Moon a s a perpetual reminder of the excellence

- of self sa crifice. The worship of the moon extends to the most a n C a a c n cient dates of hi story . In h lde the principal e

- s was a n a . tre of moon wor hip Ur , in the l d of Abr ham s a s a a a e a The I r elite , in their p g n g , dored the moon n n a under the Assyria me of Astarte or Ashtaroth . Some ha ve a sserted that Moun t - Sin a i wa s origina lly n wa con secra ted to the moon . The moo s the great wa on s est divinity of the Ara bs . She s e of the god n a a a of the Persia s . The moon pl yed great p rt in

n n a a nd in C n a - s s the religio of I di , hi moon wor hip till In E she wa s s s n s s . s u exi t ancient gypt I i , the being s s u n Osiri s . The Greeks fir t wor hipped her der the 2 30 T H E M OON

s S a nd , a m name of elene Phoebe the n me Arte is

a a a s . ( ) , C. s n s n a Di n Sir G Lewi thi k , bei g of l ter da te . Di a na a nd L una were the Roma n n a mes for the

- moon goddess . The moon pla yed a con spicuous part s a n d in the rites of the Druid , there a re tra ces of an cient moon - worship in popula r customs still surv iv i s s s a s a ing in the Br ti h I le , well s in ma ny pa rts of

- Europe . Among the America n India ns moon worship w s a s widely prea d . By the Aztecs she wa s deified M eztli a nd under the name , they had a Pyramid of a s l on e the Moon , wel as of the sun . In the Temple of the Sun at Cuzco wa s a cha pel consecrated to the n moon , the deity held ext in reverence to the sun a n n and reg rded as the mother of the I cas , the moo s s being both the i ter and the wife of the sun . s a s a In astrology the moon , of cour e , m ke a gre t a s she a a s figure , and p sses so r pidly through the igns of the zodia c her influence upon the plan ets is de “ ” a a n a ff sh scribed as very v ri ble . Whe well ected e s s a l be tow good qu lities , according to Li ly , but even ” at the best a moon person is a pt to be unsteady she is a ff and inclined to flit about . When ill ected n s is sa the moon ma kes bad chara cters . As Ve u id to s so is a s a be tow dimples , the moon , it verred , u u lly makes one eye a little la rger than the other in her

spots on the moon , that have given had legends , first their true character 1 61 0 his s when Galileo , in , aimed tele cope

They turned out to be mountains , hills , and ”

. It is just like the earth , he declared But ad often m e , that Galileo believed the 2 31 A S T R ON OM Y W I T H T H E N A K E D E Y E

a moon to be inh bited is erroneous . In a letter 1 61 6 Li . e written in , and quoted by Mr Fahie in his f , Galileo distinctly states his belief that it is impos i h a nd sible for the moon to be n abited , he gives sub sta ntia lly the same reasons that would be given to da — v z a y i " the absence of water and the l ck of rapid u a n a s ccession of day d night on her surf ce . The sun light takes two weeks to creep over the face of the a nd da a nd moon , y night there are each a fortnight in length . Moreover , as we now know , there is virtu “ on o ally no air the m on . Yet the moon is of the ”

. : earth , earthy (When Addison wrote

Soon as the even in g sha des preva il The oon a es u the on rou s a e m t k p w d t l , An d n ightly to the li sten in g ea rth Procla irn s the s o of her t ry birth , he did not in the least suspect what the story was that the moon so insistently repeatedy It was left l for Professor George Da rwin and mathematical phys ics f to un old that story , which is one of the most wonderful in the whole domain of astronomy . Put s s is into a few word , this tory avers that the moon i the child of the earth , born by v olence , under the stress of forces generated by a rapid rotation of the i i l orig nal single viscid mass , comb ned with tida action a un a em nating from the s . In the constell tion Vul pecula there is a nebula which shows a similar process of division now going on . Two enormous masses are s s een in apparent wift rotation , while their whole substance has been whirled out into an hour glass

- s a or dumb bell shape . After the ep ration was once 2 32

A S T R ON OM Y W I T H T H E N A K E D E Y E she reaches a point a t right a ngles to the direc tion sun a i n a a of the , h lf of the llumi ted side ppears ; when she is s su n she su s oppo ite to the as mes the full pha e , beca use then the whole of her illuminated side is tow s sh a a a rd the ea rth . As she goes round e lw ys keeps s a us the same ide tow rds , so that we know nothing , n s n except by i ference , of the other ide of the moo . ’ This peculia rity of the moon s rotation is believed to be due to the braking a ction of the tides ra ised by the attra ction of the earth when the moon was yet in a vi scid state . u s a n d suff s The moon both ca se er eclipses . When x a sun she passes e ctly between the earth and the , a a n d the latter is hidden behind her op que globe , we — ha ve a solar eclipse o ne of the mos t in teresting of a n n a a mr a all astronomic l phe ome , on ccount of the v ellous s a a treamers of light , c lled the coron , which a a n n sun a nd then ppe r surrou di g the eclipsed , ex in a n a s . tendi g aw y , some c ses , million of miles When the moon pa sses the earth on the side opposite to the sun— in s she ul — other word , when is a f l moon she comes at certain times almost exactly in line with the a nd n s s a a two , then she e ter the h dow of the e rth and s sun a re a is herself eclipsed . Eclip es of the very r re a a n la phenomena t y particu r place on the earth , ’ beca use the moon s sha dow is reduced a lmost to a a point before it reaches the earth , from her aver ge a n d distance of miles , it is only within the shadow that the sun appears eclipsed . The orbit of the moon around the earth is continually shifting its s place a little , and so the point of her hadow does not rea ch the ea rth a t the same place in successive 2 34 T H E M OON

eclipses . Eclipses of the moon are more frequently ’ s a een , because the earth s sh dow, being much larger ’ a s th n the moon , completely buries the la tter when she a a n p sses into it , so th t the moo ca n then be seen eclipsed from a ll pla ces on the earth above whose she a t horizon happens to be the moment .

n s n a An eclipse of the moon is very i tere ti g to w tch , because of the curiou s reddish tin t which the fa ce of the moon usually a ssumes when she is within the ’ s i earth s s hadow . Thi s due to the refra ction of light by our a tmosphere around the edge of the globe ; a nd l i a a this ight , be ng bent into the sh dow , re ches the r a n a moon , and p oduces a parti l illumi tion there . It follows tha t if we could be upon the moon durin g such an eclipse we should see the huge bla ck globe of the earth completely covering the sun a nd sur

rounded with a brillia nt ring of reddish light . At times when the a tmosphere of the ea rth is choked a s n a n with clouds , the moon lmost di appears duri g s a eclip e , because then the refr ction is prevented by u the clo ds . The primary reason why there is not an eclipse of un a n d a n s the s at every new moon , eclip e of the moon ’ l s is in at every fu l moon , is becau e the moon s orbit n d a she . la a clin ed to the p ne of the ecliptic , ordin rily a pa sses above or below the sun in the one c se , and above or below the conical shadow of the ea rth in the e s a ca n other case . The gr ate t number of eclipses th t in a s n sun a nd occur year is eve , five of the two of

. the moon ; thelea st number is two , both of the sun

On the average fou r or five eclipses occur every year , as more of the sun tha n of the moon , but , already 235 A S T R ON OM Y W I T H T H E N A K E D EY E

s explained , eclipses of the sun are vi ible from only a very limited areas on the earth , and the p th of the sha dow seldom fa lls in a convenient pla ce for oh

. a re a i e servation Some solar eclipses annul r . . , they occur a t times when the moon is in the more a a n d a distant p rt of her orbit , the point of her sh dow a fa lls short of the e rth . Then a bright rim of the sola r disk a ppea rs surrounding the bla ck globe of the a s a moon . Tot l eclip es of the sun ppea r a s pa rtia l eclips es to those who a re situated within about two ’ sa a thou nd miles of the edge of the moon s sh dow . ma a s So , too , the moon y be partially eclipsed by p s ’ a ing through the edge of the earth s sh dow . / x Egli ses a a s s p have pl yed an toni hing part in history . The total obscura tion of the sun in broad day is a phenomenon especially ca lcula ted to awa ken super stitious a nd s a terror , accordingly we find that ol r eclipses have generally been regarded with more fear i and awe than luna r ones . It s not too much to say a s s a that , in the ges when the movement of the cele ti l s s s historv bodie were not under tood , the cour e of the of nations wa s sometimes changed by the passage of ’

s s a . a s s the moon across the un f ce B ttle were topped , was the march of armies arrested , treaties were dic ta ted by the terror in spired by an unexpected eclipse . Since eclipses are phenomen a tha t ca n be predicted s a with a lmost a bsolute exactitude centurie in dvance , ’ a s d s n it is e y , from our knowle ge of the moon motio , a a a s a to trace her course b ckw rd as well forw rd , and a a nd thus eclipses occurring thousands of ye rs ago , n a s s s recorded by the u critical an ly t of tho e times , have enabled modern astronomers to fix disputed 236

A S T R ON OM Y W I T H T H E N A K E D E Y E

a - the Senecas called for the pe ce pipe . As it passed a s the sun from lip to lip , the d rkne s lightened , s a a a s his lowly re ppe red , and in hort time smiling a a his f ce was ag in bent down upon red children . The s was a captives were urrendered , reparation m de , and s s a the Mohawk , with full quiver , m rched back to a their valley home . The l te Professor Lewis Swift showed that a total eclipse of the su n wa s visible in a s n 2 8 1 1 a nd centr l and we tern New York on Ju e , 45 , this fa ct has been rega rded a s a ffi rming the historic a a a s accur cy of the Indi n tradition , well as fixing a date for the event . On a s s s the other h nd , lunar eclip es sometime cau ed his Li e o Nicia s great terror . Plutarch , in f f , has a s n curious tory in poi t . When the Athenian army , ffl a u wa s a a ba ed before Syr c se , bout to emb rk for “ n a n s a t home , there happe ed eclip e of the moon , “ s s a a a nd which , ay Plut rch , Nici s all the rest were s a a truck with great p nic , either through ignorance A a n s s . s s or uper tition for eclip e of the sun , which a s h ppen at the conjunction , even the common people ha d some idea of its being ca used by the interposition a of the moon . But they could not e sily form a con ce tion s n p by the interpo itio of what body the moon , n ‘ s s a nd a whe at the full , hould lo e her light ssume

s a a s . uch v riety of color They looked upon it , there

‘ a s a s a nd a a a fore , trange pretern tur l phenomenon , sign by which the gods a nnounced some great calam ” ity . The reader will observe that even in their terror the frightened soldiers did not fa il to note the curious

“ a s color tion of the eclip ed moon , due , as we now 2 38 T H E M OON

’ know, to the refraction of light by the ea rth s a t mosphere. But eclipses were not universa lly considered by the s a s a n ancient mir culous eve ts . Better instructed minds perceived that there was a regular recurrence a nd a of these phenomena , th t they were conn ected n with the movements of the moo . Tha les is sa id to a s a s 8 B . C. a n h ve predicted the ol r eclip e of 5 5 , d ’ Hipparchus ascertained the gen era l la w of the moon s a a n n motions . Even the Ch lde s k ew tha t eclipses re cur in a certa in order du ring every success ive period n s a nd s wa s n of eightee year , to thi period give the

The revolution of the moo n n atura lly ga ve ri se to the division of time in to months . All would ha ve ’ been very simple if the moo n s time of revolution n had been a n exa ct fra ction of the yea r . The every year would ha ve had precisely twelve luna r mon ths . But the time from one new moon to the n ext is a bou t

- a nd a a a s a n d a twenty nine h lf d y , the problem th t the calenda r- ma kers had to solve wa s how to a dj u st

' this so as to give a fixed n umber of mon ths to the a n a s ss n yea r . This is not the pl ce to enter i to di cu io n a n a of the difficult s ubj ect of the settli g of the c le d r , — which is dea lt with in ordin ary school books of a s tronom a a a s a s y , but it may be rem rked th t re ult of ma the neces sary a dj u stments new a nd full moons y occur a t a n y time in the course of our presen t months . So the n a me mon th (undoubtedly derived from the a a u a s na a a s me root s moon , j st the origi l ide of ’ mon th wa s suggested by the moon s period of rev olution) no longer possesses more tha n a historic 2 39 A S T R ON OM Y W I T H T H E N A K E D E Y E connection with the monthly traveller through the sky . a nd a Another , practic lly a much more important , a is s rel tion of the moon to the earth een in the tides .

Both the sun and the moon raise tides in the ocean , s s but tho e of the moon are much the higher , imply he because s is so near . This is a technical subject n s is in beyond the i tended cope of our book , but it teres ting to remember tha t but for the tides produced by the moon some of the most important harbors on

l a a - the earth wou d be shut g inst deep draught ships . Those who look at the new moon often see the a whole face of her globe f intly illuminated , the bright a crescent seeming to border it like silver handl e . Even some of the ancients recognized the fact that this light comes from the earth . At such times the a sk earth hangs in the lun r y as a round , gleaming ball t s s a s l of porten ou ize , m ny time larger than the fu l s a nd moon look to us , the faint illumination that we see on the part of the moon hidden from the sun is earth light . In her course through the zodiac— for the moon fol s a a — she low , pr ctic lly , the same path as the planets s n often passes over , or occults , stars , and occa io ally s a planets . The e phenomen are interesting to observe a e s a with the n k d eye , if the tar occulted h ppens to be u a a bright one . If the occ lt tion occurs near the time s a s s s be of new moon , or fir t qu rter , the tar di appear hind the dark pa rt of the moon as if it had been

i - s snuffed out . When the moon s crescent haped the s star , ju t before its disappearance , often looks as if inside s s it were the horn of the moon , and thi appear 2 40

I N D EX

AC 8 1 68 H . A a tu s ERNAR , 3 , r , 3. A es en e o u s t , 42 . A t on ste at on 2 chill lik d Siri rc ic c ll i , . A Aa raa f l , 1 . A tu u s 0 1 47 rc r , 7 , 9 , 9 . A o Na s 8 1 . rg vi , 5 ’ A a dn e s C own ri r , 94 . ’ A a n e s H a 8 ri d ir , 4 . A es 1 8 t o o of 1 8 “ ri , 4 ; my h l gy , 4 A on e 2 . te es o o e ts 1 0 lcy , 3 l c pic bj c , 5 . A a a 8 A e n 1 1 2 1 2 2 . on e en d of 1 2 ld b r , , , , ri , l g , 5 . At a s 2 2 8 l , 3, . ’ A t u s a n 0 r h r W i , 7 . Ase lli , 5 7 . As 8 te on . ri , 5 Aste o e 2 2 8 r p , 3, . A aea 80 st . r , 6 Au ri a 1 8 m o o of . t 1 s g , ; y h l gy , 9 ; har H 1 2 2 o o e s 2 0 c d n e te es t . i ckl y , 7 , . l c pic bj c , 2 6 2 8 6 8 6 6 1 , , 3 , 3 , 4 1 , 4 , 5 , 7 D V 0 I . BEAR R ER , 9 h 60 A maa k ee e t e . l 1 1 . , 4 B hiv , ,

~ e a t 2 . 93 B ll rix , 3 , 33 ’

e t O on s 2 1 . B l , ri , 4, 3 , 33

en etn a s 1 . B ch , 7 ’

e en e s H a . B r ic ir, 7

etel eu se 1 1 0 2 . g , , 3 , 3 8 m . ird rea t to , G S r , 7 8 d the R ed . Bir , , 7 mn on ed ootes 2 8 e t B , , 9 ; i by ' mho o of 2 m H o er 8 t , An o a 1 1 tholo ; ed , . , ; l g 9 dr m 3, 4 4 y m 9 y y

s 2 . of 1 2 telesco 1 c o e ts te es o o e t , 9 gy , 4 ; p bj c , l c pic bj c 1

‘ C M OP I 2 0 . An thies 8 1 1 1 0 2 1 0 . , . , , , 4 A EL ARDAL S 0 0 Can e t o o of, ; c r, 5 7 ; my h l gy

te es o o e ts 6 1 . olo of 1 1 . , gy , 3 l c pic bj c

Can es V en a trcr 8 . of, 1 1 6 ; , 5 of Ca n s a o 42 tho o , 1 7 . i M j r, ; my l gy

o e ts . 46 ; telescopic bj c , 47 A S T R ON OM Y W I T H T H E N A K E D E Y E

Can s n o 8 te es o i oh an d the P eia es 2 . i Mi r 4 ; l c p c l d , 7

ec 0 . 1 2 j ts , 5 7 . C n s 6 1 1 6 D en e Ka i os u 1 . t 1 , 4 , 5 9 . b . 5 5 . Ca g 1 8 D en e o a 66 fia 1 1 . p . b l , . C 1 6 Dia on of a . o ph , 4 m d Virg , 7 9 . ’ Ca o n u s 1 2 2 t o o of D on a s o et a n d A u us 1 pric r , ;my h l gy , ti c m rct r , 9 o o s D a ° 1 2 te es e t 1 2 . o 8 t o o of 1 00 3 ; l c pic bj c , 4 r c , 9 my h l gy , , Ca e T o a s on Ca n o u s te es o 1 e o e ts 1 0 1 rlyl , h m , p , l c p bj c , . 60 D u s u of P e a 1 . es 2 . r id , c lt l i d , 7 Cass o a 1 seen a M D u e 1 e t . i p i , 4 ; y bh , 7 en ae te5esco ic o e s c , 3 ; p bj ct , 1 G of the Win s 1 1 47 EA LE d , 5 . Ca s o 0 8 . e t a 2 2 . t r, 5 , 53 El c r , 3, Ce aen o 2 8 El Na th 1 8 2 l , . , , 4 . C u 6 u u us 1 2 en a us 1 e . t r , 4 . Eq l , 5 Ce eus 1 t o o of i a n us t o o of 8 ph , 35 ; m h l gy , Er d , 37 ;my h l gy , 3 1 6 te es o oyec ts 1 6 te es o o e ts sou 3 ; l c pic 3 . l c pic bj c , 39 ; th Ce us 1 t o o of 1 6 ern 1 68 t , 5 5 ; my h l gy , 5 ; , . el o ic o e ts on e 8 t esc 1 . 1 . p bj c , 5 7 Erig , Cha a s8 Eta A u 60 s 1 . r , 5 . rg , C a o th 1 8 a f ee e . u o t o 2 2 6 h ri t r . , E r p , my h , 5 , . ' C a es s ain 6 0 h rl W , 9 , 7 . Ch P F a I i ersei 1 . ro he t 0 , 5 3 m MA DEN , , 7 9 C a h h oa S t e 1 6. F o a l a u 1 1 . l ck , , 7 m t , 3

Co A . as . l , . 34 M D C I Co u a 1 M O 1 00 . l m , 4 GA A RA N S , 9 , h ’ Co a e e ni es 8 te es o a n e ta H e s e s 1 . m B r c . 3; l c pic G r t S r , r c l , 37 8 a of he s 1 2 o e s . e t od . bj ct , 4 G t G , 3 ou n ma Con s el a t on s seen o e . t l i , fr m M t G m , 93 h 6 of n a an d t e sea son s . e n 0 t o o 2 Et , ; , G mi i , 5 ; my h l gy , 5 ;

Cor Ca roi 8 o . r . e es o e ts r . 5 t l c pic bj c , 5 5 C0 a of h n s 0 1 H as 62 . o on t e ea e . ydr . G lc d h v , 3 Co h 80 o en A e th e 80 n ot e t e . . r M h r. . G ld , . Co on a o ea o o o F the 1 0 0 1 0 1 s t en ee e . r B r li , 93 ; my h l gy G ld c , , , f o Ox 2 6 o i . den the te es o e ts o . , 94 ; l c p c bj c , 94 G l , , mza Cor 8 Go i . on rs s o of . e , t ry . 7 , 49 Co u s a t D h 6 . e e t e . rv , 7 7 Gr ipp r, , 9

Cor e n 1 0 6 rea ua e of Pe asu s 1 2 . e t s . S rp i , G t S q r g , 3 C a f k 8 te een h o the s 1 . r r 7 5 . Gr wic y , 3 C u sa 8 us 1 6 . r 3 . Gr , 7 C nu s 1 2 te es o o e s yg , 7 ; l c pic bj ct , ‘" 8 H M O Y in the ea ens 1 1 2 s a 6 1 1 2 . . 9 ; t r , AR N h v , 3 C a f D a n osu 6 H ea o o . y r , 9 . d r c , 99 H ea of O on d ri , 34. D A m1 H e e B 2 2 . , lic , D a h 2 H e u es 1 0 o o of n n ea s t e . ci g B r , , 7 rc l , 7 ; myth l gy , D e n u s 1 2 te es o 1 0 8 e es o i o e s 1 1 0 lphi , 4; l c pic ; t l c p c bj ct , ; i 0 o on ec ts 1 2 . ea us ter n 1 1 j . 5 gr t cl , ; m ti

D e ta L ae 8 to a ds 1 0 . l ibr , 9 . w r , 9

A S T R ON OM Y W I T H T H E N A K E D E Y E

No t a the R h t . o a 6 a s t e 6. r h S r , , 95 y l St r . , R u a 1 6 chb r. 4 . 6 OC 1 1 . TANT , On on a a In an s an d P e a des M I K 1 1 . d g di l i SADAL EL , 3 ada su u 1 1 S l d , 3 . u u s 1 0 mho o O t lo f a ta 1 1 . phi ch , 5 ; y gy S git , 7 i ob e s 1 0 6 1 0 e es o c t . a tta u s 1 1 2 s ta uste s in 5 ; t l c bj c , S gi ri , ; r cl r , m e D Orihi é s e n n n a se 1 1 2 o o of 1 1 e e ( pi i g m l) , ; myth l gy , 3 ; t l s o o e ts 1 1 c pic bj c , 4 . O on 2 0 o in of 1 S Pa u t . . ri , . 3. 7 , 3 ; rig , 3 , l , 53 o o of e es o a tu n 2 2 1 a s o o of 2 2 2 myth l gy , 35 ; t l c pic S r , ; tr l gy , ; s 6 it of 2 2 n s of o e . den s bj ct , 3 , 3 ; ri g , ’ 2 2 a lileo s s o e es 2 2 di c v ri , 4 ; mth f f P G U 1 2 olo o ha i ta bilit o 2 2 oss e E AS S . 3 ; gy . y , 4 ; p ibl 1 o 0 ty s 1 o of a N e 2 te es t . n e e t n e 2 . 33 ; l c pic j 35 k wl dg , i v h , 4 Pe seus 1 1 1 n ew a 1 e 1 1 . r , 3, 4 . 43 , 5 ; Sch t , 3 , 33 s in 1 2 te es o i ob a 6 ta e 1 . r , 5 ; l c p c Sch d r, 4 ' s h of ect 1 . eo o 1 0 2 t o o 1 0 j , 5 4 S r , ;my l gy , 3; ° Pha ed 1 ob s 1 0 . te es o c ect . , 7 c , 4 ' P a bi flui e 1 . u u as 1 1 . h t , 4 Sc t m , 4 P A his os aeton . Seiss R ev . ose . h , 39 , J ph , g ” 6 t n ice . el t o o 2 0 2 , 95 p my h l gy, , 9 , 3 , P 6 0 6 6 6 6 oen 1 . h ix , 7 39 . 4 . 4 , 5 4. 3, 7 . 7 3. 7 . P s es 1 8 tho o of 1 8 8 2 8 8 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 i c . 3 ; my l gy , 39 ; 7 , , 9 , 9 , , 4 , 9 , ts 0 e es o i o e 1 . t l c p c bj c , 4

P s s Au st a s 1 1 . Se ten t on es the 1 . i ci r li , 3 p ri , , 7 P a n e s the 1 86 how to fin d e en s 1 0 t o o of 1 0 6 l t , , ; S rp , 5 ;my h l gy , ; 6 1 8 te es o o e ts 1 0 . 9 . l c pic bj c ,

8 . P e a d th e Lost 2 2 e en L e In d an s 0 . l i , , 3, S v ittl i , 7 f P e a es 2 1 2 o o a s o e en a s th e 1 . l i d , , 3 ;ph t gr ph S v St r , , 7

2 . e ta n s . 4 S x . 7 4 P 8 h 6 . e on e 2 . e t e l i , Sickl , , 5 h 2 88 s ze P ou t e 6 . u s 1 1 l gh , , 9 Siri , 3, 9, , 4 . 47 , ; i

h f osse Wa . Po n e s t e 1 . o i t r , , 7 , 44 ; cr d Milky y , 43 6 6 Po a ri s an d the s a es . ou e n C oss 2 1 2 . l l v , 9 S th r r , , f t u 1 8 Po e osi t on o e 6 a 1 1 . l , p i r , 4 , Spic , 7 , , 7 6 6 D a se the 1 1 . sou e n 1 1 . nn in th r , Spi g m l , , 1 e son a Po u 0 . a s as sen t n e s ll x , 5 , 53 St r , i l , ; p r l P n u en e of 2 a n d season s aese e . r p , 5 7 i fl c , ; , Z a of o o s P n e of the o a 1 . n u ri c di c , 49 7 ; i divid lity , 9 ; c l r P o on of 1 1 ou n of 1 1 har r cy , , ; gr pi g , ; f f 1 mo ou s e o 2 . P r i e t os e H en 1 1 . n r p r ryy , f c , f O on P a d the ea t 2 . o o . yr mi , Gr , 7 , 99 Sw rd ri , 34

f 1 6 R As ALG ETH I 1 0 TANAB ATA es a o 1 . , 9 . , f tiv l , mv holo of 2 R a s Alh a u e 1 0 a u us 2 1 t . T g . 5 r , ; gy , 5

R u u 6 t o e ts 0 . e s . e es o g l , 5 l c pic bj c , 3 8 8 R e 0 2 Ta eta 2 2 . ig l , , 3 , 3 . yg , 3, \ 3 T P e a es . R n e u a 1 0 . enn son on 2 i g b l , 2 y l i d , 4 246 I N D E X

ea tu res of 2 0 a f , 7 ; ppea ra nce of ea rth r m o 2 0 8 u i h f , ; pr g t a s of 2 0 xi m, 9 . n de a t 8 0 . Vi i rix ,

° o , 8 tho o of 80 Virg 7 , 7 ; my l gy, e es o o e ts 82 t l c pic bj c , .

sta s . u e u a 1 2 6 r , 54 V lp c l , .

” W the ette 1 , l r, 45 . a te - ea e the 1 0 W r b r r, , 3 . h te Ox the 1 0 W i , , 7 te T e h t e 2 6 . Whi ig r , ,

C P o esso New X LASS , r f r m’ o s 1 c b , 59 . 2 a ma r a 2 1 2 . e de a st e e out , X vi r M i r , r k b sta s 1 2 r , . of 2 0 , 3 ; 2 0 Z O I C the 1 8 4 ; D A , , 3 . f 2 a i a t Z od a a L t the 1 82 t a n si s o . r t , 0 5 ; h b t bili y i c l igh , , f 2 0 6 Z n u 88 of 2 0 6 a t os e e o u ene e . , ; m ph r , ; b lg bi , 6 Z ub hemali 88 e e a tu e on 2 0 en esc . t mp r r , ; ,

END