A Field Book of the Stars Part 10

In the sword there is the most remarkable nebula in the heavens. It may be seen with an opera-gla.s.s and in a telescope it is a wonderful sight. Bellatrix is called the Amazon star. Note the contrasting colours of a and .

About 9 west of Bellatrix are eight stars in a curved line running north and south. These point out the Lion's skin held in the Hunter's left hand.

Below ? there are two stars forming a triangle with it. Flammarion calls this region the California of the sky.

The celestial equator pa.s.ses nearly through d.

Orion was worshipped in China during the one thousand years before our era, and was known to the Chinese as the "White Tiger."

The Eskimos see in the Belt stars the three steps cut by some celestial Eskimo in a steep snow bank to enable him to reach the top.

[Ill.u.s.tration: ORION]

LEPUS (le-pus)--THE HARE. (Face South.)

LOCATION.--Lepus crouches under Orion's feet. Four stars in the constellation form an irregular and conspicuous quadrilateral.

? is a beautiful double of a greenish hue.

Four or five degrees south of Rigel are four faint stars which are in the ear of the hare. They can be seen on a clear night with the naked eye.

The curved line of three stars ?, ?, and ?, are in the back of the hare.

Lepus is about 18 west of Canis Major, and, by reason of the earth's motion, the Great Dog seems to be pursuing the Hare around the heavens.

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

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

[Ill.u.s.tration: LEPUS]

COLUMBA NOACHI (co-lum-b no--ki)--NOAH'S DOVE. (Face South.)

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

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

The star Columb may be known by means of a smaller star just east of it, marked ?.

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

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

[Ill.u.s.tration: COLUMBA]

CANIS MAJOR (ka-nis ma-jor)--THE GREATER DOG. (Face South.)

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

The star ? is a triple. The cl.u.s.ter (41 M.) can be seen with an opera-gla.s.s, just below it.

Between d and ? note a remarkable array of minute stars, also the very red star 22.

d and ? are doubles for an opera-gla.s.s.

Below ? there is a fine group.

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

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

[Ill.u.s.tration: CANIS MAJOR]

ARGO NAVIS (r-go na-vis)--THE SHIP ARGO. (Face South.)

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

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

The star ? has a companion, which is a test for an opera-gla.s.s.

The star ? is a double for an opera-gla.s.s.

Note the fine star cl.u.s.ter (46 M.).

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

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

The constellation contains two noted objects invisible in this lat.i.tude, Canopus, the second brightest star, and the remarkable variable star ?.

[Ill.u.s.tration: PUPPIS]