Boy Scouts Handbook Part 25

Another suggestion is that the earliest astronomers, the Chaldeans, called these stars "the shining ones," and their word happened to be very like the Greek arktos (a bear). Another explanation (I do not know who is authority for either) is that vessels in olden days were named for animals, etc. They bore at the prow the carved effigy of the namesake, and if the Great Bear, for example, made several very happy voyages by setting out when a certain constellation was in the ascendant, that constellation might become known as the Great Bear's constellation. Certainly, there is nothing in its shape to justify the name. Very few of the constellations, indeed, are like the thing they are {82} called after. Their names were usually given for some fanciful a.s.sociation with the namesake, rather than for resemblance to it.

The Pole-star is really the most important of the stars in our sky; it marks the north at all times; it alone is fixed in the heavens: all the other stars seem to swing around it once in twenty-four hours. It is in the end of the Little Bear's tail. But the Pole-star, or Polaris, is not a very bright one, and it would be hard to identify but for the help of the Dipper, or Pointers.

The outside (Alpha and Beta) of the Dipper points nearly to Polaris, at a distance equal to three and one half times the s.p.a.ce that separates these two stars of the Dipper's outer side.

Various Indians call the Pole-star the "Home Star," and "The Star that Never Moves," and the Dipper they call the "Broken Back."

The last star but one in the Dipper, away from the pole--that is, the star at the bend of the handle,--is known to astronomers as Mizar, one of the Horses; Just above it, and tucked close in, is a smaller star known to astronomers as Alcor, or the Rider. The Indians call these two the "Old Squaw and the Pappoose on Her Back." In the old world, from very ancient times, these have been used as tests of eyesight. To be able to see Alcor with the naked eye means that one has excellent eyesight. So also on the plains, the old folks would ask the children at night, "Can you see the pappoose on the old squaw's back?" And when the youngster saw it, and proved that he did by a right description, they rejoiced that he had the eyesight which is the first requisite of a good hunter.

The Great Bear is also to be remembered as the Pointers for another reason. It is the hour-hand of the woodman's clock. It goes once around the North Star in about twenty-four hours, the same way as the sun, and for the same reason--that it is the earth that is going and leaving them behind.

The time in going around is not exactly twenty-four hours, so that the position of the Pointers varies with the seasons, but, as a rule, this for woodcraft purposes is near enough. The bowl of the Dipper swings one and one half times the width of the opening (i.e., fifteen degrees) in one hour. If it went a quarter of the circle, that would mean you had slept a quarter of a day, or six hours.

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Each fifteen days the stars seem to be an hour earlier; in three months they gain one fourth of the circle, and in a year gain the whole circle.

According to Flammarion, there are about seven thousand stars visible to the naked eye, and of those but nineteen are stars of the first magnitude. Thirteen of them are visible in the lat.i.tude of New York, the other six belong to the South Polar Region of the sky. Here is Flammarion's arrangement of them in order of seeming brightness. Those that can be seen in the Southern Hemisphere only, are in brackets:

1. Sirius, the Dog-star.

2. [Canopus, of Argo.]

3. [Alpha, of the Centaur.]

4. Arcturus, of Bootes.

5. Vega, of the Lyre.

6. Rigel, of Orion's foot.

7. Capella, of Auriga.

8. Procyon, or the Little Dog-star.

9. Betelguese, of Orion's right shoulder.

10. [Beta, of the Centaur.]

11. [Achernar, of Erida.n.u.s.]

12. Aldebaran, of Taurus, the Bull's right eye.

13. Antares, of Scorpio.

14. [Alpha, of the Southern Cross.]

15. Altair, of the Eagle.

16. Spica, of Virgo.

17. Fomalhaut, of the Southern Fish.

18. [Beta, of the Southern Cross.]

19. Regulus, of the Lion.

Orion

Orion (O-ri-on), with its striking array of brilliant stars, Betelguese, Rigel, the Three Kings, etc., is generally admitted to be the finest constellation in the heavens.

Orion was the hunter giant who went to Heaven when he died, and now marches around the great dome, but is seen only in the winter, because, during the summer, he pa.s.ses over during daytime. Thus he is still the hunter's constellation. The three stars of his belt are called the "Three Kings."

Sirius, the Great Dog-star, is in the head of Orion's hound, and following farther back is the Little Dog-star, Procyon. In old charts of the stars, Orion is shown with his hound, hunting the bull, Taurus.

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[Ill.u.s.tration: Taurus. Orion, Sirius and Procyon. (tr)]

Pleiades

Pleiades (Ply-a-des) can be seen in winter as a cl.u.s.ter of small stars between Aldebaran and Algol, or, a line drawn from the back bottom, through the front rim of the Dipper, about two Dipper lengths, touches this little group. They are not far from Aldebaran, being on the shoulder of the Bull, of which Aldebaran is the right eye. They may be considered the seven arrow wounds made by Orion. They are nearer the Pole-star than Aldebaran is, and on the side away from the Dipper; also, they are nearly on a line between Beta of the Dipper (front bottom) and Capella.

Serviss tells us that the Pleiades have a supposed connection with the Great Pyramid, because "about 2170 B. C., when the beginning of spring coincided with the culmination of the Pleiades at midnight; that wonderful group of stars was visible {85} just at midnight, through the mysterious southward-pointing pa.s.sage of the Pyramid."

The Moon

The moon is one fifth the diameter of the earth, about one fiftieth of the bulk, and is about a quarter million miles away. Its course, while very irregular, is nearly the same as the apparent course of the sun.

But "in winter the full moon is at an alt.i.tude in the sky near the limit attained by the sun in summer, ... and even, at certain times, five degrees higher. It is the contrary in summer, a season when the moon remains very low" (F.).

The moon goes around the earth in 27-1/4 days. It loses nearly three fourths of an hour each night; that is, it rises that much later.

BIRDCRAFT

_By the National a.s.sociation of Audubon Societies_

Any boy who cares enough for out-doors to be a scout is sure to want a good acquaintance with the birds. Even dull people cannot help taking notice of our "little brothers of the air," on account of their beauty, their songs, and their wondrous flight. But most folks never take the trouble to try and learn the names of any except a few common birds. Scouts whose eyes are sharp and ears are keen will find the study of birds a fascinating sport, which may prove to be the best fun that the woods provide.

Knowing the Birds

It is no easy matter, this trying to get to know the birds; but scouts are not looking for the easiest jobs, and it is great sport for them to follow some shy songster through the briery thicket until a really good look can be had, to sit stock still for half an hour to watch some unknown bird come home to her nest, or to wriggle on all fours through the gra.s.s to have a glimpse over the top of the knoll at the ducks in the pool beyond.

The only equipment necessary for bird study is an opera or field gla.s.s, a note-book and a good bird reference book. As soon as you get a good look at a strange bird, notice its colors and markings, and then, if it moves, follow it up until you have seen practically all of its most prominent features. It will be impossible to carry these facts in your head, and unless some definite memorandum is made at the time you will probably {86} be hopelessly perplexed when you go to consult the bird book later. As it is hard to jot down satisfactory notes in the field, while catching fleeting glances of some timid bird, a handy little booklet has been prepared in which observations can be recorded very rapidly. These can be procured for fifteen cents apiece from the National a.s.sociation of Audubon Societies, 1974 Broadway, New York City.

Location _______________________ _______________________ Date _______________________Hour _______________________ Weather ___________________Wind _______________________

[Ill.u.s.tration: A bird. (tr)]

SIZE: Smaller than wren Between wren and sparrow Between sparrow and robin Between robin and crow Larger than crow SEEN Near ground or high up In heavy woods Bushy places Orchard Garden Swamp Open country Near water

Name ______________________ Order ______________________ Family _______________________ Genus_______________________ Species ______________________

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Each booklet contains outline figures of the five leading types of birds: (1) small perching birds, (2) hawks, (3) snipes, (4) herons, (5) ducks. On the page opposite is a list of numbers corresponding to colors. You can quickly mark on the outline the proper numbers, and note with your pencil any marks on the bird. Then check the other data on the page, add any additional memoranda, and you have your "bird in the hand," ready to take back and look up at your leisure.