v.—verySl.—SlowSk.—Streak-leaving meteors.M.—ModeratelyB.—BrightT.—Train-leaving meteors.Sw.—SwiftF.—FaintSh.—Short meteors.
Map showing the principal stars visible from Lat. 40° N. at 9 o'clock, October first.Map showing the principal stars visible from Lat. 40° N. at 9 o'clock, October first.
Location.—A line drawn fromδUrsæ Majoris, through Polaris, strikesαCassiopeiæ. It is situated the same distance from Polaris as Ursa Major, and about midway between Polaris and the zenith in the Milky Way. Cassiopeia is characterized by a zigzag row of stars which form a rude "W," but in mid-autumn, to an observer facing north, the "W" appears more like an "M," and is almost overhead. Note the spot marked 1572. This is where a very famous temporary star appeared in that year. It was bright enough at one time to be seen in full sunshine. The starηis sixteen light years distant.
Caph is equidistant from the Pole, and exactly opposite the star Megres in Ursa Major; withαAndromedæ andγPegasi it marks the equinoctial colure. These stars are known as "The Three Guides."
The chair can be readily traced out;β,α, andγmark three of the four corners of the back, andδandε, one of the front legs. The word "Bagdei," made up of the letters for the principal stars, assists the memory.
The starsγandβare pointer stars to a fifth-magnitude star the lucida of the asterism Lacerta, the lizard about 15° fromβ.
Cassiopeia makes an excellent illuminated clock. Whenβis above Polaris it is noon, when it is in the west at right angles to its first position it is 6p.m.At midnight it is on the northern horizon, and at 6p.m.it is due east.
This is sidereal time which agrees with mean time on March 22d, and gains on the latter at the rate of two hours a month.
CASSIOPEIACASSIOPEIA
Location.—A line drawn fromαtoβCassiopeiæ and prolonged about 18° strikesαCephei. The nearest bright star west of Polaris isγCephei. Cepheus is an inconspicuous constellation, lying partly in the Milky Way. A view of this constellation through an opera-glass will repay the observer. Cepheus is characterized by a rude square, one side of which is the base of an isosceles triangle. Look for the so-called garnet starμ, probably the reddest star visible to the naked eye in the United States. The starζhas a blue companion star.
αforms an equilateral triangle with Polaris andεCassiopeiæ.
It is claimed that Cepheus was known to the Chaldæans twenty-three centuries before our era.
Surroundingδ,ε,ζ, andλ, which mark the king's head, is a vacant space in the Milky Way, similar to the Coal Sack of Cygnus.
About 4° fromγ, in the direction ofκis a pretty pair of sixth-magnitude stars.
Owing to precession,γ,β, andαCephei will be successively the Pole Star in 4500, 6000, and 7500a.d.respectively.
δis a double whose components are yellow and blue. It is an interesting variable changing from magnitude 3.7 to 4.9 at intervals of 5 days 8 hours 47 minutes. As it is three times as bright at maximum as at minimum and can be observed with the naked eye its variations are well worth observing.
CEPHEUSCEPHEUS
Location.—One corner of the Great Square is found by drawing a line from Polaris to Cassiopeia, and prolonging it an equal distance.
The Great Square is a stellar landmark. Three of the corners of the square are marked by stars in Pegasus; the fourth, and northeastern, corner is marked by the star Alpheratz in Andromeda. Each side of the square is about 18° long.
The horse is generally seen upside down, with his fore feet projected up into the sky. Only the head, neck, and fore feet are represented. The star Enif marks the nose.
πis an interesting double, easily seen in an opera-glass. All the stars of the Square are approaching us at an inconceivable speed.
The position of the asterism Equus or Equūleus, the Little Horse, or Horse's Head, is shown in the diagram.
Delphinus, the water jar of Aquarius, and the circlet in the Western Fish, are all in the vicinity of Pegasus, and indicated in the diagram.
The winged horse is found on coins of Corinth 500 to 430b.c.The Greeks called this constellationἱπποσ.
Pegasus seems to have been regarded in Phœnicia and Egypt as the sky emblem of a ship.
Within the area of the Square Argelander counted thirty naked-eye stars.
Note a fine pair in Equūleus just west of the star Enif in Pegasus.
The position of the equinoctial colure is defined by a line connecting Polaris,βCassiopeiæ,αAndromedæ, andγPegasi.
PEGASUSPEGASUS
Location.—The starαAlpheratz is at the northeastern corner of the great square of Pegasus, one of the stellar landmarks.
Running east fromα, at almost equal distances, are four other stars, two of which are of the second magnitude. The most easterly one isβPersei, known as Algol, the famous variable. Lines connecting the starsγAndromedæ, Algol, andαPersei form a right-angled triangle. The right angle is marked by Algol.
The chief object of interest in this constellation is the great nebula, the first to be discovered. It can be seen by the naked eye and it is a fine sight in an opera-glass. Its location is indicated in the diagram.
The starγis the radiant point of the Bielid meteors, looked for in November. It is a colored double visible in a 3" glass.
The great nebula has been called the "Queen of the Nebulæ." It is said to have been known as far back asa.d.905, and it was described 986a.d.as the "Little Cloud."
Andromeda is very favorable for observation in September, low in the eastern sky.
Note the characteristic "Y" shaped asterism known as Gloria Frederika or Frederik's Glory. It lies about at the apex of a nearly isosceles triangle of which a line connecting Alpheratz andβPegasi is the base. A line drawn fromδtoαCassiopeiæ and prolonged a little over twice its length points it out.
ANDROMEDAANDROMEDA
Location.—αPersei lies on a line drawn fromβtoγAndromedæ, and is about 9° from the latter. The most striking feature in Perseus is the so-called "segment of Perseus," a curve of stars beginning about 12° below Cassiopeia, and curving toward Ursa Major. Note the famous variable Algol the Demon star. It represents the Medusa's head which Perseus holds in his hand. It varies from the second to the fourth magnitude in about three and one-half hours, and back again in the same time, after which it remains steadily brilliant for two and three-quarters days, when the same change recurs. Algenib and Algol form withγAndromedæ, a right-angled triangle.
Note a dull red star near Algol, and a pretty pair just above Algenib.
An opera-glass reveals much that is worthy of observation in this region of the sky. It has been said of the clusters between Cassiopeia and Perseus that they form the most striking sidereal spectacle in the northern heavens. They are visible to the naked eye. Algenib never sets in the latitude of New York, just touching the horizon at its lower culmination. It is estimated that Algol is a little over a million miles in diameter,ηhas three faint stars on one side nearly in a line, and one on the other—a miniature representation of Jupiter and his satellites.
Algol, when on the meridian of New York City, is only one tenth of a degree from the zenith point. This remarkable variable has a dark companion star revolving near it obscuring its light in part from us at stated intervals. By means of the spectroscope the speed diameter and mass of this invisible star has been reckoned.
PERSEUSPERSEUS
Location.—This constellation is represented by two fishes each with a ribbon tied to its tail. One, the Northern Fish, lies just belowβAndromedæ,—the other, represented by the circlet, is just below Pegasus. The ribbons, represented by streams of faint stars, from a "V" with elongated sides, and terminate in the star Al Rischa, The Knot.
Belowω, and to the east ofλthe spot marked (*) is the place which the sun occupies at the time of the equinox. It is one of the two crossing places of the equinoctial, or equator, of the heavens, and the ecliptic, or sun's path.
Below Pisces is Cetus, the Whale.
Pisces is thought to have taken its name from its coincidence with the sun during the rainy season.
Three distinct conjunctions of Jupiter and Saturn took place in this constellation in the year 747 of Rome.
Pisces was considered the national constellation of the Jews, as well as a tribal symbol.
In 1881, Jupiter, Saturn, and Venus were grouped together in Pisces.
The Circlet is a very striking group forming a pentagon. The glass reveals two faint stars in addition, making the figure seven-sided or elliptical in form.
As to the number of the stars as classified according to their magnitude, that is their brightness, it may be mentioned that there are approximately 20 stars of the first magnitude, 65 of the second, 300 of the third, and 450 of the fourth. We cannot see stars fainter than the sixth magnitude with the naked eye.
PISCESPISCES
Location.—A line drawn from the starγPegasi to Algol in Perseus passes throughβTrianguli.
The triangle is clearly defined and a beautiful figure. It lies just below Andromeda, and above Aries.
Triangulum is a very ancient constellation, being formerly named Deltoton, from the Greek letter DeltaΔ.
It was in this locality that Piazzi discovered the asteroid Ceres, January 1, 1800.
αTrianguli is sometimes called "Caput Trianguli."
αandβTrianguli were known as "The Scale Beam." According to Argelander the constellation contains fifteen stars.
The Triangle has been likened to the Trinity, and the Mitre of St. Peter.
TRIANGULUMTRIANGULUM
Location.—A line drawn fromβPegasi toαof the same constellation, and prolonged as far again, ends just east of the so-called water jar of Aquarius, which is formed by a group of four stars in the form of a "Y," as indicated in the diagram. The Arabians called these four stars a tent.
The jar is represented as inverted, allowing a stream of water represented by dim stars in pairs and groups of three stars, to descend, ending in the bright star Fomalhaut, the mouth of the Southern Fish.
A rough map of South America can be traced in the starsθ,λ,τ,δ, 88,ι.
A rude dipper can be made out in the western part of the constellation, formed of the starsα,β,ν,ε.
The starsτandζare doubles. Of the former pair, one is white, the other orange in color. Fomalhaut was the object of sunrise worship in the temple of Demeter at Eleusis in 500b.c.The ancients called this region of the sky "the Sea."
In the vicinity ofδ, Mayer observed in 1756 what he termed a fixed star. Herschel thought it a comet. It proved to be the planet Uranus.
ζis almost exactly on the celestial equator.
λis a red star, the most prominent of the first stars in the stream. The stars in Piscis Australis can be traced out with an opera-glass.
Fomalhaut and Capella, in Auriga, rise almost exactly at the same minute.
Fomalhaut is one of the four "royal stars" of astrology. The others are Regulus, Antares, and Aldebaran.
AQUARIUSAQUARIUS
Location.—A line drawn fromαPegasi throughζandθin the same constellation, and projected about 25°, strikesαandβin Capricornus.
This constellation contains three principal stars—αandβmentioned above, andδabout 20° east of them.
The water jar of Aquarius is about the same distance northeast ofδCapricorni that Fomalhaut, in the Southern Fish, is southeast of it.
αhas a companion which can be seen by the naked eye. It is a fine sight in an opera-glass. These two stars are gradually separating.
βis a double star, one being blue, the other yellow.
The constellation resembles a chapeau, or peaked hat, upside down.
The stars in the head of the Sea Goat,αandβare only 2° apart, and can hardly be mistaken by an observer facing the southwestern sky during the early evening in autumn.
Five degrees east ofδis the point announced by Le Verrier as the position of his predicted new planet, Neptune.
Flammarion claims that the Chinese astronomers noted the five planets in conjunction in Capricornus, in the year 2449b.c.
The sign of the Goat was called by the ancient Orientalists "The Southern Gate of the Sun."
CAPRICORNUSCAPRICORNUS
Location.—The starαin Aries, known as Hamal, and sometimes as Arietis, a star of the second magnitude, is about 7° south ofαTrianguli. A line drawn from the Pole Star toγAndromedæ, and prolonged about 20°, ends at Hamal.
Aries contains three principal stars, forming a characteristic obtuse-angled triangle.
The starγArietis was one of the first double stars discovered. A telescope is required to split it. Hamal lies near the path of the moon, and is one of the stars from which longitude is reckoned.
Below Aries may be seen the characteristic pentagon in the head of Cetus, the Whale.
More than two thousand years ago Aries was the leading constellation of the zodiac, and now stands first in the list of zodiacal signs.
The Arabians knew this constellation as Al Hamal, the sheep.
βandγare one instance out of many where stars of more than ordinary brightness are seen together in pairs, the brightest star being generally on the east.
ARIESARIES
Location.—A line drawn from Polaris, toδCassiopeiæ, and prolonged two and one third times its original length, reaches the centre of this constellation.
It lies just below Aries and the Triangle, and resembles the figure of the prehistoric icthyosaurus, while some see in the outline an easy chair. The head of the beast is characterized by a clearly traced pentagon, about 20° southeast of Aries. The brightest star in the constellation isαof the second magnitude. It is at one apex of the pentagon, about 15° east of Al Rischa in Pisces, and 37° directly south of Algol.
The noted variable Mira also known asοCeti is the chief object of interest in this constellation.
It was discovered by Fabricius in 1596 and varies from the ninth magnitude to the third or fourth in a period of 334 days. It can be observed during its entire range with a 3" glass.
In 1779 Mira is reported to have been as bright as the first-magnitude star Aldebaran. It lies almost exactly on a line joiningγandζCeti a little nearer the former. Ten degrees south of it are four faint stars about 3° apart forming a square.
τCeti is one of our nearest neighbors at a distance of nine light years.
ζis a naked-eye double star.
CETUSCETUS
Location.—Musca lies between Triangulum and Aries, the diagram clearly defining its position.
The four stars composing it form a group shaped like the letter "Y."
There is nothing of particular interest to be noted in this asterism. It does not appear on modern star charts and is considered obsolete.
So great is the distance that separates us from the stars that as for the great majority had they been blotted out of existence before the Christian era, we of to-day should still receive their light and seem to see them just as we do. When we scan the nocturnal skies we study ancient history. We do not see the stars as they are but as they were centuries on centuries ago.
MUSCAMUSCA
OCTOBER TO JANUARY.
Name of ShowerDateRadiant PointCharacteristicsOther DatesofObservationLocationUrsidsOct. 4Between GreatBear's head andPolarisSw. Sk.Aug. 20-24N.Epsilon ArietidsRich shower1877Oct. 14East of Hamal,near MuscaM. Sw.Oct. 11-24,Oct. 30-Nov. 4E.OrionidsFine showerOct. 18Near Alhena inGeminiAfter 11p.m.Sw. Sk.Oct. 16-22E.Delta GeminidsOct. 29Near Castor andPolluxAfter 10p.m.v. Sw. Sk.Nov. 7,Dec. 4,Oct. 16-22N.E.(e) Taurids. Richshower in 1886Nov. 2About 13° S.E.of AldebaranSl. B.T.Nov. 2-3E.LeonidsBrilliant showerNov. 13Near (γ) LeonisIn the SickleAfter midnight.v. Sw.Sk.Nov. 12-14N.E.Leo MinoridsNov. 16Near (μ) UrsæMaj., the GreatBear's hind feetAfter 10p.m.v. Sw. Sk.Sept. 15,Oct. 16N.Andromedids.The Bielids.Fine displayNov. 27Near (γ)AndromedæSl. T.Nov. 17-23Nov. 21-28OverheadTauridsNov. 30Between Capellaand (α) PerseiV. Sw.Aug. 16Sept. 15,Nov. 20OverheadZeta Taurids.Active showerin 1876Dec. 6Near the hornsof the BullSl. B.E.Geminids.Fine showerDec. 10Near CastorSw.Dec. 1-14E.Kappa DraconidsDec. 22Near Thuban(α) DraconisSw. Sk.Nov. 14-23Dec. 18-29Fire Ball DatesNov. 29Dec. 2, 19, 21
The Andromedes are usually red, sluggish in their movements, and leave only a small train.
Brilliant displays were seen in 1872 and 1885.
The Leonids are characterized by their exceedingly swift flight. They are of a greenish or bluish tint and leave behind them a vivid and persistent train. In most years the display is not especially noteworthy. Once in thirty-three years they afford an exhibition grand beyond description as in 1833 and 1866.
Map showing the principal stars visible from Lat. 40° N. at 9 o'clock, January first.Map showing the principal stars visible from Lat. 40° N. at 9 o'clock, January first.
Location.—Taurus contains the well-known and unmistakable group the Pleiades, on the right shoulder of the Bull. A "V" shaped group known as the Hyades is just to the southeast of the Pleiades, in the face of the Bull, forming one of the most beautiful objects in the sky.
The brightest star in Taurus is Aldebaran, a ruddy-hued star known as "The Follower." It is at the beginning of the "V" in the Hyades, and is at the apex of a triangle formed by Capella, in Auriga, andαPersei, and equally distant from them both.
The starβcalled Nath, is peculiarly white, and is common to Taurus and Auriga. It represents the tip of one of the Bull's horns, and the right foot of the Charioteer. The Pleiades are mentioned in Chinese annals in 2357b.c.On a photograph of the group over 2000 stars have been counted.
The ecliptic passes a little south of a point midway between the two horns, where a scattered and broken stream of minute stars can be seen.
Note two pretty pairs in the Hyades, one south of Aldebaran, the other northwest of it.
There are rich clusters below the tip of the horn over Orion's head.
Taurus was an important object of worship by the Druids.
Aldebaran is near one eye of the Bull, and used to be called "The Bull's Eye." An occultation of it by the moon, which not infrequently occurs, is a striking phenomenon.
The Eskimos regard the Pleiades as a team of dogs in pursuit of a bear. The group is receding from us at the rate of thirteen miles a second and has a common eastward motion of about ten seconds a century.
TAURUSTAURUS
Location.—Orion is considered the finest constellation in the heavens. A line drawn from Nath toζTauri (the tips of the Bull's horns), and extended 15°, strikes the brilliant Betelgeuze in Orion, known as the martial star. It forms the northeast corner of a conspicuous parallelogram. The splendid first-magnitude star Rigel is diagonally opposite Betelgeuze, and the girdle and sword of the Hunter lie within the parallelogram, a very striking group. The former is represented by three bright stars in a line 3° long known as the "Three Stars," because there are no other stars in the heavens that exactly resemble them in position and brightness.
In the sword there is the most remarkable nebula in the heavens. It may be seen with an opera-glass and in a telescope it is a wonderful sight. Bellatrix is called the Amazon star. Note the contrasting colours ofαandβ.
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.
Belowλthere are two stars forming a triangle with it. Flammarion calls this region the California of the sky.
The celestial equator passes nearly throughδ.
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.
ORIONORION
Location.—Lepus crouches under Orion's feet. Four stars in the constellation form an irregular and conspicuous quadrilateral.
γis 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 starsθ,η, andζ, 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 latitude 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.
LEPUSLEPUS
Location.—Columba is situated just south of Lepus. A line drawn from Rigel, in Orion, toβLeporis, and prolonged as far again, ends nearαandβ, 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 starβColumbæ may be known by means of a smaller star just east of it, markedγ.
The Chinese callαChang Jin, the old Folks. Lockyer thinks it was of importance in Egyptian temple worship, and observed from Edfu and Philæ as far back as 6400b.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.