Chapter 3

Chapter 33,081 wordsPublic domain

The Perseids are of a yellowish color, and move with medium velocity. Their line of flight is from northeast to southwest. They are probably visible for more than a month, from the latter half of July to the last week in August.

The August meteors are known as the "Tears of St. Lawrence."

The Abbreviations under _Characteristics_ are as follows:

v.--very Sl.--Slow Sk.--Streak-leaving meteors. M.--Moderately B.--Bright T.--Train-leaving meteors. Sw.--Swift F.--Faint Sh.--Short meteors.

THE CONSTELLATIONS OF AUTUMN.

CASSIOPEIA (kas-i-[=o]-p[=e]'-ya)--THE LADY IN THE CHAIR. (Face North.)

LOCATION.--A line drawn from [d] Ursae Majoris, through Polaris, strikes [a] Cassiopeiae. 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 star [[^e]] is sixteen light years distant.

Caph is equidistant from the Pole, and exactly opposite the star Megres in Ursa Major; with [a] Andromedae and [g] Pegasi it marks the equinoctial colure. These stars are known as "The Three Guides."

The chair can be readily traced out; [b], [a], and [g] mark three of the four corners of the back, and [d] and [e], one of the front legs. The word "Bagdei," made up of the letters for the principal stars, assists the memory.

The stars [g] and [b] are pointer stars to a fifth-magnitude star the lucida of the asterism Lacerta, the lizard about 15[deg] from [b].

Cassiopeia makes an excellent illuminated clock. When [b] is above Polaris it is noon, when it is in the west at right angles to its first position it is 6 P.M. At midnight it is on the northern horizon, and at 6 P.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.

CEPHEUS (s[=e]'-f[=u]s) (Face North.)

LOCATION.--A line drawn from [a] to [b] Cassiopeiae and prolonged about 18[deg] strikes [a] Cephei. The nearest bright star west of Polaris is [g] Cephei. 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 star [m], probably the reddest star visible to the naked eye in the United States. The star [z] has a blue companion star.

[a] forms an equilateral triangle with Polaris and [e] Cassiopeiae.

It is claimed that Cepheus was known to the Chaldaeans twenty-three centuries before our era.

Surrounding [d], [e], [z], and [l], which mark the king's head, is a vacant space in the Milky Way, similar to the Coal Sack of Cygnus.

About 4[deg] from [g], in the direction of [k] is a pretty pair of sixth-magnitude stars.

Owing to precession, [g], [b], and [a] Cephei will be successively the Pole Star in 4500, 6000, and 7500 A.D. respectively.

[d] is 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.

PEGASUS (peg'-a-sus)--THE WINGED HORSE. (Face South.)

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[deg] 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.

[p] is 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 Equ[=u]leus, 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 430 B.C. The Greeks called this constellation [Greek: hippos].

Pegasus seems to have been regarded in Phoenicia 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 Equ[=u]leus just west of the star Enif in Pegasus.

The position of the equinoctial colure is defined by a line connecting Polaris, [b] Cassiopeiae, [a] Andromedae, and [g] Pegasi.

ANDROMEDA (an-drom'-e-d[:a])--THE CHAINED LADY.

LOCATION.--The star [a] Alpheratz is at the northeastern corner of the great square of Pegasus, one of the stellar landmarks.

Running east from [a], at almost equal distances, are four other stars, two of which are of the second magnitude. The most easterly one is [b] Persei, known as Algol, the famous variable. Lines connecting the stars [g] Andromedae, Algol, and [a] Persei 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 star [g] is 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 Nebulae." It is said to have been known as far back as A.D. 905, and it was described 986 A.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 and [b] Pegasi is the base. A line drawn from [d] to [a] Cassiopeiae and prolonged a little over twice its length points it out.

PERSEUS (per'-s[=u]s)--THE CHAMPION. (Face Northeast.)

LOCATION.--[a] Persei lies on a line drawn from [b] to [g] Andromedae, and is about 9[deg] from the latter. The most striking feature in Perseus is the so-called "segment of Perseus," a curve of stars beginning about 12[deg] 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 with [g] Andromedae, 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, [[^e]] has 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.

PISCES (pis'[=e]z)--THE FISHES. (Face Southeast.)

LOCATION.--This constellation is represented by two fishes each with a ribbon tied to its tail. One, the Northern Fish, lies just below [b] Andromedae,--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.

Below [[^o]], and to the east of [l] the 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.

TRIANGULUM (tr[=i]-an'-g[=u]-lum)--THE TRIANGLE. (Face East.)

LOCATION.--A line drawn from the star [g] Pegasi to Algol in Perseus passes through [b] Trianguli.

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 Delta [D].

It was in this locality that Piazzi discovered the asteroid Ceres, January 1, 1800.

[a] Trianguli is sometimes called "Caput Trianguli."

[a] and [b] Trianguli 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.

AQUARIUS (a-kw[=a]'ri-us)--THE WATER CARRIER. (Face Southwest.)

LOCATION.--A line drawn from [b] Pegasi to [a] of 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 stars [th], [l], [t], [d], 88, [i].

A rude dipper can be made out in the western part of the constellation, formed of the stars [a], [b], [n], [e].

The stars [t] and [z] are 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 500 B.C. The ancients called this region of the sky "the Sea."

In the vicinity of [d], Mayer observed in 1756 what he termed a fixed star. Herschel thought it a comet. It proved to be the planet Uranus.

[z] is almost exactly on the celestial equator.

[l] is 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.

CAPRICORNUS (kap-ri-k[^o]r'-nus)--THE SEA GOAT. (Face Southwest.)

LOCATION.--A line drawn from [a] Pegasi through [z] and [th] in the same constellation, and projected about 25[deg], strikes [a] and [b] in Capricornus.

This constellation contains three principal stars--[a] and [b] mentioned above, and [d] about 20[deg] east of them.

The water jar of Aquarius is about the same distance northeast of [d] Capricorni that Fomalhaut, in the Southern Fish, is southeast of it.

[a] has 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.

[b] is 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, [a] and [b] are only 2[deg] apart, and can hardly be mistaken by an observer facing the southwestern sky during the early evening in autumn.

Five degrees east of [d] is 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 2449 B.C.

The sign of the Goat was called by the ancient Orientalists "The Southern Gate of the Sun."

ARIES ([=a]'-ri-[=e]z)--THE RAM. (Face Southeast.)

LOCATION.--The star [a] in Aries, known as Hamal, and sometimes as Arietis, a star of the second magnitude, is about 7[deg] south of [a] Trianguli. A line drawn from the Pole Star to [g] Andromedae, and prolonged about 20[deg], ends at Hamal.

Aries contains three principal stars, forming a characteristic obtuse-angled triangle.

The star [g] Arietis 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.

[b] and [g] are 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.

CETUS (s[=e]'-tus)--THE WHALE. (Face Southeast.)

LOCATION.--A line drawn from Polaris, to [d] Cassiopeiae, 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[deg] southeast of Aries. The brightest star in the constellation is [a] of the second magnitude. It is at one apex of the pentagon, about 15[deg] east of Al Rischa in Pisces, and 37[deg] directly south of Algol.

The noted variable Mira also known as [o] Ceti 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 joining [g] and [z] Ceti a little nearer the former. Ten degrees south of it are four faint stars about 3[deg] apart forming a square.

[t] Ceti is one of our nearest neighbors at a distance of nine light years.

[z] is a naked-eye double star.

MUSCA (mus'-k[:a])--THE FLY. (Face Southeast.)

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.

METEORIC SHOWERS.

OCTOBER TO JANUARY.