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Page 58
Fig. 71 represents the sky to the eastward and northward of the
last. A line drawn from Polaris and Benetnasch comes east of Arcturus
to the little triangle called his sons. Bootes drives the Great
Bear round the pole. Arcturus and Denebola make a triangle with
a, also called Cor Coroli, in the Hunting Dogs. This triangle, and
the one having the same base, with Spica for its apex, is called
the "Diamond of the Virgin." Hercules appears head down--a in the
face, b, g, d; in his shoulders, p; and ae; in the loins, t in the
knee, the foot being bent to the stars at the right. The Serpent's
head, making an X, is just at the right of the g of Hercules, and
the partial circle of the Northern Crown above. The head of Draco
is seen at b on the left of the map. Arcturus rises at 9 o'clock
about the 20th of February, and at 5 A.M. on the 22d of October;
Regulus 3h. 35m. Earlier.
[Page 206]
[Illustration: Fig. 72.--Altair comes to the Meridian, 82� from
the Pole, at 10 o'clock P.M. August 18th, at 9 o'clock September
2d, and at 8 o'clock September 18th.]
Fig. 72 portrays the stars eastward and southward. Scorpio is one
of the most brilliant and easily traced constellations. Antares, a,
in the heart, is double. In Sagittarius is the Little Milk-dipper,
and west of it the bended bow. Vega is at the top of the map. Near
it observe z, a double, and e, a quadruple star. The point to which
the solar system is tending is marked by the sign of the earth
below p; Herculis. The Serpent, west of Hercules, and coiled round
nearly to Aquila, is very traceable. In the right-hand lower corner
is the Centaur. Below, and always out of our sight, is the famous
a Centauri. The diamond form of the Dolphin is sometimes called
"Job's Coffin." The ecliptic passes close [Page 207] to b of
Scorpio, which star is in the head. Antares, in Scorpio, rises at 9
o'clock P.M. on May 9th, and at 5 o'clock A.M. on January 5th.
[Illustration: Fig. 73.--Fomalhaut comes to the Meridian, only 17�
from the horizon, at 8 o'clock November 4th.]
In Fig. 73 we recognize the familiar stars of Pegasus, which tell
us we have gone quite round the heavens. Note the beautiful cross
in the Swan. b in the bill is named Albireo, and is a beautiful
double to almost any glass. Its yellow and blue colors are very
distinct. The place of the famous double star 61 Cygni is seen. The
first magnitude star in the lower left-hand corner is Fomalhaut, in
the Southern Fish. a Pegasi is in the diagonal corner from Alpharetz,
in Andromeda. The star below Altair is b Aquil�, and is called
Alschain; the one above is g Aquil�, named Tarazed. This is not
a brilliant section of the sky. Altair rises at 9 o'clock on the
29th of May, and at 6 o'clock A.M. on the 11th of January.
[Page 208]
[Illustration: Fig. 74.--Southern Circumpolar Constellations invisible
north of the Equator.]
Fig. 74 gives the stars that are never seen by persons north of
the earth's equator. In the Ship is brilliant Canopus, and the
remarkable variable ae. Below it is the beautiful Southern Cross,
near the pole of the southern heavens. Just below are the two first
magnitude stars Bungala, a, and Achernar, b, of the Centaur. Such
a number of unusually brilliant stars give the southern sky an
unequalled splendor. In the midst of them, as if for contrast,
is the dark hole, called by the sailors the "Coal-sack," where
even the telescope reveals no sign of light. Here, also, are the
two Magellanic clouds, both easily discernible by the naked eye;
the larger two hundred times the apparent size of the moon, lying
between the pole and Canopus, and the other between Achernar and
the pole. The smaller cloud is only one-fourth the size of the
other. Both are mostly resolvable into groups of stars from the
fifth to the fifteenth magnitude.
[Page 209]
For easy out-door finding of the stars above the horizon at any
time, see star-maps at end of the book.
_Characteristics of the Stars._
Such a superficial examination of stars as we have made scarcely
touches the subject. It is as the study of the baptismal register,
where the names were anciently recorded, without any knowledge
of individuals. The heavens signify much more to us than to the
Greeks. We revolve under a dome that investigation has infinitely
enlarged from their estimate. Their little lights were turned by
clumsy machinery, held together by material connections. Our vast
worlds are connected by a force so fine that it seems to pass out
of the realm of the material into that of the spiritual. Animal
ferocity or a human Hercules could image their idea of power. Ours
finds no symbol, but rises to the Almighty. Their heavens were full
of fighting Orions, wild bulls, chained Andromedas, and devouring
monsters. Our heavens are significant of harmony and unity; all
worlds carried by one force, and all harmonized into perfect music.
All their voices blend their various significations into a personal
speaking, which says, "Hast thou not heard that the everlasting
God, the Lord, the creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not,
neither is weary?" There is no searching of his understanding.
Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created all these
things, that brought out their host by number, that calleth them
all by their names in the greatness of his power; for that he is
strong in power not one faileth.
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