Part 15

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

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.

+-----------------+-------+-----------------+---------------+--------------+--------+ | | | | | Other Dates | | | Name of Shower | Date | Radiant Point |Characteristics| of |Location| | | | | | Observation | | +-----------------+-------+-----------------+---------------+--------------+--------+ | | | Between Great | | | | | Ursids |Oct. 4 | Bear's head and | Sw. Sk. | Aug. 20-24 | N. | | | | Polaris | | | | +-----------------+-------+-----------------+---------------+--------------+--------+ |Epsilon Arietids | | East of Hamal, | | Oct. 11-24, | | | Rich shower |Oct. 14| near Musca | M. Sw. | Oct. 30- | E. | | 1877 | | | | Nov. 4 | | +-----------------+-------+-----------------+---------------+--------------+--------+ | Orionids |Oct. 18| Near Alhena in | After 11 P.M. | Oct. 16-22 | E. | | Fine shower | | Gemini | Sw. Sk. | | | +-----------------+-------+-----------------+---------------+--------------+--------+ | | | Near Castor and | After 10 P.M. | Nov. 7, | | | Delta Geminids |Oct. 29| Pollux | v. Sw. Sk. | Dec. 4, | N.E. | | | | | | Oct. 16-22 | | +-----------------+-------+-----------------+---------------+--------------+--------+ |(e) Taurids. Rich|Nov. 2 | About 13 | Sl. B.T. | Nov. 2-3 | E. | | shower in 1886 | |S.E. of Aldebaran| | | | +-----------------+-------+-----------------+---------------+--------------+--------+ | Leonids | |Near () Leonis|After midnight.| | | |Brilliant shower |Nov. 13| In the Sickle | v. Sw. | Nov. 12-14 | N.E. | | | | | Sk. | | | +-----------------+-------+-----------------+---------------+--------------+--------+ | | |Near () Ursae | After 10 P.M. | Sept. 15, | | | Leo Minorids |Nov. 16| Maj., the Great | v. Sw. Sk. | Oct. 16 | N. | | | |Bear's hind feet | | | | +-----------------+-------+-----------------+---------------+--------------+--------+ | Andromedids. | | Near () | | Nov. 17-23 | | | The Bielids. |Nov. 27| Andromedae | Sl. T. | Nov. 21-28 |Overhead| | Fine display | | | | | | +-----------------+-------+-----------------+---------------+--------------+--------+ | |Nov. 30|Between Capella | | Aug. 16 | | | Taurids | |and () Persei | V. Sw. | Sept. 15, |Overhead| | | | | | Nov. 20 | | +-----------------+-------+-----------------+---------------+--------------+--------+ | Zeta Taurids. |Dec. 6 | Near the horns | | | | | Active shower | | of the Bull | Sl. B. | | E. | | in 1876 | | | | | | +-----------------+-------+-----------------+---------------+--------------+--------+ | Geminids. |Dec. 10| Near Castor | Sw. | Dec. 1-14 | E. | | Fine shower | | | | | | +-----------------+-------+-----------------+---------------+--------------+--------+ | Kappa Draconids |Dec. 22| Near Thuban | Sw. Sk. | Nov. 14-23 | | | | | () Draconis | | Dec. 18-29 | | +-----------------+-------+-----------------+---------------+--------------+--------+ | Fire Ball Dates | | | | Nov. 29 | | | | | | |Dec. 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.

THE CONSTELLATIONS OF WINTER.

TAURUS (t[^a]'-rus)--THE BULL. (Face Southwest.)

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, and Persei, and equally distant from them both.

The star called 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 2357 B.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.

ORION ([)o]-r[=i]'-on)--THE GIANT HUNTER. (Face South.)

LOCATION.--Orion is considered the finest constellation in the heavens. A line drawn from Nath to Tauri (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 of 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.