Part 21

The Society of Star-Gazers was very enthusiastic about the origin of the Swastika, and found the dipper in its different positions on all of the four maps that Uncle Henry had put on the table.

You can see the position of the dipper and all the other stars at January 1st, April 1st, July 1st, and December 1st, at 9 o'clock in the evening, by looking at the four maps inside the covers of this book.

After the children had looked at all the four maps as long as they wanted to, Uncle Henry suddenly remembered to look at his watch and exclaimed,

"My goodness! I guess it's about time the Society adjourned for to-night. Ten o'clock! I'll get scolded for keeping you up so late."

"I want to ask just one thing more," pleaded Betty.

"All right, what is it?" said Uncle Henry.

"Who found all the sky people?"

"Well," said Uncle Henry, "now that's a long story. They were all found and named so long ago that nobody knows who did it. The inventors of the star people naturally thought they saw pictures in the sky of the things they were familar with in everyday life--the bear, the bull, the serpent, the archer, and so on. If they had had any steam engines then somebody would have drawn lines from star to star until they had a picture of one in the sky. In England the Great Bear or Dipper is usually called the 'Plough' and you can see why

"It is also called 'Charles' Wain' or wagon.

"We only know that the constellations are very, very old, and that an ancient people living in the valley of the Euphrates river probably named most of them. The Babylonian Tablets, the oldest records known, show that the Zodiac constellations were known over 3000 years before the birth of Christ, which is now nearly 5000 years ago."

"Can't we have just one more poem before we go to bed?" said Paul.

"Yes," said Uncle Henry, "but not one of mine. I'll give you a little bit of a long poem that was written by a man named Aratos about 280 years before the wise men followed the star that told them where to find the new-born Christ. It has been running through my mind all the evening. This is it:

"And all the signs through which Night whirls her car, From belted Orion back to Orion and his dauntless Hound, And all Poseidon's, all high Zeus's stars, Bear on their beams true messages to man."

FOURTH WINTER EVENING

IN WHICH THE "SOCIETY" MEETS THE LAST OF THE STAR PEOPLE AND THE BEGINNING OF ASTRONOMY--AND BETTY PROPOSES A "NOTE" OF THANKS

The Society of Star-Gazers assembled upon the roof the next night with an eagerness that was tempered a little by regret that it was the last.

Uncle Henry saw this, and before starting to find the evening's constellations with the children, told them a few of the many wonderful things to be seen among the stars with the aid of a small telescope.

He reminded them of the "little cloud" in Andromeda, called the Great Nebula, and said that there were not only many more of these wonderful clouds of star dust, but numbers of beautiful double stars, some of them lovely with tints of red, green or orange, and some that can be seen with an ordinary opera-glass.

Then he told them of the curious variable, or "winking" stars, which turn bright and faint alternately on a regular schedule, so many hours bright, and so many hours faint. Also he described the beauty of the planet Jupiter, surrounded by its four little moons, all of which could be seen with a small telescope.

Then the children began to feel more cheerful, for they saw that being introduced to the creatures and people of Skyland was only the beginning of the study of astronomy.

"So," finished Uncle Henry, "we don't need to feel that there is no more fun coming, for there are lots more faint constellations which are all beautiful, even though not plain enough for us to find easily in the beginning. Besides, if you ever journey to the South, beyond the earth's equator, you will find a whole new sky full of marvelous people, and creatures, and objects--all pictured in the flashing southern heavens."

"Well," said Peter briskly, "what do we find to-night, Uncle Hen?"

"We'll begin," replied Uncle Henry, "with a person you may have heard of--Perseus, who killed the terrible Gorgon Medusa."

"Oh, I know him," cried Paul, "we read all 'bout him last year."

"Quite right," said Uncle Henry, "then you remember that when he had killed Medusa, and cut off her head with his sword, he had to hold the head with the terrible face away from him, because everybody who looked at that face was instantly turned to stone."

"Yes, yes, we know!" chorused the Society.

"Well, now we'll find Perseus, his sword, and the head of Medusa," promised Uncle Henry. "All you have to do is to extend the line of Andromeda's left leg and prolong it from her foot, straight out for about her whole length. (30) There you will find Algenib, the brightest star in Perseus. It is right in his neck, between his shoulders. From Algenib you can trace a row of stars downward, almost to the Pleiades in the bull's shoulder. This row of stars is Perseus' body and legs. Then find two stars above Algenib, one over the other, and you have his head and helmet.

"After that it is easy to start at Algenib and trace out his right arm, with the sword. A line drawn toward Perseus through the stars in Andromeda's head and left hip points out the star Algol, which is the head of Medusa, held in Perseus' left hand. (31) Algol is a famous variable star, which the ancients named 'the dragon of the slowly winking eye.'"