Part 11

If, now, we produce beyond the Square of Pegasus (Fig. 6) the curved line of Andromeda, we reach the Milky Way, and we meet in these parts Cygnus, like a cross; the Lyre, where Vega shines (Fig. 7); the Eagle, and Altair (not Atair, as it is sometimes written) with two companions (Fig. 8).

Such are the principal constellations visible in the circumpolar regions on one side; we shall make a fuller acquaintance with them directly. While we are tracing the lines of reference let us still have a little patience and finish our summary review of this part of the sky.

Look now at the side opposite to that of which we have just spoken. Let us return to the Great Bear. Producing the tail along its curve, we find at some distance from that a star of the first magnitude, Arcturus (Fig. 9), or α of Boötes. A little circle of stars which we see to the left of Boötes constitutes the Northern Crown (Corona Borealis). In the month of May, 1866, there was seen shining there a fine star, the brightness of which lasted only fifteen days. The constellation of Boötes is traced in the form of a pentagon. The stars which compose it are of the third magnitude, with the exception of Arcturus, which is of the first. This is one of the nearest to the earth; at least, it is one of a small number whose distance has been measured. It shines with a beautiful golden yellow color. The star ε, which we see above it, is double—that is to say, the telescope resolves it into two distinct stars, one yellow, the other blue.

This technical description is far from the poetry of Nature; but it is especially important here to be clear and precise. Let us suppose ourselves, however, under the starry vault on a beautiful summer’s night, splendid and silent, and let us consider that each of these points which we seek to recognize is a world, or rather a system of worlds. Look at this equilateral triangle (Fig 10); it permits us to cast our eyes successively on three important suns: Vega of the Lyre, Arcturus of Boötes, and the pole star, which watches above the solitudes of our mysterious North Pole. Many martyrs of science have died looking at it! In twelve thousand years our descendants will see the Lyre at the pole, ruling the harmony of the heavens.

The stars which are near the pole, and which have for that reason received the name of circumpolar stars, are distributed in the groups which have just been indicated. I earnestly invite my readers to profit by fine evenings, and try to find for themselves these constellations in the sky.

We have here the principal stars and constellations of the Northern Hemisphere, the North Pole being at the centre of the circle. We come now in the order of our description to the twelve constellations of the zodiacal belt, which makes the circuit of the sky, inclined at 23° to the Equator, and of which the ecliptic, the apparent path of the sun, forms the centre line.

The name of zodiac, given to the zone of stars which the sun traverses during the course of the year, comes from ζώδια, animals, an etymology which is due to the species of figures traced on this belt of stars. Animals, in fact, predominate in these figures. The entire circumference of the sky has been divided into twelve parts, which have been named the twelve signs of the zodiac; our ancestors called them the “houses of the sun,” or “the monthly abodes of Apollo,” because the day star visits them each month, and returns every spring to the beginning of the zodiacal city. Two memorable Latin verses of the poet Ausonius present to us these twelve signs in the order in which the sun travels through them, and this still appears the easiest method of learning them by heart.

Sunt Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libraque, Scorpius, Arciteneus, Caper, Amphora, Pisces;

or, in English, the Ram ♈︎, the Bull ♉︎, the Twins ♊︎, the Crab ♋︎, the Lion ♌︎, the Virgin ♍︎, the Balance ♎︎, the Scorpion ♏︎, the Archer ♐︎, Capricornus ♑︎, Aquarius ♒︎, and the Fishes ♓︎. The signs placed beside these names are a vestige of the primitive hieroglyphics which described them: ♈︎ represents the horns of the Ram, ♉︎ the head of the Bull; ♒︎ is a stream of water, etc.

If we now know our northern sky, if its most important stars are sufficiently noted down in our mind, with the reciprocal relations which they preserve among themselves, we have no more confusion to fear, and it will be easy to recognize the zodiacal constellations. This zone may be of use to us as a line of division between the north and the south. Here is a description of it:

The Ram, which, moving in front of the herd, and regulating, so to say, the march, opens the series. This constellation has in itself nothing remarkable; the brightness of its stars indicates the base of one of the horns of the leader of the sheep; it is but of the second magnitude. After the Ram comes the Bull. Admire on a fine winter’s night the charming Pleiades which scintillate in the ether; not far from them shines a fine red star—this is the eye of the Bull—Aldebaran, a star of the first magnitude and one of the finest of our sky. We now arrive at the Twins, whose heads are marked by two fine stars of the second magnitude, situated a little above a star of the first magnitude—Procyon, or the Little Dog; Cancer, or the Crab, a constellation very little conspicuous (its most visible stars are but of the fourth magnitude, and occupy the body of the animal); the Lion, a fine constellation, marked by a star of the first magnitude, Regulus, by one of the second, β, and by several others of the second and third magnitudes arranged in a trapezium; the Virgin, indicated by a very brilliant star of the first magnitude; Spica, situated in the neighborhood of a star, also of the first magnitude, Arcturus, which is found on the prolongation of the tail of the Great Bear; the Balance (Libra), indicated by two stars of the second magnitude, which would exactly resemble the Twins if they were nearer to each other; the Scorpion, a remarkable constellation; a star of the first magnitude, of a fine red color, marks the Heart (Antares), in the middle of two stars of the third magnitude, above which are three bright stars arranged in a diadem; Sagittarius, the Archer, of which the arrow, indicated by three stars of the second and third magnitudes, is pointed toward the tail of the Scorpion; Capricornus, a constellation not conspicuous, which is recognized by two stars of the third magnitude very near each other, and representing the base of the horns of the hieroglyphic animal; Aquarius, indicated by three stars of the third magnitude arranged in a triangle, of which the most northern occupies a point on the equator; Pisces, the Fishes, composed of stars, barely conspicuous, of the third to fourth magnitudes, situated to the south of a large and magnificent quadrilateral—the Square of Pegasus—of which we have already spoken.

We have now enumerated the zodiacal constellations in the order of the direct motion (from west to east) of the sun, moon, and planets which traverse them. They marked at the epoch of their formation, the monthly passage of the sun into each of them. The distribution of the stars in figurative groups was the first truly hieroglyphical writing; it was engraved on the firmament in indelible characters.

The zodiac has played a great part in the ancient history of every nation—in the formation of the calendar, in the appointment of public festivals, and in the constitution of eras. The zodiac of Denderah, discovered by the French savants in Egypt at the end of the Eighteenth Century, was at first believed to have an antiquity of 15,000 years; but it is now proved that it is necessary to deduct from that number of years half the cycle of precession—that is to say, nearly 13,000 years—which brings down the date of this sculpture to 2,000 years before our epoch; and this in fact corresponds with the evidence of archæology. It is remarkable that all the ancient zodiacs and calendars which have been preserved to us begin the year with the constellation of the Bull, as we have already noticed. The zodiac of the Elephanta Pagoda (Salsette) has at the head of the procession the sign of the sacred Bull, the ox Apis, Mithra—of which the promenade of the fat ox, which is still performed in the environs of Paris, is a vestige. The ceiling of a sepulchral chamber at Thebes shows the Bull at the head of the procession. The zodiac of Esne, the astronomical picture discovered by Champollion in the Ramesseum of Thebes, carries us back to the same origin, between two and three thousand years before our era; Biot supposes the date of this to be the year 3285, the vernal equinox passing through the Hyades on the forehead of Taurus. Father Gaubil has proved that from ancient times the Chinese have referred the beginning of the apparent motion of the sun to the stars of Taurus; and we have a Chinese observation of the star η of the Pleiades as marking the vernal equinox in the year 2357 before our era. Hesiod sings of the Pleiades as ruling the labors of the year, and the name of Vergilia, which the ancient Romans gave them, associates them with the beginning of the year in spring.

Without entering into any details of the different zodiacs which have been preserved to us from the most ancient and diverse nations, a glance at those which are reproduced here will lead us to appreciate the part which they have played in ancient religions. Several zodiacal signs have become veritable gods. The zodiac represented by Fig. 11 was engraved, in the Thirteenth Century, on an Arabic magic mirror, and dedicated to the sovereign prince Aboulfald, “Victorious Sultan, Light of the World,” if we are to believe the bombastic inscription which encircles it. Fig. 12 shows an ancient Hindoo zodiac. Fig. 13 shows a Chinese zodiac stamped upon a talisman, even now in use. The twelve signs differ from ours; they are: the Mouse, the Cow, the Tiger, the Rabbit, the Dragon, the Serpent, the Horse, the Ram, the Ape, the Hen, the Dog, and the Pig. Fig. 14 represents a Chinese medal, on which we see the constellation Teou, the Great Bear (which they call the Bushel), the Serpent, the Sword, and the Tortoise. This is a talisman intended to give courage; it appears that it is in great demand among the Chinese, and is as well circulated as the medals of the Immaculate Conception are in France.

Of all the zodiacal constellations, that of the Bull has played the principal rôle in ancient myths; and in this constellation it was the sparkling cluster of the Pleiades which appears to have regulated the year and the calendar among all the ancient nations. The Mosaic deluge itself, referred to 17 Athir (November), in commemoration of an important inundation, had its date coincident with the appearance of the Pleiades.

Fig. 14.—Chinese Medal, showing the Great Bear]

But we forget the stars. If our descriptions have been carefully followed, the reader will now know the zodiacal constellations as well as those of the north. There remains but little to do to know the entire sky. But there is an indispensable addition to be made to what precedes. The circumpolar stars are perpetually visible above the London horizon; at any time of the year when we wish to observe them it is sufficient to turn to the north, and we shall always find them, either above the pole star or below it, to one side or the other, and always maintaining among themselves the relations which we have employed to find them. The stars of the zodiac do not resemble them from this point of view, for they are sometimes above the horizon, sometimes below. It is necessary, then, to know at what epoch they are visible. For this purpose it will be sufficient to remember the constellation which is found in the middle of the sky at nine o’clock in the evening on the first day of each month—that, for example, which crosses at that moment a line descending from the zenith to the south. This line is the meridian, of which we have already spoken; all the stars cross it once a day, moving from east to west—that is to say, from left to right. In indicating each of the constellations which pass at the hour indicated, we also give the centre of the visible constellations.

On January 1 Taurus passes the meridian at 9 o’clock in the evening; notice Aldebaran, the Pleiades. On February 1 the Twins (Gemini) are not yet there; we see them a little to the left. March 1, Castor and Pollux have passed; Procyon to the south, the little stars of the Crab (Cancer) to the left. April 1, the Lion, Regulus. May 1, β of the Lion, Berenice’s Hair. June 1, Spica of the Virgin, Arcturus. July 1, the Balance (Libra), the Scorpion. August 1, Antares, Ophiuchus. September 1, Sagittarius, Aquila. October 1, Capricornus, Aquarius. November 1, Pisces, Pegasus. December 1, Aries, the Ram.

Our general review of the starry sky must now be completed by the stars of the southern heavens.

Below Taurus and Gemini, to the south of the zodiac, you notice the giant Orion, who raises his club toward the forehead of the Bull. Seven brilliant stars are here distinguished; two of them, α and β, are of the first magnitude; the five others are of the second magnitude, α and γ mark the shoulders, κ the right knee, β the left knee; δ, ε, ζ mark the belt or girdle. Below this line is a luminous train of three stars, very near each other; this is the Sword. Between the western shoulder and Taurus is seen the Shield, composed of a row of small stars. The head is marked by a little star (λ) of the fourth magnitude.

On a fine winter’s night turn toward the south, and you will immediately recognize this giant constellation. The four stars, α, γ, β, κ, occupy the angles of a great quadrilateral. The three others, δ, ε, ζ, are crowded in an oblique line in the middle of this quadrilateral; α, at the northeast angle, is named Betelgeuse (not Beteigeuse, as some books print it); β, at the southeast angle, is called Rigel.

The line of the Belt, produced both ways, passes to the northeast near Aldebaran, the Eye of the Bull, which we know already, and to the southeast near Sirius, the finest star of the sky, which we shall soon consider.

It is during the fine nights of winter that this constellation shines in the evening above our heads. No other season is so magnificently constellated as the months of winter. While nature deprives us of certain enjoyments in one way, it offers us in exchange others no less precious. The marvels of the heavens present themselves from Taurus and Orion in the east to Virgo and Boötes on the west. Of eighteen stars of the first magnitude which are counted in the whole extent of the firmament, a dozen are visible from nine o’clock to midnight, not to mention some fine stars of the second magnitude, remarkable nebulæ, and celestial objects well worthy of the attention of mortals. It is thus that nature establishes a harmonious compensation, and while it darkens our short and frosty days of winter, it gives us long nights enriched with the most opulent creations of the sky.

The constellation of Orion is not only the richest in brilliant stars, but it conceals for the initiated treasures which no other is known to afford. We might almost call it the California of the sky.

To the southeast of Orion, on the line of the Three Kings, shines the most magnificent of all the stars, Sirius, or α of the constellation of the Great Dog. This star of the first magnitude marks the upper eastern angle of a great quadrilateral, of which the base near the horizon of London, is adjacent to a triangle. This constellation rises in the evening at the end of November, passes the meridian at midnight at the end of January, and sets at the end of March. It played the greatest part in Egyptian astronomy, for it regulated the ancient calendar. It was the famous Dog Star; it predicted the inundation of the Nile, the summer solstice, great heats and fevers; but the precession of the equinoxes has in 3,000 years moved back the time of its appearance by a month and a half, and now this fine star announces nothing, either to the Egyptians who are dead or to their successors.

The Little Dog, or Procyon, is found above the Great Dog and below the Twins (Castor and Pollux), to the east of Orion. With the exception of α Procyon, no brilliant star distinguishes it.

Hydra is a long constellation, which occupies a quarter of the horizon, under Cancer, the Lion, and the Virgin. The head, formed of four stars of the fourth magnitude, is to the left of Procyon, on the prolongation of a line drawn from that star to Betelgeuse. The western side of the great trapezium of the Lion, like the line from Castor and Pollux, points to α, of the second magnitude. This is the Heart of Hydra; we remark the asterisms of the second class, Corvus the Crow, and Crater the Cup.

Eridanus, Cetus, Piscis Australis, and the Centaur are the only important constellations which remain to be described. We find them, in the order which we have indicated, to the right of Orion. Eridanus is a river composed of a train of stars winding from the left foot of Orion and losing itself below the horizon. After following long windings, it ends with a fine star of the first magnitude, α Eridani, or Achernar. This is the river into which Phaeton fell when he unskilfully directed the Chariot of the Sun. It was placed in the sky to console Apollo for the death of his son.