Part 3 (1/2)

The Scorpion, held to be a sign of ill luck, has been prejudicial to the Archer, which follows it, and traces an oblique trapezium in the sky, a little to the east of Antares These two southernmost constellations never rise land In fable, the Archer is Chiron, the preceptor of Jason, Achilles and aesculapius

Capricorn lies to the south of Altar, on the prolongation of a line frole It is hardly noticeable save for the stars [alpha] and [beta] of third nitude, which scintillate on its forehead

The Water-Carrier pours his strea only three of third le

Lastly the Fishes, concluding sign of the Zodiac, are found to the south of Andronitude, this constellation consists of small stars that are hardly visible

These twelve zodiacal constellations will be recognized on exas 10-11)

We must now visit the stars of the Southern Heavens, so of admiration

[Illustration: FIG 10--The Constellations of the Zodiac: suin, Lion]

It should in the first place be noted that the signs of the Zodiac and the Southern Constellations are not, like those which are circumpolar, perpetually visible at all periods of the year Their visibility depends on the tiht[4]

In order to admire the fine constellations of the North, as described above, we have only to open our s on a clear suht of these inaccessible suns, while we look up at the immense fields in which each star is like the head of a celestial spear

But the summer is over, autumn is upon us, and then, too soon, comes winter clothed in hoar-frost The days are short and cold, dark and dreary; but as a coer, and adorns herself with herus the contemplation of her inexhaustible treasures

[Illustration: FIG 11--The Constellations of the Zodiac: winter and spring; Crab, Twins, Bull, Rae to the nificent Orion, most splendid of all the constellations: he advances like a colossal giant, and confronts the Bull

This constellation appears about ht in November, in the south-eastern Heavens; toward eleven o'clock in December and January, due south; about ten in February, in the south-east; about nine in March, and about eight in April, in the west; and then sets below our horizon

[Illustration: FIG 12--Orion and his celestial coure in the sky, and with the Great Bear, the most ancient in history, the first that was noticed: both are referred to in the ancient texts of China, Chaldea, and Egypt

Eight principal stars delineate its outline; two are of the first12) The el ([beta]): the forht shoulder of the Colossus as it faces us; the second the left foot The star on the left shoulder is [gaht foot, [chi], is alnitude placed obliquely at equal distances frohest of which marks the position of the equatorial line, indicate the Belt or Girdle These stars, known as the Three Kings, and by country people as the Rake, assist greatly in the recognition of this fine constellation

A little below the second star of the Belt, a large white patch, like a band of fog, the apparent dimensions of which are equal to that of the lunar disk, is visible to the unaided eye: this is the Nebula of Orion, one of the nificent in the entire Heavens It was discovered in 1656 by Huyghens, who counted twelve stars in the pale cloud Since that date it has been constantly studied and photographed by its iant eye of the telescope discovers in it to-day an innumerable multitude of little stars which reveal the existence of an entire universe in this region

Orion is not ures; it is also the richest in sidereal wonders A these, it exhibits the most complex of all the multiple systems known to us: that of the star [theta] situated in the celebrated nebula just h a powerful telescope, breaks up into six suns, forion is altogether one of the er postpone our honificent Sirius, which shi+nes on the left below Orion: it returns every year toward the end of Nove brilliancy, is the first, [alpha], in the constellation of the Great Dog, which forle erected from the horizon

When astronomers first endeavored to determine the distance of the stars, Sirius, which attracted all eyes to its burning fires, was the particular object of attention After long observation, they succeeded in deter its distance as 92 trillion kiloh space at a velocity of 300,000 kilometers (186,000 miles) per second, takes no less than ten years to reach us frohbors

The Little Dog, in which Procyon ([alpha], of firstbrother With the exception of [alpha], it has no bright stars

[Illustration: FIG 13--Winter Constellations]

Lastly, toward the southern horizon, we must notice the Hydra, Eridanus, the Whale, the Southern Fish, the shi+p, and the Centaur This last constellation, while invisible to our latitudes, contains the star that is nearest to the Earth, [alpha], of first nitude, the distance of which is 40 trillion kilometers (25 trillionConstellations]

The feet of the Centaur touch the Southern Cross, which is always invisible to us, and a little farther down the Southern Pole reigns over the icy desert of the antarctic regions

[Illustration: FIG 15--Summer Constellations]

[Illustration: FIG 16--Autu descriptions, we subjoin four charts representing the aspect of the starry heavens during the evenings of winter, spring, summer, and autumn To make use of these, we must suppose the the zenith, and the sky descending all round to the horizon The horizon, therefore, bounds these panora at it from north, south, east, or west, we find all the principal stars The first13) represents the sky in winter (January) at 8 PM; the second, in spring (April) at 9 PM; the third, in summer (July) at the same hour; the fourth, the sky in autumn (October) at the same tirandest and most beautiful journeys conceivable We now have a new country, or, better, have learned to see and know our own country, for since the Earth is a planet weto such or such a nation of our lilliputian world

We must now study this sublime spectacle of the Heavens in detail