202 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



shall never forget the start of surprise and almost of awe with which 

 I finally caught sight of it, one spring evening, shooting its flaming 

 rays through the boughs of an apple-orchard, like a star on fire. 



When near the horizon, Arcturus has a remarkably reddish color ; 

 but, after it has attained a high elevation in the sky, it appears rather 

 a deep yellow than red. There is a scattered cluster of small stars 

 surrounding Arcturus, forming an admirable spectacle with an opera- 

 glass on a clear night. To see these stars well, the glass should be 

 slowly moved about. Many of them are hidden by the glare of Arc- 

 turus. The little group of stars near the handle of the end of the 

 Great Dipper, or, what is the same thing, the tail of the Great Bear, 

 marks the upraised hand of Bootes. Between Berenice's Hair and 

 the tail of the Bear you will see a small constellation called Canes 

 Venatici, the Hunting-Dogs. On the old star-maps Bootes is repre- 

 sented as holding these dogs with a leash, while they are straining 

 in chase of the Bear. You will find some pretty groupings of stars 

 in this constellation. 



And now we will turn to the east. Our next map shows Cygnus, 

 a constellation especially remarkable for the large and striking figure 

 that it contains, called the Northern Cross, Aquila the Eagle, the 

 Dolphin, and the little asterisms Sagitta and Vulpecula. In consult- 

 ing the map, the observer is supposed to face toward the east. In 

 Aquila the curious arrangement of two stars on either side of the 

 chief star of the constellation, called Altair, at once attracts the eye. 

 Within a circle including the two attendants of Altair you will prob- 

 ably be able to see with the naked eye only two or three stars in 

 addition to the three large ones. Now turn your glass upon the same 

 spot, and you will see eight or ten times as many stars, and with a 

 field-glass still more can be seen. Watch the star marked Eta (7/), and 

 you will find that its light is variable, being sometimes more than 

 twice as bright as at other times. Its changes are periodical, and 

 occupy a little over a week. 



This Eagle is fabled to have been the bird that Jupiter kept beside 

 his throne. A constellation called Antinous, invented by Tycho 

 Brahe, is represented on some maps as occupying the lower portion of 

 the space given to Aquila. 



The Dolphin is an interesting little constellation, and the ancients 

 said it represented the very animal on whose back the famous musician 

 Arion rode through the sea after his escape from the sailors who tried 

 to murder him. But some modern has dubbed it with the less roman- 

 tic name of Job's Coffin, by which it is sometimes called. It presents 

 a very pretty sight to the opera-glass. 



Cygnus, the Swan, is a constellation whose mythological history is 

 somewhat obscure, although, as remarked above, it contains one of the 

 most clearly marked figures to be found among the stars, the famous 

 Northern Cross. The outlines of this cross are marked with great 



