THE 



POPULAR SCIEI^CE 

 MONTHLY. 



JANUARY, 1895. 



PLEASURES OF THE TELESCOPE. 



Bt gaekett p. servisr. 

 ii._in the starry heavens. 



LET us imagine ourselves the happy possessors of three proper- 

 ly mounted telescopes of five, four, and three inches aperture, 

 respectively. A fine midwinter evening has come along, the air 

 is clear, cool, and steady, and the heavens, of that almost invisible 

 violet which is reserved for the lovers of celestial scenery, are 

 spangled with stars that hardly twinkle. We need not disturb 

 our minds about a few thin clouds here and there floating lazily 

 in the high air; they announce a change of weather, but they 

 will not trouble us to-night. 



Which way shall we turn ? Our eyes will answer the question 

 for us. However we may direct them, they instinctively return 

 to the south, and are lifted to behold Orion in his glory, now near 

 the meridian and midway to the zenith, with Taurus shaking the 

 glittering Pleiades before him, and Canis Major with the flaming 

 Dog Star following at his heels. 



Not only is Orion the most brilliant of all constellations to the 

 casual star-gazer, but it contains the richest mines that the delver 

 for telescopic treasures can anywhere discover. We could not 

 have made a better beginning, for here within a space of a few 

 square degrees we have a wonderful variety of double stars and 

 multiple stars, so close and delicate as to test the powers of the 

 best telescopes, besides a profusion of star-clusters and nebulae, in- 

 cluding one of the supreme marvels of space, the Great Nebula in 

 the Sword. 



Our star map No. 1 will serve as a guide to the objects which 



VOL. XLTI. 22 



