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THE GUIDE TO NATURE 



The Heavens in November. 



BY PROF. ERIC DOOLITTLE OE THE UNI- 

 VERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



It is in this month that the most 

 beautiful constellations of Orion and 

 the Twins both enter our evening sky, 

 and already the eastern part of the 

 heavens begins to present the brilliant 

 appearance which is characteristic of 

 the winter stars. If the observer will 

 face due east he will now see the won- 

 derful Taurus with its Hyades and 

 Pleiades, already mounted nearly half 

 way to the zenith ; to the left of these 

 are the two stars which mark the ex- 

 treme tips of the Bull's horns, of which 

 the pure white star, at A, Figure I, is 

 a great double sun in almost the same 

 condition as our two Dog Stars, while 

 the second, at B, is a fainter, yellowish 

 star whose influence in the days of as- 

 trology was for some reason believed 

 to be particularly malign. It is at the 

 point C, a very short distance above 

 and to the left of this star, that there 

 is found the singular Crab Nebula, 

 often mistaken by amateur observers 

 for a new comet. 



THE NOVEMBER STARS. 



To the right and above the tips of 

 the horns we see the very brilliant 

 Capella, while below there are the two 

 bright Twin stars, Castor and Pollux, 

 just emerging from the ground. But 

 most interesting of all is the beautiful 

 Orion, whose brightest star at H has 

 now fairly entered our evening sky. 

 This wonderful orange-red sun is one 

 of the most interesting variable stars 

 of the heavens. Seventy-six years ago 

 Sir John Herschel discovered that its 

 light was fluctuating; in the year 1849 

 another fluctuation began, its light in- 

 creasing until in 1852 it was actually 

 the brightest star in the northern 

 heavens. A lesser brightening was 

 witnessed in 1894. What is occuring 

 in this great sun is wholly unknown to 

 us, nor can Ave tell when a variation in 

 its light is to be looked for. 



The three nearly equidistant stars, 

 D, E and F, which form the Belt of 

 Orion and add so much to the beauty 

 of this constellation, are now just aris- 

 ing from the ground. As might be ex- 

 pected, this striking line of bright stars 

 has been noticed and named by people 

 of all ages and in all countries. The 

 Chinese called them a Weighing Beam ; 

 the Hindus, an Arrow; the Scandina- 

 vians, a Distaff, and the Greenlanders, 

 three Seal Hunters who were lost at 

 sea. To the native Australians they 

 were young men, dancing before a 

 group of maidens, who, represented by 

 the Pleiades, were playing for them. 

 The careful observer will notice that 

 the star F is decidedly more yellow 

 than those at D or E. The lower star 

 is an interesting triple ; the upper is 

 not only a double star, but its bright- 

 ness also varies irregularly. 



SUNS WHICH VARY IN BRIGHTNESS. 



It happens that one of the most re- 

 markable and interesting variable stars 

 of the heavens is expected to reach its 

 greatest brightness during this month 

 while it is in excellent position for ob- 

 servation in the evening sky. This star 

 will be found at the point K in Figures 

 1 and 2, a very little to the left of the 

 straight line passing through the stars 

 L, N, P and S. It can readily be iden- 

 tified by its position a little below and 

 to the left of the star at N. 



This wonderful object is usually 

 very much too faint to be seen with 

 the naked eye, but at a somewhat ir- 

 regular interval it begins to pour out 

 more and more light until its bright- 

 ness has increased many thousand fold. 

 It usually remains thus bright for 

 about two months and then it fades 

 rapidly away. 



It is predicted that this star will be 

 brightest on November 5. It should 

 then be more than twice as bright as 

 the nearby star at M, Figure 2, and 

 will probably so remain throughout 

 the month. It will reach its greatest 



