THE HEAVENS IN APRIL 



3 2 7 



heavens, while on photographs of it 

 recently taken with the largest instru- 

 ments, no less than sixty thousand 

 stars have been counted. 



The distinctively summer group of 

 the Serpent is now just entering the 

 heavens in the east, while the very 

 large Virgo has entirely emerged from 

 the ground. The most conspicuous 

 star of this great constellation is the 



a small telescope, and the one at F is 

 remarkable because it has a distinctly 

 greenish shade, a very unusual color 

 among the brighter stars. Below Libra 

 will be seen the Water Snake, which 

 has now almost wholly entered ouf 

 evening sky, and which stretches its 

 great length from the horizon in the 

 southeast, almost all the way to the 

 bright Procyon in the west. All of 



NOTTTH 



•SOOTI- 



Figure 1. The Constellations at 9 P. M., April 1. 

 (If facing south, hold the map upright. If facing east, hold East below. If facing west, hold West 

 below. If facing north, hold the map inverted.) 



bluish Spica, or Ear of Wheat. This 

 is actually a double sun, the companion 

 being so near the bright star and so 

 obscure that it cannot be seen in any 

 telescope, but its presence is made evi- 

 dent by the fact that Spica is forever 

 moving about -the common center of 

 gravity of itself and its unseen com- 

 panion in an orbit of three millions of 

 miles radius with a velocity of more 

 than fifty miles a second. At this speed 

 it completes a revolution in a period of 

 about four days. 



Below Virgo are the two brightest 

 stars of the Balances, of which the one 

 at E is a wide double, easilv visible in 



these constellations are most interest- 

 ing and will well repay study, though 

 the most conspicuous of the midsum- 

 mer groups, including the striking 

 Scorpion and the beautiful Northern 

 Cross, will not enter our evening sky 

 until another month has passed away. 



THE PLANETS IN APRIL. 



During the first two weeks of the 

 month, the most brilliant Venus will 

 continue to shine out in the west, but 

 a very little watching will make it evi- 

 dent, even in a few nights, that this 

 world is now running rapidly toward 

 the sun. For many weeks it has been 

 moving ever northward among the 



