THE STARRY HEAVENS IN NOVEMBER 



233 



cessive re-appearances of the different 

 groups, as season follows season and 

 the time of their arrival approaches, 

 and this aside from the great pleasure 

 which a more detailed study and ex- 

 ploration of certain selected regions of 

 the heavens may afford him. 



It was by observing the appearance 

 and withdrawal of various star groups 

 that earlier peoples fixed their seasons 

 and determined the proper times for 

 the many processes of agriculture. 

 Thus the first appearance of the Plei- 

 ades in the evening sky definitely 

 marked the beginning of the harvest 

 season, while their withdrawal (in 

 April) showed that the time for sowing 

 had come. And more than this, one 

 familiar with the stars can tell with 

 much accuracy the exact hour during 

 any night of the year. For example, 

 if he noticed that on November 1 the 

 heavens were as in Figure 1, with 

 Orion and Gemini just rising and the 

 Tail of the Serpent just setting, he 

 would know that it was 9 P. M. The 

 heavens would also present exactly 

 this same aspect at 11 P. M. on Octo- 

 ber 1 and at 7 P. M. on November 1. 

 As the turning of the Celestial Sphere 



seven bright constellations that are vis- 

 ible to us, and twenty-three fainter 

 ones. The beginner should only study 

 the brighter ones at first and he should 

 not make the mistake of trying to learn 



Figure 2. The stars near the western horizon 

 at 5 P. M., November 1, showing the path of the 

 new comet. 



too many at one time. Let him, for 

 example, spend the first evening learn- 

 ing the outlines of Pegasus, Androm- 

 meda and Taurus and observing how 

 the positions of these groups change 

 with reference to the horizon as the 

 hours of the night go by. 



On the next evening, let him begin 

 by again tracing out these three con- 

 stellations and afterward extending his 

 studies, either to Cassiopeia and Per- 

 seus in the north or to the faint groups, 

 Triangulum, Pisces and Aries, in the 



Figure 3. The Transit of Mercury. To all observers in the United States east of the line A B, 

 the sun will be seen to rise on the morning of November 7 with the planet Mercury projected upon 

 its disc. To observers west of the line the transit will not be visible. 



is perfectly uniform and the apparent, 

 yearly, westward motion of the con- 

 stellations is uniform also, the observer 

 soon learns which constellations are 

 rising and which are setting at any 

 hour of any night of the year. 



There are altogether but thirty- 



south, never passing to a new constel- 

 lation until he is satisfied that the ones 

 already studied are perfectly known. 

 He will find that the study, though 

 perhaps a little difficult at first, be- 

 comes much easier the longer it is 

 pursued and by advancing slowly in 



