Teacher's Leaflet. Ii8i 



the sword; above the belt is the splendid red Betelgeuse set like a glowing ruby 

 on Orion's shoulder, and below the white Rigel, like a spur on his heel. Thus 

 stands the great hunter in the skies with his club raised to keep off the plunging 

 bull, whose eye is the red Aldebaran, and behind him follows the Great Dog with 

 bright Sirius in his mouth, and the Little Dog branded by a white star, Procyon. 

 Our New England ancestors did not see this grand figure in the sky, but called 

 the constellation the Yard ell or the ell Yard. 



The three beautiful stars which make Orion's belt are all double stars; the 

 belt is just three degrees long and is a good unit for sky measurement. The sword 

 is no*, merely the three stars in a line which we see, but is really a curved lino of 

 stars; and what seems to be the third star from the bottom and which looks hazy 

 is in fact a great nebula, which seen through a telescope seems a splash of light 

 with six stars in it. Betelgeuse is a brilliant red star which is above the belt and 

 is the first to rise since it is the most eastern bright star in the constellation. It 

 is an old, old star and has grown cold, as is shown by its red color; sometimes 

 it glows redder than at others. It is so far away that we have not been able to 

 measure the distance accurately and it is receding from us all the time. About 

 fifteen minutes after Betelgeuse rises and after the belt and the sword are in sight, 

 a white sparkling star appears at the southwest of the belt. This is Rigel. This, 

 too, is so far from us that we do not knov/ its distance and it also is receding. 

 Rigel marks the left foot of Orion. Because it is so much farther south than 

 Betelgeuse it rises later and sets sooner than that star. 



Lesson XXX. 



ALDEBARAN {Al-deb'-a-rau) and the Pleiades (Ple-ya-dees) . 

 Purpose. — To learn the position and something about Aldebaran 

 and the Pleiades. 



For the pupils. — • 



(i). Imagine a line drawn from Rigel to Betelgeuse and then another 

 line just as long extending to the west of the latter at a little less than 

 a right angle, and it will end in a bright, rosy star, not so red as Betel- 

 geuse. 



(2). What is the name of this star? Write it on your chart. 



(3). Can you see the figure V formed by Aldebaran and tour fainter 

 stars? Sketch the V. and show where in it Aldebaran belongs. This 

 V-shaped constellation is called the Hyades {Hy' -a-dees) . 



(4). Imagine a line drawn from Orion's belt to Aldebaran and extend 

 it to not quite an equal length beyond it, and it will end near a fuzzy 

 little bunch. of stars which are called the Pleiades. 



(5). How many stars can you see in the Pleiades? 



(6). Why are they called the seven sisters? 



(7). How many stars in the Pleiades are named and how many does 

 photography show that there really arc; in the group? 



