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Home Nature-Study Course. 



Lesson XXXI. 



QUEEN CASSIOPEIA S CHAIR. 



Purpose. — To make the pupils observant of the polar constellations. 

 Method. — Make upon the blackboard the accompanying picture and ask 

 the pupils to make the following observations. 



Observations: 



( I ) . Have you seen the "W" 

 made by the stars called Queen 

 Cassiopeia's Chair? 



(2). Were they on the same 

 side of the Pole Star as the 

 Big Dipper? 



(3). How many stars in the 

 W? 



(4). Is the ,W formed regu- 

 larly ; that is, are both parts 

 exactly alike? 



(5). Is the top or the bottom 

 of the W turned toward the 

 Pole Star? Can you see a 

 faint star that added to the W 

 makes it into a chair? 

 (6). Do the stars of the ^V move around the Pole Star as do the Big 

 and Little Bears? 



(7). Who was Queen Cassiopeia and why did the ancient Greeks place 

 her in this chair? 



The Pole Star. TJte Big and Little Dippers 

 and Queen Cassiopeia's Chair 



Facts for the Teacher. — Queen Cassiopeia's Chair is one of the most noticeable of 

 the polar constellations and the children see it quicker because of its resemblance 

 to the W and it is almost on the opposite side of the Pole Star from the Big Dip- 

 per. There are five stars that make up the W. but they are placed so that half 

 of the letter is wider than the other half. The top of the W is turned toward the 

 Pole Star, and this constellation seems to move about the Pole Star as do the Big 

 and Little Dippers. There is also an interesting story about Queen Cassiopeia and 

 why she was placed in this chair. This may be found in " Stories of Starland," 

 p. 151; in **The Story of the Stars," p. 83, or any other book of ancient myths. 



