Teacher's Leaflet. 849 



THE SUMMER STARS. 



The warm evenings of summer offer special enticement to star study; 

 then is the time to select some point where a wide view of the heavens 

 is possible, lie down on one's back on the grass and with a planisphere 

 and a candle with which to see it as we hold it in its proper place between 

 us and the heavens, we may in an hour or two become familiar with all 

 the bright stars from horizon to horizon. And if we once make the 

 acquaintance of a star we find it a staunch friend because we know 

 exactly where and when it will rise and set and exactly where to find 

 it in the skies. Of the fifteen brightest stars seen in our latitude eight 

 may be viewed during the summer evenings. 



While we are making the acquaintance of the stars we can learn 

 something about them from their color. If they shine white or blue 

 then they are suns in an early, gaseous state giving out much light; 

 if they shine yellow they are more solid and more advanced in develop- 

 ment and give out much heat, like our own sun; if they shine red then 

 they are old suns which are cooling and which will, after a time, become 

 dark and invisible to us. There are undoubtedly many of these dark 

 stars whirling through space, — great dead suns with their fires extin- 

 guished. 



In teaching the pupils how to find the stars instruct them how to 

 draw an imaginary straight line from one star to another and to observe 

 the angles made by such lines joining three or four stars. This is good 

 training in more ways than one; it is well to teach them measurements 

 also in the skies. The distance between the two stars called the pointers 

 of the Big Dipper is just five degrees, and this serves as a unit. In 

 teaching the names of the summer stars begin with Vega and copy this 

 portion of the chart on the blackboard showing the lines H, I. Of 

 course, place upon the blackboard also the Big Dipper and the Pole 

 Star. These should be placed on the board always as a help in finding 

 the other stars. If a postal card or any other rectangular object be 

 held between the eyes and the heavens it is an assistance in mieasuring 

 a right angle. After the pupils are sure of Vega place on the board 

 Deneb and then Altair and the Dolphin, and thus little by little through 

 the charts on the blackboard by day and the study of the stars at night, 

 the pupils will master the names and positions of the bright stars of 

 summer. 



References. — The Friendly Stars, Martin; Starland, Ball. 



