TO KXOW THE STARRY HEAVENS 



63 



P^eniiock naturally created a great deal 

 of interest here in Philadelphia, and even 

 a good deal of excitement among unin- 

 formed persons who regarded them as 

 'signs in the heavens' of some evil or 

 good to come. I suppose that practically 

 everyone in and around the city saw 

 them : we received perhaps sixty tele- 

 ])hone calls regarding them between the 

 liours of 10:30 and 12:, when they were 

 most conspicuous. 



"Of course we carefully observed 

 them. Aly assistant here saw not only 

 the three bright ones, but also at least 

 four more — the outward, so-called par- 

 helic circles, but sun dogs seemed not 

 this time in evidence. 



"Now this is a well-known and not 

 at all an iiiuisual phenomenon, though it 

 is very unusual to see the circles so 

 bright. I could explain it fully, but I 

 think this not necessary as the explana- 

 tion will be found in any meteorology ; 

 for example, Loomis, pp. 214 to 225, is 

 very clear and good and illustrated by 

 many figures. Air. Bliss (our weather 

 man) tells us that these average about 

 two hundred eight a year. (This means 

 sun and moon haloes both). When mak- 

 ing the noon observations of the sun, we 

 very frequently see them if the sky is 

 hazy but otherwise clear, but, as I said, 

 the usual halo is far fainter than that 

 seen the other day and so attracts no 

 particular attention. I have coated a pane 

 of glass with alum crystals and so can 

 now show my students a set of three fine 

 "haloes whenever I wish to do so." 



The Tints of Spring. 



The tints of spring are rainbow tints, 



All roseate and gay ; 

 Aladdin's lamp to bear us all 



To fairyland away. 



The mists of green, the gauzy scarfs 

 Thrown o'er the branches bare. 



Are all in keeping with the warmth 

 And softness of the air. 



The trees a-shimmer and a-flower, 

 Are robed like reigning queen ; 



They're regal, ere they settle down 

 To summer's constant green. 



Then come into the open, come, 

 Renew your own youth too ; 



The show is fleeting, all too soon 

 The pageant will be through. 



— Emma Peirce. 



The Starry Heavens in July. 



BY PROF. KKIC DOOLITTLE OF THE UNI- 

 VERSITY oF PENNSYLVANIA. 



OF all the seven planets, there is not 

 one whose in the heavens now 

 brings it within the limits of 

 our evening star map ; this is the only 

 month of the year in which this unusual 

 condition is presented. The observer 

 who wishes to see at one time as many as 

 possible of the bright worlds which circle 

 about the sun, must now go out in the 

 morning, an hour or less before sunrise. 

 Then he will see the great Jupiter shin- 

 ing in the southwest. Mars high in the 

 heavens in the southeast, and Venus and 

 Alercury close to the ground in the east, 

 both so nearly lost in the sun's rays, that 

 they can be viewed for a few minutes, 

 only, in the early dawn. The planet-less 

 condition of the evening heavens will last, 

 however, for but this single month. On 

 July 31st, Jupiter will rise but 17 minutes 

 later than 9 o'clock, and for the rest of 

 the year this beautiful world will shine 

 out brightly in our southern skies. 

 ' The July Stars. 



There is no part of the heavens which 

 is more beautiful or more filled with ob- 

 jects of interest than the southern and 

 southeastern sky of this month. First, is 

 the brilliant Scorpio, with its red An- 

 tares ; to the right of this there will at 

 once be seen the two stars of the Bal- 

 ances and the bright, bluish Spica, while, 

 so high above that they are now almost in 

 the zenith, is that bright and interesting 

 train of five striking groups which is led 

 by Bootes and ended by the Northern 

 Cross. 



All of these groups the observer will 

 have but little difficulty in tracing out. 

 but the stars of the great area extending 

 almost from Arcturus to Sagittarius and 

 from Hercules to Scorpio are far less 

 conspicuous. These form the Serpent and 

 the Serpent-holder. The former is a 

 long, winding constellation whose head is 

 the interesting groups of some 15 or 20 

 stars at A, Figure i, and whose swinging 

 body extends first downward and then 

 upward along the exact center of the 

 Alilky Way. until the tip of the tail is 

 reached. The Serpent-holder is repre- 

 sented as an old man whose head is at E 

 and whose feet are at F, and who holds 

 the writhing Serpent in his two hands at 

 the pairs of stars, B and C. 



There is a special pleasure in tracing 

 out and becoming familiar with these 



