2IO 



THE GUIDE TO NATURE 



An Interesting "Ten" at the Sound 

 Beach Observatory. 



1. The Moon. This is generally re- 

 garded as the most spectacular object 

 in the sky. The new telescope may be 

 used to advantage along about the first 

 quarter of the moon, perhaps a few- 

 days before or a few days after. Then 

 may be clearly seen the mighty Apen- 

 nines — a long mountain range, the huge 

 volcanoes — Copernicus and Gassendi, 

 the streaks radiating from Tycho, and 

 other spectacular appearances. A 

 view of the moon is impressive to most 

 persons because it shows that the fami- 

 liar object has not been known as it 

 really is. The six inch telescope shows 

 all of the more prominent details with 

 probably fully as much satisfaction to 

 the amateur astronomer as does any 

 other telescope in the United States. 

 This is true of nearly all the most in- 

 teresting objects. A popular but er- 

 roneous impression is that huge tele- 

 scopes and big buildings are required 

 for observation. These huge equip- 

 ments are used mostly in technical re- 

 search, especially in photography. 

 When the moon is shining in the sky, 

 it is not only in itself an interesting- 

 object, but it overpowers everything 

 else and monopolizes our attention. On 

 moonlight nights we see the moon but 

 on moonless nights we may readily see 

 all the other nine objects here listed. 



2. Jupiter. This may now be viewed 

 at its best in the southern sky. Even 

 the naked eye is attracted by its marvel- 

 ous splendor. It is larger than all the 

 other planets put together ; it is thir- 

 teen hundred times as large as the 

 earth. Most astronomers agree that 

 nothing in the heavens is more impres- 

 sive than the disappearance and the 

 return of Jupiter's moons. The planet 

 and its wonderful train of circling satel- 

 lities that gleam like diamond sparks 

 cannot be adequately described in 

 words ; they can be appreciated only 

 when seen. Both the moons and the 

 planet can easily be seen to be moving 

 in a small telescope. Jupiter actually 

 turns around under the telescope as 

 one looks at it — an interesting sight. 



3. Hercules 13M Star Cluster. On a 

 still moonless evening the sight of this 

 sun cluster in Hercules captivates the 

 mind of even the most thoughtless and 

 uncontemplative observer. Here the 



imagination will unavoidably let itself 

 loose on its wings and fly away to that 

 wonderful collection of suns which was 

 estimated by Sir William Herschel to 

 contain fourteen thousand stars, and in 

 which at the great observatory on 

 Mount Wilson sixty thousand were 

 counted, but whose true number may 

 even be far more. It can be seen even 

 with an opera glass as a small nebulous 

 body between Eta and Beta Herculis. It 

 it one of the few objects that a large 

 telescope will exhibit to a little better 

 advantage than will one of six inches' 

 aperture, but the difference is not great. 

 It would probably not be noticeable to 

 any but the professional astronomer. 

 The spectacular appearance in the six 

 inch is surely fully up to the wonders 

 of this far famed cluster which is prac- 

 tically unknown to those that are not 

 especially interested in astronomy. I 

 once spent an evening in a large ob- 

 servatory and had the big telescope 

 placed at my disposal. "What are you 

 going to try it on?" asked the astrono- 

 mer. "Try it on ! I intend to travel in 

 13M. That is a dreamland I long have 

 wanted to see." For more than an hour 

 I gazed at those myriad suns, first with 

 one eye, then with the other, first with 

 one eyepiece and then with another. I 

 could not tire of looking. It is marvel- 

 ous. It is more. It is awe-inspiring. 



4. Andromeda Nebula. This great 

 nebula, famous in itself, is easily distin- 

 guishable with a good opera glass ; in- 

 deed, a person with acute eyesight may 

 on a very clear and cloudless evening 

 see it as a nebulous body, but it does 

 not usually attract much public atten- 

 tion. In August, 1885, a new star sud- 

 denly made its appearance in this neb- 

 ula, but in a year it disappeared. Not 

 even the largest telescope in the United 

 States can now find it. This astonish- 

 ing phenomenon gives one the same 

 feeling as looking at a so-called haunted 

 house only in this case the mysterious 

 appearance and disappearance are 

 proven beyond the shadow of a doubt. 

 Where did that star come from? 

 Where did it go? No human being in 

 all this world can answer these ques- 

 tions. 



5. Epsilon Lyrae. This is near Vega, 

 the third brightest star in the skv and 

 the brightest north of the celestial 

 equator. It emits one hundred times 

 more light than our sun. Epsilon Lyrae 



