2l6 



THE GUIDE TO NATURE 



The Heavens in December. 



BY PROFESSOR ERIC DOOLITTLE, OF THE 

 UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



At no time of the entire year are the 

 heavens more beautiful than now. In 

 the south and east are the magnificent 

 groups of Orion, Taurus and Gemini, 



The December Stars. 

 In the east also there has now ap- 

 peared that strange, faint, little group 

 of the Crab, with its interesting clus- 

 ter of stars (at A, Figure i), and a lit- 

 tle to the right and above this there is 

 the bright planet Saturn, almost in a 



South 



Figure 1. The Constellations at 9 P. M., December 1. (If facing south, hold the map upright. If 

 facing east, hold East below. If facing west, hold West below. If facing north, hold the map inverted.) 



whose entrance into the evening sky 

 we have been watching for the past 

 many weeks ; above these there shines 

 out the golden Capella, while lower 

 down are seen the brilliant Dog Stars, 

 Sirius and Procyon, which for the first 

 time since last winter have been 

 brought by the slow, seasonal change 

 of the heavens within the borders of 

 our evening map. 



line with the Twin Stars, Castor and 

 Pollux. Saturn is now a beautiful ob- 

 ject in the telescope and will well re- 

 pay examination and study. It is very 

 high above the celestial equator; its 

 southern pole is presented toward us 

 so that we view its south hemisphere 

 and the south side of its rings, which 

 latter in the telescope are seen to be 

 widely opened out. 



