Stars near the North Pole of the Heavens 193 



FIG. 126. Cassiopeia. The brighter 

 stars in this constellation form a flat W. 



Star is at the end of the 

 handle. A bent line of 

 faint stars may be traced 

 from it to the bowl, 

 formed by four stars. 

 The two farthest stars 

 are about as bright as 

 the polestar; the others 

 are fainter. The farthest 

 one is about 18 degrees 

 from the North Star and 

 not quite in the direc- 

 tion of the star at the end of the handle of the Great 

 Dipper. 



The north pole of the heavens. Whether either 

 Dipper will hold water depends on the time at which 

 you look at it, for both revolve around the north pole 

 of the heavens. This is not quite the same as saying 

 that they revolve around the North Star, which is about 

 1 1 degrees from the north pole, the point to which the 

 axis of the earth is directed. Of course their apparent 

 revolution is due to the rotation of the earth on its axis. 

 With jo-inch telescopes some 150 stars nearer to the 

 pole than Polaris may be seen. 



Cassiopeia. On the other side of the North Star, and 

 at about the same distance from it as the Great Dipper, 

 is Cassiopeia. This constellation contains several sec- 

 ond- and third-magnitude stars arranged so as to 

 form a rather flat W. It is also called Cassiopeia's 

 Chair, for in certain positions the constellation looks 

 something like a chair. In mythology Cassiopeia was 



