204 



Trees, Stars, and Birds 



FIG. 130. The great nebula of Orion 

 photographed through a telescope. 



one as bright as the 

 third magnitude, would 

 appear many times as 

 bright as Sirius, the 

 brightest star in the 

 heavens, if it were no 

 farther away. 



Southeast of the Ple- 

 iades you will see a V 

 with a red first-magni- 

 tude star at the end 

 of one side. This V, 

 known as the Hyades, 

 forms the face of Taurus, the Bull, and the bright star 

 Aldebaran, one eye. The Pleiades form the shoulders 

 of the Bull. The rest of his body is not represented 

 in the constellation, but the tips of his long horns are 

 marked by a second- and a third-magnitude star. He 

 is charging upon Orion, the Hunter. 



Orion, the Hunter. Orion, the most brilliant of all 

 the constellations, is well known, and often attracts 

 attention on a winter evening. In November it may 

 be seen in the east before nine o'clock, and by Christmas, 

 at six o'clock. By the middle of May it sets too early 

 to be seen, but through the summer it may be seen be- 

 fore sunrise. The bright stars Betelgeuse and Bellatrix 

 mark the shoulders of the Hunter, and Rigel, which 

 is still brighter, one foot. Three second-magnitude 

 stars in a straight line about 3 degrees long form the 

 belt; from which hangs the sword composed of three 

 stars not so bright as those in the belt. Theta, the star 



