424 THE BEAUTIES OF NATURE CHAP. 



f Cancri, and probably also 9 Orionis, consist 

 of six stars, and from such a group we pass 

 on to Star Clusters in which the number is 

 very considerable. The cluster in Hercules 

 consists of from 1000 to 4000. A stellar 

 swarm in the Southern Cross contains several 

 hundred stars of various colours, red, green, 

 greenish blue, and blue closely thronged to- 

 gether, so that they have been compared to a 

 " superb piece of fancy jewellery." l 



The cluster in the Sword Handle of Per- 

 seus contains innumerable stars, many doubt- 

 less as brilliant as our Sun. We ourselves 

 probably form a part of such a cluster. The 

 Milky Way itself, as we know r , entirely sur- 

 rounds us ; it is evident, therefore, that the 

 Sun, and of course we ourselves, actually lie 

 in it. It is, therefore, a Star Cluster, one of 

 countless numbers, and containing our Sun 

 as a single unit. 



It has as yet been found impossible to 

 determine even approximately the distance 

 of these Star Clusters. 



1 Kosmos. 



