Recognizing the Stars [419 



of these stars are too dim to stand out separately, but their light 

 adds to the glow of the star-band. A number of important con- 

 stellations, such as Sagittarius and Cassiopeia, are included in it. 

 If you were to take a trip around the world you would find 

 that the Milky Way (also called the Galaxy) forms a nearly con- 

 tinuous belt about the heavens. At home you can, at best, see 

 half of this starry band crossing the sky from horizon to horizon. 

 When it lies near the horizon, it can be observed only with some 

 difficulty, and on cloudy nights, not at all. 



THE SOUTHERN CROSS 



South of the equator, the Milky Way includes the famous 

 constellation that we call the Southern Cross (Crux). To the 

 people who live in the far south it is what the Great Bear is to 

 those in the north, for it lies closer to the South Pole than does 

 any other outstanding constellation. While the Southern Cross 

 is sometimes seen from the farthest southerly parts of the United 

 States, most of us know it from reading or from pictures. 



However, a picture of the Southern Cross may be disappointing 

 to a child; the bright, reddish star (Gamma) at the top of the 

 cross does not photograph well on ordinary plates because of its 

 color. The outline of the Southern Cross is formed by four stars 

 of almost equal brightness. In the northern skies we have a group 

 of stars, also lying within the Milky Way, which form a cross and 

 are often called the Northern Cross though the official name for 

 the group is Cygnus, meaning "swan." 



COMETS MILLIONS OF MILES LONG 



Children are naturally interested in learning more about 

 this amazing spectacle of the skies. Whenever a comet is bright 

 enough to be seen with the unaided eye, newspapers make a big 

 story out of its appearance, and give the position in which the 

 comet will be found. Though astronomers watching the sky with 

 telescopes can see possibly six or more comets every year, on the 

 average not more than two or three a century will be large enough 

 to attract wide attention. 



