THE DISTANT STARS 7 



away, or nearly 270,000 times as far away as the sun. This 

 distance is so great that it takes light, which travels at 

 the inconceivable rate of 186,000 miles in a second of time, 



A CONTINUOUS PICTURE OF THE NORTHERN HEAVENS 



The telescope was held pointed at the pole of the heavens 

 for two hours and twenty minutes. The rotation of the 

 earth caused the stars to appear as white lines, as if 

 moving in circles. 



over four and a half years to come to us from this nearest 

 star. 



From Arcturus, another of the stars, it takes light about 

 180 years to reach us. In other words, the light from Arc- 



