comstock] THE BEGINNING OF STAR STUDY 389 



during recent years the skies have been photographed, and thus 

 we have a record of about thirty million stars. We usually regard 

 the Milky Way as a band of light across the heavens, but it is 

 really made up of millions of stars so far away that we cannot 

 see them at all. We can only see the light that comes from them. 



Before the following lessons are given, the pupils should be 

 instructed how to draw an imaginary' line straight from one star 

 to another and to perceive the angle which two lines make when 

 they meet in a certain star. An ordinary' ruler or what is even 

 better, a postal card or other stiff paper with right angled corners, 

 may be used by holding it between the eyes and the stars to be 

 connected and thus make certain that the imaginary line is 

 straight. 



Place Diagram IV as given on the blackboard, but do not add 

 the connecting lines until needed to enable the pupils to find the 

 different stars to be studied. If possible let the blackboard stand 

 so that its edge labelled "East" extends toward the east. 



ALDEBARAN (AL-DEB-A-RAN) AND THE HYADES (HI-A-DEE7) 



Above Orion, and almost in a line with the stars of his belt, is 

 a beautiful rosy star. It is as red as Betelgeuze and it forms the 

 end of the lower arm of a V-shaped constellation composed of it 

 and four other stars. This is Aldebaran and the constellation is 

 called the Hyades. These form a part of the head of the constel- 

 lation called by the ancients, Taurus, the Bull. Aldebaran is the 

 fiery eye of the mad bull. This beautiful rosy Aldebaran is a 

 comparatively near neighbor of ours, since it takes light only 32 

 years to pass from it to us. It is much larger than our sun for it 

 gives off about 45 times as much light. 



THE PLEIADES (PLEE-I-DEES) 



Up in the western sky about as far beyond Aldebaran as Alde- 

 baran is beyond the belt of Orion is a little misty group of stars 

 which seem always to have attracted the attention of people during 

 all the ages. This constellation is called the Pleiades. Most eyes 

 are only sufficient strong to count six stars in this group. Through 

 a glass nine stars may be distinguished. In studying this constel- 

 lation we can realize better than in any other the wonder which 

 photography have performed in revealing stars which we cannot 



