JACKSON] THE CONSTELLATIONS 25 



attracted by the music swarmed about the ship. vSuddenly he 

 leaped into the sea and was carried to shore on a dolphin's back. 

 As a reward the animal was given a place in the sky. 



But even after hearing such a delightful story concerning the 

 origin of the name of the constellation considerable imagination is 

 required to make it appear to possess any animal-like characteris- 

 tics. 



The Northern Cross 



Mildred Jackson 

 The Northern Cross is one of the few constellations which really 

 resemble the objects they commemorate. It is a part of the larger 

 constellation Cygnus or "the Swan". The outstretched wings 

 form the arms of the cross. The head of the swan is marked by 

 che same star that forms the base of the cross. The upright piece 

 of the cross lies parallel to the milky way, is over 20 degrees in 

 length and formed by the bright stars, Alpha, Gamma and Beta, 

 together with a few fainter ones. The arms of the cross or wings 

 of the swan are marked by Delta, Gamma, Epsilon and Zeta. 

 Gamma is a star of the third magnitude at the intersection of the 

 upright and cross piece. 



Perhaps Deneb is the star of chief interest in this group. It 



lies 45 degrees from the pole star. It is the least bright of the 



20 brightest stars. It is white in color and 



in an early stage of its existance. It is 



the farthest north of any of our bright 



stars. It marks the head of the cross. 



In the spring when it rises in the north 



east, the cross is upside down and Deneb 



appears last. When the cross is setting 



in the northwest the position is partly 



reversed and Deneb is the last to disappear. 



Capella is one degree farther south than 



Deneb. Each appear to rise from the same 



The Northern Cross, spot and continue in much the same path 



m the constellation of across the heavens as they pass from rising 



to setting. Capella continues above the 



horizon about one half an hour longer, each taking ten hours to 



reach the highest point in the sky. Unless obscured by sunlight 



and in a favorable atmosphere they may be seen 20 hours a day. 



