PHIPPS] THE CONSTELLATIONS 31 



It is supposed to represent a beautiful maiden chained to a rock. 

 The star Alpha, or Alpheratz, is at the northern corner of the great 

 Square of Pegasus and marks the head. Extending east from 

 Alpheratz, at almost equal distances, are four other stars. Delta 

 is in the shoulder, from which an arm is extended toward the 

 north. Beta or Mirah is in the girdle and Gamma or Almach in 

 the foot. A little farther east is Algol, the famous variable, which 

 represents the head of Medusa carried by Perseus. 



This constellation contains at least two very interesting tele- 

 scopic objects. Almach, in the foot, is a double star which 

 Hercules pronounced the most beautiful double star in the heavens, 

 with beautifully contrasting colors, a deep yellow and sea-green. 

 Some authorities claim that it is a triple star and that the third 

 star is blue. These stars revolve about each other and are mem- 

 bers of a common system. Several thousand double stars are 

 known and it is due to their revolution about each other that they 

 are recognized as doubles. It sometimes requires several years 

 to determine whether they are connected in this way or not. 

 As a result of extensive experiments it has been estimated that 

 one out of every five or six stars is probably a system of stars. 

 The star Almach is also the radiant point of the Bielid meteors 

 which appear in November. 



Probably the object of greatest interest is the great Nebula, 

 which is sometimes called the "Queen of the Nebulae." It is 

 said to have been known as far back as A. D. 905 and the Ara- 

 bians called it, "the little cloud." It is the only Nebula which 

 can be seen with the naked eye. It looks like a mass of diffused 

 light and has often been mistaken for a comet. It is of tremendous 

 size, its length being estimated as 30,000 times the distance of the 

 earth from the sun, which in itself is 93,000,000 miles. It is im- 

 possible however to form any definite estimate of either its size 

 or distance as nebulae are such filmy bodies that they cannot be 

 measured with the precision and delicacy required for the deter- 

 mination of distance. 



The nebula seems to be formed of a series of rings with dark 

 spaces in between, which are evidently gaps between the rings. 

 The spectroscope seems to indicate that it is not gaseous though 

 the most powerful telescope fails to resolve it into stars. Although 

 a magnificent spectacle in the telescope, it requires photography 

 to show its marvelous extent and involved structure. 



