HOW TO OBSERVE THE HEAVENS. 



remaining stars, if any, are expressed by the numbers prefixed to 

 them in the catalogue of Flamstead, generally known as the 

 British Catalogue. 



It has been customary among English astronomers to designate 

 the constellations by their Latin names ; and the astronomical 

 amateur, besides rendering himself familiar with these, will find 

 it convenient, when he is not a Greek scholar, to make himself 

 acquainted with the characters and names of the letters of the 

 Greek alphabet, which are as follows : 



a Alpha. 



j8 Beta. 



7 Gamma. 



5 Delta. 



Epsilon. 



C Zeta. 



77 Eta. 



Theta. 



1 Iota. 



K Kappa. 



A. Lambda, 



i Mu. 



v Nu. 



| Xi. 



o Omicron. 



7T Pi. 



p Rho. 



s Sigma. 



r Tau. 



v Upsilon. 



(f> Phi. 



X Chi. 



i|/ Psi. 



(a Omega. 



12. To obtain an acquaintance with the several constellations 

 and the stars composing them, so as to be able readily to recognise 

 them on viewing the heavens on a clear night, the student should 

 in the first instance study the form and disposition of one of the 

 most conspicuous of the constellations, and the most suitable for 

 this purpose is that which is called Ursa major, or the great Sear. 

 This constellation is so near the north celestial pole, that in our 

 latitudes it never sets, and is consequently visible at all seasons 



Fiaf. 1. 



of the year. It consists of a considerable number of stars, but 

 seven of these, shown in fig. 1, are much more conspicuous than 

 the others, and are consequently the only stars popularly identified 

 152 



