14 



KNOWLEDGE. 



'January 1, ISOl. 



is from Eta. The name given it, from its nearness to 

 the Pole, Polaris, is so universall\- applied to it, nowa- 

 days, that there is little need to notice the many Arabic 

 names which it has borne. An opera-glass, however, 

 shows us other fainter stars yet neai-er the Pole, of 

 which the chief is Lambda Ursae Minoris, just on the 

 limit of unassisted vision, whilst Groombridge 1119 is 

 fainter still. Three other stars, visible to the naked eye, 

 may be nientioned as within 3},° of the Pole ; Cephei 51, 

 a designation which i*- owes to Ilevelius, as it lies 

 within the boundaries of Ursa Minor as the constellation 

 IS usually drawn nowadaj's ; Delta Ursae Minoris ; and 

 Bradley 3147. This little group of stars, though not 

 attractive to the sight, is of the utmost importance 

 astronomically, since its components enable the pro- 

 fessional astronomer to test the accui-ac^- with which 

 ■his transit instniment points to the north at intervals 

 of about two hours. 





<• .-' 







'The ]\Iidniglit Sky for London, 1001, Jamiary .".. 



Beta and Gamma are the only two other conspicuous 

 stars of the constellation. Beta was once the Pole Star, 

 or at any rate divided the title role 'with Kappa 

 Draconis, and hence bears the name Kochab, '' The 

 Star," that is to say, the Northern or Pole Star. Gamma 

 is a wide double star to the e3'e, Al Fai-kadain. the 

 " calves," usually written Pherkad on our globes. 



The constellation is the seat of several of the minor 

 radiants. In September, there is one from the neigh- 

 bourhood of 51 Cephei; in April, there is another from 

 near Ganuna Ursae Minoris. 



Between the two Bears, and almost encircling the 

 Lesser, is a long winding stream of stai-s, making up 

 the constellation of the Dragon. It is certainly one of 

 the most ancient of all, and is believed bv many to be 

 the crooked .serpent of Job, xxvi. 13. Alpha of this 

 constellation, now generally called Thuban, i.e., 

 " Dragon," and situated midway between Gamma of 

 the Lesser Bear and Zeta the Greater, was the original 

 Pole Star of the heavens when the constellations were 

 mapped out, a pre-eminence it must have held for over 

 2000 years. "Within this constellation also is the pole 

 of the ecliptic, almost in the centre of the great loop 

 made by the Dragon's folds. 



At midnight on New Year's Day, the Dragon's head 

 reaches down almost to the northern horizon, two bright 

 stars, Gamma and Beta, marking the top of its head. 

 Of these the more westerly is of a rich orange tint, and 

 is the zenith star of Greenwich, and as such was specially 

 observed by Flamsteed, Bradley, and Airy, the second 

 of whom made his discovery of the aberration of light 

 in connection with it. Three staa's, Xi, Nu, and Mu, 

 make up the jaw, Mu being at the snout. Nu, the 

 faintest of the three, is an opera-glass double. 



Why this coiLstellation got its fearsome symbol is 

 not clear. It is true that the Dragon or snake was 

 amongst all ancient nations used to symbolise the powers 

 of evil, of darkness, or of chaos. But that gives us no 

 explanation why a constellation, far from being the 

 least beautiful and conspicuous, has been chosen to 

 convey this idea of darkness ; still less why such a 

 symbol should have been planted at the vei-y crown of 

 the celestial sphere. 



From Epsilon in the Great Bear a line through Polaris 

 leads us to a small constellation, yet one of the most 

 easily recognisable in the sky, Cassiopeia, the " Lady 

 on her Throne,'' her prineipaJ stai-s, five in number, 

 suggesting a W freely scrawled. The constellation at 

 this time is west of the Pole, the highest star is Epsilon, 

 then following the other points of the W in order, we 

 have Delta, Gamma, Alpha, Beta. The only stars of the 

 five which in modern days are often referred to by their 

 Arabic names are Alpha, Schedar or "Breast"; and 

 Beta, Caph or " Hand,'' or possibly in some allu.sion to 

 her husband Cepheus who stands by her side. The 

 latter forms a larger but much less conspicuous con- 

 stellation, lying between Cassiopeia and the Dragon, 

 its foiu- chief middle stars foi-ming a lozenge; the point 

 of the lozenge most remote from Cassiopeia is Alpha, 

 Aldei^amin, the " right arm,' the only one commonly 

 referred to now by its Arabic name. Delta is one of 

 the most interesting of the naked-eye short period 

 variables. 



Cepheus and Cassiopeia are especially interesting since 

 they with three more southern constellations make up 

 a recognised and unmistakable story pictured in the 

 sky ; a clear proof that the work of original constel- 

 lation making was deliberate and not haphazard, and 

 that the legends there represcntetl w^jre in existence 

 before the star groups were made. Brown argues justly 

 that Cepheus is manifestly a non-Hellenic sovereign. He 

 is indeed often spoken of as Ethiopian, but the Etliiopia 

 there meant is not Nubia or Abyssinia, but the Euphra- 

 tcan " Cush.'' Hence there is no justification for those 

 loo precise artists and poets who have represented poor 

 persecuted Andromeda as a sable beauty, " black " if 

 '■' comely." 



Cassiopeia is a constellation that well repays opera 

 glass scrutiny, and it also furnishes to the naked-eye 

 astronomer several important meteor radiants, of which 

 one from near Delta deserves especial notice, and it is 

 an especial favourable neighbourhood in which to com- 

 mence the study of the Milky \Yay, since the constel- 

 lation passes through our English _zenith. It is most 

 famous historically from the appearance of the cele- 

 brated Nova of "1572 — the "Pilgrim Star" — which 

 formed vei^ nearly the fourth point cf tne squai-e, or 

 rather rhomlus, of which Alpha, Beta, and Gammi mark 

 the other three points. 



Camelopardus is a great straggling constel'ation, all 

 the stars of which are faint, which lies between Ursa 

 Major and Cassiopeia, and stretches upwards almost to 

 the Pole. 



