310 



. KNOWLEDGE • 



[Oct. 



NIGHTS WITH A THREE-INCH 

 TELESCOPE. 



Bv A Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society. 



/ \ WING to die delay whicli has unavoidalily taken place 

 ' ' in the publication of this series of papers, the con- 

 -t' ilation Scorpio, with which we shall be^in to-night, now 

 souths in daylight, and from the very small altitude of tlie 

 chief objects in it, is most inditlerently placed for the 

 obs<>ner.* The chief object in it, a, or Antares (Map, 

 p. !48) is a double star, but, save under the most excep- 

 tional atmospheric circumstances, beyond the jiower of a 

 three-inch object glass. Nevertheless, on a superlatively 

 tine evening, and with the highest power at his disposal, 

 the student inai/ pick up tlie companion as a minute green 

 sp<'ck, or wen, attached horizontally to the left of the 

 blazing red disc of Antares itself, i- Scorpii will be seen 

 at first sight as a wide double star, but a little attention 

 will show that the smaller star is not single. /5 Scorpii is 

 a pretty and easy pair, tlie contrast of colouring in its 

 components being very pleasing. It is represented in 

 Fig. 46. Half-way between this and Antares, the cluster 



T Aquila; is a very good test indeed. Fig. 48 shows it as 

 seen at moments of the best definition. 



In that pretty little constellation, Dolphinus, the only 

 star which need detain us is 7, depicted in Fig. 49. The 



li Scon.ii 



SO Messier may be picked up. In the instrument wo are 

 emplo\-ing, however, it will be seen as a nebulous object, 

 strongly resembling a telescopic comet. <t is a i)retty pair, 

 hut terribly near the horizon. If the student will draw a 

 line from Antares to i; Ophiuchi, and travel 10^ along it 

 from a Scorpii, he will come upon L'3G of Piazzi's hour 

 XVI., a pretty little pair, which will repay scrutiny. 

 Clos<'ly following 30 Ophiuchi lies 31 Scorpii (this ought 

 really to be 3>< Ophiuchi) — a pretty severe test for a three- 

 inch telescope at any time, and, at present, beyond its 

 power. 



Adjoining Scorpio to the ea-st is Sagittarius, but this 

 need not detain ua long, as only two suitable objects are 

 to b.' found in the Map on p. 214, which we are employing. 

 Theie are /i 1, a striking triple star represented in Fig. 47 ; 

 and '.'"2 >Ies8ier, a pale nebulous mass half-way between 

 ,1 and T Sagittarii. This (like >'0 M. described above) is 

 really a duster, but is irresolvaVjle with the means at our 

 disposal. 



Aquila, to the north of Sagittarius, is the next constella- 

 tion we shall examine. Forming an equilateral triangle 

 ■with I and i Aquila is 11, a sevire test for the instrument 

 •we are employing. The minute companion I'J" above and 

 to the left of the larger star will require the highest power 

 at the ob.servcr's disposal to sec it at all. At the right 

 hand extremity of the base of an isoscehm triangle, whereof 

 V Aquihf forms the other end, and c Aijuihi- the apex, 

 ■J3 A<|uil:p will Ix? found. The comes of this is also a 

 -,Uir that is invisible with any power less than 2.00 or so. 



* Tlic lint two paiagrspbi of t)ii« |>a|H;r r>'lnt<! to ulijccts well 

 ■ ' icod when the ps|i<.T wa« writt'-n Iiy my frieii'l K.K.A.S. ; but 

 >w not to. The fault ii mine. — K. A. P. 



contrasted colours of the components will at once strike the 

 observer's eye. 



And next Lyra will claim our attention, and, as is only 

 natural, we shall begin by directing our telescope to its 

 brilliant leader Vega. Hero, again, is a severe test, a fine 

 night and a pretty high power being needed to glimpse the 

 comes at all. In Fig. 50 we give something of the appear- 

 ance of this object, but it is inijiossible to reproduce in 

 black and white the vivid blue l)la/.o and the mouldings 

 and twirlings of the difVractiou rings which surround the 

 ;,'reat star. Moreover, the size of the minute comparison 

 is exaggerated, or it could not print at all. Not far oil we 

 shall find another most interesting object. We refer to 

 the double-double system t' and t- Lyra;, shown in Fig. 51. 



/i CyKiii. 



Between the two pairs lies another minute star, shown in 

 our sketch. There are two others smaller still ; they, 

 however, require a larger aperture than ours to soo them 

 at all. i Lyra; is a wider pair, but pretty from the con- 

 tra.sted colours of its components. Between ji and y Lyrie, 

 but nearer to the former star, will bo found that astonish- 

 ing object, f>7 Messier Lyra-, the so-called " liing-Nel)ula." 

 Fig. 52 is an att<^mpt to give some idea of its aspect as 

 seen with a power of 70, but wood-engraving does not k^nd 

 itself well to the delineation of nebulie. ;; Lyrse is a 

 widish double, but interesting from the contrasted colours 

 of its components. 



We now turn to that glorious region occupied by Cygnus, 

 in which the merest vague sweeping cannot fail to reveal in- 

 numerable objects of beauty and interest. We shall, though, 

 select a few of the most striking ones in it for detailed 

 description, as the student can easily wander over the con- 

 st<^llation when he has examined them. We will begin, then, 

 with /3, the lovely colours of who.se components have always 

 rendered it a favourite with the juvenile observer. Fig. 53 

 gives an idea of the general aspect of this star. 1^° North 

 of X lies another wide, but beautifully coloured pair, 278 of 

 Piazzi's hour XIX. Nor is x itself less beautiful and 

 interesting, contrasted colours again fonning its chief 



