Acton's Belt anfr Nebula 179 



observed at eight o'clock in the evening. Its appear- 

 ance in that region was remarked upon by the Admiral 

 as being very rare ; indeed, once only had he seen it 

 before in the September of 1850. When the Ex- 

 pedition was waiting to escape from winter quarters, on 

 August 3rd, 1859, a north-east gale sprang up, and 

 two claps of thunder were distinctly heard. This 

 led to the Admiral again recording that such an event 

 occurred but very rarely in those latitudes. 



ORION'S BELT AND NEBULA 



The three stars of Orion's Belt form one of the most 

 popular groups in the starry heavens, though I doubt 

 if their individual names are generally known. The 

 uppermost (Delta) was named by the Arabs, Mintaka ; 

 the centre one (Epsilon) was Al Nilam, and the lower- 

 most, or most easterly (Zeta), Al Nitak, meaning " the 

 girdle." Admiral Smyth says that the Belt was called 

 Jacob's Staff, also that it was the " Golden Yard " of 

 seamen, the " Three Kings " of soothsayers, the "Ell 

 and Yard " of tradesmen, the " Rake " of husbandmen, 

 and " Our Lady's Wand " of the Catholics. I have 

 myself frequently heard it spoken of in the North of 

 England as " The Yardstick," and have always 

 attributed that popular name to the apparent length 

 of the Belt suggesting a yard measure, as I have found 

 it a very common practice, even in these days of 

 scientific enlightenment, for celestial measurements 

 to be gauged by terrestrial standards. 



Immediately below the Belt is the Giant's " Sword," 

 composed, to all appearances, of three rather faint 

 stars. They give no indication at first glance of con- 



