THE SUN AND OTHEK STABS 275 



To the right of the belt of Orion and somewhat above it, 

 or at a point almost straight southwest and about halfway 

 between the horizon and the zenith, is the great constella- 

 tion Taurus. Near its center is the red star Aldebaran, 

 which the ancients represented as the eye of the bull. 



North and northwest of Aldebaran is the small group of 

 seven strikingly arranged stars called the Pleiades. Six of 

 the seven are of the fourth magnitude and are easily visible 

 without optical aid. The seventh, which is at one end of 

 the group and near the sixth one, is not readily seen. 



No group of stars in all the sky has attracted so much 

 popular attention as the seven little stars of the Pleiades 

 nor has been involved so frequently in the classical writings 

 of the ancients or in the stories of primitive peoples. They 

 are the "seven sisters" of the Greeks, the " many little ones" 

 of the ancient Babylonians, the " hen and chickens " of the 

 peoples of many parts of Europe, the "little eyes" of the 

 savage tribes of the South Pacific Islands, and the " seven 

 brothers " of some of the tribes of the North-American 

 Indians. In November (on or about the 17th) they cross 

 the meridian at midnight, and many primitive peoples began 

 their year at that time. It is said that on that exact date no 

 petition was ever presented in vain to the kings of ancient 

 Persia. The Pleiades had an important relation to the reli- 

 gious ceremonies of the Aztecs of Mexico, and certain of the 

 Australian tribes held dances in their honor. 



Almost straight overhead is the constellation Auriga, the 

 Charioteer, which contains the white first-magnitude star 

 Capella. Capella is really a twin star, the two stars visible 

 only in a spectroscope. Capella means " she-goat," and near 

 it are three fainter stars which are called " the kids." This 

 star is receding from us at the rate of twenty miles per 

 second and will, on this account, eventually become dimmer. 

 It radiates about two hundred times as much light as is given 

 out by the sun. 



