176 



THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



Not one star, indeed, but three — a triple 

 sun — is Polaris. Until recently it was 

 supposed to be a double star, but the 

 newer high-power telescopes reveal that 

 the brighter of the two companions has 

 a closer companion of its own. 



VEGA AND ITS COMPANIONS 



In the zenith is Vega, the, bluish-white 

 star of the first magnitude, that shines 

 down with beautiful brilliancy from the 

 constellation Lyra, the Harp. Any 

 doubt in identifying Vega, otherwise 

 Alpha Lyrse, can be dispelled by observ- 

 ing the close equilateral triangle formed 

 by it and its companions," Epsilon and 

 Zeta Lyrse, this being the only triangle 

 of its kind in the whole heavens. 



If with the unaided eye we viewed the 

 sun from the distance of Vega, it would 

 appear as one of the dimmest stars. 

 Vega is said to be eight million times as 

 far from us as we are from the sun. 



Epsilon Lyrae is a double star. Nei- 

 ther Persian, Arab, Greek, nor, indeed, 

 any primitive people, seems to ha\e dis- 

 covered that fact, though with good eyes 

 it can be seen as such on a clear night. 

 May not this indicate that the eyesight 

 of the human race is improving? With 

 a telescope we can see that each part of 

 this double star is itself a double — in 

 other words, that Epsilon Lyrae is indeed 

 a magnificent system of four suns. 



LIGHT THAT MUST TRAVEL 5,000 YEARS 

 TO REACH US 



A little past the zenith is the constel- 

 lation Hercules. It isn't a particularly 

 bright group, not a single star in it being 

 brighter than the third magnitude; but 

 it has an easily found trapezoidal figure 

 of five stars, the base turned toward the 

 north. On the west side of this trape- 

 zoid, about one-third of the distance from 

 the base, is what appears to be a faint 

 and fuzzy little spot, visible only on the 

 clearest nights ; but train a high-power 

 telescope on it and you will see one of 

 the finest star-clusters in all the heavens. 



Ritchey's photograph of this cluster, 

 taken with the big 6o-inch Mount Wilson 

 reflector, discloses that it is made up of 

 more than fifty thousand stars, very many 

 of them as big and as bright as our own 



sun. Photographing the cluster first with 

 plates sensitive to blue light and then 

 with others sensitive to red indicates that 

 they are giant red-and-yellow worlds like 

 Arcturus and Antares. 



How far away they are cannot be said, 

 for they are too remote for measure- 

 ment with the finest instrument yet de- 

 vised. It is certain, however, that they 

 are at least so distant that the light com- 

 ing to the earth from them this year may 

 have started on its hurtling journey 

 through space about the time of Joshua's 

 conquest of Jericho. 



In other words, if a space-penetrating 

 eye on one of the stars of this Hercules 

 cluster could be looking down on the 

 earth today it might be watching the 

 armies of the Lord encircling the doomed 

 city. 



SUNS THAT PUT OURS TO SHAME 



To the west of Hercules, easily located 

 by continuing the curve of the handle of 

 the Great Dipper for a distance approxi- 

 mately equal to that which separates- 

 Polaris from the nearest Pointer, is Arc- 

 turus, king bee of the constellation 

 Bootes, the Hunter. 



Of a deep orange color and of the 

 first order of brightness, Arcturus is a 

 sun that makes our own pale in com- 

 parison as a tallow dip pales before an 

 arc lamp. Indeed, it is thought to radi- 

 ate five hundred times as much light as 

 our sun. 



Away down toward the southwestern 

 horizon, as viewed from Washington, is 

 Antares, two hours past the meridian. 

 The starry heart of the Scorpion, this 

 blazing sun is fiery red in hue and gives 

 off two hundred times as much light as 

 the orb of our day. 



Altair, the bright star of the constel- 

 lation Aquila, the Eagle, forms the head 

 of a great cross, of which the Pole Star 

 is the foot and Vega and Deneb the two 

 arms. Ear brighter and bigger than our 

 sun, Altair is rushing toward us at the 

 rate of eight hundred million miles a 

 year. 



THE LETTER WRITTEN IN THE HEAVENS 



About as far east of the meridian as 

 Hercules is west is the constellation 



