46 
THE YOUNG SCIENTIST. 
two of the first magnitude, four of the second, 
three of the third, and the remainder of dimmer 
^rade. There are three small and one great 
nebulae, three clusters, and twenty-six double 
stars in this remarkable constellation. We will 
only call attention to those objects which are 
of the greatest interest, and which come within 
the scope of a 3J-inch glass. 
The greatest nebula is 42 Messier, situated 
about 4° directly south of the middle star of the 
belt, or Ell and Yard. A line from Rigel to the 
lowest star in the belt, will pass very close to 
the nebula, it being somewhat nearer to the 
dimmer star. It may be seen with the naked 
eye on a moonless night, as a dull patch of 
light. In the illustration will be seen the ap- 
pearance of the Great Nebula, viewed with a 
S-inch telescope and a power of 76 diameters. 
GBEAT NEBUL.E IN OEION. 
In the opening on one side is situated the stars 
which form the celebrated "Trapezium of 
Orion." upon which so many telescopes have 
l^een tested. We believe the best instruments 
reveal nine stars in the Trapezium. If the light- 
gathering power of a 3V-inch glass be good, five 
ought to be seen ; with a 3-inch glass, four ; and 
with a smaller aperture only three. Herschel, 
with his great reflector, hoped to resolve this 
nebula, but failed, and until the great spectro- 
scopist, Huggins, proved it to be a gaseous col- 
lection, it was believed to be resolvable. 
Rigel, the bright star below the belt, is a 
noted double, and a severe test for small tele- 
scopes. The secondary is of the seventh magni- 
tude according to Proctor, and ninth according 
to Darby. Distance, 9.5". We have seen the 
companion with a 3-inch aperture, and it is be- 
lieved that 2| inches will do 't. A moderately 
high power should be used. A 3-inch glass will 
show the northernmost star of the belt double, 
and a somewhat larger instrument will show 
the southernmost to be also double. 
On a line from Betelguese to Aldebaran, and 
about 6° from the former, is a cluster of three 
stars— one 4th magnitude, and two 5th magni- 
tude. The brightest one is the most northern, 
and a 3-inch glass shows it double; a 3Hnch, 
triple. 
About one degree from the lowest star in the 
belt, or Ell and Yard, and on a line from that 
star to the Great Nebula, is situated a beautiful 
and easy multiple star— Sigma Orionis. A good 
3|-inch objective with a high power will show 
this star octuple, and smaller instruments 
fewer— sextuple, quintuple, etc. The astron- 
omer, Struve, saw fifteen stars in this group. 
Pmn Yan, N. Y. 
Optical Delusion.— Take three differently 
colored wafers— red, violet, and orange— place 
them upon a large piece of white paper, in a tri- 
angular form ; hold the paper in a strong light, 
and fix the eyes upon the wafers, gazing upon 
them steadily for two minutes ; then turn them 
away from the wafers to a blank part of the 
paper, and you will see three spectral wafers, but 
the colors will be different; the red wafer will 
now be represented by a green one, the violet by 
a yellow, and the orange by a blue. 
Japanese Matches.— Lampblack, 5; sulphur, 
11 ; gunpowder, from 26 to 30 parts— this last pro- 
portion varying with the quality of the powder. 
Grind very fine, and make the material into a 
paste with alcohol ; form it into dice about one- 
quarter of an inch square, with a knife or spatula ; 
let them dry rather gradually on a warm mantel- 
piece, not too near a fire. When dry, fix one of 
the little squares into a small cleft made at the 
end of a lavender stalk, or, what is better, the 
solid straw-like material of which housemaids' 
carpet-brooms are made. Light the material at a 
candle ; hold the stem downward. After the first 
blazing off, a ball of molten lava will form, from 
which the curious coruscations will soon appear. 
Decoration of Zinc— A chemical process for 
covering zinc with colored coatings has lately 
been described by Dr. L. Stille. The articles of 
zinc are first brightened by scouring with quartz 
sand, moistened with dilute muriatic acid, put- 
ting them quickly in water, and then carefully 
wiping them dry with white blotting paper. To 
ensure success, however, it is necessary to em- 
ploy zinc as free as possible from lead, and to 
have it as bright as a mirror. When these con- 
ditions are fulfilled, the metal may be coated with 
a variety of beautiful colors by immersion in a 
solution of alkaline tartrate of copper for a 
shorter or longer interval of time, depending on 
the color that is desired. 
