TO KNOW THE STARRY HEAVENS 
57 
effusion in Ophiuchus already noticed. 
The third branch runs from the zenith 
northward and will not now be de- 
scribed. 
The southern portion of the Milky 
Way, by reason of its brightness, may 
be supposed to be nearer to us. It is 
interesting to notice the variation in 
brightness of the two branches. In 
Cygnus the western branch is much 
the brighter. This branch vanishes al- 
together in Ophiuchus. The other 
branch, which is faint in Cygnus, be- 
comes very bright in Aquila and Sag- 
ittarius. 
jfc 5$C Jji l{? 
The Satellites of Uranus. 
The planet Uranus has four satellites 
moving about it in nearly the same 
plane. These satellites are very faint 
and can only be seen in very large tele- 
scopes. There may be other satellites 
which have not been discovered. These 
satellites are peculiar in that they move 
north 
south 
Figure 2. Paths of the satellites of 
Uranus as seen from the earth. 
about the planet in a plane which is 
nearly perpendicular to the plane in 
which the planet moves around the 
sun. In this plane they move in the 
backward or retrograde direction. By 
this we mean that the satellite moves 
about the planet in the direction which 
is the reverse of that in which the 
planet moves about the sun, as seen 
from the planet. The inclination of the 
satellites orbit can then be stated as the 
smaller angle between the plane of the 
satellite’s and that of the planet’s or- 
bits. Astronomers, however, often ex- 
press the inclination as the angle be- 
tween the planes, the lines to be drawn 
in the direction of motion of the bodies. 
In this way of measuring the inclina- 
tions may be as large as one hundred 
and eighty degrees, and we need not 
state whether the motion is direct or 
retrograde as the method of measuring 
the angle determines it. Thus we may 
say that the inclination of the plane of 
these satellites is ninety-eight degrees, 
or we may say that it is eighty-two de- 
grees and the motion retrograde. The 
satellite of Neptune and the outer satel- 
lites of Jupiter and Saturn also move 
in the retrograde direction. In Figure 
2 we see the paths of the satellites of 
Uranus as they would appear from the 
earth with a telescope. 
Autumn begins September 23 at 3 129 
A. M. The full moon of September 
27 is the Harvest Moon. 
The Quiet Song. 
BY HAROLD GORDON HAWKINS, WESTFIELD, MASS. 
I heard a quiet song at sunset when an 
evening bell 
Tolled through a peaceful valley its last 
farewell. 
And hills were bathed in golden light and 
every flower 
Gave of its fragrance to the passing hour. 
The sky was radiant in the distant West 
Wh le Nature sank into a deep and slum- 
brous rest. 
Only the west wind stirred, all else was still 
Save from a cottage just below the hill 
There came this quiet song — lulling a child 
to sleep 
Within its mother’s arms. Ah, that Power 
that doth keep 
A careful watch through all the starlit night 
Must love such quiet songs at evening when 
the light 
Of glorious day dies in the sunset West 
And bird and flower and tired child sink to 
a dreamless rest. 
In a Florist’s Window. 
Fair primrose maidens, all in a row, 
Blushingly coy and sweet, 
A thrill of joy imparting to all 
Who pass along the street. 
— Emma Peirce. 
