The Heavens in January. 
By Professor Samuel G. Barton of 
T HE great difference which exists 
in the brightness of the stars in 
different parts of the sky is well 
illustrated in the January sky. In the 
portion of the sky represented on our 
map there are twenty-two stars which 
are brighter than the second magni- 
the University of Pennsylvania. 
eastern half and only two, the eighth 
and sixteenth in order of brightness, lie 
in the western half. One of these is 
Deneb in Cygnus and the other is Alpha 
Persei. which is just west of the divid- 
ing line. It is a common notion that 
the stars are brighter in winter than in 
Figure 1. The Constellations at 9 P. M., January 1. (If facing south, hold the map upright. If 
facing east, hold East below. If facing west, hold West below. If facing north, hold the map inverted.) 
tude. Suppose we divide the map into 
two equal parts by drawing a line from 
north to south. This line is called the 
meridian. We shall then find that 
twenty of these bright stars lie in the 
summer because of the temperature or 
atmospheric conditions. This is not 
the reason. There are actually present 
stars whose intrinsic brightness is 
greater than that of the summer sky. 
