The Heavens in March. 
By Professor Samuel G. Barton of the University of Pennsylvania. 
T O northern observers the most 
widely known constellation is 
Ursa Major, commonly known in 
America as the “big dipper.” Scarcely 
less well known is the constellation 
Orion. The Pleiades are perhaps as 
well known as either, but this group is 
not a constellation but only a part of 
which form the dipper and in Orion the 
three in a nearly straight line in the 
middle of the constellation and the four 
which make a rectangle about them. 
See Figure i. Each constellation con- 
tains many other stars. First we may 
compare the brightness of the stars. Be- 
ginning with the end of the handle of 
Fitmrp 1 The Constellations at 9 P. M., March 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.) 
the constellation Taurus. As Ursa 
Major and Orion are now about equally 
well located we may profitably make a 
few comparisons of the constellations. 
Each constellation contains seven con- 
spicuous stars, in Ursa Major those 
the dipper the magnitudes of the seven 
stars in Ursa Major are 1.9, 2.4, 1.7, 3.4, 
2.5, 2.4, 2.0. The magnitude measures 
the brightness of the star, the small 
magnitudes representing the brighter 
stars. In Orion, Betelgeux, the star at 
