HOW TO FIND THE CONSTELLATIONS. 
23 
How to Find the Constellations. I. 
BY GEORGE I. HOPKINS. 
Astronomy is unquestionably the noblest of the physical 
sciences, and it is also the oldest. To most people the most 
attractive part of astronomy is the knowledge of the names and 
postions of the constellations in the sky throughout the course 
of the year. How and where the most of these constellations re¬ 
ceived their names history does not tell. The grouping and 
christening was probably done by nomadic people during pre¬ 
historic times. Whatever their origin, they are called by the 
same names today as were given them thousands of years ago. 
If the reader be interested to know and locate these ancient di¬ 
visions of the heavens, the following directions will enable him 
to find them without other aid, if he already knows in a general 
way the four cardinal points of the compass. If he does not 
already know which direction is north, he can readily find some 
one who can tell him with sufficient accuracy for our purpose. 
For instance there is in all probability a road or street running 
very nearly in a north or south direction, or there is a house or 
or other building one dimensiqn of which is in a north 
or south direction. This piece of information having been se¬ 
cured, let the observer take his station in a clear space where he 
can obtain an unobstructed view of the northern sky and hori¬ 
zon, some cloudless evening about nine o’clock, from the first to 
the tenth of July. Then, facing a little to the east of north he 
will see a group of stars near the horizon arranged so that the 
line joining them resembles the letter W rather widely 
spread out. This is the principal group in the constellation 
Cassiopeia and is one of the most prominent of the northern 
constellations. If, while gazing at this group, the observer will 
gradually raise his eyes toward the zenith, keeping his gaze 
fixed on the sky, he cannot fail to see a single bright star about 
half way from horizon to zenith. There is no mistaking this 
star, as there is no other bright one anywhere near it. This 
