140 
NATURE STUDY. 
How to Find the Constellations. VIII. 
BY GKORGK I. HOPKINS. 
If the observer will face the south on any clear night dur¬ 
ing the first week of February, at about eight o’clock, he 
will readily discern three stars' in a row, at an altitude of 
about forty-five degrees, i. e., about half way from horizon 
to zenith. The two outer stars of this row are almost ex¬ 
actly three degrees apart, and the line joining them, when 
in this position, makes an angle of about forty-five degrees 
with the horizon. There is no possibility of mistaking 
these, as there is no other group visible that at all resembles 
them. If the observer’s eye will now trace a line through 
the central one of this group and at right angles to the 
line joining them, he will see, about ten degrees on 
either side, a star of the first magnitude; the one toward the 
east is the red star Betelgeuse, and the one toward the west 
is Rigel, another of Ben Hur’s horses. About seven or 
eight degrees westward from Betelgeuse and at an altitude 
somewhat less is a star of the second magnitude, named 
Bellatrix. Eastward fom Rigel about ten degrees is a 
star of the third magnitude, named Saiph. These stars 
form the most prominent group in the heavens, and consti¬ 
tute, with about seventy others, the constellation Orion, 
the mighty hunter. Just above the line joining Betelgeuse 
and Bellatrix, and about midway between them, is a small 
close group of faint stars which locates Orion’s head, the 
two stars above mentioned being in his shoulders. The 
three first mentioned, the highest of which is named Min- 
taka, is his belt, while Rigel and Saiph are at his feet. In 
some star maps, however, these latter are pictured as lo¬ 
cating his knees. Most star maps represent him facing the 
bull (Taurus), with his right arm uplifted and brandishing 
