THE STARS ABOUT US. 
145 
names in the order of rank are: 1. Sirius, in the 
Great Gog. 2. Canopus, in Argus. 3. Aljpha^ in the 
Centaur. 4. Arcturus, in Bootes. 5. Bigel, in Orion. 
6. Capella, in Auriga. 7. Yega, inLyra. 8. Procyon, 
in the Lesser Gog. 9. Betelguese, in Orion. 10. Acher- 
nar, in Eridanus. 11. Aldebaran, in the Bull. 12. 
Beta^ in the Centaur. 13. AlpTia^ in the Cross. 14. 
Antares, in the Scorpion. 15. Altair, in the Eagle. 16. 
Spica, in the Virgin. 17. Fomalhaut, in the Southern 
Fish. 18. Beta^ in the Cross. 19. Pollux, in the 
Twins. 20. Kegulus, in the Lion. 21. Geneb, in the 
Swan. 
The next group in brilliancy includes stars of the 
second magnitude, and so on. Few people can see 
stars smaller than the sixth magnitude. 
Is the brightest star nearest to the earth ? The 
distance of but few of the stars has yet been com¬ 
puted, as it is a difficult task. Their distance from 
the earth is so great that to state it in miles would he 
about as foolish as to measure the circumference of 
the earth in thumb-nail lengths. The measuring rod 
for stars is the distance light will travel in a year. 
Light travels 185,000 miles in a second; that will 
make our rod 5,839,031,680,000 miles in length. The 
nearest star. Alpha, in the Centaur, is four and a 
quarter “ light units ” distant; in other words, it would 
take light four and a quarter years to reach the earth 
from that star. Sirius is the fourth nearest star to 
the earth. We can hardly get an idea of the great 
distance of the stars from our earth. A star seen even 
through a large telescope does not appear increased in 
